By Sarah Bibi Patel – Good Night Sleep Consultant
When it comes to implementing changes with regards to your child’s sleep, there are some important factors to consider. Lots of parents may not understand the thought processes behind why we do what we do.
When it comes to changing behaviour, there are 2 thoughts first and foremost in your sleep consultants mind:
- What is best for mom?
- What is best for baby?
There are some occasions, when the above two translate into the same thing. There is the flipside as well – that often, what is best for mom might not necessarily be best for baby. What then? Does that mean we will not succeed? No. Does it mean we are going to make you do something you are not comfortable with? Not at all.
When it comes to improving sleep, it’s not always black and white. There are lots of shades of grey, where we create a middle ground of sorts, to enable mom AND baby to learn TOGETHER, in a process that provides comfort to all – this is definitely one of those “shades of grey”.
There are many moments in our life, especially as moms, where we have to learn to let go a little. Where we have to trust our little ones and allow them to stumble before steadying themselves, in taking another step. Where we have to let go of the seat of the bicycle, praying and hoping that they were ready to take those trainer wheels off. Where we have to send them off to school, ALONE, without mommy being present with them the whole day. Such moments are hard. It squeezes our heart, and sometimes we are gripped with fear. It is the fear of the unknown that sometimes paralyses us and prevents us from doing what is best for our babies.
But experience is the best teacher and we, as moms, learn that it’s ok to let go a little. Years later, when you have to let go of your youngest toddler’s hands, when guiding her to walk, your heart will still ache, but you will trust the process, because you, as a mom, HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE.
As a sleep consultant, we KNOW that fear. I understand that fear. Don’t forget, we are moms too! And that is WHY we prioritize our SUPPORT to you. Whilst this may be your first rodeo in making changes to your baby’s sleep, it certainly is not ours. We can help you with our experience, because we’ve done it before. At the end of the day, if we want things to progress, it requires us to change.
“If you’ve always done what you always did, you will always get what you always got”
Moms come to us, needing change, because the current situation is not sustainable/ exhausting/ frustrating. They come to us, desperate for CHANGE and change is what we provide. Because experience has been our teacher. Yes, sometimes those changes can be overwhelming but that’s when we remind moms: If we have to prioritize what is best for mom vs. what is best for baby, we will always focus on baby, because the challenge in implementing those changes is TEMPORARY for mom, but reaching the end goal of baby sleeping well is a PERMANENT win for mom AND baby.
So next time your heart weeps a little at letting go, know that our hearts weep with you too. Just as you did a happy dance when your toddler walked without stumbling, we too, will join you in a happy dance when your baby sleeps through.
Because we are with you every.step.of.the.way.
#sleeptraining