Isaac, 4 weeks: Refusing naps and inconsolable!

Isaac’s sleep story…

As a neonatal nurse, first time mum Elena felt confident that she would know exactly what to do once her baby arrived. After all, looking after babies was literally her job!

However, once baby Isaac arrived, things turned out to be a LOT harder than she expected. Despite Elena’s best efforts, Isaac just wouldn’t nap during the day. Instead, he would stay awake until he was overtired and inconsolable. This went on for weeks, leaving Elena and her husband feeling completely exhausted and overwhelmed.

My newborn was overtired and sooo upset! I knew he needed to sleep but I just couldn't get him to just fall asleep.I felt like such a failure as a parent, especially because I am a neonatal nurse. Why couldn't I get my *own* baby to just sleep? I was overwhelmed, tearful, exhausted, and not enjoying the newborn phase. My husband was supportive but we were both completely overwhelmed and we knew something had to change.

When Isaac was 4 weeks old, Elena came across Little Ones and promptly started reading through our Program to learn more about her newborn’s sleep needs.

She quickly realised that Isaac was staying awake for far too long and his sleep environment was also making it harder for him to fall asleep. Armed with this new knowledge, Elena and her husband set about making changes.

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They started following the sleep schedule for Isaac’s age, which had much shorter awake times. They also made some changes to his sleep environment to make it easier for him to fall asleep. His room was now completely dark, with white noise playing, and he was swaddled for all naps and overnight sleep. They were promptly rewarded, as they saw improvements in Isaac’s settling and sleep straight away!

We saw improvements within the first day!! It did take work and some trial & error, but the troubleshooting guide helped us through it. Very quickly our baby was on a set sleeping & feeding schedule which was so comforting for all of us.

Previously, little Isaac had been having long periods of awake time, meaning that he was becoming overtired. When a baby is overtired, their body is flooded with the stress hormone cortisol, which acts like adrenaline or caffeine. This made Isaac super alert and difficult to settle to sleep.

Babies who are overtired will often resist settling and will only nap for short periods. They can also have long bouts of crying, particularly in the early evening, which is also known as the “witching hour”.

Reducing Isaac’s awake windows and establishing a positive sleep environment made it much easier for Elena to settle Isaac to sleep for naps. This meant a happier baby and happier mum too! Now, Elena could confidently invite visitors around to meet baby Isaac, knowing he would be happy and well rested, rather than cranky and overtired.

Our Sleep Programs not only helped to ensure that Isaac was getting the right amount of sleep for his growth and development, but also gave Elena the knowledge and confidence to navigate her baby’s changing sleep needs. She is happy to report that Isaac is now 2 years old and still a fabulous sleeper!

Little Ones has provided us with so much peace of mind and helped us establish peace & calm in our home. The guide helped to prepare us and guide us through all of the developmental changes & sleep regressions. Our little guy is two now & I still refer to the guide from time to time, but the effort we put into following the program in those early days has been so worth it! He falls asleep quickly & easily and still loves the sleep environment that we created with the recommendations from Little Ones.

Elena has also been able to apply her new-found knowledge about baby sleep in her professional role as a neonatal nurse. She loves recommending Little Ones to her patients, so that they can experience the same great sleep that she has had with Isaac.

I always say that purchasing Little Ones Sleep Program was the best money I've ever spent!! I only wish I had learned about it even earlier so that we could have enjoyed those newborn days more. I love recommending it to my patients & friends.

If you want to learn more about your baby’s sleep needs and how you can help them to get the right amount of sleep for their age, take a look at our comprehensive Sleep Programs that have helped over 300,000 families worldwide.