Let’s be honest. There are millions of moms and dads out there who are struggling with sleep. You might be one of them. You’re absolutely exhausted, all day, every day. Bedtime is a battle, naps are never longer than 30 minutes, and your little one is up multiple times a night crying, nursing, or knocking on your bedroom door. Every night, you go to bed desperately hoping or praying that tonight will be the night that your babe wakes only twice instead of five times. You can’t even imagine your child ever sleeping all night. And you’re wondering how a sleep consultant could possibly help you solve this challenge. I know this is true because I’ve been in your shoes. In fact, that’s what led me to where I am today.

This blog post is a little different from the others. Today, I’ll be directing your attention elsewhere, with good reason. An old friend of mine, who also happens to be a mama to three sweet kiddos, a Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist, and founder of the International Baby Led Weaning Network of Registered Dietitians, has written a very open and honest account about her struggles with sleep and how our work together changed her life. The best part about it is that she’s a regular mama, just like many of you. She loves her kids unconditionally, she does what is best for them, she works hard to be an incredible mom and a successful entrepreneur, and she also struggled with sleep, just like many of you.

Just to give you a little history, Jessica and I worked together at Tim Horton’s Foundation Camps more than a few years ago. We spent our summers with some incredible kids and met up a few times during the year. Then life happened, and we fell out of touch. When my husband Jamie and I were thinking about how to best approach solid foods with Rory, we decided to try baby led weaning and signed up for Jessica’s online course (which I would highly recommend for any parent looking for expert advice and education). After I trained as a sleep consultant, I reached out to her because we both work with moms, dads, and babes. It turns out it was just the right time.

Her story will sound familiar for many of you; she co-slept with her third babe, Cedric, because she wanted to and she felt it was best for her family. She had co-slept with her two older girls and it worked well. When I reached out to her, Jessica wasn’t sleeping and neither was Cedric. They were both up multiple times a night, every night, they were sleep deprived, and it was affecting every single part of Jessica’s life. I know some of you are feeling exactly the same way: you started out with a plan that was working well for your family until it wasn’t.

Jessica’s blog post offers great insight for other moms or dads who are also struggling with sleep and have reservations about working with a sleep consultant. She is very upfront about her initial reluctance and her misconceptions. She thought the exhaustion was just par for the course when you have young children. She thought her little guy would just grow out of the sleep situation he was in. And she felt she didn’t need help until she reached a breaking point.

But here’s the thing – we all need help with some things. If you are struggling with sleep, I would love to help you make a positive change. Just because you’re a parent doesn’t mean you have to live your life without sleep. So take a few minutes to read Jessica’s story and find out how she fell in love with her baby again. And if you’d like to chat about changing your sleep situation, please reach out. I would love nothing more than to help you and your family get a good night’s sleep.

The Truth about Working with a Sleep Consultant