Sometimes hearing about someone else’s success is the motivation you need to make a change for your family. In this Spotlight on a Graduate post, Megan, mom to Alden (5 months) and Finn (2.5 years) shares her experience with The Baby Sleep Geek.
- What made you decide to reach out to Jessica?
After our first child who was a terrible sleeper, we thought we hit the jackpot with our newborn who started sleeping 8-10 hour stretches at night at 2 months old. Then, we were rudely awakened by the reality of the 4 month sleep regression. Almost overnight, our son became difficult to put down at bedtime, woke every 1-2 hours throughout the night, and would only go back down by breastfeeding to sleep. He would also only nap in the rock-n-play if we wanted to get more than 5-10 minutes out of him. He was a tired, hot mess all the time…we all were.
- What sleep challenges were you having prior to your consult and follow-up?
We contacted Jessica, whom we had previously consulted with when our older son was still struggling with multiple nighttime wakenings at 10 months old, for a plan to help us develop healthy sleep habits for our 4 month old. Our goal was to transition back away from multiple nighttime wakenings and limit overnight feedings to just those he required developmentally. We were also eager to establish a better nap routine, including safe sleep practices, before he started daycare.
- How has your child’s sleep improved as a result of your consult and follow up?
We are so proud of how far Alden has come in the two weeks since we started working with Jess. He rarely takes more than a couple of minutes to fall asleep for naps or at bedtime, he’s napping beautifully (he’s often napping 1-2 hours for two of his daily naps), when he does wake up especially early from a nap he’ll often put himself right back to sleep, he’s sleeping well at night with 1-2 efficient feedings after which he usually goes back down quickly. Starting daycare hardly seemed to faze him and he continues to nap well in that environment…all of this without the rock-n-play, swaddle or pacifier!
- What did you like best about working with Jessica?
When it comes to children and sleep, everyone (and their mother) has an opinion. Go to the internet and you’ll soon be overwhelmed by a thousand other opinions from lay people and “experts” alike who all, somehow, provide conflicting advice. Turning to Jessica for a clear, consistent, evidence-based plan was the best option for our family. We trusted her from our previous experience and knew we could, together, develop a plan with which we were comfortable, that everyone involved in Alden’s care could follow, and that would hopefully yield positive results. There are so many things we love about working with Jessica. At the initial consult, she listens to your situation and determines your individual goals for your child. It’s not a cookie cutter approach. She also provides realistic expectations from the get go, she shared with us immediately that “sleep training” a 4 month old might or might not be met with absolute success. Her daily comments tracking our progress were phenomenally helpful in providing reassurance, reminders of successes, and advice on how to make modifications for further improvement. She’s a real mom who’s been there and is so great about providing feedback without judgement.
- What would you tell parents who are hesitant to address their child’s sleep problems?
Our experience with the Baby Sleep Geek has been so positive, that we’re singing her praises to all our friends with babies and small kids. The term “sleep training” comes with some stigma in certain circles, but Jess is wonderful about explaining that in working towards our individual sleep goals, we’re not about to abandon and emotionally traumatize our kids. Rather, we’re doing them a great service by teaching them the skills they need to develop healthy sleep habits that will allow the whole family to be more fully rested, happy and healthy. That being said, we were confident from the beginning that she’d work within our comfort zone. Trust her! Our only other advice is to make sure you’re in a place to fully commit to the hard work involved, while it may not be easy it will be worth it!
Wish your baby or child was sleeping this well? Learn more about the Full Consult and sign up soon!
