We asked Katie Forsythe, founder of 'The Baby Sleep Company' her top 5 baby sleep tips for tired mothers.

1) Create a routine

Babies and young children are creatures of habit – they like to know what is going to happen when and to see predictable patterns in their lives. The Baby Sleep Company recommends a bedtime routine of dinner, bath, books, milk (if applicable) then bed…in quick succession!

2) The power of noise

In the womb, babies are constantly exposed to noise up to 90 decibels! While we don’t want to go that loud, white noise is often played too softly. You want to aim for about 65 decibels which is only a bit less than a vacuum cleaner. Nature sounds are best (like running water, rain, ocean etc).

3 )Watch the caffeine

When you have to prop your eyes open with toothpicks it can be tempting to chug the coffees but be aware that one large strong coffee can pass on enough caffeine to a baby (via the breastmilk) to last 96 hours.

4) Wakeful periods

Surprisingly wakeful periods tend to extend as the day passes. It seems odd but the time between waking for the day and their first nap should be the shortest wakeful period and the time from last nap to bedtime should be the longest.

5) Red light is best

Night lights can be very reassuring for a young child – their fear of the dark can be overwhelming and prevent sleep. Of all of the lights available, red/orange/pink light is the best as it interferes with the secretion of melatonin (sleepy hormone) the least.