When my husband and I were new parents everything revolved around our baby. Like it should – right?!
How much did he eat? Do we need to change his bum? Did he get any sleep last night? Are we stimulating him enough?
I even had my (very excited to be a first time grandmother) mom texting me in the mornings asking about his sleep, and how he did the night before.
Our lives changed when we had K, and it got to a point that it was all that he was all we ever talked about – mainly because if he had fallen asleep we were wondering when he’d be awake, or if he needed to feed, or even whose turn it was to get up with him.
Once we decided to sleep train K that all changed (for the better!). During his awake times we were totally absorbed with him. Able to be really present and excited with him – watching all of his new and exciting milestones!
But we knew that once nap time came, he went to sleep independently, and easily, and I knew that I would have the length of the nap to do something for me. Shower, cook and eat some lunch, or even just sit and watch some TV for a break!
Even better, I knew that once bedtime came, he would be in his bed for the next 12 hours. Sleeping soundly, comfortably and most importantly safely. This enabled me and my husband to have lives as adults again.
We could eat supper together, or watch a movie (and stay awake for it!), we could even have a glass of wine knowing that we would get a full 8 hour night of sleep afterwards until K woke up at 7am. We got to be ourselves again.
I hear this a lot from clients.
Sleep training their child gave them back their relationships, their friendships, and their sense of self. They were able to be an adult AND a parent, enjoying the best of both worlds.
They reliably have their evenings back, and they are comfortable in the knowledge that their child is sleeping all night long, and that they will see a happy little face in the morning- when they were all well rested!
Comments