Q&A with Jasmine, a mommy of 4-month-old baby who was struggling to get her baby to sleep and it took her and her husband 2 hours to rock baby to sleep!
What was your life like before you found Zoe, SG Supernanny?
As a first time mum, I was clueless about setting routines for my son. As such, I had problems deciphering if he cried because he was hungry, tired or uncomfortable. I felt so lousy as a mother. It didn’t help with the people around me giving me the wrong directions as they thought the baby was hungry all the time.
After frantically searching the internet, I had a hunch that my baby was not sleeping well. He was taking one or two thirty-minute naps a day and cried for two hours from 9pm to 11pm daily. My husband and I had to take turns to rock him for two hours and switch on the hairdryer to the strongest mode as white noise so that he could fall asleep. He was sleeping way below the recommended time of 14-18 hours for a 4 month old.
A trip to the paediatrician showed that my son had no health issues. He said this baby might be unique and don’t require as much sleep as other babies.
I was quite desperate for help but managed to find Zoe’s contact via the FB sleep group. Things improved so much after engaging Zoe’s help.
What was your main concern about engaging Zoe?
I heard stories about sleep training and was afraid of embarking on it. There were rumours that sleep training involved letting the baby cry until they are helpless and tired… there were other baseless articles which claimed that sleep training will cause babies to grow into insecure adults as they were not comforted when they were crying.
But Zoe was patient enough to clear my doubts and handed me some proven articles regarding babies crying. It is just their way of communication as well as stress release.
What is life like after engaging Zoe?
I was so surprised that my baby managed to take naps of more than 1 hour within the first 3 days! I could finally stop rocking, stop patting, stop giving pacifier to my baby during bedtime. Alas! The dreaded hairdryer could be put away too. More importantly, after 1-2 weeks of adjustments, my baby started to sleep well, sleep independently and became more alert during his play times.
It was a joy seeing my son drink well and being so responsive during his wake times.
If you were to recommend Zoe to your best friend, what would you say?
Zoe has not only helped me by giving me the tools to let baby sleep well… she has also guided me to set the EASY routines for my son so that I am able to figure out what my baby needs when he cries.
What surprised you the most or made you the happiest about engaging Zoe?
Now, my baby refused to be rocked to sleep. If I tried to carry him when he’s tired, he will protest and insist that I put him in his cot so that he is able to rest well. It is a bittersweet moment to know that my boy doesn’t need me to assist him to sleep anymore. I’m also SUPER HAPPY about saying goodbye to 2-3 hours of rocking and hairdryers 🙂
Is there anything you’d like to add?
I would really want to encourage all first time mummies out there to find out more about the EASY routine and helping your baby to sleep independently. It is a skill which can never be taken away from your baby. Also, my baby started having better skin after being well rested which shows how important sleep is for babies!
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