Case Study: How I Helped 17mo Riann
To Fall Asleep Faster, Sleep Through the Night, and Nap Independently
When Riann’s mom reached out, she wasn’t looking specifically for a sleep training plan. She had already worked with a sleep consultant when he was younger. His transition to one nap was causing sleep disruption. She also wanted to teach him to fall asleep independently for naps.
Her needs were very specific:
Less crying.
Faster bedtimes.
And naps in the crib instead of next to a caregiver.
At the time, Riann was:
Taking 30–45 minutes to fall asleep at night
Waking 2–3 times overnight and needing help to go back to sleep
Only napping next to a caregiver
Taking a 2-hour midday nap
Going to bed at 7:45 pm (but not actually falling asleep until closer to 8:30)
Mom’s biggest goal?
Create smoother sleep without increasing tears.
Step 1: Start with the 24-Hour Picture
Instead of guessing, we tracked Riann’s sleep around the clock.
The data showed something important:
Riann only needed about 12 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period.
But his schedule was asking for more than that.
When a child is asked to sleep more than their body actually needs, it often shows up as:
Long time to fall asleep
Night wakings
Restless or fragmented sleep
This wasn’t a behavior issue. It was a sleep distribution problem.
Step 2: Adjust the Schedule to Match His Needs
Riann was taking:
A 2-hour nap (12–2 pm)
Expected to sleep 11+ hours overnight
That added up to more sleep than his body could realistically deliver.
We gave Mom two options:
Option 1
Keep the 2-hour nap
Move bedtime to 8:30 pm
Aim for a 10-hour night
Option 2
Cap the nap at 90 minutes
Bedtime at 8:00 pm
Aim for a 10.5-hour night
Desired wake time: 6:30 am
Mom preferred the earlier bedtime, so we went with Option 2.
Step 3: Fine-Tune Nap Timing
We started with a 12:30 pm nap, but Riann was taking 15+ minutes to fall asleep.
That told us he wasn’t quite tired enough yet.
We shifted the nap to 12:45 pm.
After the change?
He was falling asleep in under 10 minutes.
That’s the power of matching sleep timing to a child’s actual sleep drive.
Step 4: Support Independent Sleep (Without Adding More Tears)
Once the schedule matched his needs:
Bedtime moved to 8:00 pm
Daytime sleep capped at 90 minutes
The results came quickly:
Falling asleep at bedtime in under 10 minutes
Night wakings eliminated
A smoother, more predictable night for the whole family
And naps?
Riann was a quick study.
The first day was tough, which is completely normal when a child is learning a new sleep skill.
But within a few days:
He was falling asleep independently
Sleeping the full 90 minutes
No longer needing a caregiver next to him
Why This Worked
We didn’t start with a sleep training method.
We started with the question:
How much sleep does this child actually need?
Once the schedule matched his 24-hour sleep needs:
Sleep pressure did the heavy lifting
Falling asleep became easier
Night sleep consolidated naturally
Independent sleep skills came faster and with less resistance
No extra crying required.
The Takeaway for Parents
If your child:
Takes a long time to fall asleep
Wakes overnight
Needs a lot of help to sleep
Fights naps
It may not be a behavior issue. It might be that their schedule is asking for more sleep than their body needs. Sleep success isn’t about earlier bedtimes or longer naps.
It’s about the right amount of sleep, at the right times, across the full 24 hours.
If you’d like help figuring out your child’s sleep needs, you can schedule a free 30-minute sleep assessment. Sometimes small schedule adjustments make the biggest difference.
