Sleep. Something I took for granted and should have appreciated in my pre-motherhood days way more than I did.
My husband and I had our third daughter Octavia in September last year. I was that person that had two other children that had just naturally slept well through the night.
So having my third baby, I naively assumed Octavia would be the same – oh how wrong I was.
By nearly six months, Octavia was still waking every 2 hours or more during the night and only catnapping during the day.
Sleep deprivation was once used as a form of torture, so why was this miniature human torturing me?
Her naps barely gave me the time to run around to do a few chores and make a cup of coffee.
I was exhausted every day, and the fatigue was becoming overwhelming.
I spent the little time my baby was sleeping wondering what I was doing wrong.
What did sleep felt like again? I was drinking all the coffee, wishing my husband was capable of breastfeeding and googling “how to get my baby to sleep”.
One late night scrolling through Instagram for the thirtieth time, I found the account that would save my sanity and help give both Octavia and I the sleep we both desperately needed.
I had stumbled across Hayley from Slumber and Sprout.
Hayley is a fellow Perth mum, certified paediatric sleep consultant and owner of Slumber and Sprout. She provides easy to follow tips, an abundance of advice on her socials. She offers a variety of packages to help get your little ones sleeping soundly through the night and napping well through the day.
I learnt so many new things about babies and sleep; for example, our little humans will go through FIVE sleep regressions by the age of two. At four months, 8-10 months, 12 months, 18 months and 24 months!
How did it work?
I started by explaining my babies current sleep situation, and Hayley devised a plan to set up healthy sleep habits and resolve the sleep issues, based personally on our family.
It is not a one size fits all approach which I loved, because as a mum of older children, Octavia’s sleep needed to work around school runs and other extracurricular activities.
I had access to a private portal online to log all of Octavia’s sleep and activity throughout the day. Hayley closely monitored her progress and made suggestions accordingly.
With just the simplest of changes within two weeks, Octavia was napping during the day like a champ!
Soon Octavia went from waking every two hours and only cap napping, to now waking only once a night and having solid naps during the day.
In turn, Craig and I stopped feeling like coffee-fuelled zombies every day, and the whole mood of the household lightened.
I found it hard to ask for help at first, but I’m so happy I did. It doesn’t matter if you are a first-time mum or you are a mum of many, each child is different, so there is no shame in getting some help and support if you need it, especially when it comes to getting a good nights sleep!
Need some help getting your little one sleeping too?
Hayley provides a range of packages and services including in-home sleep consultations here in Perth.
You can find out more about these services on her website HERE