Hi. I’m a third time mom and I hired a sleep consultant.
When I was pregnant with my first, I did all I could to prepare for her birth. I searched out classes, books, blog posts, birth groups on FB, etc. But I really didn’t have many resources about what life was going to be like when I brought her home.
Fast forward to my third…
…and I’ve wised up. I’m not afraid to ask for help from lactation consultants, postpartum doulas, babywearing experts or sleep consultants. When things get crazy, I know who to call.
Postpartum with my third was my toughest. I transitioned to a stay-at-home mom and brought a new baby home all at the same time. Gone were the days of snuggling in bed all day long with my infant like I did with my first two. I now had to wrangle all three all by myself. I was losing my mind and feeling inadequate as a mother. I thought to myself, “I’ve done this two times before…why is this so hard?!”
Baby Bliss & Kelly
In walks Kelly Robson with Baby Bliss Consulting. Kelly is a certified pediatric sleep consultant, and with a million other trainings and certifications under her belt, I think she should be referred to as “Infant Guru” or “Baby Whisperer”. I first heard about Kelly through a postpartum doula before I was even pregnant with number three, and I knew I had to meet her.
My baby girl, Annabelle, wasn’t a bad sleeper—she was only 7 weeks old.
But my life was chaos and I needed more structure. I am personally anti-cry-it-out, so a no-cry solution was critical to me. “Rest assured,” Kelly said. There would be no crying for my sweet baby. Kelly told me that she prefers working with infants Annabelle’s age because she can help establish healthy sleep habits now instead of having to break bad sleep habits later on. In fact, Kelly shared that sleep habits are formed by 3 months of age. Our timing was perfect.
The Process
Prior to my visit with Kelly, she had me fill out a questionnaire about our current situation – information about when Annabelle sleeps, how she sleeps, and where she sleeps. Then, she sent me an extensive (14 page!) sleep plan with tons of helpful and useful information regarding infant sleep tailored specifically to Annabelle. I was to read this before Kelly arrived for our consultation.
Kelly arrived at my house promptly on time and with a huge duffel bag of sleepy goodness.
Annabelle was asleep, so we went through her sleep plan in greater detail which allowed me the opportunity to ask questions. Kelly provides all of her clients with a copy of the Happiest Baby on the Block DVD and we practiced the techniques together. She encouraged me to have my husband watch it as well.
When Annabelle awoke, she nursed and played. Kelly evaluated Annabelle’s sleeping environment and suggesed small adjustments I could make to encourage better sleep.
Kelly pointed out ways that Annabelle was communicating that she was ready to go to sleep, so we began our sleep routine. Kelly showed me infant massage techniques and a few tweaks to up my swaddling game, and into the crib Annabelle went.
Sleep with no crying was possible!
Because she’s the baby whisperer, Kelly got her to sleep in her crib—for the first time—where she slept for a whole hour. She showed me ways to encourage Annabelle to fall asleep on her own and soothe herself back to sleep if she woke up. And there was no crying!
Once Annabelle was asleep, we talked through any remaining questions I had. After spending over 2 hours with Annabelle and me, Kelly departed. She remained in touch—checking in several times a day for the next two weeks (even checking in over the holidays)! She was extremely responsive and helped troubleshoot any issues we experienced along the way.
Annabelle goes down like a dream. We have some naps that are better than others, and we still have some room for improvement. But I know we will get there. One of the most encouraging things Kelly said to me was, “this isn’t all or nothing!” It will take practice and if she doesn’t fall asleep on her own every single time, that’s OK. She’s still learning the skill. The perfectionist in me breathed a sigh of relief. I’ve been able to take all that I’ve learned from Kelly and adapt it to fit my family’s needs and routine.
So for all you first time moms!
My advice is to not wait until your second or third baby like I did. Reach out to Kelly (here’s her Facebook page!) now to learn how to establish healthy sleep habits. And if you’re a second or third time mom, it’s not too late! I promise you’ll thank me. A rested mama is a happy mama. Sweet dreams!
