Top 3 tips for getting your baby to sleep

Sleep is by far the #1 complaint I hear from parents.

Short naps, frequent night-wakings, lack of self-soothing, taking hours to fall asleep. I’ve heard it all!

So I thought I’d briefly share with you my TOP 3 tips for helping your fussy or high need baby sleep better. These are things I’ve learned through working with many different sleep consultants, through my own experience, and most importantly, from hundreds or even thousands of parents.

Here are 3 small changes you can make today that may just get your little one sleeping (finally!).

1. Move bedtime earlier.

Trust me, I know this is a super-scary one! The fear is that if you move bedtime earlier, your child will wake up earlier in the morning.

But in fact, more often than not moving bedtime earlier (between 6-7:30pm) will result in longer nighttime sleep, and better quality sleep. If your baby is an early-riser, he or she may continue to wake up early, but then at least they’ve gotten some good quality sleep at the front-end of the night.

When changing their bedtime, it’s best to do it gradually over the course of a few nights.

2. Invest in blackout blinds.

I’ve seen this truly be a miracle cure for early-rising, and trouble falling asleep at nap time and at night (especially in the summer months).

Not only does a dark room signal ‘sleep time’ for your little one, it helps their bodies produce melatonin, making it easier for them to fall asleep.

3. Whatever you do, be consistent with it.

There are so many tips, techniques and strategies for getting your baby or toddler to sleep. Some will work, some won’t.

But you’ll be cheating yourself and your little one if you aren’t consistent with whatever you’re doing. These little guys are smart; I truly believe they can sense when mommy or daddy has made a decision and is serious about it!

If you’ve made a decision, do your best to stick with it…often the difference between failure and success is simply waiting it out one more night!

To aid you in your journey to happy, healthy sleep, we’re giving away 3 copies of the Sleep Sense program. Some of our moms have used this with great success recently (click through to read their stories!).

Click the link below to enter! But hurry – the contest ends Friday at 5pm PST.

Click here to win a copy of the Sleep Sense program.

To your healthy sleep!

Holly

Image Courtesy of David Castillo Dominici

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A couple of months ago, some of our moms participated in Dana Obleman’s Baby Sleep Bootcamp.

I promised I would let you all know how these moms made out with the bootcamp and DIY Sleep Sense program, and I’m so happy to report success on all fronts!

One our moms who did the bootcamp (which is based on the Sleep Sense program) writes,

“I recently completed the Sleep Sense bootcamp with Dana. To say that it changed my life, would be an understatement. I was living an existence that I call “zombie like” and I was barely functioning….

Well, after the program, he now sleeps through the night and naps in his crib! The program was not easy..it was a roller coaster at times, and you have to be committed to see it through. It was tough at times.

[But] my son became a happier boy because of it, and I became a happier mom and so the results were completely worth it. If I thought it was damaging in any way, I would have pulled him out, but actually the opposite happened. He became happier.

I highly recommend this program! It worked well for my fussy guy – dramatically well – I would say”

-Kerry D.

And one of our moms who completed the DIY program writes,

“After 22 months of sleep deprivation with my son, Evan, my husband and I finally decided to try a “sleep training” program….We had tried so many different sleep arrangements for Evan over the months and years, winding up with a co-sleeping arrangement where it commonly took 45-60 minutes for him to fall asleep while nursing. He would wake 2-4 times every night (more when he was sick) and always demanded to nurse back to sleep. He would often wake during the night or partway into his naps with night terror behavior, frantic and scared, sometimes violent.

I am so appreciative of The Fussy Baby Site for support and ideas for families with high-needs little ones, and when Holly shared Sleep Sense with the community, putting her support behind the program, I decided this was our opportunity to try to get everyone sleeping….

The first two nights were rough, but my husband and I took turns comforting Evan at his cribside…We saw a dramatic improvement by night three…There were some ups and downs in subsequent nights, but let me just say that from that point on, he had no night wakings in which he couldn’t soothe himself back to sleep within a couple of minutes. This is life-changing…”

-Heidi T.

(If you want to read Kerry and Heidi’s full stories, please click here.) 

So here’s the deal: I asked Dana if I could give the program away to 3 of our members, and she was happy to!

(Normally it’ll cost you $67, which by the way, is worth every penny).

This contest will run starting now, until this Friday at 5pm PST (June 21).

3 lucky winners will not only receive a free copy of the Sleep Sense program, but access to our private Fussy Baby Site Sleep Support group for 1 month.

This is a completely confidential, private Facebook group where you can come and ask questions, and get personal support from myself and other participants.

Sometimes the hardest part of teaching your little one to sleep is lack of support – our Facebook group ensures you don’t have to do this alone!!

How to Enter

To enter, simply comment below telling us why you need the Sleep Sense program.

Bonus entries may be obtained by 1) sharing the contest on Facebook (either via your page or your personal timeline), or 2) tweeting about it.

*To qualify for the bonus entries, be sure to leave separate comments below for each action you take. For instance, if you comment, share on Facebook and tweet, leave 3 comments below.

That’s it!

Good luck

Holly

P.S. For full testimonials or more info about the Sleep Sense program, please visit our Sleep Sense page.

*Full disclosure: I am promoting the Sleep Sense program on a affiliate basis. This means that I receive a commission when someone clicks on a link on this page and makes a purchase. However please know that I only promote products and services I truly believe in. Full my affiliate policy, please click here.

If you prefer to click on a non-affiliate link, please feel free to click here: www.sleepsense.net.

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Do ‘difficult’ babies turn into difficult kids?

Wouldn’t it be nice to know whether your spirited, high need or ‘difficult’ baby will outgrow this behaviour later in life?

Well one of our moms recently passed on this article to me, and I know many of you will appreciate it.

Click here to read Difficult Babies Can Turn into Super Kids.

Keep up the great work, moms and dads!

Holly

P.S. For those of you with formerly-fussy babies, is your child still considered ‘high maintenance’, or has she or he outgrown it?

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My husband and I have a by-the-book high-need baby who cried a lot in his first 8 months of life.

Our son, our first baby, cried (and screamed) more often than not in the beginning, but he cried every so slightly less and less as time went on.

His cries developed into his own cry-language as he became better at telling us what he needed and we became better at listening to what he was saying.

I still considered him fussy at 8 months old, as I willed him with every breath to start crawling already!

I knew he would be happier when he could get to where he wanted to go.

I still couldn’t put him down without him fussing to be picked up again, but I could at least distract him with things like toys and singing.

Finally, at 8 and a half to 9 months, he learned to crawl. Each day for two weeks, he made progress towards moving forward, and now at 9 and a half months, he is crawling really well, and has transformed into a different baby.

I mean, I am writing this while he plays on the floor by himself. When he’s done playing, he will charge towards me with a big grin on his face as he crawls into my lap.

It has been three weeks since he learned to crawl, and I am still shocked that I can just sit and enjoy watching my baby (is that really MY baby?) play happily by himself. This was not even remotely possible just a month ago.

When my son was a newborn, he screamed:

When I put him down

When I nursed him

When he was trying to sleep

When he woke up

When I put him in his car seat

When I changed his diaper

When something startled him, and

When his eyes were open.

Screamed for seemingly no reason at all.

Now, my son laughs when I put him down as he crawls towards his toys.

Laughs when I nurse him, as we read him stories before bed, and when he wakes up and sees my face next to him.

Laughs in his car seat and on the changing table.

Laughs when something surprises him.

He laughs for no apparent reason. Just as he had developed a language of various cries, he has already developed different laughs, from hoots to giggles to full-blown belly laughs.

It seemed as though this day would never come.

I had moments when I wanted to run away. Moments when I truly was not enjoying life. When I questioned my decision to become a mother. There were so many of those moments.

Yes, my son still has times when he gets intensely upset and panics (because he oh-so-suddenly runs out of Cheerios), but it is quickly forgotten as soon as he bursts into a fit of laughter (because I sneezed).

My son is still high needs in many ways, but I can no longer call him a fussy baby. An exhausting, emotional, trying phase in our family’s life has passed, and a joyous, fun-filled, belly-laughing one has begun.

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As mom to a fussy or colicky baby, there’s a good chance you frequently dread feeding time.

While other babies are calmed by nursing or bottle-feeding, fussy babies often fuss even more while feeding, and may bounce on and off the breast making feeding time part nourishment, part wrestling match.

While nursing was initially a challenge for me with both my kids, I found that getting them into the optimal position was the foundation for a good feed.

I used a nursing pillow with both my kids, as I found it provided just the right amount of support, and put them in just the right position for nursing. When I used a regular pillow, my back would often ache, as I found myself leaning forward to get into the right position.

I recently heard about a nursing pillow that I thought parents of fussy and colicky babies would appreciate: The mombo nursing pillow.

There are a couple of things that make the Mombo different from other nursing pillows.

First, the unique two-sided design allows for 2 totally different experiences: the firm side can be used as a stable base while nursing, and the soft side is ideal for tummy time.

And the best feature of the Mombo? It has an optional vibrating feature! I haven’t tried the Mombo (my ‘baby’ is 6.5!), but I can only imagine the vibration feature would act as an additional layer of soothing for fussy babies.

And as we all know, our fussy babies need all the extra soothing they can get!

If you’re having feeding issues with your fussy baby, I’d encourage you to check out the Mombo at Toys R Us or Babies R Us, in store or online.

You can also find out more by clicking here:

Comfort & Harmony on Facebook

Comfort & Harmony on Twitter

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I keep trying to write this post, and keep deleting it.

In fact, I started to write this post over a year ago. This time I’m determined to actually publish it!

Here’s why: This post is about….sleep training (gasp!).

People are so incredibly polarized on this issue, and I can completely understand why.

I get it. I really do.

On the one hand, some people are of the mindset that sleep training may hinder a child’s emotional development or attachment with his or her parents, that allowing a child to cry causes undue stress on the child, and that when a baby cries during sleep training he or she is doing so because they feel abandoned.

Often these same people will say that self-soothing in babies is a contrived notion, and that it’s our job as parents to meet their every need (including helping them fall asleep). That they will eventually learn these skills on their own. That they will not be ’16 and still needing to be rocked to sleep’.

I imagine that those who take this view feel they are defending the defenceless.

Then there are others who believe that some babies need to be taught self-soothing. That babies or toddlers who aren’t getting enough sleep are at risk for sleep issues later in life, or worse yet, learning delays or conditions like ADHD.

These parents generally wouldn’t say they enjoy sleep training, and probably wouldn’t choose it if they felt they had any other choice.

The common ground?

Parents on both sides of the issue feel they are doing what’s best for their baby.

My Experience With Sleep Training

Writing as someone who has done sleep training with one of my children and not the other, I can most definitely see both sides of the issue.

My daughter (now 9) was notorious for fighting naps. And I mean really, really fighting.

She was an extremely alert, active baby, and never wanted to miss out on anything. She didn’t particularly appreciate cuddling, and in fact, when she got fussy, she was more likely to settle when you put her down.

For a number of months, I was able to soothe her to sleep at nap time by rocking her.

After a while however, she started to resist. I would rock and rock and rock her, but she would just get more and more agitated.

I would have done ANYTHING to get her to sleep. Like literally, anything.

She wouldn’t fall asleep in the car, in the stroller, in the sling, in my arms, in my bed. Seriously. From the time she was about 6 weeks old until she was 13 months old, she didn’t fall asleep ANYWHERE but her crib.

The closest she came was at 10 months old on an almost 24 hour trip – she passed out for 30 minutes on the plane.

Because she wasn’t sleeping during the day, she was extremely grumpy. She was constantly fussing, rubbing her eyes, and was obviously exhausted. I knew she needed to sleep, but had no idea how to help her get it. The lack of sleep during the day was also starting to effect her nighttime sleep.

Finally, I decided the only option left was to do some sleep training. It actually didn’t feel like a decision at all; because I couldn’t find any other way to get her to sleep, it was this or nothing.

Then came my son, the inspiration for this site. So much fussier than Aliya, but loved to cuddle.

From the time he was a couple of months old, I was somehow always able to find a way to get him to sleep.

Sometimes it was the car, sometimes the swing, sometimes having him in my bed. I always knew I could put him in the sling, take a long walk, and he would most likely sleep at least some of the time.

I was able to help him get the sleep he needed. 

With my daughter, I was not.

When Sammy was 3 years old, we did some very gentle ‘no cry’ sleep training (for lack of a better term) and apart from still sneaking into our bed from time to time, he’s been a great sleeper ever since.

My Views on Sleep Training

In an interview I did with Dr. Weissbluth when Sammy was about 2, I mentioned how I had never done sleep training with Sammy because he had had to cry too much as a baby, and it was too hard for me to hear him cry anymore.

His response was, “Crying is hard. Sleeplessness is harder“.

I see what he was saying. In terms of Sammy, I respectfully disagree. Yes, he had some problems with sleeping, but I was okay with that.

I didn’t feel like sleep training was right for him, and I liked that I could help him sleep just by laying with him or cuddling him.

With Aliya, this statement hits the nail on the head. Yes, it killed me. KILLED ME, to hear her cry. But having her not sleep was so, so much harder.

So here’s the thing. I don’t LIKE sleep training.

I’d imagine that most parents feel the same way, even those who have done it with success and who don’t regret it.

But sometimes, it’s the less bad option.

Hearing your baby cry feels really, really bad.

But sometimes, having your baby not sleep feels worse – both for him and for you.

Don’t get me wrong. I would never tell a parent that they ‘should’ pursue sleep training. I would never ask a parent to do something they weren’t comfortable with. I would never blame a parent for their child’s sleeplessness because they hadn’t done sleep training.

I’d sympathize, and understand their reasons for not sleep training. Heck, if I lived to close to them, I’d offer to watch their little one so they could take a nap.

I’ve heard from countless parents who’s little ones are taking short, 20 minute naps each and every day, and then waking up to 12 times each night.

The lack of sleep has made them chronically overtired, making it even more difficult for them to fall asleep and stay asleep.

And this is only the effect of sleep deprivation on the baby.

Parents (usually moms) who are consistently getting insufficient sleep are feeling depressed, overwhelmed, and in some cases, barely able to function.

They’re putting on weight because they aren’t able to stay active, which is feeding into their feelings of guilt and shame.

They’re having trouble being patient with their baby, and then are feeling beyond guilty because other moms seem to love being with their kids.

This isn’t anyone’s idea of a good time.

A Psychologist’s View of Sleep Training

My husband and I were talking the other night about sleep training, and why it’s so hard for parents to hear their babies cry.

I’d imagine there’s not a single mom in the world who would revel in the sound of her infant crying.

So why is it SO hard for us to hear our baby cry, even when we know it will be for their great benefit in the future? Why can we not allow them to cry for a short period of time to prevent even more crying (in the way of fussiness as a result of sleeplessness) later on?

My husband (who, it must noted is a Psychologist. I only say this to explain that these are the things he ponders on a regular basis), posited that maybe one reason it’s so hard for us is that in our time and culture, we’re not used to suffering. Sure, we have problems, but in many circumstances, there are ‘quick fixes’ for our problems.

When our baby has an earache, we give antibiotics. When her gums are hurting, we slap on some teething gel. When she refuses to eat her peas, we give her pureed peaches – because that is an option for us.

In short, we’re not used to delayed gratification.

We live in a culture where we’re able to avoid suffering to some extent. To us, suffering isn’t a normal part of life, but is rather something to be avoided at all costs. If we can possibly do something to stop it, we’ll do it.

But is this always the best course of action?

(I’m still chewing on this one. But something interesting to think about).

Sleep Training Around the World

In doing some research recently into sleep training, I wanted to know what other cultures think of the concept. I was surprised to discover that in many non-western cultures, the term ‘sleep training’ isn’t even part of their vocabulary.

I wondered at first how these moms in other cultures did it – Colic happens everywhere, high need babies too. How do they help their children get the sleep they need?

Turns out, there’s one significant difference between our western culture and these other cultures: In many other countries, living in close proximity (sometimes in the same house or even sharing a bedroom) with extended family is the norm.

Baby not sleeping? Let grandma take the night-shift a few times a week.

In some countries, middle class families even have hired help, like nannies or maids who help with the child raising responsibilities.

With rare exceptions, our culture for some reason expects us to do it all alone. We’re supposed to get up 6 times a night with our baby, then get up at 6am to start the day. We’re with our baby ALL day, and then we do it all over again (and again, and again).

This is simply not sustainable.

Sure, many women get through these difficult years without help, and without doing sleep training of any sort.

They get up frequently at night (I’m not talking just once or twice either), and somehow plough their way through. Best case scenario, their little one figures out the whole sleep thing, and eventually everyone gets caught up on sleep.

And to them I say – WOW. You shouldn’t have had to do it all alone, but you did it. You came out the other side and you did what you felt was best. Way to go.

My hope is that all parents would find the compassion to say this, regardless of how their views may differ.

Misconceptions About Sleep Training

I’ve noticed that often, as soon the phrase ‘sleep training’ comes up, any chance of an open and positive dialogue goes out the window.

I think it’s because there’s this notion that sleep training means plopping your baby in the crib and walking away. Hour upon hour, your child screams as you ignore her cries.

Having read pretty much every sleep book out there, having talked with many of the foremost sleep experts, and having worked closely with several infant sleep consultants, I can assure you, this is not an approach that most would suggest.

One mom on our Facebook page recently compared sleep training to dog training. I guess if we’re talking about dog training a la Caesar Milan, I’d agree to a point.

Sleep training, in my opinion, is seriously misunderstood. In my experience, sleep training is far more about teaching parents the fundamentals of infant sleep than it is about ‘forcing’ a baby to do something,

I’d imagine in the past, and still in other cultures today, parents are taught ways to calm their babies and to help them sleep. In our culture, sadly, we’re often missing this.

Good sleep training will teach YOU how much sleep your baby actually needs, how to set the stage for the best possible sleep, and what you should expect (and not expect) of your little one.

Good sleep training will look at your child’s habits and temperament, your parenting style, and work within that to help your child get as much sleep as possible.

I know I sound like I’m seriously pro sleep training. I guess in a way I am.

But more than that, I’m ‘help your child get the most sleep possible, in whatever way you can’.

Sometimes this will mean taking long walks in the stroller every afternoon to ensure a long afternoon nap.

Sometimes it will mean co-sleeping, even if that’s not what you planned to do.

And sometimes, yes, it will mean giving your baby the gift of learning self-soothing skills.

I’m not pro sleep training, I’m pro sleep.

Whatever it takes to get your baby the sleep he or she needs, do it. Whatever you are able to do, given your current situation, your current mental state, and your access to – or lack of – support, do it.

I will support you.

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When my kids were teething, I went straight for the Tylenol.

Maybe I should have been more hesitant when it came to giving medication*, but I figured both my babies were fussy at the best of times, and I was shooting for instant gratification (well, instant relief).

But I know many of you think twice about giving any type of pain medication, and rightly so. Although it’s tempting (especially at night), there are a few drawbacks to whipping out the Baby Advil willy-nilly:

• Unnecessary dyes and chemicals
• Potential for inadvertent overdose
• It can take up to an hour to work.

*Avoid medications that contain benzocaine. Benzocaine products have been associated with a rare but serious blood condition called methemoglobinemia.

Natural Teething Remedies

Following are 4 all-natural remedies you can try to relieve your little one’s discomfort when in the throes of teething.

These are completely safe to use, without any of the worries associated with analgesics.

If I’m missing your favourite,  be sure to let me know in the comments below!

Amber Teething Necklaces

How can a little strand of beads help with teething??

I’ve always been under the impression that amber necklaces worked simply because it gave the baby something hard to chew on.

However I’ve recently learned that it’s not only the hard texture that helps, but the amber itself. Amber has actually been used as a natural pain reliever for centuries (who knew?).

When the amber beads are warmed by your baby’s skin and mouth, they release a natural anti-flammatory, soothing your little one’s tender gums.

Camilia Teething Tablets

Even when I gave my kids a dose of Tylenol, I often supplemented with a natural or homeopathic medicine.

For those of you that like me, like to make sure all your bases are covered, there are some homeopathic teething medicines like Camilia that are readily available online and at most pharmacies.

Camilia is completely safe for babies and toddlers, and contains no sugar, dyes, preservatives or alcohol.
 

Freezable Teething Toys

I don’t found these worked all that well for us, but I’ve heard from some parents who swear by freezable teething toys.

The idea is that they’ll chew on them, and the hard, cold texture will feel good against their gums and numb them a bit.

I LOVE the concept, but just found neither of my kids would actually chew on them! They’d lick them, throw them in the air, and play with them, but in the end, I’d be the one attempting to hold it against their gums (you can imagine how well that worked out).

Infant Toothbrush

My kids LOVED chewing on toothbrushes.

The problem with a conventional toothbrush, however, was the gag factor (you know what I’m talking about).

Well apparently they now make a baby toothbrush that appears to be gag-free, soft, and has a nice little handle for baby to hold.

What products work best for your little one? Am I missing any super-amazing products? Let me know in the comments below! 

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Aside from the medical and developmental scales we use to understand babies, there is a language we can learn that lets us decode exactly what babies are telling us.

They have a stealth language that is designed to draw us in so that we listen very closely to what words and thoughts fail to do.

Babies speak in the language of the body. They talk to us through movement, sound and facial expressions.

Our job, as adults and caregivers is to become attuned to their subtle language.

Babies know what they are feeling; often they are telling us a story from their experiences inside the womb and at birth. It was previously thought that babies could not have an experience, that they did not have the brain power to sense, let alone remember their experiences. We now know that babies in the womb are able to sense their surroundings as early as conception.

How do babies tell us their story?

Babies commonly carry imprints from unresolved moments in their development and birth.

They have clever ways of assuming positions while nursing or being changed that are reminiscent of the position they were in when they first absorbed the imprint.

They may alert us to their discomfort by becoming emotional at the same time of day as when they were first imprinted. They may show us in the timing of their cries, their body positions or in how they transition from sleep to wakefulness or between caregivers. They even show us the dynamics of their imprinting in the way that they play.

The Challenges of Understanting Our Babies

Several challenges present when we go to understand what babies are telling us:

• Our culture has evolved away from the natural tools it had to decode their language. To understand them, we must slow ourselves to about an eighth our normal pace and we must learn ways to settle ourselves into a centered place in our nervous systems while we engage them.

Unless we believe they have the power to remember their experiences, we imagine they need to ‘stop fussing’. Once we realize they are telling a story, we are more apt to become curious.

• We have a belief about what a ‘good baby’ is. How often do parents find themselves in the situation where their child is vocal or agitated (telling a piece of their story) and they receive glaring looks from people around?

It can be very disheartening to be met with judgement and frustration by the greater community when you are doing everything you can to do things ‘right’.

• For many of us, a crying baby reminds us of our own unresolved imprints. Rather than respond with compassion, we experience discomfort.

Aggravated looks and shushing advice are often the result of a culture still needing to heal its own perinatal imprinting. The pressure today about what ‘normal’ is can be crippling for the development of a family.

There is so much choice today in how to support pregnancy, birth and child-rearing. I encourage parents to gather all the information they need to feel comfortable and from there, use their instincts to make decisions.

As soon as a parent compares themselves or their baby to another, a great opportunity has been lost.

A ‘good baby’ is one that tells the truth about how it’s feeling. I am always thankful when a child or adult comes to me with their small and big feelings. If babies’ feelings are treated as valid and we slow to get them, they will grow to be expressive, honest and courageous people.

• What about us?! Often, after a baby is born, all the attention goes to the child and away from the parents. Parents also need support after a baby is born. The story babies are telling are stories that parents share with them.

Chances are whatever difficulty the baby experienced, a parent will inevitably have had a significant experience too. Often parents need support and healing and when they get it, their babies often are able to settle too.

What Can I Do For My Fussy Baby?

Everyday life can be severely interrupted if babies are unhappy or uncomfortable. It can be incredibly taxing and can overwhelm just about anyone.

Having a baby is already a radical life change. If your baby is expressing a lot of discomfort, it is important to seek help.

Help will look like taking a deeper look at some important stages of pregnancy and birth as well as taking a close look at what patterns existed in your respective families when you were conceived, grown and born.

It may be necessary to do some gentle forms of body work as a family or with your baby to fully resolve the discomfort.

Babies present an incredible opportunity to bring intimacy and healing to a family. Sometimes events during their growing time and birth linger in the mother’s and baby’s bodies and beings and are attempted to be dispelled by crying, fussing and moving.

In addition to everything you’re doing right; consider thanking your baby for their courage to talk to you when they are ‘fussy’. They are attempting to share with you their deepest feelings.

As an experiment, try telling them that you hear what they are saying, or saying, ‘oh, that’s how it was for you, oh…’ I guarantee they will hear you.

They will sense that someone is ‘getting’ them.

This is how they will begin to resolve what may have been an overwhelming experience for them during gestation or birth. The best place to start is with a feeling of curiousity about what they are telling you. From there, let your baby lead you.

Encourage them to tell you anything they need to. Continue reminding them that you are there, you want to know and that you are listening. You might start noticing some changes.

Be reassured that it is never too late to heal from early imprinting and that underneath any imprint lies a healthy, content, authentic being; just waiting to be discovered.

Dr. Mia Kalef is a chiropractor and craniosacral therapist who works with families to resolve prenatal, birth and early trauma. You can find out more about Mia and her organization ‘Emerging Families’ at her website, or send her an email.

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Do any of the following sound familiar? Your little one:

• Seems unable to soothe himself to sleep: This means that up until now, you may have needed to rock, nurse, pat, or swing your baby to sleep.
• Takes short naps: When you do manage to get her to nap, she wakes up after 20-45 minutes and won’t go back to sleep (although she obviously needs to!).
• Wakes frequently at night: Wakes up 3-12 times at night, and needs elaborate soothing to fall back asleep.
• Wakes up super-early in the morning and won’t go back to sleep: Some high need babies wake at 4-5am and are ready to start the day.

Well, I’ve come across a way that over 90% of parents are getting their baby or toddler taking long, restorative naps, and sleeping through the night (11-12 hours, STRAIGHT) in just about a week.

Join us for Baby Sleep Bootcamp with sleep expert Dana Obleman, staring THIS Monday, April 22.

When I asked Dana is this Bootcamp was OK for highly sensitive babies, here was her response:

“I think that this is exactly why the boot camp would be the best option for the sensitive baby. The problem with books is that it’s hard to ask questions when the baby isn’t responding exactly as planned. It really is case specific as some sensitive babies will do better with a parent in the room, and other sensitive babies will do better with minimal interaction.  I also find that higher needs babies tend to take a little longer to find their own sleep skills. So some parents may worry that it’s “not working” if they don’t see the same kind of progress as someone else. It’s not that it’s not working, it’s just that for your baby, it’s going to take a little longer. It’s a bigger hill to climb, so to speak.”

So if you’re tired of dreading nap and bedtime, and have decided it’s time to do something about it, join us for Bootcamp!

Click here for more info.

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