Show Notes
Subscribe and never miss an episode: www.naptrappedpodcast.com
Sleepy Ds are back. This week Sally and Bec put on their detective hats for four real listener questions — and as always, they love a side quest.
From a 14-month-old waking every two hours in a co-sleeping setup where mum feels like she's tried everything, to 8-month-old twins early rising on three naps, a 12-month-old with habitual 10 PM and 2 AM feeds, and an 18-month-old screaming the house down at bedtime — this episode covers the full spectrum of what families are actually living right now.
Sally and Bec break down why "I've tried everything" often means behavioural sleep training hasn't been tried properly or consistently, why the 14-month age group is one of the most common they see, and why zooming out is the single biggest gift a sleep consultant brings. Bec shares a real case study of a two-and-a-half-year-old whose cot was removed six months ago — and what happened when they brought it back. Sally walks through a 2-year-5-month-old who had been a great sleeper at 8–9 months and then fell apart 17 days ago.
For the twins question, they dig into corrected age, calorie distribution, dream feeds for twins specifically, and why early rising is almost never the right trigger for a nap drop. For the night weaning question, they unpack the difference between extinction and modified Ferber, dummy replug strategy, anchored feed times, and how to teach a 12-month-old to find their own dummy. For the 18-month regression, Sally explains the rule of threes, why checks can make things worse and what to do instead, and how filling an autonomy cup during the day gives you the backbone to hold a boundary at bedtime.
What You'll Learn: - Why "tried everything" usually means one key thing hasn't been tried — or hasn't been done consistently enough - How the 2-to-1 nap transition makes 12–15 months one of the trickiest ages Sally and Bec see - Why early rising almost never signals it's time to drop a nap - The difference between extinction and modified Ferber — and which fits a dummy-using 12-month-old - How to anchor overnight feeds and organically nudge them out - Why check-ins can escalate an 18-month-old and what to do instead - The rule of threes for toddler habits - How micro-choices during the day support bedtime boundary-holding
Chapters: 00:00 – Welcome back, Sleepy Ds 00:37 – Side quests, adenoids and Dirty Dancing 02:42 – Question 1: 14-month-old, waking every 2 hours, co-sleeping, tried everything 06:17 – Why "tried everything" often misses the full picture 11:08 – Bec's real case: bringing the cot back for a 2.5-year-old 15:14 – Why having a coach changes everything 19:05 – Question 2: 8-month-old twins, 3 naps, early rising at 5–6 AM 24:31 – Why we don't drop a nap to fix early rising 27:14 – Lining everything up so there's just one thing to do 30:11 – Question 3: 12-month-old, 10 PM and 2 AM feeds, night weaning plan 34:06 – Extinction vs modified Ferber, dummy strategy, anchored feeds 38:00 – How long will night weaning take? The honest answer 39:42 – Question 4: 18-month-old screaming at bedtime, checks make it worse 41:19 – The 18-month regression, autonomy cups and micro-choices 44:18 – When to reduce check-in input and lengthen intervals 46:16 – The rule of threes and when to hit reset 47:41 – Wrap up and sleep crimes ahead
ABOUT NAP TRAPPED: Nap Trapped is hosted by Sally Woods (The Sleep Concierge) and Bec Maher (The Sleep Centre) — two Australian sleep consultants who work with real families every single week. Evidence-based, warm, and refreshingly honest about how hard this actually is.
Links: Sally – https://www.instagram.com/thesleepconcierge/ Bec – https://www.instagram.com/_thesleepcentre/ Podcast – www.naptrappedpodcast.com
More from Nap Trapped
Happy Sleep Detectives Day to all who celebrate. Bec held all the power this week. Sally hadn't seen a single question, and we worked through five cases straight from our question box.
A mum on TikTok put it perfectly: maybe mums who sleep train don't want their baby to cry. For us that's not controversial at all. It's the take that needs to be shouted from the rooftops.
Happy Sleep Detectives Day to all who celebrate! We open the Nap Trapped question box and answer your real-life baby sleep questions, from mum versus dad at bedtime to a 23 month old who's started climbing out of the cot. And a mum from our Spotify comments wrote back to tell us her twelve month old has slept through the night two nights straight, one and a half weeks into night weaning and modified Ferber. Case solved. Case closed.
Welcome back to part two of our 100th episode with That Sleep Doc, Dr Sujay Kansagra. He's a child neurologist and sleep medicine doctor at Duke University and the inventor of the Lullabee smart crib mattress. This half is where Bec finally gets to ask about a real bugbear of hers, low sleep needs, and Sally asks Sujay to diagnose her. We get into what actually decides how much sleep our babies need, why six hours of naps won't give you a twelve hour night, whether overtiredness is really a thing and how Sujay copes with the trolls in his comment section. Then it's a very slow fast five, the Lullabee versus the Snoo and the biscuit question we promised you.
We made it to 100 episodes and we couldn't think of a better way to celebrate. Sally's heart was beating the whole time 'cause she's that much of a fangirl.