After my daughter was born, my world changed. I was overjoyed and excited but as a first time mom, I was also bewildered about what I thought would be the simplest things like breastfeeding, how to cut my baby’s tiny fingernails, or how to bathe her for the first time. A huge area that I had no experience in and was completely lost about was my baby’s sleep. How will I know when she’s tired? How long should she sleep for? How should I put her to sleep? When should I start her on a schedule? The questions went on.
When my daughter turned 6 months, I knew I wanted to change the way that our family sleep arrangement had been for the past several months. I had a pretty good nap time routine during the day but when night struck, my daughter would cry and cry and I would end up going to bed at the same time as her. Night time was becoming a chaotic nightmare for me. My husband somehow wound up sleeping in what was supposed to be the nursery on a single bed and my daughter slept in my room, usually in her crib but would sometimes end up in my bed. She was becoming more mobile and I wanted to transition her into her own room and crib ASAP but again, I felt lost. I reached out to Elisa from Restful Parenting and after discussing my situation, she promptly drew up a sleep plan for me that appealed to my parenting style. I’m not going to lie, the first couple of nights that I started the plan were very difficult and at the times that I wanted to give up the most, it is then that Elisa would motivate me and reminded me to celebrate all of the milestones that were achieved. This really encouraged me to tread forward to the finish line.
After a couple of days on the plan, I started to notice the amazing changes that were happening – My daughter was sleeping on her own in her own crib on a schedule! The night time routine was getting easier and easier, it was such a reward to know that the hard work was paying off. For the following time, the plan ran smoothly except for a few hiccups along the way that Elisa helped me with. I really appreciated that she had gentle solutions to suit my comfort level. I also really liked how she was in contact with me, it was like having a personal trainer for sleep! I began looking forward to our progress check in’s and the positive reassurance that she gave me throughout the weeks helped tremendously.
My daughter is 8 months old now and I am proud to say that she is on a schedule that works! I feel like I have my night time freedom again and it’s great to have my room and bed back. The toughest part for me in this whole program was right at the get-go when I made the leap of transitioning my daughter from my room to her nursery, mostly because it made me realise how quickly she is growing up and that it was time for me to let go a little bit. Now that the plan has been completed and our family has adjusted, I truly believe that she is happier in her own space as am I.
I am very grateful for all of your help, I can’t thank you enough!
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