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You are here: Home / Motherhood / Baby Sleep Training Is Totally Worth It!

Baby Sleep Training Is Totally Worth It!

February 6, 2017 By Kari Leave a Comment

Baby Sleep Training-1

Baby Sleep Training

It’s the best $300 we’ve ever spent.

I’m a huge believer in baby sleep training… now. I didn’t always feel that way. Pre-baby days, I had big plans to be that so-called “cool, relaxed mom” whose kid slept anywhere and everywhere. That was until Wyatt was up every hour through the night from four to seven months old.

Enter – Certified Infant & Child Sleep Consultant, Pam Edwards.

Baby Sleep Training-2

The Consult

Following a Skype consultation with Pam, she created a custom sleep plan for Wyatt. The 12-page document detailed things we needed to change and a few things we needed to buy. First off, we had to kick Wyatt out of our bed. He was sleeping with us, which I loved, but he needed to move into his own room. We invested in blackout blinds, a few sleep sacks and a continuous white noise machine.

The plan centred around “controlled comforting,” where you put your baby down awake and check on him at progressively longer intervals. Instead of picking him up at the checks, reassure him verbally for a few minutes and then leave the room. It was so hard in the beginning. So much so that I quit on day one but got my head back into the game for day two.

Baby Sleep Training-3

The Results

A few days in, with Pam coaching us via email throughout, Wyatt was sleeping 11-hour stretches at night. At the one month mark we hit 12 hours a night with three solid naps a day. (We still have hiccups from time to time where something – teething, a cold, or a new environment – changes the game. You’re going to have setbacks no matter which plan you’re following.)

In chatting about our personal experience with baby sleep training, I’m often asked about “forever”. In other words, am I afraid we’ve created a monster? A child who insists on perfect conditions in order to fall asleep? Pam has the perfect answer,

Having ideal sleep conditions at home does not mean he’s going to be a finicky sleeper – quite the opposite! Babies are very easily overstimulated. Anything can overstimulate a baby and make it hard for them to fall asleep and stay asleep. They have a hard time blocking out stimulation on their own, which is why we create these ideal sleep conditions for them (dark room, white noise, etc.)

As they get older, they aren’t so easily overstimulated, so they don’t *need* these ideal conditions in the way they might when they are very young (although it’s never bad to keep using a dark room and white noise as it promotes better quality sleep for babies, children, and adults!) So no, having the room dark now won’t cause him to be a finicky sleeper (and I can attest to that from personal experience as my 2 kids, aged 3 and 5, have slept in the most ideal sleep conditions you can imagine (of course!) since the day they were born and at this point can sleep anywhere and everywhere because they are a) older and b) so well-rested and adaptable from all that great sleep they got when they were younger.”

I truly believe sleep is one of the most powerful tools in your parenting arsenal. Baby, siblings, mom, dad – everyone is better human when well-rested! Even though we often rush home to make the nap on time (and sometimes plan our entire day around it), I’m still a cool mom. Right, Wyatt?

Baby Sleep Training-4

Sleep Training Must-Haves

Here are the essential products we used (and still incorporate) for the best sleep training results!

 

  1. White Noise Machine | 2. Overnight Diapers | 3. Lovey | 4. Sleep sack – light | 5. Blackout Blinds | 6. Snug Sleeping Bag

 

Read more about our baby sleep training experience here. What methods do you swear by to get your little one to sleep?

Don’t forget to Pin this to your Baby Sleep and Preparing For Babe boards and follow me on Pinterest here!

pic

Other Posts You’ll Love:

My Breastfeeding Confessions

Healthy Family Time Management During Isolation

Why Stay-At-Home Parents Need Daycare Too

xx

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Filed Under: Motherhood, Parenting Chats

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Who can we call to get these lyrics changed? 😄 Who can we call to get these lyrics changed? 😄 ... but seriously? 

Actually listened to the lyrics while Miss. Rachel was on.🙈 Side note- i love her.

 What else needs changing? ⬇️
#motherhoodjourney #wheelsonthebus #1950scalled
Feel this? ⬆️ Share if you do. ❤️ You kno Feel this? ⬆️ Share if you do. ❤️

You know what drains a kid's emotional cup - being overscheduled. We've lived it and I'm here to say it's SO MUCH BETTER on the other side.

📍Last year, our goal was to give our oldest (now 8) every opportunity to try things to figure out what he loved. His schedule was packed with activities (I realize this is a privileged point). We were running - sometimes literally - from school to activity every night of the week and on weekends.

📍Fast-forward to this year - he has so much more time to just be a kid and we're all happier! He's picked a couple of things he's passionate about, but we've cut so much out and now most of our after-school time is open. Maybe we'll run an errand, maybe we'll come home and hang out, maybe we'll play at the park with friends and get ice cream. 

✨️ If one day he decides he wants to pour more time into one of his passions - we support that, but for now this is it and it's awesome! 

➡️ Have you lived this? How do you balance wanting to expose your kid to different activities so they find what they love with wanting your kids to just be a kid? Share below.

this video ⬆️ is from @fairmontjpl's Lac Beauvert. On every summer visit, Wyatt and I have a tradition of renting a kayak from The Boathouse and cruising the lake. 

❤️ Follow @kariskelton for more motherhood moments and helpful Reels to make your journey a little easier and even more enjoyable. Send me a DM to say hi. 

#parentingjourney #overshedulingkids #letkidsbekids
This ⬆️ make you want to be a better parent? M This ⬆️ make you want to be a better parent? Makes me want to be a better human. ✨️✨️

Words by @wordsof_emmaheaphy 

📍Save this to come back to and share with your friends in motherhood. Be sure to check out my Reel two back on 'Glimmers' - that one has helped me with the tough days.❤️❤️

➡️ Follow @kariskelton for more motherhood moments and helpful Reels to make your journey a little easier and even more enjoyable. Send me a DM to say hi. 👋

#motherhoodjourney #momquote #parentingquotes
🚨Two Laundry Hacks!🚨 Share this with a frien 🚨Two Laundry Hacks!🚨 Share this with a friend who could use some laundry help. 🤗

➡️ Do you hate laundry? Love it? I love washing and hanging. My husband is definitely better at folding. ❤️

Tip 1️⃣ has been a game-changer. Fresh laundry and no stinky clothes that have been sitting too long. I schedule mine to end when our baby naps so I can get to it right away. 

Tip 2️⃣ if you want wrinkle-free clothes that don't wear down as quickly - take your clothes from the wash and throw in the dryer for 5-8 mins only and then hang to dry. I do this for everything but stuff that is workout pant or bathing suit material (that goes straight on the rack).

The little time on the dryer is just enough to take the wrinkles out without shrinking or compromising the longevity of your items.

Towels, blankets, and sheets do go in the dryer for a full round. 

Did this help? 

❤️ Follow @kariskelton for more motherhood moments and helpful Reels to make your journey a little easier and even more enjoyable. Send me a DM to say hi! 👋

#laundryhack #laundry101 #momtips #laundrytips
Load More… Follow on Instagram

kariskelton

Who can we call to get these lyrics changed? 😄 Who can we call to get these lyrics changed? 😄 ... but seriously? 

Actually listened to the lyrics while Miss. Rachel was on.🙈 Side note- i love her.

 What else needs changing? ⬇️
#motherhoodjourney #wheelsonthebus #1950scalled
Feel this? ⬆️ Share if you do. ❤️ You kno Feel this? ⬆️ Share if you do. ❤️

You know what drains a kid's emotional cup - being overscheduled. We've lived it and I'm here to say it's SO MUCH BETTER on the other side.

📍Last year, our goal was to give our oldest (now 8) every opportunity to try things to figure out what he loved. His schedule was packed with activities (I realize this is a privileged point). We were running - sometimes literally - from school to activity every night of the week and on weekends.

📍Fast-forward to this year - he has so much more time to just be a kid and we're all happier! He's picked a couple of things he's passionate about, but we've cut so much out and now most of our after-school time is open. Maybe we'll run an errand, maybe we'll come home and hang out, maybe we'll play at the park with friends and get ice cream. 

✨️ If one day he decides he wants to pour more time into one of his passions - we support that, but for now this is it and it's awesome! 

➡️ Have you lived this? How do you balance wanting to expose your kid to different activities so they find what they love with wanting your kids to just be a kid? Share below.

this video ⬆️ is from @fairmontjpl's Lac Beauvert. On every summer visit, Wyatt and I have a tradition of renting a kayak from The Boathouse and cruising the lake. 

❤️ Follow @kariskelton for more motherhood moments and helpful Reels to make your journey a little easier and even more enjoyable. Send me a DM to say hi. 

#parentingjourney #overshedulingkids #letkidsbekids
This ⬆️ make you want to be a better parent? M This ⬆️ make you want to be a better parent? Makes me want to be a better human. ✨️✨️

Words by @wordsof_emmaheaphy 

📍Save this to come back to and share with your friends in motherhood. Be sure to check out my Reel two back on 'Glimmers' - that one has helped me with the tough days.❤️❤️

➡️ Follow @kariskelton for more motherhood moments and helpful Reels to make your journey a little easier and even more enjoyable. Send me a DM to say hi. 👋

#motherhoodjourney #momquote #parentingquotes
🚨Two Laundry Hacks!🚨 Share this with a frien 🚨Two Laundry Hacks!🚨 Share this with a friend who could use some laundry help. 🤗

➡️ Do you hate laundry? Love it? I love washing and hanging. My husband is definitely better at folding. ❤️

Tip 1️⃣ has been a game-changer. Fresh laundry and no stinky clothes that have been sitting too long. I schedule mine to end when our baby naps so I can get to it right away. 

Tip 2️⃣ if you want wrinkle-free clothes that don't wear down as quickly - take your clothes from the wash and throw in the dryer for 5-8 mins only and then hang to dry. I do this for everything but stuff that is workout pant or bathing suit material (that goes straight on the rack).

The little time on the dryer is just enough to take the wrinkles out without shrinking or compromising the longevity of your items.

Towels, blankets, and sheets do go in the dryer for a full round. 

Did this help? 

❤️ Follow @kariskelton for more motherhood moments and helpful Reels to make your journey a little easier and even more enjoyable. Send me a DM to say hi! 👋

#laundryhack #laundry101 #momtips #laundrytips
Load More… Follow on Instagram

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