Ever since I was a little girl I knew I was meant to be a mom. I could feel it in my bones. My purpose here was to be a mother and I had full confidence in that. I knew I would have lots of babies and stay home with them and raise them and be there for them and be the best mom I absolutely could be.
I knew I was made for motherhood. BUT the thought of not getting any sleep terrified me. It really did terrify me! Sleep is SOOOOO precious to me!
So before I was even pregnant I was researching sleep. I would google and follow accounts on social media and try to learn everything I could about sleep. How it helps babies developmentally, regressions, newborn sleep, sleep training pros & cons, different methods of sleep training, how long babies can be awake, safe sleep, sleep conditions, how to have an “on-the-go” lifestyle with a baby that still sleeps…
You name it — I was researching it! I wanted to be as prepared as possible.
And then my little angel was born in February. And I was living it! It was time to try and put all that research and information I had to use! I honestly couldn’t wait. I thought “here I am. I have prepared for this! It’s going to be great and I’m going to have this perfect sleeper!”
WOMP WOMPPPP.
Those first two weeks are pure survival mode. I think any mom will tell you that… and sadly not enough moms actually talk and share about how hard those first couple of weeks are. Two words — cluster. feeding. Whew! It about did me in! I was running on a measly few hours a sleep A DAY and somehow I was supposed to take care of this tiny little baby while I felt like I had been hit by a truck?!? How?!
By about halfway through week 3 I was so ready to get my little babe on a schedule! She had pretty much finished cluster feeding and as a super type A, schedule, creature of habit person… I was ready to feel like I had some control and ready to get into a routine. I busted out my Moms on Call book and started the schedule the next day.
AND I HATED IT. Yikes! But this is what I had done all this research and read and studied for! To be able to use this information and implement it and it would work perfect for us, right?! WRONG.
I came to find out very quickly that having a rigid schedule was not going to work for us. Being told she HAS to sleep at this time and HAS to have a boob or bottle in her mouth at this time made me feel more out of control than I ever have!
So I started moving on to my other methods. I watched her wake times like a hawk. I tried to lay her down drowsy and hope she would fall asleep. I would rock her, bounce her, do all the things! And sure — some things were catching. She was a very happy baby and for the most part was an okay sleeper!
But I KNOW how important sleep is for a baby’s development. So I became an anxious stress ball worrying every day “is she getting enough sleep”?! It drove me bonkers! Every short nap, every time she woke up, every minute past that wake window that she was still up. It would stress me out!
A friend finally recommended me to talk to Kristin and WOW. That’s when things changed!!
The first day I spoke with her on the phone I knew this was going to be what we needed to find a good routine and be successful so we BOTH could get the sleep we wanted! She chatted with me on the phone for 45 minutes!! Which to me showed me she really cared about me and Quinn. She asked us all kinds of questions about me and pregnancy, birth… about Quinn and her weight and diapers and feedings and mood. And then she gave me some tips to start with.
The next day she went step-by-step through the day with me. THAT is the beauty of what Kristin has to offer and what sets her apart! I’m not knocking other resources that are out there (I still LOVE following Cara and takingcarababies on Instagram!) but having the 1:1 personal help from Kristin has been the absolute BEST.
When you’re researching and reading books and using those other resources they can be great and so helpful to give you a baseline of sleep for your baby. But what happens when the baby only naps for 20 minutes. When she is cluster feeding like crazy. When she’s going through a growth spurt and refuses to sleep. When, when, when…
I felt lost without having anyone to help me troubleshoot. Which ultimately led me to feeling like a failure with my daughter’s sleep.
But Kristin stepped right in and was there to troubleshoot with us every day! She helped us set the groundwork for Quinn’s sleep, sent us a sample schedule, talked through her cycles and how many times she needs to be feeding & napping in a day. All of it!
And not only did she tell me WHAT we needed to be doing, but she explained WHY. And that is what is so important to me and what I think has been most helpful! I was always the kid to ask “but why?!” (let’s hope my daughter doesn’t get that from me! lol). I always want to know WHY things work and not just be told what and how to do things. And Kristin is always there to help explain and answer my questions. Which makes me EMPOWERED as a mom to go and tackle our day to day without her!
The other thing I love about working with Kristin is how much she has respected what was important to me! Like not allowing my daughter to fuss or cry in her crib, and still getting tummy to chest time and cuddling with my baby who is already growing too fast! I never felt pressured to do things a “specific way” but still have been able to lay an amazing groundwork of sleep by having Kristins help and tips!
Kristin has been a Godsend for us! I am forever thankful that a friend sent me to her and that she has been so helpful in every aspect of our first 3 months with my sweet baby girl! And I am confident that as we move into month 4 and the dreaded sleep regression— on the bad days, the teething, when Quinn starts rolling, when we have to unswaddle her, when she starts to pull up and stand — and every milestone in between… Kristin will be there for us and is going to help us get through it <3
Morgan, Newborn