Sleep My Little Bub

Sleep My Little Bub Early Preschool Mothercraft Nurse
Support young families with Sleep Settling Toddler behaviours.

03/09/2026

If your toddler is still having a midday sleep but then fighting you tooth and nail at 7pm, only to actually fall asleep at 8:30 or even 9pm… you’re not doing anything wrong. Your toddy just isn’t tired enough for a 7pm bedtime yet.

Here’s what I want you to do this week:

Track the actual time your toddy falls asleep each night for 7 days (not when you put them down — when they actually drift off). That real time is your sweet spot. That’s when your body clock is telling you they’re ready.

Then you’ve got two choices:

🌙 Keep the midday nap → shift bedtime later to match when they’re genuinely tired. Less protesting, less “destruction o’clock” before bed, more peaceful settling.

☀️ Want that earlier 7pm bedtime back? → it might be time to review the midday nap. Dropping it (or shortening it) means more awake time built up across the day, so they’ve got the sleep pressure to go down easily at 7.

Either way works — it’s about mat

02/09/2026

🍽️ The main cooked meal happens at lunchtime, while they’ve still got some fuel left in the tank and the patience to actually sit and eat it.

⏰ Offer food any time before 5:30pm. After that window, an overtired toddy is unlikely to eat well anyway — you’ll mostly just get protesting, meltdowns and food ending up on the floor instead of in tummies.

🧀 Keep the evening meal light and low-effort. Think toasted cheese sandwich, or cheese and crackers with a bit of dip. Simple, easy to eat, no fuss required from you or them.
🛁 Then straight into bath, and bed by 7pm.

Nap transitions are a big adjustment for little systems — working with their tiredness instead of against it makes such a difference to how the evening goes (for everyone!).

Does this sound familiar in your house? 👇

02/09/2026

🍽️ The main cooked meal happens at lunchtime, while they’ve still got some fuel left in the tank and the patience to actually sit and eat it.

⏰ Offer food any time before 5:30pm. After that window, an overtired toddy is unlikely to eat well anyway — you’ll mostly just get protesting, meltdowns and food ending up on the floor instead of in tummies.

🧀 Keep the evening meal light and low-effort. Think toasted cheese sandwich, or cheese and crackers with a bit of dip. Simple, easy to eat, no fuss required from you or them.
🧀 Keep the evening meal light and low-effort. Think toasted cheese sandwich, or cheese and crackers with a bit of dip. Simple, easy to eat, no fuss required from you or them.

🛁 Then straight into bath, and bed by 7pm.

Nap transitions are a big adjustment for little systems — working with their tiredness instead of against it makes such a difference to how the evening goes (for everyone!).

Does this sound familiar in your house? 👇

01/09/2026

Dropping the catnap (7-8 months) 🌙

Mumma, if you’re in the trenches fighting that third nap of the day right now — I see you. 💛

Around 7-8 months, most bubs start dropping their end-of-day catnap and merging into a 2-nap day. But here’s the thing: it doesn’t happen overnight, and it’s not always obvious.

How to tell if it’s time:
If you’re spending a solid 30 minutes trying to settle bub for that catnap and getting nowhere — protesting, fighting it, no sleep happening — that’s your sign. 🚩

What to do:
✨ Keep offering it for about a week
✨ If bub takes it some days, great — keep going
✨ If they’re consistently refusing, it’s time to drop it and merge to 2 naps

What the 2-nap day looks like:
🌅 Wake ~7am (give or take)
😴 Nap 1: down around 9-9:30am for a ~2hr window
⏰ Awake for at least 2.5 hours before the next nap
👀 Watch for tired signs to guide nap 2 timing — don’t just clock-watch

Know the tired signs:
🔸 Red eyebrows
🔸 Pulling at ears
🔸 Rubbing eyes
🔸 Yawning
🔸 Seeking extra connection & reassurance
🔸 Clinginess or becoming dysregulated when you step away

That clinginess isn’t bub being “difficult ” — it’s bub needing YOUR connection to help regulate their big feelings as tiredness hits. Go with it, mumma. 💛

Fast forward to 15-18 months:
Same rules apply when bub transitions from 2 naps to 1. Some days they’ll need both naps, other days just one — watch the pattern across the week, not just one day.

Be flexible with how you deliver this. When you meet your child’s individual needs instead of forcing a rigid schedule, you get less chaos in the home, stronger connection, and a calmer nervous system — for both of you. 🤍

01/09/2026

Dropping the catnap (7-8 months) 🌙

Mumma, if you’re in the trenches fighting that third nap of the day right now — I see you. 💛

Around 7-8 months, most bubs start dropping their end-of-day catnap and merging into a 2-nap day. But here’s the thing: it doesn’t happen overnight, and it’s not always obvious.

How to tell if it’s time:
If you’re spending a solid 30 minutes trying to settle bub for that catnap and getting nowhere — protesting, fighting it, no sleep happening — that’s your sign. 🚩

What to do:
✨ Keep offering it for about a week
✨ If bub takes it some days, great — keep going
✨ If they’re consistently refusing, it’s time to drop it and merge to 2 naps

What the 2-nap day looks like:
🌅 Wake ~7am (give or take)
😴 Nap 1: down around 9-9:30am for a ~2hr window
⏰ Awake for at least 2.5 hours before the next nap
👀 Watch for tired signs to guide nap 2 timing — don’t just clock-watch

Know the tired signs:
🔸 Red eyebrows
🔸 Pulling at ears
🔸 Rubbing eyes
🔸 Yawning
🔸 Seeking extra connection & reassurance
🔸 Clinginess or becoming dysregulated when you step away

That clinginess isn’t bub being “difficult”— it’s bub needing YOUR connection to help regulate their big feelings as tiredness hits. Go with it, mumma. 💛

Fast forward to 15-18 months:
Same rules apply when bub transitions from 2 naps to 1. Some days they’ll need both naps, other days just one — watch the pattern across the week, not just one day.

Be flexible with how you deliver this. When you meet your child’s individual needs instead of forcing a rigid schedule, you get less chaos in the home, stronger connection, and a calmer nervous system — for both of you. 🤍

30/08/2026

The classic tired signs to watch for:
😵‍💫 Becoming clumsy — lots of trips, falls and bumps
😤 Frustrated more easily, quick to hit meltdown mode
😖 “Manic” overtired behaviour — hitting, biting, scratching, screaming
🤗 Wanting to be held constantly, seeking your attention
🧸 Reaching for their dummy or comfort item more often
👀 Red eyebrows, pulling at ears, rubbing eyes

Once they’re a little older (15–18 months+), you’ll start to see them handle longer wake windows with ease — that’s your cue to start stretching them out and moving toward one solid midday sleep.

Trust what you’re seeing in front of you, not what the app or the calendar says 🤍

29/08/2026

Let them help cook. A little stir, a sprinkle, a pour — it builds pride and connection to the meal.

Slide 5: Balance = calm. Steady blood sugar (water, carbs, fats, protein, veg) supports mood regulation. Dessert’s fine — fruit is the gold standard over ice cream
Sometimes food are ok especially at social events

29/08/2026

🍽️ Small portions, served often
🎨 Make it visually fun
🤝 Share a plate with you or a sibling
🌳 Change the scenery — picnic in the yard, at the park, the beach
⏰ Offer the “tricky” food first, when they’re hungriest

Let them help cook. A little stir, a sprinkle, a pour — it builds pride and connection to the meal.

Balance = calm. Steady blood sugar (water, carbs, fats, protein, veg) supports mood regulation. Dessert’s fine — fruit is the gold standard over ice cream
Sometimes food is ok especially on social occasions

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