First comes Independent Sleep, then comes Room Sharing

An odd way to start a blog I know, but I knew this family was a good fit when I saw that they signed their emails Team Malcolmson. They were ready for this journey together and recognized it as a team process that we were about to embrace! 

Meet Cody (19 months) & Jake (3 years), two adorable brothers who needed mom and/or dad to fall asleep and stay asleep. They were all sleeping together in their parent’s room overnight. 

Morgan & Eric initially reached out with the desire to teach their boys how to sleep independently and feel good about the process, while ultimately getting their bed back! They asked, “Do we sleep train 1 child at a time and then put them together or just knock the two out together and rip the bandaid?” The end goal was that the brothers would be room sharing.

We started with Cody and teaching him to learn to sleep in his crib overnight. When working with siblings, I typically start with the youngest as it helps the older sibling buy-in to the process. After night 1 mom reported, “The first initial 15 min, my heart was heavy and I was a tad anxious. So I re-read over the paperwork, reminded myself the goal and mission and repeated over and over that he was safe and loved and we will be successful. Eric and I watched the monitor and went over what we talked about and just observed. With every passing minute our confidence grew and the mindset that "he's going to get this!" grew! He exceeded our expectations as you knew he would!” 

I could not have been more proud as mom and dad used all of the strategies and tools we discussed during our review call to shift their perspective about any protest Cody had when learning this new, hard skill and power through using look-for’s to give reassurance that he could do this! 

At the end of the two weeks of coaching, parents shared, “Before we began this process, Cody did not fall asleep independently, he took a bottle before sleep, he woke up multiple times a night and slept with mom in the bed. Now, he has a nap routine and bedtime routine that cues him for healthy, long lasting sleep, consistently. We had faith in Cody but we didn't know where to begin in the process. Emily educated us on the how and why to give us understanding that allowed for a seamless execution of her plan and suggestions. With her guidance, constant encouragement and support we have a newfound confidence that is priceless.”

Then it was time for Jake! When it comes to toddler sleep plans, nothing is more important to me than the child feeling loved and safe during the process. It takes time to build trust with this age group and allow them to see that sleep makes their body feel good! That is exactly what we did for Jake in teaching him to love his own bed. 

Parents celebrated and wrote, “Jake went from co-sleeping with dad and mom, falling asleep with a bottle to falling asleep independently in his own big boy bed AND sharing a room with his recently sleep trained little brother! Not without our ups and downs! But with Emily's guidance and support throughout the process, we now have consistent and healthy sleep routines and boundaries.” 

At the end of Jake’s coaching, both boys were sharing a room in their respective beds and sleeping through the night! Team Malcolmson accomplished so much during this time, persevered through challenges and most importantly are now getting the rest they deserve.