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Teaching your baby to sleep well is not easy! It takes time, patience and a lot of focus. Is it worth it? Absolutely. This post is dedicated to the many families who are navigating their sleep-training journey. The first few nights are often the hardest. I am reminded of this, as I walk through the journey with new families every week. I want to share a particularly happy moment that happens during this time. After a few nights, children start to develop a healthier relationship with sleep. Even those toddlers who previously refused all sleep - will start to head towards their bedroom when they feel tired. It does't (usually) happen overnight, but with your consistent efforts - your child will develop healthy sleep habits that last.

Knowing when to make adjustments in the sleep training journey is key. It is true that there is no "one right way" to teach a child to sleep. I keep in close contact with the families I am working with, to make sure we recognize when it's time to make a change. I worked with a family in January where this was the case. We found that the 7-month-old girl was becoming very frustrated with her parents coming in and out of the room - so we decided to keep mom in the room as she learned her new sleep skills. She seemed to respond much better to having someone stay in the room - and quickly settled herself into sleep. It's important to make these adjustments as soon as we can, to get through this journey as gently and effectively as possible.

That's a wrap! Thanks for sharing and participating in today's rainy day Q&A. I'm going to let my hands have a nap after all of this typing!

Continuing on with our toddler story from last week... There must be something in the air with toddlers waking much earlier than normal. The birds are chirping bright and early, neighbours leave early for work and your child getting a solid night of sleep can cause them to want to wake very early in the morning. I have heard great things from clients about this clock which teaches toddlers when it is wakeup time. I would only recommend introducing this if you are ready to commit to the boundaries around it, otherwise it's just a fancy decoration. https://well.ca/products/onaroo-ok-to-wake-alarm-clock_112507.html?gclid=CKLYg-TZ-dMCFVm2wAodWX0GFw

WOW! What a wonderful surprise to wake up to this morning... 500 followers! Thank you to each and every one of you who like my page and share it with your sleep-deprived friends. I am a sleep consulting who works with parents of babies and toddlers who are not sleeping well. Take a peak here to learn more: http://betterbedtime.ca