It can happen to a sleep consultant too.
How it happened…
I have a little story for you. I had my second baby after becoming a sleep consultant. When she was 5 months old me and the kids took a 5 week trip to South Carolina to visit my family while my husband went on a work trip to the northern states. We stayed with my parents and in the 5 weeks that we were there our sleep fell apart.
My oldest was waking the whole house up at 5 am due to jet lag and my youngest required being held to sleep and would only last a few hours before waking up and only settling in bed with me.
I tried to do some sleep training but I didn’t have the support of my husband as he was away with work and no offence to my parents but they did NOT like hearing her cry. I felt the pressure to respond to her every winge. Not that they purposefully placed that pressure but it occurred as I did not want to bother them.They were being so accommodating and helpful already, letting my kids cry or be upset for any reason at all. (See my blog on healthy stress and crying to understand more about the health of sleep training.)
So in our time there we all got into some really bad sleep habits.
Yes, I said it!
BAD SLEEP HABITS.
We needed change…
I typically tell parents, “It’s not a bad sleep habit unless it’s not working for you.” Well, bed sharing, holding to sleep, cat naps, and multiple night wakings were not working for us. When we got back we dove into the deep in and sleep trained our then 6 month old. And let me tell you, the support of my husband was my rock.
Our chosen method was controlled crying. We started with really small increments to help my mama heart. She fell asleep around 1.5 hours after bedtime the first night. It took the full 2 weeks of sleep training for her to sort her naps and nights out. We still did one bottle a night until she was almost 8 months old.
What it’s like now…
Now my little girl is 9 months and LOVES SLEEP! She now sleeps 12.5 uninterrupted hours at night and 3 hours total in the day. She had delayed weaning and is now eating a bit more and growing so much recently. She sleeps in a shared room with her older brother in her own sleep space and finds and replaces her own dummy.
Take aways:
Bad sleep can happen to ANYONE!
You need support when sleep training, whether that’s your partner, a friend to text, or a sleep consultant.
If you have found yourself in a similar situation, first of all, you have every right to be frustrated right now.
Here is the good news! - There is a way out!
