the more people i help, the more apparent it becomes that many of the same issues cross over between clients.  if you ever feel like you are the only one that has ever created a particular bad habit with your little ones' sleep issues...you can just stop thinking that immediately!  you are not the only one who has let your child sleep in the swing, sleep with you, nurse all night, nap only on the go, rock to sleep....the list goes on and on and you can rest assured that the list who do these things goes on and on as well!  good parents are only doing what they think is best for their baby and therefore, there is no blame and no one at fault!  you are doing your best and that is all that anyone can ask.  so stop beating yourself up and being so hard on yourself and start getting your sleep! i recently helped trish and her 6 month old son, jake, catch their zzz's and now her 'beat yourself up as a parent list', isn't quite so long!  trish's situation was very similar to many and maybe even to yours.  jake was not sleeping well and also was a very picky eater.   stay tuned for a future blog post about foods for your baby to try avoid a picky eater!!  sorry for that side note!!  anyhow back to jake!   jake was needing the soother to be calmed or the boob as a last resort.  he was waking all night long and due to the fact that he was a picky eater, trish was always worried that jake was hungry in the night.  therefore she was constantly going to him and feeding him.  this was creating more bad habits and creating a pattern for more night wakings. i gave trish some tips to help her be more sure that jake's wakings were not hunger related. this way she would have more confidence to leave him at certain parts of the night and not feel the need to rush in and feed.  if you are worried that your baby is hungry than follow this tip to be sure.  feed your baby every 2-3 hours all day long.  you can start this from the time your baby is born.  by doing this you are not only being sure your baby is getting enough milk, but you also help them sort out any day/night confusion they may have.  it's a fact that babies eat x-amount of calories in a 24 hour period.  so... give them what they need during the day and not during the night!   if you are feeding them properly, then there should be no reason to feed at night from around the 6 month stage and further.  along with the feeding tips, i sent trish a written sleep training process for her to follow.  trish wanted jake to sleep all night and nap 2 solid naps without needing to be rocked to sleep or having to go back in for the dreaded soother rescue.  not only did she have these wishes, but she wanted to see results quickly.  besides the fact that trish felt like a walking zombie, she and her family were going away for an extended holiday and she wanted him to sleep while they were away.  we all know that a holiday is no holiday if you are up all night with a baby!  keep following to see whether or not trish catches her zzz's before she catches her plane!