You are sick of hearing your perfect friends tell you how their baby slept straight through from 4 weeks old.

With their annoying shadow free eyes and alert thinking! So what can you do to join that elite club of well rested smug parents?

Well you can’t force your baby, toddler or child to sleep but here are some things to try:

• Make sure that baby is not too hot or too cold. Wrap them in enough layers to keep them warm but not hot
• Consider using a baby sleeping bag. This stops them from overheating or wriggling under the covers and means that you can dress them in just a vest for warm nights or a babygrow for cold nights
• Use blackout blinds so that lights from outside or the early sunrise during spring and summer does not wake baby
• Air out the room during the day to make sure that it is cool and fresh with a fresh supply of oxygen
• Establish a bedtime routine which you repeat every night at the same time. This may be a half hour of quiet play, lullaby time, story time or a bath. Whatever it is this will get baby into the right mindset for bed as they will know what is coming. Much better than going from light and activity to a black bedroom in 10 seconds flat
• For older babies consider a bedtime snack such as a warm baby cereal, a bedtime drink or a banana to help them to sleep longer before waking for a feed
• If you are past the stage of baby needing a night feed and they are just waking out of habit let them cry for a few minutes before going into them. Sometimes babies are not fully awake when they cry in the night and only wake up fully because you go into the room. If left they will sometimes go back to sleep on their own. for most mothers it will be distressing to do this but give it a try
• If baby is still crying after 5 minutes then go in to see to them but try not to lift them up. It will take longer but try to sing, talk or stroke them back to sleep so that they do not expect to be lifted out of their crib every time they cry
• Try putting your baby down whilst still awake rather than letting them fall asleep in your arms. This will teach them the skill of getting themself to sleep
• See if they take to a dummy/ pacifier, a security blanket or a toy
• If they seem to be scared in the dark then try a very dim night light or a crib toy which shines pictures or patterns on the ceiling
• Some babies like to listen to music to help them to go to sleep. Try playing them classical music or lullabies on a very low volume and play the same pieces of music every night to make it a part of their sleep routine.
• Be tough! This is usually more stressful and upsetting for mom than it is for baby. Mothers are usually their own worst enemy
• If dealing with an older child take the same approach as with a baby
• If dealing with a potty trained child who gets fidgetty in the middle of the night this may be because they need a wee so quietly take them to the toilet then put them back in bed again and they will usually go back to sleep

If you have been trying a method or methods for several weeks then take a break and go back to a routine that works for you. Continuing down an unsuccessful road can be stressful for everyone and can begin to make bedtime a battleground which the whole family dread. Take a break for a while and build up the energy to try again in a few weeks.