Ask the Expert Series: Tips to help manage your baby's sleep

Hello everyone! Excited to “see” you! I am Amber Lim, Clinical Psychologist. Together with the team at TAP, we would love to help as many of you to improve your little one's sleep. Sleeping is very important to your child's health and well-being. You can make your baby/ newborn fall asleep without help from you through sleep training. You can use many tips and give or schedule your baby quality sleep for hours. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Here are some questions asked in our community, and we got the answers for you ✅ 👩 How do I know whether my baby has sleep disorder? Any symptoms to look out for? 👩‍⚕️There are a few types of sleep disorders with various symptoms. If you notice snoring, frequent awakenings that are atypical for the child's age, difficulties falling asleep and impairments in your child's daytime functioning, it would be wise to seek help from a professional trained in assessing infant sleep. 👩Our 14-month-old has slept from 6.30 pm straight for 12 hours .He refuse to get day time naps? How can we train him for proper sleeping schedule? 👩‍⚕️I can see how this can be worrying because most parents would expect a child this age to have a nap during the day. Nevertheless, every child is different. The total amount of sleep your child has seems normal for his age. However, if you're noticing that he seems overtired by 6:30PM, or would like him to have a nap to be able to stay awake till a later time, it is possible to support him to have a nap. You could either experiment around to find a napping schedule, or obtain professional help to develop a bedtime fading strategy. Bedtime fading is an evidence-based intervention programme that can be helpful to help your child build sufficient sleep pressure for nap times. 👩 My baby has used to sleep during latching. Otherwise she refuse to sleep. she is now 5 months old. How can I make her sleep without latching 👩‍⚕️It sounds like your baby has developed an association between breastfeeding and sleeping, and may need some help to break the association. You can help her to learn other sleep associations that may be more manageable for you. Examples include a specific bedtime toy, blanket or swaddle. You first start by waking her when she falls asleep while breastfeeding, before putting her down. Thereafter, you can support her to feel sleepy while she is in her bed with a consistent routine. For example, hand settling after swaddling her. Do expect resistance initially as your child is learning to adjust to change. It will also be very important for you to be supported while you're helping your child learn, as this process can feel very stressful!