From Catnapping & Co-Sleeping to Sleeping Through the Night!

Bella's Sleep Journey

Like many mums, Anna did what she could to get a decent night's sleep to function the following day with 2 little ones and a FIFO husband. Before we started working together, Bella would only take 20 - 40 minute naps during the day and was up nearly every hour at night, waking for a feed to get back to sleep, resulting in them co-sleeping. Bella was also a very light sleeper, presenting additional challenges.

When Anna first came to me, she was worried that the only option was going to be letting Bella cry it out, which she didn't want to do or think she'd be able to manage. I reassured Anna that there were multiple options and it's tailored specifically to your family and child's needs, she didn't need to leave Bella alone to cry it out.

Anna took on board the changes suggested in Bella's Comprehensive Tailored Sleep Plan & what we'd discussed. Whilst the plan was designed to help improve both day and night sleep challenges, we took a gradual approach to help Anna on the days when she has 2 little ones at home.

Anna was keen to improve Bella's sleep and regain some of her own sleep! As Bella struggled to self-settle meant that she wasn't able to sleep for long stretches and was overtired come bedtime, which led to frequent wakings. Anna started to implement the suggested changes to teach Bella to self-settle.

By day 4 of following our comprehensive plan, Bella was taking 3 naps a day in her cot from drowsy but awake, with little support from Anna needed to fall asleep. This allowed Anna to have some time to herself or spend time with her oldest.

As Bella's sleep during the day was starting to fall into place, Anna felt ready to work on Bella's nighttime sleep. She made the personal decision to move Bella into her room because she was such a light sleeper and woke whenever Anna came to bed. Overnight, Anna continued to use the same technique as during the day, in addition to Bella's night feeds.

By Day 10, Bella was going down for all her naps easily with little need for assistance. At night, she was sleeping right through until she was due a feed and would put herself straight back to sleep without any help!

Anna was amazed at how much Bella's sleep had changed in such a short period, and that she didn't need to leave Bella to cry it out!