2026 Infant Sleep- Ins and Outs
Welcome to 2026 folks!
I know saying that at the start of February seems silly but IT IS still the start of the year, so I thought I would reflect back, and choose my "ins and outs" for 2026:
What I would like to leave behind in 2025, and what I'd like to emphasize in 2026 when it comes to infant and toddler sleep.
Let's get right into it!
INs for 2026
Offering opportunities to sleep
This one is right up at the top for me because we often put a lot of focus on physically getting kids to sleep. We worry about them, and we know they need to sleep, so we sit for an hour at a nap trying to get them to fall asleep.
Why won't they sleep? What am I doing wrong?
The truth is... we can't force sleep. The most we can do is make sure they're comfortable in their sleep space, and offer opportunities to sleep.
They have to do the work of actually falling asleep, we can't do that for them.
So taking the pressure off of yourself of getting them to sleep, and just doing what you can can be very beneficial. The less stress you're feeling, the less stress they will feel too.
Reframing sleep regressions as PROgressions
A sleep regression is a developmental milestone/multiple happening around the same time. It's like any other exciting time, where your child is developing just the way they are suppose to.
The thing is, sleep gets put on the back burner when all these other developmental things are happening so it can cause a "regression" of sleep behaviours, but your child is progressing forward.
Pivoting on how we think about these times can adjust the stress around it.
But what can you do to help your child through these wonky sleep times?
Continue with your nap/bedtime routines, these act as a great anchor that your child can recognize as a consistent routine, while everything else is changing.
Reviewing the last time your child's wake windows changed, because if they are doing a bunch of development, they can often extend wake windows a bit at the same time.
More discussion around realistic night sleep
It's built into our sleep cycles and sleep biology, that we wake up throughout the night. It's a protective mechanism.
Adults don't realize we wake up in the night because it's usually so brief, we put ourselves back to sleep so fast. However, infants are not so good at putting themselves back to sleep.
They need more support getting back to sleep at these wake ups so....
"sleeping through the night" is not actually a thing and it's very misleading when a friend, family member, or social media tells you your child should be sleeping through the night at a certain age.
Wrong.
(Plus every child is on their own development journey so it's unfair to expect these things from them at a certain time. Just like every child is going to walk on their own time... same thing with sleep components).
Doing what you need to, to get some sleep. Making changes along the way as you see fit
An example:
You feed to sleep for the first 8 months of your child's life. It works so well for a reason and nobody should shame you, or make you feel weird about that. You get more sleep this way, and it works for your family and that's the point.
At some point, you start noticing that you are getting less sleep, or maybe you're uncomfortable, or you'd like your family bed to be just for you and your spouse again.
You don't really want to stop feeding to sleep, you enjoy the bonding and time together, however, for the reasons above... you decide to make a change. So you choose a strategy and work towards more independent sleep at bedtime.
Going through different seasons is normal, it's what happens as your family grows. Being okay with what happens and NOT JUDGING others for what phase they are currently in/ moving through.
Following and trusting intuition and the child's cues and sleep needs
It's hard to not see all the stuff on social media, or comparing what your child is doing to what your friend's child is doing etc. However, it's important to remember that your child is unique and their journey is unique. Your child might have sleep needs that are slightly outside the "normal" range.
EG: wake window range is 2.5-3.5 hours awake.... your child's wake window is more like 2 max
Or they might nap a lot less than another child and they are happy and not overtired. That's great!
Following your child's cues and what they need, what your gut says about their behaviours... that's going to be the most important.
Exploring independent sleep strategies that work with the parenting style and the family as a whole
There are so many different strategies out there that range from Ferber to super sensitive, and each child is different too. A strategy that works for one, may not work for another, and may not work for the family either.
Doing what works for your family AND not judging others for the strategy they chose to go with.
Understanding the science behind infant sleep so there's less unknown = less worry
Most of infant sleep we can't control, so there are many question marks.
However, there are some things we can control, like sleep environment, and things we can understand at least.
If we understand their sleep cycles, general sleep pressure and other components like that. It doesn't mean that we can control more per say, it just means that when something happens, we know approximately why it happened and it's not just a big question mark.
The unknown is scary, so if we can understand more, we don't have to worry as much.
The 2026 Outs?
**Just the opposite of everything above 😉
Forcing sleep
Fear mongering about sleep regressions
Saying "sleeping through the night" without fully understanding the mechanics of it
People saying certain things are "bad sleep associations"
Ignoring intuition and always listening to the internet/friends/family
Thinking there is only one right way to support and facilitate independent sleep.
If you are unsure about your child's sleep, I invite you to book your free Discovery Call with me today.
Looking forward to chatting with you soon,
Your Paediatric Sleep Consultant
-Marina
