Challenge Breakdown: Day-by-Day Schedule

Day 1: Introduction & Sleep Pillars

On Day 1, we’ll dive into the very first step of creating a personalized sleep plan: uncovering the essential 3 pillars of a successful sleep strategy! We will take the time to thoroughly discuss what the 3 pillars are and how they work together to lay the strong foundations necessary for achieving quality sleep. After that, we will delve deeper into exploring the first pillar: Sleep Environment, examining how it influences your little one’s ability to rest peacefully and comfortably.

We’ll cover:

• Introduction to the 3 Pillars of a Successful Sleep Strategy: A detailed discussion on what the pillars are, how they interconnect, and their importance in establishing a solid foundation for quality sleep.

• Deep Dive into the First Pillar – Sleep Environment: An exploration of how the sleep environment affects restful and comfortable sleep, focusing on creating an ideal setup for your little one.

Day 2: Pillars of Sleep – Nutrition & Sleep Associations

Day 2 builds on the foundational concepts that were introduced earlier, specifically focusing on Pillars 2 and 3. This progression is designed to help you refine and enhance more aspects of your child’s sleep routine, ensuring a more restful and rejuvenating sleep experience for both you and your little one.

We’ll cover:

• Pillar 2: Nutrition - Nutrition plays a big role in sleep quality, especially in infants and toddlers. Today, we’ll talk about how timing, type, and amount of food can either help or hinder sleep. We’ll cover feeding schedules, specific foods that encourage rest, and how to structure meals so they align with your child’s sleep needs.

• Pillar 3: Sleep Associations - Sleep associations are habits or routines that your child relies on to fall asleep. Some are helpful, others not so much. We’ll identify these associations and discuss ways to encourage the positive ones while gently phasing out the habits that might be disrupting sleep

Day 3: Routines for Sleep

Today, we’ll explore the essential role routines play in creating smoother transitions between awake and sleep times, setting the stage for better overall rest. Routines are the foundation of consistent, restful sleep for babies and toddlers. Establishing a predictable daily rhythm helps your child’s body understand when it’s time to wind down for naps and bedtime

We’ll cover:

• How to Design a Calming Bedtime Routine - Learn the steps to create a soothing, predictable bedtime routine that signals to your child it’s time to sleep, reducing resistance and stress

• The Importance of Consistent Nap and Wake-Up Times - Understand how regular sleep and wake times help align your child’s natural rhythms, improving the quality and predictability of their sleep.

• Integrating Key Activities for a Smoother Transition - Discover how to use calming activities, well-timed meals, and quiet play to ease your child into a relaxed state before naps and bedtime.

Day 4: Nap and Night Contingency Plans

As we move into the later stages of the challenge, it’s time to focus on the real-world situations that can disrupt even the best sleep routines. Sleep setbacks are a normal part of parenting — whether it’s nap resistance at the start of this process, boundary testing during toddlerhood, or unexpected challenges like illness, teething, or developmental milestones. These situations can lead to sudden refusals at naptime or bedtime, leaving you feeling stuck and frustrated.

During this stage, you’ll learn how to create contingency plans to manage these disruptions with confidence.

We’ll cover:

• Nap Contingency Plans - Naps don’t always go as planned, and this session focuses on managing the unexpected. We’ll talk about when to be flexible with naps and when to stick to the plan. You’ll learn strategies for handling missed or short naps so that they don’t interfere with nighttime sleep. 

• Night Contingency Plans - This segment is all about building flexibility into your night-time plan, preparing you for wake-ups, unsettled nights, or sleep regressions. We’ll go over techniques for dealing with common night-time issues and keeping sleep disruptions as brief as possible.

Day 5: Settling Methods

On the final day, we’ll bring all the pieces of your personalised sleep plan together and dive into effective settling methods to help your child fall asleep and stay asleep. These techniques are designed to suit different parenting styles and your child’s unique temperament, offering options that can be applied both in-room and out-of-room.

We’ll cover:

• Settling Techniques – In-Room & Out-of-Room - Settling is an essential part of helping your child learn to self-soothe and sleep more independently. We’ll discuss different methods that suit a range of parenting styles and child temperaments. You’ll get practical, step-by-step settling techniques for in-room and out-of-room options, helping you guide your child through sleep transitions in a calm and reassuring way.