This is a guest blog post that one of my past clients wrote for me. I am so proud of all that she accomplished with sleep training her son and her confidence in that decision. I really wanted her to share her story with you. – Alanna
Until recently I was not confident in my choice of sleep training to teach my son to sleep on his own and with consistency, even though it was working amazingly for our family.
I heard comments from family and friends such as: “he’s sleeping again but I wanted a visit.” or “at some point you need to relax your schedule.” or “is he ever awake?”
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It really made me question my own decisions and almost waiver to make others happy when the only peoples happiness I should have worried about is that of my child’s, my husband’s and my own.
The change came when we spent time at our family cottage with my stepsister, her baby boy who is just 3 weeks older than my son, and my entire family.
I was nervous for this “vacation” because I thought I would be holding others back from going out and doing things all together because my son was sleeping. I assumed I would be the one forced to change my parenting style against my better judgment. Mostly I knew mine and my stepsisters different parenting styles were going to be out there for everyone to see (and judge).
And they were.
I am a sleep-focused mama. She is not. My son naps for 2 hours twice a day at the same time everyday. Hers does not. My son is in bed by 6:30 pm and sleeps until 7am. Hers was up most nights until 11pm with a few night wakings and a 6am morning.
I am on my son’s schedule and her son is on her schedule.
As moms we make our own choices and that is ok.
At the cottage my husband and I enjoyed our time swimming, eating meals, having campfires and participating in adult conversation while our son got his sleep that he needed. Our son was happy and active when he was awake.
My stepsister battled through most meals with her overtired son, she tried to soothe his crying during campfires, and missed most adult conversations as she tried to entertain him in the evenings.
But nonetheless… she did it her way.
And I did it mine.
We never discussed sleep together because we just knew we believed different things. I know she thought I was rigid and inflexible and I thought she was missing her son’s cues and that she just needed to let her baby sleep.
Since our cottage vacation the comments from my family have slowed because they saw the results in all our hard work and the value in our routine. I now feel more confident as a mother and in my decisions and I feel less pressure to change my style to better suit others and I feel more empowered to ensure my son gets the sleep he needs.
Just like we wouldn’t skip a meal, we don’t skip a nap.
I have renewed confidence as I’ve seen the differences with my own well-rested eyes.
– Confident Well-Rested Mama
Alanna McGinn is a Certified Sleep Consultant and Founder of Good Night Sleep Site – a Global Pediatric and Family Sleep Team. She provides free child and family sleep support through her Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. She invites you to join her sleep community as she works towards Good Night Sleep Site’s mission of a healthier rested family unit. For more sleep tips please visit Good Night Sleep Site.
