A quest for sleep – my sleep training diaries

We’ve all been there before, the point of total exhaustion. It began the night I was woken up a total of seven times (three by the toddler and four by the baby). I was so tired the next day that I broke down and cried at the kitchen table during breakfast. After that, the first thing I did was pick up the phone to call the Sleep Consultant – enough was enough I couldn’t do this on my own.

I began my journey to get some rest by speaking with sleep consultant, Laura Rosin, of WeeSleep. During the free 15-minute consultation, I explained my sleep issues and concerns. I was originally quite happy with the sleep routine, although not perfect, it was good enough until that one night. After our consultation, I realized the potential and how nice it would be to sleep through the night.

It’s funny how we call it sleep training and everyone assumes you’re just training the children, but I felt the advice trained us. Our sleep issues were immediately identified and a personalized plan was put in place, giving us the tools to break our habits and, conversely, the ones we passed on. Laura gave us some simple tips; that seemed obvious when pointed out. Of course, in our sleep deprived state we weren’t able to think of them. There is only so much you can absorb from a book; sometimes you need to speak with someone with an expert opinion.

Before we got started, we had to complete a questionnaire and tracking form helping Laura see the full picture. We then spoke to her for an hour and gave further details as well as got some clarification and reassurance to ensure we understood everything. Once we got the tailored plan, we got to it that bedtime!

Day 1 was the toughest, but the amazing thing about babies is they break their habits in just a few days. For us, it’s much harder. I wanted to jump back into my old habits. Breastfeed the baby to sleep and put her to bed happy. Luckily, the plan required equal involvement from both my husband and I. He helped me stay on track and not cave. We followed the plan closely and literally began tracking our babies every waking moment.

Once I realized my baby could sleep without being breastfeed right before bed, things got much easier. Day 2 and 3 were more of the same and on Day 4 things changed. Suddenly the baby was more willing to go to sleep. The resistance to bedtime had dropped by half, and the good sleep habits started to form. We had two more support calls with Laura to ask questions and get feedback. She was available by email as well to answer anything that came up outside of our calls.

By the end of the 10-day training, the baby was going to bed with no resistance and sleeping through the night. We had done it – we had a baby that slept 12 hours straight! Of course, we can’t take all the credit, without the support and plan from Laura, we would probably still be waking up through the night to tend to a sleepless baby. At the end of the training, Laura provided us with a Sleep Handbook for ongoing issues such as teething, traveling and nap transitions – something I’m sure we will need in the coming months.
Now we just have to convince the Toddler to stay in his bed. Luckily sleep training is available for older children too!

Laura Rosin infant and toddler sleep consultant with WeeSleep, helping children sleep; 10-12 hours a night in 10 days! Also an Early Childhood Educator who supports loving families, healthy living and a community driven lifestyle.
www.weesleep.ca www.facebook.com/weesleepvancouver