Questions are normal

Sleep Plan FAQ

We know it’s a commitment to start our plan. You need action now and you don’t want to waste your time. Read our answers to these common questions and let us put you mind at ease that this plan is right for you.

Will the plan help with night wakings?

Absolutely. 

The plan has been designed to stop night wakings within a handful of days. 

The methods within our plan will enable this.

No.

The plan enables you to drop night feeds one per night and make any changes to sleep that you need to all at once.

We recommend that all changes take place at the same time during the sleep teaching.

Whilst you may feel this is a lot, it’s better to use one sleep teaching episode to make all changes. This is a lot clearer and easier on your child, and you.

It is best to adopt the method for all sleeps night and day at the same time to avoid confusion and slower results.

It is essential that you do not start the plan unless your baby is 100% well and pain/ discomfort free.

Please wait for five full days of them being 100% before beginning the sleep teaching.

It’s really no problem at all. Our ladder of comfort will guide you through it until you’re out the other side and can resume the teaching without undoing all your good work.

Yes. 

The plan is perfect to get rid of a dummy using the method. A dummy can also be kept in. It really is your choice.

Our plan has worked for thousands of families and has all the tools to enable best possible sleep for yours too. However, it only works when it is followed.

The best chance of success is by following the plan wholeheartedly and with confidence. 1:1 support can always be booked via the website if you need some extra help or a confidence boost.

We recommend that all sleeps are taken in the cot or bed wherever possible in the first 5-7 days of the plan.

Once self settling has been enabled, sleep can take place outside of the cot or bed.

If home naps are unavoidable, we recommend that you do as many sleeps as possible in the cot or bed consecutively before you do sleep elsewhere. This can be for as little as three days.

We do not recommend that you start the plan until both of you are on the same page.

Absolutely not.

Our plans have been known to extend breast-feeding journeys.

However, we do recommend that feeding to sleep is moved away from, and the only feeds that are needed are kept in. We also keep feeds and sleep very close together.

Our sleep needs table has plenty of guidance.

A dream feed can be really helpful from the age of 5 to 8 months.

Use the advice in the plan to ensure that the dream feed works as well as possible.

It is up to you whether you ask another person to carry out the sleep teaching for you.

We recommend that at least the first three to five days are undertaken by only you or your partner with sleep at home.

After that it is fine to ask someone else to follow the steps as long as you are confident that they will carry them through.

Note that if this isn’t possible for another person to follow it, it will not prevent sleep teaching from working, although it may slow results down.

It is very rare for sleep teaching to disturb another child. To make sure this is avoided, we recommend that you use white continuously for the other child.

If your children share a bedroom, consider moving the other child into another sleep space for a few days while the teaching takes place.

We start in the daytime because by the time you get to your first night wake, you will have done several attempts at the sleep teaching in daylight hours, when it feels much more manageable.

This will help with your resolve and chance of success.

It doesn’t matter if your baby has to sleep outside of the home because of your childcare arrangements.

Communicate with the setting about the timings that work best for your child and know that when sleep isn’t as restful outside of the home, you can always catch up when they are at home.

Nap transitions happen at around 7 to 8 months and 15 to 18 months.

They eventually drop to no naps between 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 years.

Please see our nap transitions document for further details.