EPISODE 9 OF THE AFTER THE STORK PODCAST
This episode is a quick one to remind you that feeling exhausted 24-7 due to a child’s sleep struggles is not something you have to accept. Instead, that is a narrative told by those who don’t know the possibilities.
Unless you are in those first couple of months in the newborn phase. Then yes. That is normal. But even then, there are things you can do to impact your little one’s sleep in a positive way.
At the end of my time with every client, I always provide a survey to gather feedback. On the survey that goes out to all of my clients with the exception of newborn clients (they get a different one for what will be obvious reasons) asks the following question:
"If you could go back in time, would you have contacted me sooner knowing the results?"
I have been providing this survey since 2017 and have yet to receive a "No." I've had two maybes with the rest being resounding yeses. Some even go further to emphasize this point. For example:
From a mother of a 22 month old boy, "So much more freedom and quality rest. Within 1-2 weeks he slept through the night and I could not believe it! Seriously was a life saver and I wish I would have done it sooner.”
From a mother of a 10 month old boy, "THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING! I wish we would have reached out sooner!”
From a mother of a 9 month old girl, "“Megan was so patient with me and always made me feel like I was doing my best. Before calling Megan I was constantly tired and stressed, but Megan made all that go away. I only wish I had met Megan sooner."
Over my years as an Infant & Toddler Sleep Consultant, I have come to realize that most people who want my support are unaware of my services and/or the possibilities of working on sleep for their child until they are struggling and either come across my name in a Google search or hear about me after opening about their situation to a friend who has worked with me.
And when I explain what I do to people with older children, I can almost always predict that their follow up words will be, “Wow! Where were you when my kids were younger?!”
I believe one of the main reasons for this is due to the narrative told that sleepless nights are just part of the whole parenting gig. That feeling exhausted until a child is out of diapers is totally normal.
If you have heard this and have settled with the struggle due to lacking the knowledge of possibilities, I want to sincerely apologize on behalf of the individuals or groups that have lead you to believe it.
Unless you have a medical issue that hinders sleep, your child has a medical issue that hinders sleep, and/or you or your family are in a specific situation that hinders sleep, sleepless nights due to your child do not have to last continuously past those first few months of life. I have the experience and the families to prove that, along with peer-reviewed studies to back it up.
Now whether or not a family chooses to do something about those sleepless nights due to their child? That is totally up to each individual family to decide what is best for them.
However, I want to make it extremely clear to anyone who is struggling with their littles one's sleep and is ready for a change that you do NOT have to suffer years or even months before creating and implementing a plan to improve sleep.
If you are someone looking to strengthen your baby's sleep, whether proactively or due to struggles, check out my free resource that will help you better understand the five areas tp evaluate when creating a customized sleep plan.
As you might have heard in several episodes, I look at what I call ESRA+. ESRA+ as explained in episode 3 includes the five areas to look at from a behavioral point of view with sleep. Click here to get your copy of The Five Key Components to Consider in Every Infant & Toddler Sleep Plan today.
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