I'm finding that it takes a village raising children, being a mom, and just being an adult. I could go on and on by naming the people that help me with my life daily, and now I'm adding one more person to the list. Ensley Nesbitt from Sleep Baby Consulting. No, I'm not having a baby, this assistance is for my 6 year old, Caroline and the sleep habits we have run into over the years. First let me tell you a little bit about Ensley. I met Ensley years ago when we both taught at the same school. She understands kids. She is also a mom of almost 4 (she's currently pregnant with twins)owns/runs her own Nursery School, and is a sleep consultant for newborns up to age 6.
I reached out to Ensley in January when I was at my wits end with middle of the night wake-ups in our room and also staying in Caroline's room until 9:00 at night. I have to say, I love laying with Caroline at night. She tells me about her day and it's the only time she'll cuddle with me. However, by the time I get out of her room, I've barely had time to have a conversation with Troster, let alone have any time to myself. At 3 AM, I'll find her in my bed because she will wake up in the middle of the night wondering where I am. I know that I really need my sleep. I'm not someone who can just get 5 hours of sleep and get through my day just fine. I need a solid 7-8 hours to feel my best. Now, this doesn't happen every night. We will go through phases where she will sleep all night. The big problem is that she isn't learning to fall asleep on her own.
Ensley provided me with so many helpful tips as well as an entire plan of what to do over a two week period. I've included it below, so you can see all of the details.
As you can see, Ensley provided a ton of helpful tips and information to get our sleep issues under control. Now it's May, and we aren't quite there yet. She has been consistently sleeping through the night, but I'm still laying with her a lot. This is on me and it's just a habit I've gotten into. It did used to take Caroline quite awhile to just fall asleep, but one thing Ensley suggested doing was just doing a small activity/book time just the two of us before bed. We usually read stories as a family and then do prayers etc. We are still reading one book all together, but then Caroline and I will read a chapter book series together. We've been reading this series called Critter Club that was recommended by a good friend. We're both obsessed. All that to say, a little one-on-one time has been crucial to her falling asleep quicker. I will say, "Our snuggle time is when we read Critter Club and play with your doll house." It doesn't always work, but it's gotten so much better.
I can't thank Ensley enough for helping us get on a better track with sleep. I just want to say that everyone's sleep journey with their kids is different. This is not to shame anyone. Some of our habits were just not working for our family anymore. If you would like some assistance with your child's sleep habits you can contact Ensley (Ensley@sleepbabyconsulting.com) or check out Sleep Baby Consulting.
An advanced package comes with a 1 hour call, 2 weeks of text/email support, and a custom sleep plan for $199.
