I worked with Sarah, mom to baby "E," wife to Dan, and calligrapher - how cool is that?! - almost a year ago, and Miss E is still rocking her sleep! Sarah and I have stayed in touch, and when I asked her if she'd be interested in sharing her experience working with me, she didn't hesitate to help me out. Keep reading to hear this sweet little family's sleep story!
Tell us about who you are and what you do, and a bit about your family.
I’m married to my best friend, Dan, and we have a beautiful baby girl, “E”, who’ll be 1 year old mid-September! I work part-time at the library and also own my own calligraphy business.
What sleep challenges were you and/or your daughter experiencing that made you decide to follow/reach out to Erin?
Honestly, sleep was the furthest thing from my mind! We were just going with E’s “schedule” (ha - if you could call it that) and hadn’t even considered sleep training (or really knew what that meant) until I got tagged in one of Erin’s posts! I knew then that I needed to start learning about this. I was under the impression that sleep would just “sort itself out” and just didn’t realize you could do anything to teach your baby sleep skills!
How old was your daughter when you worked with Erin? Did you see any changes in her overall wellbeing and/or temperament after working together?
E was about 4 weeks old when we initially got in contact with Erin. I think we officially started working with her when she was more like 6 weeks. There was SO much I started noticing! I never noticed much of a pattern or routine to her sleeping/awake time at all, and that was evident after just a couple days of training. E was always a happy baby but she did seem all-around in a better temperament once we knew how to respond to her sleepy cues especially!
Was there anything you were worried or anxious about before getting started with sleep training?
Not in particular. I was very uneducated in sleep so I was eager to learn what Erin had to share with us!
How has sleep training your child benefitted your family?
Sleep training couldn’t have come at a better time! E was sleep trained and started sleeping through the night (12 hours!) by 3 months old, right when my maternity leave ended and I needed to go back to work full time. I don’t know how I would have functioned if E wasn’t sleeping all night long by then! We would have been just utterly exhausted for sure...
What has been your biggest takeaway from working with Erin?
I always think about what I learned about awake windows and total sleep time in a day and how that relates to E’s routine. If she takes a long morning nap (like today), and doesn’t nap so well in the afternoon, I can be assured that she’s still getting the right total amount of sleep. That, and not being afraid of early bedtimes! Also Erin’s tip about red eyebrows! I had never heard of that before and it’s one of E’s main sleepy cues!
What would you want other moms to know about working with a sleep consultant?
You can’t beat getting one-on-one support and personal customization! I felt so confident with Erin and really trust her advice, not just because of her background, but also because I knew it was tailored to my baby and our lifestyle specifically, and not just some generic advice in an online sleep course. Also, it works!
What would you want other moms to know about sleep training, in general?
Your baby is SO MUCH smarter than you think (E amazes me every day) and I truly believe babies WANT to sleep. When your baby is sleep trained, you get so much FREEDOM.
What is your best advice for new parents?
Start implementing bits of routine early (like eat-play-sleep)! It will help you feel less crazy and give you some direction, and I promise your baby will soon catch on as well - consistency is key.