YOU ARE NOT ALONE
When we’re having issues with sleep in our homes, we think we are the only ones on the planet facing this challenge.
Am I doing something wrong? Am I a bad mom?!?! What is WRONG with this child?
I’ve thought every one of these statements. Millions of other parents have as well. You are not alone. Really. No one likes to talk about how their baby is not sleeping… it makes us feel like we’re doing it wrong. Add to that overhearing your friend’s friend or your sister’s little one is getting five, eight, maybe even TWELVE hours of sleep straight, and well, it’s no wonder we feel we are the only mom on the planet facing sleep issues. We suffer through, hoping things will change (like yesterday!).
As an Infant Massage Instructor and parent coach I’ve worked with hundreds of moms with newborns, so believe me when I tell you sleep deprivation, questions, concerns and issues are very common. Sleep has to be the second or third favorite topic the moms I work with want to talk about next only to life-balance and nursing. I tell you all of this to say, you are in good company.
Feeling less alone but still wondering how you and your baby are going to get some sleep? I have a resource for you, a gentle baby sleep video. I created this video after spending half of nearly every first coaching session I’d have going over the same sleep tips family after family. These same parents were then emailing me days, sometimes weeks later telling me “Thank you!!!” and that the sleep tips we had gone over were simple and had helped greatly. Finally, after realizing the need was so great, I presented this 5 step approach on film (using my own six month old twin baby boy and girl as “models”) and this video was born.
GENTLE BABY SLEEP VIDEO: $3.99
My gentle approach to helping baby sleep is not “cry it out”. It’s the same approach I used with my twins and the same 5 steps I’ve taught and seen work for family after family. I am a fan of many books on the topic of sleep but forced to list my top three I would surely include Good Night, Sleep Tight
by Kim West. In fact, as a parent coach who regularly works with families on sleep issues, Kim has offered me some very helpful sleep tools that I may share with you:
- When can I expect my baby will be ready to merge his or her naps from three to two to one?
- How much sleep is my little one supposed to be getting as a newborn? at 6 mo? 12mo? 18mo??? What about when they are 2, 3 or even 5 years old?
- When do I move my little one out of the crib and HOW? What if they are trying to get out but I’m not ready for the big boy/girl bed??? What then?
With your Baby Sleep Video purchase, I will send you author Kim West’s answers to all of these common sleep questions and more. They are my thank you for trusting me enough to buy the video and for being a part of My Mommy Manual. (I know, it’s only $3.99 but still I want to thank you.)
Your first bonus gift will arrive just days after your sleep video, with additional gifts arriving throughout the months to come, addressing some of the most common sleep issues you will likely face and timed to hit your inbox just before you are needing the support.
I want you to LOVE the video I am about to share with you and if you don’t, I will reimburse you, no questions asked. 100% guaranteed. It’s priced so low because everyone deserves this level of support though not everyone can afford parent coaching sessions. Accessible and affordable. This was my BIG IDEA in creating this gentle baby sleep video for you.
So watch the video. Read the books, use the sleep aids and talk to other moms. Sure. But more than that, tune in and trust what your body is telling you. You are uniquely connected to this little one in a way nobody else is. After sourcing all the information you can, let it all filter down through you. Act only on the ideas that speak to you and your heart. You are the manual and you have SO got this.
Still reading??? Okay then I have one more thing to share. My sleep struggles story.
“SLEEP, WHAT IS THAT?!?!”
You want your baby (slash that, you NEED your baby) to sleep. I know. As a mom of four with my youngest being twins, I’ve been there.
With my first child, the advice I received from others to just let my baby cry it out did not work for me. I wanted my baby to know she was loved, safe and secure in this world more than I wanted to feel rested. It didn’t matter how tired I got, I would not let her cry it out. Sure, after sleep depriving myself for a few months, I gave the notion that she could sooth herself down a half-hearted attempt out of sheer exhaustion, but somewhere ten or fifteen minutes into the wailing, I gave up.
Co-sleeping didn’t work for us either. Was there any middle ground?!?! Was I ever going to get an undisturbed, full night’s sleep again?
In 2000, the year my first daughter was born, I can tell you, I did not get a lot of rest. It took nearly two years for her to sleep through the night and it was HARD. I didn’t have the time or the energy to exercise, be with my friends or spend time on “me” at all. My relationship with my husband didn’t get the tending it needed. Hind sight is 20/20 as they say. Looking back I wish I’d had another mom holding my hand during those early years, gently inviting me to see the toll that a lack of sleep was having on me and my entire family.
I wouldn’t have wanted ANYONE to tell me “you’re doing it wrong!!!” No I wasn’t ! I was following my gut. And that’s exactly what I needed to do. But I would have enjoyed a gentle invitation to examine my life, to look at the imbalance a lack of sleep was causing. I think I would have made some gentle adjustments that would have had a profound impact on my entire family.
A decade and four children later, parenting has helped make my life more apparent to me in so many ways. Having twins in 2010 helped bring my relationship with sleep and mothering into sharp focus. If I was to mommy these two angels, I was to discover a new sense of balance with my relationship to sleep. And wouldn’t you know it? Life sent me two great teachers. My twins gave me signs and I was able to pick up on them. By allowing my babies natural sleep patterns and the signs they give guide, they led me into the routines we needed to all get our rest. In this video filmed with me and my twins around age five months of age, you can see the signs yourself, see how I put them down for nap time and bedtime. I hope my journey with baby sleep and lack there of is a SUPPORT to you and journey. In the end, it all comes back to you, the mom. Tune in and TRUST. You know more than any book or video ever will.
If you are pregnant with your first or early on in the whole mommy thing and baby is far from settled into a sleep ritual, now is the PERFECT time to watch this video for inspiration to learn your babies unique sleep patterns and signs. It will support you in getting into some great habits.
If your baby has somehow grown to be six, seven or maybe even twelve plus months old and the sleep solutions that served you well when they were newborns are no longer serving you, now is ALSO the perfect time to watch this video.
Sleep is ours. It’s been a lovely journey from where I was ten years ago and I hope this page, this video or many one of these gentle sleep support tools helps you find a restful night’s sleep soon. Again, remember, it is you, your BABY and your INTUITION that will give you the best advice. Follow your heart.
xo
