Fox And The Moon 12-18 Month Sleep Guide Review
THIS ITEM WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE THE REVIEWER'S OWN.
Reviewed by Helen O
Having a 16 month old who can only be described as a little tinker, when it comes to bed time, I was intrigued to be allocated the Fox and the Moon 12-24 month Sleep Guide to review, to see if I could pick up any top tips to help bedtime go a bit more smoothly and claw back a little bit of my evening once more!
The process to obtain the guide was really quick, I was emailed a link to purchase the guide of my choice and within minutes I had my very own digital copy of the 12-18 month sleep guide, which is definitely a benefit of digital documents. The guide is 30 pages in total. Although, it’s worth noting that the link expires after 24 hours, but you can request a new link be sent in another email.
I was a little confused by the age range of the guide in the online resource shop, as it was marketed as both a 12-18 month guide on the front cover, but the title of the link to purchase the guide was 12-24 months. Either way, my daughter fits the age range and I was keen to get started with seeing how I could make improvements to her sleep.
Despite receiving a digital copy of the guide, I decided to print it off, as I find it much easier to read a physical copy, rather than trying to read things like this on my laptop or on my small phone screen (most likely a sign of my age!), plus I also like to highlight important bits, so I can find them again. It’s great for the reader to have the option of reading the guide digitally or hard copy, depending on their preference. One issue I did find with the guide however, was that the pages aren’t numbered, so it was all going swimmingly until helpfully my 4 year old decided to drop the guide on the floor and scatter the pages (note to self: use a stapler next time.)
The guide discusses settling toddlers for naps as well as night-time sleep. Our main issue, currently, is getting our daughter to sleep in the evening, we seem to have cracked nap times thankfully. It was however, interesting to read the daily plan examples and comforting to see that my daughter’s daytime routine replicates some of these examples. It’s always reassuring to know that you’re potentially doing something right.
The guide was helpfully sub-sectioned into 12-14 months, 15-18 months and 18-24 months, so it is easier to find the parts which are relevant to the age range you require.
I like the fact that Emily (the author) recognises that babies differ and therefore it’s absolutely OK if your baby doesn’t fit neatly into what’s written, you just need to make a few adjustments to your routine. I also liked the fact that there wasn’t an expectation that all babies need to be snugly wrapped up in bed by 6pm – as it’s all down to the awake window, so if your baby has an afternoon nap or is a later riser, this will affect what time you can get them down in the evening. Again, this is comforting to know, which actually helps make everything less stressful.
Until approx 14 months, we had no issues getting our daughter to sleep, she would go down straight after her night-time milk, although has always had a tendency to wake in the night. Lately she has been less dependent on her pre-bed milk, which has changed her routine. Since receiving the guide, we have instigated the rubber band technique, which teaches the child that the parent will always come back. So far, so good, so we will persevere with this and hopefully crack night-time.
I found the use of different fonts and font sizes a little distracting, as were the random highlighted words, but these are things that probably wouldn’t bother most readers. Also, there were a few typo’s which I’m disappointed haven’t been picked up by a proof-read. Otherwise, the guide is an easy read and attractive document.
The sleep guide is available to purchase from https://www.foxandthemoon.co.uk/resource-shop for an RRP of £32, which I think is a high price point, given the availability of free information around this topic, on the internet. However, there are some free resources available in the resource shop, which would be helpful for parents with new or younger babies, plus a free Sleep Needs Guide when you sign up.
Fox and The Moon offer a range of resources from webinars, 1:1 coaching sessions, blogs and various other digital guides.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
RRP – £32 for the 12-24 month Sleep Guide digital download (Please note this is not a physical document)