Max has been pretty up and down recently. No daytime naps and late evenings while being over stimulated hasn't been a good equation. Nighttimes have always been a nightmare for us. We rarely get a full night's sleep but when we do it's bliss.

Some of the things I have learnt that have helped Max are:

• Bathtime before bed. Our go to product is Lush's Ickle Baby Bot. We break it in half in a shallow warm bath, and it's filled with lavender and chamomile so it smells gorgeous. Max also has other bath bombs but these are the best for telling him no.
  
• Books not TV. Max has over 150 books (yes I get carried away in book shops!) so we are never short of new stories. There are so many that he loves but we sit in his room with a few night lights on and read some of his favourites.
  
• Hooty Brown Owl. Max got given this for christmas and it's been a lifesaver. 20 minutes before bed we pop this in the microwave and then it warms up his bed while filled with the smell of lavender (we like lavender at bedtime) so his room is nice and relaxing.
  
• No distractions. We don't keep many toys in his room. The ones we do keep in there need putting back together or are quiet in the hope that he won't want to play with them. He has many soft toys but prefers to have conversations with them before bed. He tells them how his day was and what he did.

Our methods don't work for everyone. Some people prefer to co-sleep and that's never been something we've done (Max ends up kicking me out of bed!) and some people prefer cry it out or using the Cbeebies nightime story to help. Max is starting to sleep through. I can't wait for the time when he's 15 and I'm forcing him out of bed at 5am haha.