No Long Stretch at Night

If you haven't taken the Will I Ever Sleep Again? newborn class, please know that many babies start to see longer stretches of sleep over time as they apply the principles and tips from the class.

Even though we love to see long stretches of sleep, the goals of our  Will I Ever Sleep Again? course are:

  1. To be able to calm your fussy baby
  2. Read your baby's cues
  3. Set your days and nights up for success
  4. LOVE the newborn stage

Remember infant development is not always linear, sometimes it can be three steps forward and two steps back. We want to encourage you to continue to implement all of the tips from the class. The longer sleep stretch will come over time as your little one learns to fall asleep more independently (tip 5) and as you work on gently elongating the time between feedings that begins at 4 weeks (tip 7). Check out this Instagram post for a reminder about how those long stretches are so different from one baby to the next:

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"Cara, what am I doing WRONG?!" • See these two peanuts? They shared a womb and were handed similar genetic material at conception. These twins have the same mother who is implementing the same healthy sleep habits with both babies. She is following the tips learned from the newborn sleep class "Will I Ever Sleep Again" with both babies. (Tips that involve NO CRYING, btw.) What are the results at 7 weeks of age? • See Rock Star Boy on the left? He's up every night after 4 hours to eat. See Little Princess on the right? She sleeps 10:30pm to 7am. • Now, you tell me....what is this mom doing "wrong"? Answer: NOTHING! * She is setting up healthy sleep habits with both babies. She is learning to watch their sleepy/hunger cues. She has learned how to calm them when they are fussy. She knows what to expect during the day (although each day is slightly different). She has a plan to follow for her nights. (Link to class in bio.) • The long stretches of sleep from Little Miss are fabulous, but that doesn't mean that the class was a success for her and a failure for her brother. He is ALSO laying a strong foundation for sleep. • My goal is to hand you tools so that you truly LOVE those first several months with baby. Oh, I hope you start getting those long stretches of sleep too, but do you SEE how unique each baby is? Do you SEE how individualized it is? Do you SEE that it's okay? Just keep going! • Want to know the end of the story? By the time he was 4.5 months old... he was sleeping through the night too. That foundation just took a bit longer to build. • As a recovering perfectionist, here's my best advice: Progress Not Perfection! Lay the foundation, but do not stress. Do not compare your middle of the road journey to someone's end of road success! • Any perfectionists reading this today? Name 2 successes RIGHT NOW in your motherhood journey. (Example: I'm loving the newborn stage, I can read my baby's cues, my baby slept 6 hours, my baby is able to latch, I found the correct formula, my baby put herself to sleep last night, I can make my baby smile.) Look for the victories. They are there.

A post shared by TakingCaraBabies~Sleep Expert (@takingcarababies) on

Remember hearing grunting and noises are not signs you need to intervene, wait for your little one to truly let out a cry before intervening. The video below shows how much noise a baby can make while sleeping.

If you feel like you're already trying these things and need some more 1-on-1 help after taking the  Will I Ever Sleep Again? newborn class, a phone consult may really help you to develop a plan of action for your specific situation.

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