Baby Jude, 10 months old, was waking 1-2 hourly overnight.
I arrived at 5pm to greet Sara and Jude. Mummy looked TIRED. I talked with them about what they had gone through to date (3 sleep school stays, all of which said “you have a very stubborn baby, maybe just pat him to sleep this time”) countless methods, crying, co sleeping… naturopaths, GP’s Peadatricians. You name it this family had done it. Jude was a reactive, persistent but absolutely adorable and sensitive little boy. His smile lit up the whole room, he warmed to me instantly, he reminded me so much of my 2 year old.
After bathtime we quickly moved to the bedtime routine and decided on an in room settling option as the “cry it out” option had failed miserably at the last attempt. Jude fell asleep! by himself, in his cot, without the dummy (his choice)! Mum said that this had never happened before.
Throughout the night Jude continued to wake frequently but self settled each time. The longest stretch of sleep he did was 5 hours. This was monumental for Sara who had been standing up to sleep/sleeping 1 hour blocks for months. I left Mum feeling happy but apprehensive as to what the next night would bring.
Over the next few nights there was steady improvement but it was a hard slog, Jude was very sensitive to over tiredness and as a result of the new settling, naps were not great for a few days there…which lead to frequent wakes in the first half of the night.
But! On day 10 HE DID IT – Jude slept through the night for the first time EVER. He did it again the next night too!!
Finally, some relief for Mummy. This was one of the most tired I have ever seen a parent, her health was rapidly declining, so scared to wake bub once he was down that she had to be completely silent. She told me she felt like she lost a year of Jude’s life to sleep deprivation, and that my visit that night was a pivotal moment, as she felt there was no other option but to check into hospital…..SO SAD, but so happy she found me.
