Parenting Real Talk, Part 2

Lessons I learned from my highly alert and sensitive baby

Here she is.⁠ The baby that gave me a run for my money for the first 8 months of her life.⁠ Mira Luna Kaimana.⁠ ⁠She is now 13 amazing years old and LOVES to sleep but at the beginning, it was rough.

To get this little baby to sleep, it was the closest to a circus act as I have ever been. I would sit on a big purple yoga ball and bounce all while holding her in a seated upright position and rocking her up and down, up and down...

I did this for every nap.

For every bedtime and for every waking in the night.

It. Was. Brutal.

⁠The upshot was that my arms looked AMAZING from all of the heavy lifting, but more than anything, I was exhausted, resentful and depleted.⁠

What I have since learned was that she was a highly alert and sensitive baby (sound familiar?). She never showed signs that she was sleepy and as a result I never knew when to put her down for a nap and as a result she was ALWAYS overtired. ⁠This went on for months.⁠⁠ ⁠

Fast forward 13 years and now MOST of the babies that I work with share that same highly alert temperament. The struggle is real and the evidence and research points to sleep simply being a much harder skill to learn for this temperament. It requires them to organize their internal rhythms and settle themselves which does not come easy.⁠⁠ 

I take great pride in supporting families who are faced with a baby whom they love but can't figure out how to support in sleep.⁠ ⁠ Because the myth that "babies should be able to sleep anywhere at anytime with ease" is, just that, a myth, it is simply not true.⁠ ⁠ The reality is that helping a baby to learn to sleep requires a deep dive into who they are temperamentally, what they eat and when, where they are in their development, how the parents are doing and much more.

Helping a baby to learn to sleep is rarely linear and it is not often simple, BUT it is doable.

I got you, because I have been there too.⁠ I really do know what you are facing and feeling.⁠ I know the frustration. I know the depletion. I know the tears all too well.⁠ In fact, this is what led me to my calling as a pediatric sleep specialist. It has become my purpose and passion to support other confused, exhausted, conflicted, or curious parents through this stage of life.

To get support creating a tailored plan for healthy sleep habits, reach out to me! I offer a range of services from classes to 1:1 consultations and I bring multidimensional approach to helping families establish healthy sleep habits.⁠

 Sarah Healy Sleep Consultant