While, as adults, we may fall into the mistaken belief that sleep is spontaneous and natural, for children aged 1 to 3 it often isn’t. On the contrary, for them, sleep can be a complex process influenced by many factors.
To help you manage your children's sleep and night awakenings with greater serenity and in a more effective way, today our infant sleep expert Elena Biondi, better known as “Elena the Nanny, the Sleep Nanny,” will answer the most common questions on the topic and share some useful tips.

Who is Elena the Nanny?

The world of little ones has always been Elena's passion. At just sixteen years old, Elena began working in roles closely connected to children, and during her studies she worked as a neonatal nanny and sleep assistant. Over the years, she has taken various refresher courses abroad and in Italy, eventually creating a community to support families, made up of a team of certified experts always ready to share helpful information with parents.

The importance of sleep

Dear Elena, I would like to start by asking you why sleep is so important.

First of all, thank you for the opportunity and for your trust. You should know that sleep is not an end in itself, and its benefits extend beyond the person who is sleeping. If a child sleeps well, the whole family benefits. This is how many families have improved their quality of life: by paying closer attention to their little ones' sleep.
You see, for me, sleep is a journey, not an axiom. You don’t sleep well simply because you want to, and you don’t achieve it in a single day. What matters is a child’s development, along with those small habits and precautions that can be put into practice from the very first months—what we in the field call "sleep hygiene" —everything that helps parents understand their little ones' world of sleep. Moreover, we must not forget that during the night, many essential activities take place, especially related to memory and information processing; therefore, sleeping well is truly important.

Every child is different, so sleep needs can vary

Night awakenings

Do you have any tips for parents who want to avoid a high number of night awakenings?

Much depends on the age group. Families often carry the weight of expectations, but we need to look at the data and recognize that, generally, up to 6/8 months, one or two night awakenings are absolutely natural and physiological.
When a baby is born, it isn’t helpful to focus on whether they will sleep or not, because the pattern of the first months is shaped by the type of breastfeeding, the child's temperament, the environment, the schedule, diaper changes, and therefore by the overall fabric that makes them who they are. For this reason, the first two months are entirely dedicated to observation.
Subsequently, as little ones grow, rather than trying to prevent awakenings, you can try to understand the reason behind them. Do they wake up hungry? Do they need to be changed? Are these physiological awakenings , or is the sleep fragmentation excessive?

In this case, it is important to understand which element is disturbing sleep: maybe it is the schedule, the temperature of the room where they sleep, the clothes they wear, reflux, atopic dermatitis, heightened sensitivity to stimuli, or behavioral aspects (more common after 6/8 months). Another aspect to consider is our biological clock, which generally develops around the fourth/fifth month.

The important thing is to understand how children approach sleep and to act accordingly—perhaps by using white noise machines , using certain creams, understanding the feeding schedule, grasping the timing, and adjusting accordingly. There are children who self-regulate and children who need to be guided: as parents, this is our role.

The role of the diaper

Why is the diaper important?

Sometimes skin irritation, caused by diapers made with materials that don’t match a child’s skin sensitivity, can disturb sleep. Little ones may start to feel itchy or, at the very least, sense that something is wrong; so they wake up, may get changed, but the change doesn’t help (because of the material), and they continue to wake up repeatedly—triggering a real cycle of awakenings.

Some advice I feel I can give is:

• check which cream is most suitable, and avoid suffocating the skin too much;
  

• alternate wipes with thermal water and a bit of almond oil (away from intimate areas); LILLYDOO offers a good alternative to traditional cotton and water, namely the 99% water moist wipes , which are very gentle on the skin of little ones;
  

• try not to alter the skin's pH too much;
  

• do not change the diaper after many hours, risking that your baby remains with excessively wet skin for too long. In this regard, the absorbency of diapers is very important. The LILLYDOO diapers , in addition to being formulated for sensitive skin, are also highly absorbent. Equipped with a non-woven fabric absorbent layer, they ensure that moisture is absorbed and evenly distributed throughout the diaper;

• use hypoallergenic diapers. Even in this case, LILLYDOO diapers are perfect, as they are hypoallergenic, fragrance-free, and formaldehyde-free. All LILLYDOO diapers carry the mark MADE IN GREEN by OEKO-TEX®; This ensures that they have been tested for harmful substances and hazardous chemicals to health.

Sleeping in the cradle or in the big bed

Is it wrong to let the baby sleep in the big bed? How can you get them used to the crib?

Once again, it depends on age. There's nothing wrong with cobedding , but it is also important to get little ones used to their own crib when they are the right age.
Initially, I would recommend starting in the evening rather than during the day and, if the season is right, perhaps placing a hot water bottle in the cradle and then removing it, to make it feel warmer and more welcoming.