He had never slept in a cot until now…

A journey that will never be forgotten.

When this family reached out for support for Jett, their 9.5 month old son, they were truly exhausted but also anxious about the route of ‘sleep training’.

As a mum of five, co sleeping and Jett switching from one breast to the other all night was what felt ‘easier’ for them and what had worked all along, but it soon became no longer sustainable for this busy household.

I provided them with reassurance that this was not going to look like traditional ‘sleep training’. It was about support, and having a realistic plan and approach that would suit their family.

I put in place a plan which started with a shopping list for some sleep essentials, such as a cot, sleep sack, comforter, white noise, baby monitor and blackout blinds, to set this whānau up for success when going into making some big changes.

From night one of being in his cot, he self settled and woke a couple of times during the night, but the success was that he had actually slept in his cot all night for the first time ever.
“First night mum and dad have been able to go to sleep without him and we fell into such a deep sleep! I (mum) must know that he’s ok and safe now so I can relax a bit more.”

The disbelief that he had done it was everything.
“He has never slept in a cot before so this is huge.”

From night two onwards, Jett has slept through the night, self settling with ease for all sleep. Not only had his sleep drastically improved (and his parents), but his meals were improving, his routine was consistent and everyone is now thriving.

Here is what Jett’s parents had to say.

“We are so grateful for the support and guidance that we received from Hannah. Coming from a breastfeeding co sleeper with all of my (5) children, it was something that I had always thought was ‘easier’. Wow was I wrong! Jett has gone from waking 6-8 times per night (switching sides for breastfeeds throughout the night) to sleeping right through.

He now sleeps 12-13 hours every night with occasional grizzles where he then self settles. He is still sharing a bedroom with us but I think that’s partly because he has two co dependent parents that struggle to be away from him. Haha. The next phase will be transitioning to his own room which is a new thing for me for a child under 2.

I will admit that I did hold a strong belief that sleep training was ‘mean’ and I had never taken the time to explore this with my older children. Looking back, I realise I was more in survival mode than anything and we all know how tunnel visioned that can feel.

From the first night we implemented our settling method, Jett slept through. And we are now on day 13. He was even sick for 5 days within this time and still managed to keep to his routine, which was so good for him to maintain enough rest for recovery.

Although we are still trying to crack the 2 hour lunch time naps, he is falling asleep much quicker and easier, and we are seeing him try to connect the sleep cycles through self settling. He is happy to chill in his cot when he wakes early from a nap, which is a new thing for us, that he has space to explore his own emotional states.

Going from an everyday contact napper and mainly being breastfed to sleep, this is such a massive change and he has adapted to the new routine so, so well. We were really surprised about this as we didn’t actually think the whole sleep training would even work for him. On reflection we felt a little bad about this and so a bit of self compassion was needed, as we really did think that he could not go to sleep any other way.

We took everything on board that Hannah had to offer and it’s been the best investment for us as a family and of course for Jett, who now actually has a routine, is getting so much more good quality sleep and his eating has also improved. We love that he has learnt to self settle and be comfortable on his own, not to mention feeling so much more rested ourselves and having so much more extra time now that we aren’t stuck on the couch holding a sleeping baby. Thanks Hannah!”

Honestly incredible…as I’ve said a journey not to be forgotten.