Behind the Scenes- Working with a Sleep Consultant

Behind the Scenes- Working with a Sleep Consultant

Sleep training often gets a bad reputation and gets associated with “Cry It Out”. There is so much more to sleep training than just leaving your baby to cry. Moms are expected to be exhausted and have to co-sleep in order to get any sleep. Now, if that’s what works for your family, I’m not here to tell you no, but there is another way. Babies can learn to fall asleep independently without being left alone to cry and figure things out. It just takes a holistic strategy, one that considers babies temperament, age and the family’s dynamics.

I love working with families one on one, especially first-time moms. Sleep training is hard and stressful, and I love seeing the transformation families go through- from sleep deprived to revived! It’s truly life changing. Happy baby = happy parents! I wanted to share one of my most recent client’s experience with sleep training her 4 month old, Addison (pictured above), who’s now a super star sleeper and graduate of Happily Ever After Sleep! Working mom turned first time mommy blogger, Savannah McMahan, has a blog all about her experiences as a new mom. I’m going to share some of her sleep blog post about working with me below:

“Let’s talk about sleep, well, lack there of! Being a first time mom, we had no expectations of sleep for Addison. From the beginning, she laid on my chest for every nap. She would feed and go right back to sleep for a few hours at a time (oh, to go back to those days!). We had no schedule, I just fed and put her to bed based on her cues and needs.She slept and ate whenever she wanted. That works for some! It did for us for a while, but then the regression started.

At three and a half months, she hit the fourth leap, also known as, the four month sleep regression. It lasted for three and a half weeks. That’s when I became overwhelmed, stressed, and angry. She would scream bloody murder when Ethan, or anyone else, tried to put her to bed. After letting her scream for them for a few minutes, I would always end up going in there, throwing her on the boob, and letting her feed to sleep, because I was exhausted. This kid woke up six to seven times a night and was still only napping for 30-45 minutes. I would lash out at Ethan because I was so frustrated he couldn’t put her to bed. It was not his fault, but I was just so tired and upset. I cried while she was crying. I finally had enough!

I joined the Peanut app so I could see if other moms were going through the same thing. I was not alone! I joined a sleep solutions group to see if I could find any tips. Majority of the people recommended following Katie Roeder. She is a certified sleep consultant at Happily Ever After Sleep Consulting. I have heard of sleep training, but always thought it meant having the baby cry-it-out, or Addie would hate me. I also was really worried about what people would think of me. I didn’t want people thinking I was taking the easy way out or being a bad mom. I didn’t mind her waking up once or twice a night because I know that is normal. I was just exhausted because I was the only one who could put her to sleep and feed her. I read a bunch of her reviews, and the number one thing everyone said about her program was that it was a very gentle way of sleep training!

Ethan and I talked for a few days about it before coming to the conclusion that I needed some sort of relief. I contacted Katie about a month ago. We agreed to work with her, and I am so happy we did!!! She came up with a personalized plan for Addison. She customized a plan that would teach Addison how to self-soothe and go through the night with only one (or no) feedings. We had an hour phone call the night before we implemented the plan. We discussed the steps Ethan and I would take to make this plan work! We were committed. Addison needed better sleep and so did we.

Night one of the plan began with a strict bedtime routine. Once the routine is over, we lay Addison in bed awake. Ethan and I were very nervous. We had never done that before. Katie mentioned there would be some protesting because Addie was not used to this. I was taking away her sleep props (my boob and rocking), so of course she would be unhappy, but I knew she was fed, changed, and safe. Since I was the only one putting Addison to sleep, she had Ethan takeover night one. I left the house because I wasn’t sure what to expect, and I didn’t want to micromanage Ethan. It took Addison only thirty minutes to go to sleep ON HER OWN! Huge win. She only woke up twice on night one! 10 days in, and BOTH, Ethan and I can now set her in her crib, say goodnight, and leave the room! It now only takes her about 5 minutes to settle. During that five minutes, she is usually talking to herself. No more crying!

The first nap of day one, Addie only took 10 minutes to fall asleep. We were so impressed! She also had an hour and a half nap the first day! Just like bedtime, Ethan and I can both put her down for a nap, say goodnight, and leave the room. She no longer cries because she has learned to self-soothe. Katie said babies will come up with their own little routine to help put themselves to sleep, and it has been fun to watch! Addie rolls to her stomach, moves herself to the top left corner of her crib, and sometimes will suck her fingers. After a getting situated, she falls asleep.

I am no longer exhausted, Ethan and I have time to ourselves at night, and we are all happier! We used to go right to bed after putting her to sleep, because we never knew when she would wake up. We now know she can sleep for 10 hours or through the whole night without a wake-up (12-13 hours).”

If you want to read this blog post in it’s entirety and Savannah’s other blog posts about her experience as a first time mom, click here. Savannah and Ethan were awesome clients! I can write a detailed sleep plan, but if it’s not carried out as it’s written or the parents are inconsistent with how they respond then it can cause the plan not to work or baby to regress. I hope you can relate to Savannah’s story and find some relief in knowing you’re not alone! Sleep training is a tough process, but I’m happy to support you through the process. Book your sleep solution call today to get started!