Leo's sleep story is a familiar one to many tired parents out there.
At just 4 months old, he never seemed a “sleepy” baby, even from the beginning. His incredible mother, Imogen, felt like she was in a constant battle to get him to doze off during the day, only for him to wake up a mere 40 minutes later from every nap.
"By the end of the 2 weeks, we were no longer second-guessing everything we were doing; we knew how to tackle each day! What a relief!!"
As if the short catnaps weren’t enough, Leo had had a rough start with bad reflux and had recently developed a new habit—waking up every 1-2 hours throughout the night, needing his dummy replaced, and Imogen was now spending up to 30 minutes rocking and patting him to back to sleep.
Naturally, this pattern of poor napping and fragmented nighttime sleep turned Leo into a cranky, tired little dude. And poor Imogen, bless her… was exhausted!!
She scoured the internet for answers, and we all know how much information is out there about babies’ sleep and what to do/not do…it can feel so overwhelming! Frustrated but determined, Imogen kept searching for help, and that’s when she stumbled upon The Sleeping Co.
Time to take action
At first, Imogen was sceptical. The suggested nap times and settling method were quite different from what Leo had been doing. She wondered if her ever-awake baby would ever adapt to this new sleep routine.
The results of working together
After a week on my sleep program and ditching the dummy, Leo’s night sleep started consolidating, and it only got better from there! Imogen told me that the settling method to ditch the dummy for Leo “was gentle on both our baby and us.”
With personalised guidance and a reassuring pep talk or two, Imogen helped Leo from waking 2 hours at night to one feed and sleeping for a long 7-8 hour stretch…which was simply unheard of before starting the sleep program.
Leo’s sleep results weren’t just from ditching the dummy but also from following a daily sleep and feed schedule for his age. It was the first step toward bringing some structure and consistency to Leo’s days—an essential aspect of improving baby sleep.
Imogen also learned that Leo’s frequent nighttime awakenings were primarily a result of the dreaded 4-month sleep regression—a phase where a baby’s sleep cycles mature, causing them to wake between cycles. And since Leo was used to being patted to sleep and having his dummy, he struggled to go back to sleep independently during the day and at night.
Armed with troubleshooting knowledge, Imogen started with an age-appropriate nap routine during the day. Once that was established, she delved into The Sleeping Co’s self-settling method designed for babies using a dummy. This method respected Leo’s need for support to fall asleep, making the learning process smoother and more comfortable for the whole family.
The combination of a solid daytime routine and the gentle self-settling approach proved to be a game-changer. Leo’s chronic nighttime awakenings dwindled from numerous wakes to just one milk feed within a few days. His naps became more predictable, and his lunchtime nap started consolidating into a long sleep.
Imogen, amazed by the transformation, says, “Our family is getting more sleep, and we are feeling confident about what we are doing!”
By following an age-appropriate daily nap schedule and focusing on getting Leo’s awake times just right for his developmental age and stage, along with the step-by-step self-settling method, this family has turned sleepless nights into a thing of the past.
And the best part?
It was all done without any crying it out.
You can’t be the cOoL pArEnTs if you’re constantly feeling burnt out & asleep on your feet
With the right steps, education and gentle methods to get your baby to sleep, a set of realistic expectations, and the support (and pep talks) you need to actually trust your parenting-gut, you’ll finally get the sleep you and your baby deserve, and feel like a fully-functioning human-snack maker again (#goals).
