case study: less than 24 hours of sleep training & 4 month jacob sleeps all night

sorry i haven’t made a post in a few days i have been busy with my own little monsters and helping jenny, a 30-something mom from oregon sleep train her 4 month boy, jacob.  jacob is her second baby and she has admitted to making the same mistakes with him as she did with her first.  we connected through facebook and spoke via email and 1 phone conversation last week.  at the time jacob was sick and i advised her to wait until he was better, as i ALWAYS go to a baby when they aren’t feeling well.  i may be harsh and firm, but i’m not just plain old mean!  during our 20 minute phone conversation she explained to be that jacob was taking 20 minute cat naps throughout the day, was being put down asleep after nursing for each and every sleep, and during the night was waking on average every 2 hours.  she waited until he was feeling better, which was yesterday and decided that she had hit her breaking point and the sleep training had to be done.  the night before jacob was up 5 times between midnight and 5am.  this i have to say is a sure sign that jacob needs help.  he needs his sleep and jenny needs hers.  sleep training him will be a win-win situation.  so lets begin….

i helped jenny come up with a detailed individualized plan that i felt would work for her and her child. i told jenny to start with naps as that is what i did with my second, beckett,and it was a much smoother process compared to my first experience doing night time training first with hudson.  i advised her to pick a time frame that she could handle letting jacob cry and not give in or make you feel like curling up in the fetal position and crying yourself!  i always try and remind moms that they are crying because that is their form of communication.  they don’t know how to lay there and think or relax…..yet!!  with your sleep training and the tools i can teach you, they will learn to fall asleep unassisted and therefore become happy well rested babies!  i also told jenny to be sure to feed jacob 30 minutes or so before she thought he was going to become tired.  that way he would be fed, changed and ready to be soothed for a nap without the risk of needing to feed and falling asleep on the boob.  i always use a noise maker (ocean waves) and have a video monitor on hand so i can be sure my child is safe.  i never use a night light, mobile, or toys in crib.  the only thing i have is a mirror for them, as sometimes staring at themselves allows them to zone.  i told her to soothe him until drowsy and then lay him down awake.  then walk out and set the timer for the time limit she chose….. 

the first time i did this nap training process with hudson it took me 1 1/2 hours to get him to sleep, but after that he became very good at naps very quickly!  it does work, i promise!! each child is different, and has different habits to break and therefore needs a sleep training plan for them specifically, but i do feel confident that we will get your child to reach the ultimate goal; sleep!

jenny’s day with jacob was long and tiring.  he never napped more than 20 minutes alone in his crib and the only other sleep he got that day was during his feeds.  needless to say the whole house was exhausted.  i called jenny and we spoke.  i gave her some moral support and let her vent.  we all know there is nothing worse than hearing your baby cry and all you want to know is that it is for a good purpose and that it will work.  she was feeling discouraged but i told her to hang in there.  she wanted to try for night training as well and i advised her what to do.  jacob cried 45 minutes, went to sleep and stayed asleep for 6 hours until she did a dream feed.  i am not a fan of dream feeds for many reasons, but whatever works for you is what you should do. anyways, after the dream feed he slept until the morning!!  can you believe the progress in less than 24 hours of sleep training.  and, on top of that, she repeated nap training today and he stopped crying before the first timer went off!!  babies are just so smart and by sleep training them you are giving them the credit they deserve……the belief that they can do it all by themselves!!

good for you jenny, for sticking to it and holding strong!! you are doing jacob and your entire family a huge favour!!