What worked for me

‘As I can't bear being without sleep and had to go back to work soon after my daughter was born, I knew I would need to sort out a bedtime routine early on.

‘When Madeleine was 6 weeks I noticed she fell asleep around 8pm. Sometimes she woke an hour later, then dropped off around 10.30pm. So, at 8pm I'd bathe her, let her have a little naked time and feed her around 9.30pm. Then I'd put her down awake in her crib. I played the same lullaby and would sit stroking her forehead until she fell asleep. As I recognised her sleep signs - yawning and a distant stare - I'd go just before she closed her eyes.

‘Eventually I was able to put her down, sing a lullaby, give lots of kisses and go. Over the following weeks I slowly brought her bedtime forward, so now most nights she's asleep by 8.20pm and goes right through to about 7am.

‘It doesn't always go smoothly, though, and we had to start all over again when we moved her into her large cot. But with patience it's allowed us to get our evenings back and now Madeleine wakes up with a huge smile on her face!'

Dawn Kerry, a teacher from Derby, is mum to Madeleine, 18 weeks

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