The inspiration for my book came from my consulting room, where I kept hearing parents say, “If only I knew this before” and “How was I meant to know that?” when I delivered golden nuggets in our consults. Eat, Sleep, Play, Love is for the new generation of parents who are keen to know all the options when it comes to parenthood to make more informed, personal decisions. In the book I won’t tell you the single best way to do things (like starting solids, milk feeding or skin care routines) because I know as a GP and parent that when it comes to parenting there often isn’t one single best answer. Instead, I give the reader a platter of options for a range of topics with the evidence, pros and cons for each so they can decide which option suits their baby and their family best. The book involves a range of experts, as well as humour and honesty from my own journey as a parent. Below, I’m sharing the type of advice my readers can expect.

Sleepless nights with a frequently waking infant can be incredibly exhausting for parents. Remember, there’s no single right way when it comes to facilitating sleep in infants. There are options and different methods, including behavrioural sleep interventions, which can suit different styles of parenting. Try to find what’s right for you.

Preparing your infant for sleep and helping them understand it’s sleep time are important parts of setting up good sleep habits for everyone in the family. Try your best, with the time you have, to do a similar routine every night before bedtime – such as a bath, feed, book and then bed. It can look however you want it to and depends on your child’s age. Whatever the routine looks like – try and stick to it and avoid screen time in the hour before bed to facilitate a good night’s sleep.

Most guidelines agree (including the World Health Organisation) screen time is not recommended for children under 2. Screen time promotes sedentary time, which can have health implications and may negatively impact night-time sleep quality, language development and concentration. Luckily, face timing with family doesn’t count as screen time, according to most guidelines. If you can’t avoid screen time entirely I do provide some practical tips in the book on how to limit sedentary time and avoid it impacting nighttime sleep quality.

There are lots of additional immunisations you can consider for your infant to protect them further. This is worth raising with your GP or maternal child health nurse if you are keen to explore your options. You can think about vaccination against Meningococcal B and earlier vaccination against Meningococcal ACWY. The flu vaccine is also available for children over 6 months of age and travel vaccines are an option if you’re jetting away somewhere exotic.