When you are trying to make a change in your family’s way of life, especially when it comes to your little one’s sleep, the best idea is to figure out one plan and stick with it.
Ok so we are in this amazing, technology, information age, which is awesome, for the most part. I honestly can’t believe my mom survived having three babies without being able to google anything!
But, maybe we have too much information at our fingertips…
Hear me out.
Whenever I have a problem I first go to google to do some research through various blog posts or magazine articles. Then I head to Instagram and start following some accounts that are experts in that specific area. So now I have hope that my problem can be solved but I don’t know if I’ve found the best answers yet and I’m still on the hunt for the best, most magical solution to my prayers.
So I keep going on my trip down the rabbit hole. I head to Facebook and ask all my mom-groups about the problem and get several recommendations for great books, some more Instagram accounts to follow, and a quick fix that worked for one mom.
So now I tried the quick fix- for a day- that didn’t work for me. I’m getting tips and advice from 6 different instagram accounts on my daily feed. Read 3 entire blog posts from 3 different experts. Half-read 5 different online magazine articles. And bought 2 books that I’ve read the first 20 pages and skimmed the rest.
My head is now spinning. I’m drowning in all this different, and often conflicting, expert advice, and now, my hope that I can solve my problem, is dwindling.
I feel stressed out and give up. Now I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that this problem is just a phase we’ll be able to push through.
Sound familiar to anyone?
For the past year, I have been struggling to understand my son’s sensory issues and how it affects him at school. I went down that rabbit hole and used the tactic I described above and It got me nowhere. I had access to so much great advice and knowledge, but because I was only reading bits and pieces, or only implementing one or two things that I read, it wasn’t working.
I would try a tip that someone recommended, but then a couple of days later, I would see something else on my news feed that seemed like an even better idea! So I would jump ship on my past tweaks, and start trying what someone else said. And this cycle would just keep going!
And since the rest of my life was barreling on, I had to not only juggle this new and uncharted territory, I had to juggle my usual hectic crazy life as well.
And for what? For me to be exhausted mentally and physically and for my son to be in the same place he was a year ago? How much sense does that make?!
No. If I wanted to make a change and actually understand what’s going on and how to help him, I needed a plan. I needed to make a commitment that I was going to focus on this one problem and get a plan of action down, in black and white, and then follow through with this mapped out plan for at least a month to give it time to work.
The most important factors to make a change is the commitment and the follow through. And what helps with this is having something in writing that you can look back on and remind yourself of what and why you are doing something.
When you are constantly ping ponging back and forth “trying” all the different tips and tricks you hear or read about, are you actually even “trying” it? Or do you read and learn about so many different things to try that you don’t even remember what it is you’re actually trying at the current moment?
This is very true when it comes to your little one’s sleep! It’s great to gather all the information out there, but then you need to be able to deconstruct that information and decide what you think is doable for your family and then stick with it!
If you’ve worked with me before or have read my other blogs, I’m sure I sound like a broken record, but consistency is key! If you try something for one or two or even three nights, nothing is going to change. You need to stick with a plan for at least two weeks to be able to see results.
I always hear from clients that they have tried everything, and it’s true, to a point! But when you “try” anything, make sure you try it for long enough for it to make a difference.
And I get it! I’ve been there! I was the tired, desperate parent, willing to try anything until you find the magical formula that works to get your child sleep through the night- so you can get back to sleeping through the night- so you aren’t this walking, sleepless zombie anymore!
And this is where I come in. Now that I’m not a sleepless mombie, I can help you with this process, so that you can see the change you need in your little one’s sleep.
☑️ If you decide you are just too tired or too busy with all the other things in your crazy hectic life to sift through all the sleep info out there to come up with one plan, then I’m your girl.
☑️ If you “read” the books, but the information literally goes right out of your tired brain, I got you.
☑️ If you have trouble putting together a written plan of action, I can do that for you.
☑️ If you find it impossible to stick with just one plan, long enough for it to have a chance to work, I can help keep you accountable.