 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| My Baby and More Parent Coaching and Educational Services Because Kids don't come with Instructions! |
© Copyright 2005 My Baby & More All Rights Reserved
Disclaimer: All material provided at MyBabyandMore.com is intended for
educational purposes only. Please consult with your Healthcare Provider if you
have any questions and before applying any recommendations found on this site.
educational purposes only. Please consult with your Healthcare Provider if you
have any questions and before applying any recommendations found on this site.
The picture on the left was taken when
Lilly was only a few weeks old but it
shows her crying like she often did.
The picture on the right is of her and
Harrison, which shows those pleasant
moments that were only recently
possible between the two of them.
-- Jennifer
Lilly was only a few weeks old but it
shows her crying like she often did.
The picture on the right is of her and
Harrison, which shows those pleasant
moments that were only recently
possible between the two of them.
-- Jennifer
I was referred to Colleen by a friend of mine when my daughter was 4 months old. Lilly was
a pretty fussy baby from the start, a poor sleeper, easily overwhelmed, and cried often. As
she got older she was able to sleep better at night, but naps remained difficult. She would
only fall asleep nursing, and would wake up if she was put in her crib, swing or chair,
anything but being held. So she took all her naps nursing and laying in my lap on the Boppy
pillow. Since she has a 2 1/2 year old brother, there was always a lot of noise going on
around her and she never learned to shut it out. So her naps were cut short by some
sudden noise, since she was napping in the same room as her brother. In addition, my son
had to wait to get things he wanted or needed until Lilly woke up or I woke her up. Her nap
habit was getting to be a problem for everyone in the family, but especially for her, since she
was losing sleep.
Since the day she was born she had been averaging only about 10 to 12 hours of sleep
total each day, she was sleep deprived and cranky. My husband and I decided Lilly needed
some type of nap training so she could learn to sleep in her crib, which would help her get
undisturbed sleep during the day. We did what worked with her brother, which was to have
her learn to put herself to sleep, which involved having her cry to sleep, but we would stay
right by the crib and offer support such as patting her, hushing her, or occasionally picking
her up if she was too upset. This method worked great for Lilly at night, and helped her to
even sleep for longer stretches of time. But for naps it was a complete failure. So we were
back to her napping on the Boppy.
[That's when] we called on Colleen for help. She showed us the Happiest Baby on the Block
method of swaddling, white noise, side placement, and gently jiggling Lilly. Lilly also sucks
her thumb now, which is a big help in getting her to sleep. Done in just the right way for Lilly,
she would fall asleep and stay asleep in her crib. At first it was difficult to find just the right
way to do this method that would soothe Lilly, and it took 30 minutes to get her to sleep for
each nap the first few days. But we stuck with it and by the end of the week it only took 5
minutes to get her to sleep. Now Lilly takes all her naps in her crib, and most days falls
asleep in less than a minute of being laid down for a nap. It seems that before getting help
from Colleen, Lilly saw her crib and sleep as a negative thing where she would be
abandoned, and would cry as soon as she was laid down anywhere. But now she seems to
welcome the chance to sleep. She now takes naps of about 1 to 2 hours long, and gets 13
to 15 hours of sleep each day.
With Colleen’s help Lilly now sleeps better and takes all her naps in her room and she can
get all the sleep she needs without it being interrupted by a noisy big brother. We use the
white noise which blocks out disturbing noises, such as my son, and other household noises.
My son reacted to his cranky sister by crying or calling her “no”. He enjoys her more now
that she is well rested and pleasant, he calls her by her name, brings her toys, and plays
with her more. He also gets more undivided attention from me and my husband during her
naps, time he was missing out on when I holding Lilly and trying to make him stay quiet so
she could sleep. Learning how to sooth Lilly and get her to sleep better changed
everything, and made being a mom to Lilly a lot easier. We are very grateful to Colleen for
teaching us how to calm our baby.
I have had other questions for Colleen, like dealing with naps away from home, lengthening
naps once they were established in the crib but were only 20-30 minutes long, and hating
her car seat. Each time, Colleen quickly replies with articles to read, links to books or web
sites, and personal suggestions. She has a variety of tricks up her sleeve."
- - Jennifer, Mom of two children, Owings Mills, MD
a pretty fussy baby from the start, a poor sleeper, easily overwhelmed, and cried often. As
she got older she was able to sleep better at night, but naps remained difficult. She would
only fall asleep nursing, and would wake up if she was put in her crib, swing or chair,
anything but being held. So she took all her naps nursing and laying in my lap on the Boppy
pillow. Since she has a 2 1/2 year old brother, there was always a lot of noise going on
around her and she never learned to shut it out. So her naps were cut short by some
sudden noise, since she was napping in the same room as her brother. In addition, my son
had to wait to get things he wanted or needed until Lilly woke up or I woke her up. Her nap
habit was getting to be a problem for everyone in the family, but especially for her, since she
was losing sleep.
Since the day she was born she had been averaging only about 10 to 12 hours of sleep
total each day, she was sleep deprived and cranky. My husband and I decided Lilly needed
some type of nap training so she could learn to sleep in her crib, which would help her get
undisturbed sleep during the day. We did what worked with her brother, which was to have
her learn to put herself to sleep, which involved having her cry to sleep, but we would stay
right by the crib and offer support such as patting her, hushing her, or occasionally picking
her up if she was too upset. This method worked great for Lilly at night, and helped her to
even sleep for longer stretches of time. But for naps it was a complete failure. So we were
back to her napping on the Boppy.
[That's when] we called on Colleen for help. She showed us the Happiest Baby on the Block
method of swaddling, white noise, side placement, and gently jiggling Lilly. Lilly also sucks
her thumb now, which is a big help in getting her to sleep. Done in just the right way for Lilly,
she would fall asleep and stay asleep in her crib. At first it was difficult to find just the right
way to do this method that would soothe Lilly, and it took 30 minutes to get her to sleep for
each nap the first few days. But we stuck with it and by the end of the week it only took 5
minutes to get her to sleep. Now Lilly takes all her naps in her crib, and most days falls
asleep in less than a minute of being laid down for a nap. It seems that before getting help
from Colleen, Lilly saw her crib and sleep as a negative thing where she would be
abandoned, and would cry as soon as she was laid down anywhere. But now she seems to
welcome the chance to sleep. She now takes naps of about 1 to 2 hours long, and gets 13
to 15 hours of sleep each day.
With Colleen’s help Lilly now sleeps better and takes all her naps in her room and she can
get all the sleep she needs without it being interrupted by a noisy big brother. We use the
white noise which blocks out disturbing noises, such as my son, and other household noises.
My son reacted to his cranky sister by crying or calling her “no”. He enjoys her more now
that she is well rested and pleasant, he calls her by her name, brings her toys, and plays
with her more. He also gets more undivided attention from me and my husband during her
naps, time he was missing out on when I holding Lilly and trying to make him stay quiet so
she could sleep. Learning how to sooth Lilly and get her to sleep better changed
everything, and made being a mom to Lilly a lot easier. We are very grateful to Colleen for
teaching us how to calm our baby.
I have had other questions for Colleen, like dealing with naps away from home, lengthening
naps once they were established in the crib but were only 20-30 minutes long, and hating
her car seat. Each time, Colleen quickly replies with articles to read, links to books or web
sites, and personal suggestions. She has a variety of tricks up her sleeve."
- - Jennifer, Mom of two children, Owings Mills, MD
| Testimonials |