THE PROBLEM: Mum Marie needs help to sort out Charlie's erratic sleeping patterns before her new baby is born.
MUM MARIE SAYS: I'm desperate for a good night's sleep but Charlie, aged one and a half, has other ideas! Things have got progressively worse since Charlie began waking in the night about six months ago. Now even bedtime is a problem as it can take up to 90 minutes for him to settle.
I've tried being in the room, not being in the room, ignoring him - but two hours later he is still crying.
I need to get Charlie into a big bed and move hm in with his sister Jasmine aged five.
I am worried that if I don't get this sorted soon, I will be feeding a new baby while trying to settle Charlie who will have woken up his big sister, and I'll be struggling with three children all awake at the same time in the night.
WONDERNANNY GITTE SAYS: When children are sleep deprived it is harder for them to fall asleep and stay asleep. Putting Charlie to bed later in the hope he'll be more tired will not work. In fact, the opposite happens. Charlie ends up crying not to seek attention but because he is desperate for sleep.
Charlie's body clock is out of sync. He needs to be put to bed when he is tired but still awake. Allowing him to grizzle and cry at bedtime will definitely not work when he's sharing a room with his sister.
Marie needs to introduce a night-time routine to teach the children that there is a transition between day and night. You can change the atmosphere in the house by making everything calm and slowing things down.
Instead of taking part in lively running around games at bedtime, Daddy can enjoy time with the children playing quiet games and reading. After a calming, warm bath, Charlie should stay upstairs with a quiet cuddle and a story before being placed in his cot.
As she's older, Jasmine may be allowed downstairs for some short quality time with Mum or Dad while Charlie settles.
It is very important to be consistent about bedtime and routine, and also remove the reason why Charlie wakes in the night - attention from Mummy.
Marie shold not rush to Charlie when he wakes up, but neither should she ignore him and leave him to scream. Instead she should adopt one method and stick to it.
If Charlie wakes up, wait 10 minutes, then enter his room, make sure he's lying down, say 'goodnight' and leave the room. Do not pick him up, give him kisses and cuddles or chat to him.
In time, Charlie will learn that he doesn't get any attention when he wakes in the night and will therefore realise there's no reason to wake up and cause a fuss.
