Every once in a while I get the chance to work with a family that I know and in this case, I got to work with my friend Amanda, who is also a nurse and we work together on a labour and delivery unit.
I remember seeing her introduction posts when her son was born, and thought "What a cute little dude!" and she later told me that he made himself known by crying very, very loudly. It doesn't help that Amanda's mother told her that he would be tough to sleep train when the time came as he has a great set of lungs.
So when Aiden was about 3 months old, I had seen some posts about sleep being a challenge and that's when we started talking. I'm so thankful that Amanda and Chris decided to work with me as she was struggling, and I quote "I'm dying [from sleep deprivation]".
I asked Amanda if she'd be willing to share a bit about her experience and thankfully she agreed!
So here's a little Q& A for you, from a mama who was truly struggling and was so, so tired (and who isn't anymore).
Q: How was your son sleeping before you decided to sleep train?
He was able to fall asleep on his own initially at night but would wake up at the 3-4 hour mark every single night and then every 1-3 hours after that. We tried to be consistent but there was no real structure that we found worked for us.
Q: What was the deciding factor for you to start working on his sleep?
I was exhausted and it was getting too hard for me to keep up with him and everything around the house. Waking up every hour after midnight daily was my breaking point after 4 months of no sleep.
Q: What was the most challenging part?
Changing our entire routine to make sure he sleeps at an exact time every night was challenging initially but based on the progress, it became easier and easier.
Also, hearing Aiden cry was very challenging in the beginning but even after one night, we noticed significant improvement and he cried less and less. The progress and improvements made each night easier because we knew what we did the night before worked!
Q: What was something that surprised you in the process?
How quickly Aiden was able to be sleep trained!
Chris and I stuck to Melody’s plan to a tee and we are so glad we did. There were times we wanted to just go in and soothe him because he sounded so upset but we followed what Melody taught us and because we did that, we believe that is why he was able to be sleep trained so quickly.
We truly believe in the process!
Q:What's something that you learned that you felt like every parent should know?
That if your baby is growing appropriately and at a healthy weight, then they are able to go majority of the night without a feed. Although it may sound like your baby is starving every 2-3 hours at night, they are capable of not eating for many hours at night depending on their age.
Q: What was the best part of working on his sleep?
Seeing his fast progress and knowing that we had someone to walk us through the first week. Also being able to relax once he went down and to be able to sleep more!! He is also a much happier baby in general!
Q: How has this changed things for you?
We have much more energy for him throughout the day as I am able to sleep at night now. And it is so nice that I can place him in his crib and he can soothe himself! If Aiden ever wakes up at night, he has learned how to soothe himself and does so until the morning when I grab him!
Q: What would you say to other parents out there who have a child that isn't sleeping well?
It doesn’t hurt to get a consultation to see if sleep training through a sleep consultant will work for you and your family but better sleep has really changed our life.
I highly recommend sleep training your baby when you can!
I have also found Aiden in a much better mood since being sleep trained and he is always trying to learn and meet milestones since being able to sleep well at night. There you have it!
A little glimpse into how things can be different for you and your family.
Thanks Amanda for sharing!
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