We all come away from new motherhood with a few useful parenting ‘hacks’ up our vomit-covered sleeves, but many of us have loads of questions when our newborn first arrives - and celeb mum-of-3 Holly Willoughby admits she was no exception to that rule.

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But now that the This Morning presenter’s children are a bit older and she's learnt a few handy lessons, she’s sharing her parenting experience in a new book, Truly Happy Baby: It Worked For Me.

Here are just a couple of gems new mums might find helpful…

1. Average Baby Sleep Cycles

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Holly’s book features this nifty little chart, which chronicles the average day and night sleep cycles of a newborn, all the way up to a 1-year-old.

The grey bar represents daytime sleep in naps, and the blue bar represents sleep overnight.

Definitely handy for a sleep-deprived new mum who’s unsure what to expect and when to expect it.

2. The Floppy Arm Trick

How do you know if your baby is fast asleep enough that you’re OK to lay them down in their cot?

Unless you want to prompt them to wake up and start wailing, Holly recommends trying something called the floppy arm trick.

You simply pick up the baby’s arm, and if it ‘drops down heavily’, they’re ready for the cot. If it’s not flopping, that means you should wait a bit longer.

Have you ever tried any of these tips? And what tips would you share if you were putting together a book like this? Tell us on Facebook and Twitter

For more of Holly’s parenting tips, experience and advice, you can buy the book here

Images: Instagram/Holly Willoughby

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