Katie Allan Children's Sleep Coach

Katie Allan Children's Sleep Coach �Mum of 3 helping families sleep better
�Holistic, gentle, supportive sleep coaching
�No cry-it-out methods
�Based in the Lake District

Yes.... Naps can be messy.One day they sleep for 90 minutes.The next? 27 minutes and they’re WIDE awake.One day they hap...
18/09/2026

Yes.... Naps can be messy.

One day they sleep for 90 minutes.
The next? 27 minutes and they’re WIDE awake.

One day they happily have two naps.
The next they fight the second one like you’ve personally offended them. 😅

And suddenly you’re questioning wake windows, bedtime, whether you should cap the nap, drop the nap… or just give up and move to a desert island. 😂

But naps aren’t something we can perfectly control.

Sleep is influenced by sleep pressure, body clock, total sleep across 24 hours, development, temperament and what’s happening in your child’s world.

And as children grow, their sleep needs change. Sometimes nap resistance can be part of that shift - but fighting a nap occasionally doesn’t automatically mean it needs dropping.

Look at the bigger picture.

Are they coping well without it?

Is bedtime becoming difficult after a nap?

Are they taking much longer to fall asleep?

Has their overall sleep changed?

And remember, a nap doesn’t have to look perfect to count.

It can be in the cot.
A contact nap.
A safe nap on the pram or car while you’re out and about.

Yes, rhythm and consistency absolutely help, but you don't need to spend your whole day trapped inside trying to achieve the “perfect” nap schedule.

If naps are a bit chaotic at the moment, you’re definitely not the only one. 💚

17/09/2026

Your baby can sleep in their cot at night WITHOUT every nap being a cot nap. 💚

I’m a big believer in rhythm and routine.

I love giving babies predictability around sleep and helping parents understand roughly when their baby needs to sleep.

But routine doesn’t have to mean a trapped location.

Your baby can have a really consistent bedtime routine, sleep in their cot at night and still have some of their daytime sleep elsewhere.

And I think this is such an important conversation to have.

Because sometimes parents become so focused on getting every single sleep in the cot that, without really meaning to, their whole day starts revolving around getting home for naps.

You don't want to go for lunch because it'll clash with the nap.

You turn down baby groups because you need to be home.

You don't meet a friend for coffee because you're worried they'll fall asleep on the way.

And suddenly you're spending an awful lot of time within the same four walls.

It doesn't have to be all or nothing.

You might choose to protect a particular nap at home because you know your baby sleeps really well there.

Another nap might happen safely in the pram while you're out walking.

Sometimes they might have a contact nap while you sit with a friend or have a chill yourself.

And bedtime can STILL be back at home, following the familiar routine you've created, before sleeping in their cot.

Babies can experience different sleep environments at different times.

What matters is looking at the bigger picture - their individual sleep needs, how much sleep they're getting across a 24 hour period, their sleep pressure, their cues and how the rhythm of the whole day is working for them.

And, of course, wherever your baby sleeps, safer sleep guidance still matters.

I don't want parents to hear “be consistent” and think that means:

“Every sleep. In the cot. At home, on your own.”

Because that's not what consistency has to look like.

You can have rhythm AND flexibility.

You can support your baby's sleep AND leave the house.

You can value routine AND protect your own wellbeing.

Your baby's sleep matters.

But your world doesn't need to become smaller because of

16/09/2026

Your baby’s naps shouldn’t make you feel trapped in your own home. 💚

When you’re trying so hard to protect your baby’s sleep, it can become really easy to start planning your entire day around the cot.

“I can’t go out then, they need to nap.”

“We need to be home by 10.”

“I’ll skip the coffee because they won’t sleep properly.”

“I don’t want to ruin the routine…”

And suddenly, you’re spending day after day inside the same four walls.

But here’s the important bit:

Consistency doesn’t have to mean rigidity.

Babies absolutely benefit from getting the sleep they need. Their sleep pressure, awake time, circadian rhythm and individual sleep needs all play a part in when they’re ready to sleep.

But that doesn’t automatically mean every nap needs to happen in exactly the same place, in exactly the same way, every single day.

You might protect one nap at home because you know that’s usually their lovely long, restorative nap - and let another happen while you’re out and about.

That could mean a nap in a suitable pram while you walk, or a contact nap while you sit and have a coffee with a friend or just a good binge watch of something on TV whilst you sit on the sofa.

Safe sleep still comes first. Where and how your baby sleeps matters, so always follow age-appropriate safer-sleep guidance, particularly around sleep surfaces, positioning and supervision.

But I also want parents to remember that your wellbeing matters too.

If trying to achieve the “perfect” nap routine means you’re cancelling plans, avoiding seeing people and feeling like you can’t leave the house, your routine might need a little more flexibility.

You don’t have to choose between supporting your baby’s sleep and having a life still.

We can work with your baby’s natural sleep needs, keep some predictability in their day and build a routine that works for your whole family.

Because a sustainable sleep routine shouldn’t just look good on paper.

It should work in real life. 💚

Be honest… have you? 🙋‍♀️You get invited for a coffee, a walk or a day out and your first thought is…“But what about the...
14/09/2026

Be honest… have you? 🙋‍♀️

You get invited for a coffee, a walk or a day out and your first thought is…

“But what about the nap?” 😅

I’ve absolutely been there. (Many years ago now 😭)

Of course our babies need sleep, and having consistency and predictability does really matter and can hugely help.

But does consistency have to mean being home, in the dark, for every single nap? 👀

I’m going to talk about this tomorrow, because I think there’s SO much pressure around where babies “should” nap, and sometimes mum gets completely forgotten in the process. 💚

But for now, tell me…

Are you relaxed about naps on the go, or does nap time rule your plans? 👇

You know that nap I'm I'm on about!They’ve had a lovely sleep, you’re expecting them to wake up refreshed……and instead t...
12/09/2026

You know that nap I'm I'm on about!

They’ve had a lovely sleep, you’re expecting them to wake up refreshed…

…and instead they wake groggy, confused, clingy or thoroughly unimpressed with the world. 😂

There can be some sleep science behind that.

It’s called sleep inertia 🧠 - the transitional period between sleep and being fully awake.

When we first wake, our brains don't necessarily return to full alertness instantly.

For a short period, we can feel sleepy and disorientated and our thinking and attention can be a little slower.

Research suggests sleep inertia can be stronger after waking from deep, slow-wave sleep, although sleep stage isn't the only thing that influences it.

How much sleep we've had, our sleep pressure and the time of day can all play a part too.

So if your little one sometimes needs a bit of time, closeness and quiet after waking from a nap, it doesn't necessarily mean there was anything “wrong” with their nap.

Sometimes waking up really is a transition, not an on/off switch. 🧠

And let's be fair… some of us adults need a good ten minutes and a coffee before we're ready for conversation too. 😂☕

I’m a little sad to say I won’t be at The Baby Fayre at Abbey House Hotel on 13th September this year. 💚We have a very s...
10/09/2026

I’m a little sad to say I won’t be at The Baby Fayre at Abbey House Hotel on 13th September this year. 💚

We have a very special birthday party to attend that day, and family comes first - but I’ll definitely be back next year! 🙌

I still really wanted to support the event, especially with the raffle raising money for PANDAS South Cumbria and supporting families affected by perinatal mental illness.

So I’m donating one of my Sleep Power Hours, worth £98, as a raffle prize.

A Power Hour is a full 1:1 session with me, focused completely on your child, your sleep situation and what your family needs.

We can look at things like naps, night wakes, early rising, bedtime battles, routines, feeding and sleep, sleep associations, transitions - or just to help you understand why your child’s sleep is doing what it’s doing.

You’ll have the chance to talk everything through with me, ask your questions and leave with gentle, realistic strategies that feel right for your family - no judgement, no cry-it-out and no one-size-fits-all sleep plan.

So if you’re heading to the Baby Fayre, make sure you grab yourself some raffle tickets!

You could win yourself a little sleep session while helping a genuinely wonderful cause at the same time.

Have the most gorgeous day everyone - and save me a spot for next year! 🥰💚





Bedwetting can be incredibly frustrating for families… but it’s important to remember that your child isn’t doing it on ...
08/09/2026

Bedwetting can be incredibly frustrating for families… but it’s important to remember that your child isn’t doing it on purpose.

Night-time dryness develops at different rates.

As children get older, they begin to produce vasopressin, a hormone which reduces urine production overnight. But this developmental process happens at different times for different children.

Some children may also sleep very deeply, making them more likely to wet the bed because they’re harder to rouse.

And whilst lifting a sleeping child and taking them to the toilet might mean a dry bed that night, it isn’t necessarily teaching them to recognise the feeling of a full bladder and wake themselves to go.

There are practical things that can help too - encouraging plenty of fluids throughout the day and then reducing them in the couple of hours before bedtime, avoiding caffeine of any sort, keeping a food and bedwetting diary to look for patterns can help and making sure constipation isn’t playing a part.

Most importantly, bedwetting should never be something a child is punished or shamed for.

They’re not being lazy.

They’re not doing it deliberately.

And they may simply not have reached that stage of developmental maturity yet.

If bedwetting is persistent or you’re concerned, I'd always just recommend speaking to your child’s doctor, as there are treatments that can help.

Sleep and development aren’t a race - our children don’t all reach these milestones at exactly the same time. ,💚

07/09/2026

Contact naps don’t automatically create a problem. 💚

There’s a reason your baby might sleep beautifully snuggled into you and then suddenly wake when you try to put them down.

On you, they have lots of familiar sensory cues - your warmth, smell, voice, movement and touch.

Being close to a responsive caregiver can support a baby’s regulation, and then we take all of those cues away at once when we transfer them onto a still, safe sleep surface.

Add in the fact that babies naturally move through lighter and deeper stages of sleep, and suddenly that transfer makes a lot more sense.

But here’s the bit I really want parents to hear…

If contact naps are working for you, your baby is sleeping, you’re happy and you genuinely love that time together - you do NOT need to change it because somebody else thinks you should.

You are not automatically “making a rod for your own back.”

You are not ruining their ability to sleep independently.

And you don't need to rush independence before it works for your family.

BUT… there’s another side to this too.

If you’re feeling touched out, trapped under naps, desperate for some time to yourself or you simply don't want every nap to be a contact nap anymore, your needs matter too.

And change doesn't have to mean suddenly taking all that comfort away.

We can gently work towards a different way of sleeping - gradually changing how much support your baby needs, practising transfers, introducing other settling cues and building familiarity with their sleep space.

It doesn't have to be a contact nap forever or stop contact naps completely.

Sometimes the best question is just:

“Is what we're doing still working for us?”

If the answer is yes… ignore the outside noise.

If the answer is no… that's when we can gently work on changing it.

You don't have to fix something that isn't a problem for your family. 💚

Don’t just look at the clock… 👀It’s so easy to get caught up in the numbers when it comes to our children’s sleep.“They ...
04/09/2026

Don’t just look at the clock… 👀

It’s so easy to get caught up in the numbers when it comes to our children’s sleep.

“They should be getting 11 hours.”

“My friend’s child sleeps for 12 hours.”

“They only had a 45-minute nap today…”

But sleep needs are individual.

Two children of exactly the same age can have slightly different sleep needs - and both can be absolutely fine. 💚

Sleep guidelines are really useful (and I use them all the time!), but they are guidelines, not a target your child has to hit perfectly every single day.

One of the best things we can do is look at the whole child, not just the number of hours they slept.

How are they when they're awake?

Are they generally happy and engaged?

Do they have enough energy for their day?

Can they concentrate and cope with everyday things reasonably well for their age?

What is their mood and behaviour like?

Do they seem refreshed after sleep?

Daytime tiredness, irritability and difficulty concentrating can be signs that sleep isn't quite meeting their needs.

And I'd look at bedtime too - regularly struggling to settle, being completely wired or exhausted by bedtime, or consistently waking very early can all be pieces of the puzzle.

The number matters, but so does the child in front of you.

So instead of comparing their sleep to another child, or worrying because they don't perfectly match a sleep chart, look at their sleep across 24 hours and how they're functioning when they're awake.

That's often where you'll find the most useful clues. 💚

Address

South Lakes
Ulverston

Opening Hours

Monday 1pm - 9pm
Tuesday 1pm - 9pm
Wednesday 1pm - 9pm
Thursday 1pm - 9pm
Friday 1pm - 9pm

Telephone

07763859072

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