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My name is Lucy Wolfe and I am a full time sleep consultant and mum of four young children and author of The Baby Sleep Solution, specialising in infant and child sleep problems that parent’s experience and need assistance in solving. These timed intervals of crying get longer by a few minutes with each interval until she falls asleep.
I am a graduate from University College Cork in Relationship Mentoring and hold a first-class honors master’s degree in The Psychotherapy of Relationship Mentoring from Technical University of Shannon (TUS). I am a Post-Graduate researcher (PhD) with TUS. My current research is focused on how women of different generations experience their children’s sleep. I have completed the Gentle Sleep Coach program (USA) and Certification in Child Sleep Studies accredited by the OCN (UK) and have attended the Naturally Nurturing Sleep Clinic (UK). I have undertaken specific training and qualification for children aged between 4-5 months, and I am a certified Happiest Baby, New Parent Educator together with certification in Post Natal Depression accredited by OCN (UK). I undertake continuous professional development to stay up to date with recent research and development, together with personal reflection. My past research was an exploration into the lived experience of first time Mums in Ireland; giving voice to the challenges of early Motherhood. I have been in practice for over 12 years. Also it’s worth noting, Alice is a really placid baby, our toddler is a different animal altogether and we have had such issues with her and sleep but she had a dairy intolerance which didn’t help etc so I know people always ask me things like ‘was it hard to stop feeding her to sleep’ or ‘was it hard to get her to self settle’ and thankfully the answer to those is no for Alice but it will be a different answer for every baby. American Academy of Pediatrics , Pediatrics, Five-Year Follow-up of Harms and Benefits of Behavioral Infant Sleep Intervention: Randomized Trial, October 2012. American Family Physician, Getting an Infant to Sleep: Graduated Extinction and Sleep Fading Are Effective, November 2016.
Course Content
Definitely don’t think of it as training - think of the process as a learning opportunity, to help your child’s sleep ability to emerge with your conscious and mindful support as their ability starts to emerge. Be predictable, loving, attuned and responsive. Lucy Wolfe, HDip RM, MA Sleep Consultant and Co-Creational Relationship Mentor Author of The Baby Sleep Solution, All About the Baby Sleep Solution, Creator of Sleep Through brand, TV Columnist, Writer and Mum of Four Following years of training, education and working directly with families I developed an effective and practical approach for parents in this modern age of parenting. I felt that it was important that I share my work in this book-so that parents are no longer forced into rigid, scientifically inappropriate routines that have no recourse to the child’s or the parents well being. After about 2 weeks we started to see improvements in terms of how long she starting sleeping at night, for a while she would have nights where she would sleep 7pm to around 10 or 11pm when I’d feed her, then sleep again until 2am when I’d feed her again and then after that she could be a little unsettled until 7am but sometimes not so. Know the times that your baby naps and try to plan your outings to accommodate these, she suggests. “Baby can nap lying flat in the buggy in a busy coffee shop or out for a walk. If your baby only naps in a quiet dark room then he/she will have difficultly ‘napping out’ or in a bright noisy creche as they grow older.”
And while this technique may be the right fit for some families, know that it may lead to more tears for some babies. When your baby falls asleep with you in the room, she may be startled and possibly upset when she awakes and you’re no longer there. Bedtime fading method With a baby instinctively wanting to be near or on you, Quinn says your best chances of getting them down in their sleeping space is to create a “womb-like” environment, eg by swaddling and using a hot-water bottle to warm the sheets – but do take it out before you lie the baby down. Kedzierska-Teague says the importance of making sure the bedroom is tidy is often overlooked. “The clutter can be really stimulating.” After three to four nights of methods like Ferber or cry it out, many babies are sleep trained (save a few minutes of fussing or wails before drifting off). To achieve good sleep, you do not have to give up breastfeeding, room sharing, co sleeping, get rid of dummies for example and you definitely do not have to cry it out.She also says “some naps are better than no naps” – so if child will only sleep in the buggy or car, go with that and you can work on other elements later. O’Reilly thinks sometimes parents do feel judged for co-sleeping. However, “it can be a very effective way for a family to get sleep,” she says, “I would always advise people to make an informed decision. Make yourself aware of the safe co-sleeping guidelines.” Become as informed as you can be - then begin to lay a solid foundation - discover your child’s language for sleep - and attempt naps by day before they become overtired. No matter what method you’re trying, the following sleep training tips can help ensure a smoother transition to dreamland: We probably had a couple of months of going in and out to him every few mins at bedtime (usually for max 15 mins?) and then he was great after that at going down and has been ever since.
We've decided this is the way forward for us and have decided to use a gentler approach after reading a lot so I'm not looking for opinions on sleep training as I've read them all before. Those are questions more parents are daring to ask out loud and, it seems, are willing to pay to have answered – judging by the growth of paediatric sleep consultants in Ireland over the past decade. Where once parents may have suffered in silence, or muddled through with family support, the more isolated and pressurised, dual-earning nature of modern family life means looking for professional help has become a necessity for some.I recognize that if you are reading this you may be over-tired and not have had uninterrupted sleep for a long time. To begin my sleep process, you do not have to complete a lengthy sleep diary. Completion of a simple client history review will enable me to identify core contributory emotional and developmental factors providing scope to devise a suitable, bespoke sleep plan for your family that encourages better sleep to emerge. It is important to me that parents receive high quality information, guidance and support and I continue to invest in training, education and research to ensure that when you select me to accompany you on your journey, that you are are assured that it is the right decision. Geoghegan also stresses the importance of the routine all taking place in the bedroom rather than, say, changing a child into their PJs in the living room. kate288 Ho Kate, sorry, as I've not read the book so have no idea what I'm talking about but just read the bit where you said leaving the room may actually be better and it reminded me of my DS when he was a similar age.
It is not about being a selfish parent if you want your child to sleep, as that is often how it is perceived," says Lucy Wolfe of Sleep Matters. "A well-rested child is a precursor to a well-rested family unit – with huge benefits," she stresses. "If we are going to prioritise maternal health and wellbeing and also infant mental health, sleep has to be part of that conversation." American Academy of Pediatrics , Pediatrics, Reducing Nocturnal Awakening and Crying Episodes in Infants and Young Children: A Comparison Between Scheduled Awakenings and Systemic Ignoring, February 1988. It doesn’t have to be a big convoluted process,” says O’Reilly “The idea is that, in time, little ones know that it’s bedtime – no matter who is putting them to bed; no matter when you’re expecting them to sleep (daytime naps or bedtime); and also, no matter where, whether at home or in granny’s house. Bedtime is bedtime – end of story.” My books provide the information to encourage parents to establish positive sleep practices and overcome sleep challenges without feeling under pressure to resort to rigid, inflexible, cry-intensive strategies.Its great that your DDs sleep is improving, but it is hard to see them be upset. The best thing you can do, in my opinion anyway, is to just continue being consistent so it gives her a chance to learn to settle. She'll get there. And although she is upset you are with her and you know shes safe. Are you following the suggested routine? I am loosely for sleep/wake time and I have found that helps alot. Anyway, my question is... how will I know if he's genuinely hungry in the night? At 6 months is there w possibility he might actually wake due to hunger? However, that doesn’t mean parents can’t take some steps towards what Wolfe, describes as “sleep shaping”. These include getting to know how to read the early sleep cues, such as brief eye rub, brief yawn or a “dreamy look” in the eyes. Limit the use of electronic media and television, obviously, in the last hour before bedtime, but also through the course of the day. As parents, we can often rely more heavily on gadgets than we would like and routinely their use derails sleep - cutting short the amount of deep, restoring sleep they have and alerting the waking part of the brain when we want it to slow down. It can be challenging to alter our device use, but a challenge that can pay dividends in terms of sleep improvements.
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