When I first met Emily and her gorgeous daughter, 7-month-old Sophia, their sleep schedule was inconsistent. Sophia had been co-sleeping with her parents for about 3 months and was waking 3-4 times per night. She was also a catnapper with most of her naps lasting only 30mins. This baby’s sleep schedule was not only making her very overtired and irritable but was also causing stress for her Mum and Dad.
In speaking with Emily, she felt like she had tried everything to create a working sleep schedule for Sophia and just get her to sleep. Emily had tried wrapping Sophia, rocking her to sleep, putting her own nightie in Sophia’s cot with her, different types of sleeping bags… everything under the sun! The only thing that seemed to work was allowing Sophia co-sleep and to feed back to sleep when she woke during the night and for her naps during the day. Emily was exhausted. Something needed to change!
After talking in depth with Emily and her partner Guiseppe and reviewing their current situation, we decided to create a new sleep schedule for Sophia. Emily and Guiseppe’s goals for Sophia were simple.
- Help Sophia fall asleep without relying on breastfeeding as a soothing mechanism.
- Transition Sophia into sleeping in her cot while feeling safe with the least amount of anxiety.
Following 3 weeks of hard work and lots of support, here’s what Emily had to say about how creating a new sleep schedule for baby Sophia has improved their lives.
Emily’s Story
“We first began with Calm Nights when Sophia had just turned 7 months old. My overall goals were to transition her into her cot with the least amount of stress possible and to help her develop techniques on self-soothing to increase her quality of sleep.
I initially was hesitant to go through with sleep training as it I had this “Mum guilt” that I was an incompetent mother, I should know what’s best for my child needs. Due to constant fatigue and doing whatever works at the time I had developed habits that weren’t sustainable. As much as I LOVED co-sleeping it was a disruptive sleep for Sophia and I knew deep down she was ready for her cot. Hayley had fresh eyes and could pinpoint parts of our routine that needed adjusting to make things work more beneficially for Sophia.
Hayley took the time to meet with us and explain thoroughly the run down on what would work best for Sophia, keeping in mind the goals that we wanted to reach. She was prompt with her responses to any of my questions with full and detailed and support.
Sophia is now having full naps instead of those dreadful catnaps and is sleeping through the night! She’s a happier and more content baby. Even though she is at an age where she can’t speak, oddly enough we seem to communicate and understand each other better now.
I feel more confident in myself as a mother and I now know that I can allocate quality time with Sophia as I know I will have time later when she is sleeping for those not so important jobs.
We couldn’t be happier knowing our little girl is sleeping soundly for her emotional, physical and intellectual health. Calm Nights has been a life saver! I have my energy back & more than anything I have a well-rested little girl.”
I am so very grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Emily, Guiseppe and Sophia. It is always wonderful to see the transformation in families’ lives when they are finally getting a great night’s sleep. I would say a huge thank you to Emily and Guiseppe for putting their trust in me and for working so hard to improve Sophia’s sleep. What an amazing outcome!
If you are having trouble getting your little one to sleep, please reach out. Contact me today so that we can discuss how I can help your family get the great night’s sleep you all deserve.