A happy Mommy

Before Cole was born I always knew that sleep was SO important to me and I wanted a child that sleeps.  I learned from our foster baby that life was SO much better when he and I slept! My sister gave me a book called "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" and can I say that it was the best gift I have ever received!!!  I read parts of it before he was born and lets just say I was ready to tackle any sleep problems or at least I thought I was.  The first five months have not been as easy as I thought it would be BUT I can finally say that all my hard word, dedication and complete obsession has paid off! My child finally sleeps. Without this book I would have never known my child's sleepy cues and I would never have rocked him to sleep just because he has been awake one hour and he didn't even look tired.  I am so glad I did not give up or give in!  Now my child wakes up about 7:00 or 7:30 each morning, then takes a two hour nap in the morning, another two hour nap in the afternoon and a shorter third nap in the evening and he still goes to bed at 7:30pm!! And the best part is I can put him to bed awake and he will fall asleep on his own.

I still am not confident enough to give advice because he is my first child and I know every child is different. But I do believe that if I had not been committed to helping him learn to fall asleep he would still be resisting naps, fussy and spend most of the day overtired.  The only advice I would give is to make a plan and stick with it even if it is hard.  For awhile, Cole did not want to sleep in his crib but I knew for my sanity he had to. Some days I would rock him and put him in his crib 5 or 6 times just for one short nap, and each time he woke up screaming and I had to start all over again! It was exhausting but I am so glad I did it because now I have time to myself!  It may be very challenging at times but I believe it will pay off in the end if you stick with it!

Now my child sleeps like an angel and Mommy is SO much happier!