Ever since she was tiny, my daughter Holly has needed her sleep. I’d had a tough pregnancy and was in a wheelchair until she was three months old and so, once I was able to walk again, getting out into the fresh air was a priority. I also had a spell of post-natal depression and my doctor’s advice was “get out of the house, meet friends and take some exercise”.
When Holly was tiny, a walk to the shops in her buggy was easy as she slept deeply and often. As she got older and became more alert, it became harder for her to switch off and she’d fight her nap when we were out – the world was an exciting place and she didn’t want to miss a minute.
I did what many parents did, hanging blankets, coats, and pegging muslins to the pram’s hood to hide the world away from my alert child. Sometimes these make-do efforts worked but when they didn’t I ended up with a grumpy little girl who didn’t want her tea and didn’t sleep well at night.