Sleep Success Case Study

2 year old twins waking frequently at night, relying on breastfeeding back to sleep

Background

A & D were 2 year old twins. Mum was 3 months pregnant with their third child, exhausted not just from early pregnancy but also as the girls had never slept through the night.

Breastfeeding or vigorous rocking was the only way to support them back to sleep which was becoming unmanageable for Mum and physically challenging for Dad.

The whole family were on a floor bed mattress which was unsustainable for Mum as her pregnancy was progressing.

Both parents had to be there for all bedtimes to tag team on rocking or feeding, and they were concerned how they would do this when the baby came along.

The parents had previously worked with a sleep consultant who suggested never feeding to sleep or picking them up, only responding with patting which didn’t align with their responsive parenting ethos.

Mum was happy to feed them to sleep as long as they were able to settle in other ways through the night.

What We Changed

Improved general sleep hygiene
Capped nap to 2 hours
Spent more time in the bedroom on a calming routine
Improved the evening flow by swapping around the evening’s activities
Used stories to explain the changes that we were making
Night weaned but kept feeding to sleep at bedtime & naps
Dad did all night settling at each wake
Emotion coached during the day through tantrums to help with nighttime boundaries
Increased opportunities for play and connection
Got Mum back in her own bed leaving Dad co-sleeping for a while
Weaned off feeding to sleep at bedtime
Supported the parents to understand how to support the girls’ emotions around all the changes

A & D’s parents chose to work with me 1:1 for 5 weeks with the Sleep Rescue Package.

Results

The girls were sleeping through the night for the majority of the time and Dad was able to settle them using voice / lying with them briefly instead of rocking/feeding if they did wake up.

By helping the twins with their emotions during the day, they were able to be comforted overnight more quickly if they did wake up.

The parents were able to sleep in their own bed for the night!

Mum was able to rest more for the remainder of her pregnancy.

Client Feedback

Jemma came recommended by another sleep professional, we were struggling as baby number 3 was on the way, and the twins’ sleep was so poor. We hadn’t had the best of experiences when we used another baby sleep consultant before so were attracted to the fact that is very gentle in her approach.

What did you find most useful during your time working with Jemma?

Surprisingly, what we found most useful were ideas of how to ‘negotiate’ with the twins.

Did you have an ah-ha moment? Was there something that really helped?

Yes, we were comforted about understanding crying and how to support the girls emotionally.

Would you recommend the Sleep Rescue Package?

Yes! Thanks for all the advice, it helped us so much! I couldn’t think of any way to improve the service, it was excellent, and great value for money. I felt I always had plenty of access to Jemma whenever we needed it.