Ahhhhhh… sleep. You never really think about the importance of sleep until you’re not getting any. Right after having a baby, shit gets real and trying to figure out how to take care of this tiny human while not using hemorrhoid cream as toothpaste in your sleepless haze is a daily reality. That’s why when we had our second little girl, Isla, and sleep did not come as easily to her as it did our first kid, we decided we needed to enlist the help of a professional. I decided to share my sleep training experience so that other parents know that they don’t have to do this on their own. Here was what is was like to Shop at the Sleep Shop.
When I finally made the decision to use a sleep trainer, I new there was only one person I would look to to guide me on this perilous journey of teaching another human how to do something that thoughtfully should come so naturally. Natalie from Sleep Shop Consulting. She has been a friend for years, but I knew how good she was from the word on the street and that I could trust her in these very fragile first few months as a new mom again.
I didn’t really know what to expect when I contacted Natalie or what my sleep training experience would actually involve. I obviously knew she would maybe help a little in getting us a little more sleep at night, but I had no idea the outcome that we would receive from such little effort. From our first phone call, I was amazed at what she promised we would be getting at the end of this experience and really didn’t believe her. After we went over all of Isla’s sleep history, she told me that she could guarantee by the end of our 4 week crash course, Isla would be sleeping 9-12 hours a night. Coming off of 4 months of waking up nightly 4-6 times a night, this seemed close to impossible. But, in the spirit of believing in the process, I decided to trust that that was going to happen.
After our download, Natalie came up with an hour by hour daily schedule for Isla. This included feeding times, feeding amounts, wake times (including age appropriate/tiring activities for those wake times), nap times, and bed times/routines. This schedule was dummy proof. Her basic goal was to tire her enough out during her wake times, put her down for naps at the right times, and to get enough milk in her during daylight hours to sustain her the entire night through. This would be a gradual process, but this schedule would be the sure fire way we would eventually get Isla sleeping like an angel.
Sure enough, within the first 4 days she was going through the night without a feeding. Hooray!! She was still waking a few times during the night, which was then just a habit to break. This habit only took another week or so to cut and after that it was smooth sailing. Within 3 weeks our family was getting full nights of sleep and, because of the schedule, it was no longer a guessing game during the day and night what exact Isla needed. Whether she is fussing because she is hungry or because she tired, we know immediately because of the schedule.
Throughout the process, Natalie offered around the clock support and made the process so seamless. Along with unrelenting support, Natalie offered oils that support sleep, tailored ideas to help with sleep issues that unexpectedly came up, and explanations on all things sleep to help understand what Isla was doing and why.
All in all life has become so much more enjoyable since enlisting Natalie. I couldn’t be happier with the training, support, and love she showed our family over these 4 short weeks. I have to stop myself from open mouth kissing her every time I see her because she literally gave me back my sanity, my life, and my ability to feel like a normal human.
You can follow Natalie here on Instagram and get more info on her services and book your consultation here.
Photos via the incredible Merrill Melideo. You can see her work here and follow her amazing Insta-journey here.
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