On some level, we all assume that the first few months with a new baby are going to be tough and that we’re going to be running on less-than-ideal amounts of sleep. However, by the time her little man, Omar, passed 10 weeks old, his mum Nour was flagging!

“Omar was a very cranky baby. He would cry most of the day and it was hard to get him to calm down. Often he was too upset to feed well and I thought that I must be doing something wrong to have him be that cranky,” Nour explains.

“We had got into a routine where he would sleep lots during the day – sometimes for four hours or so – and I would let him, because I was just so tired. But then he wouldn’t sleep at night!”

Little Omar had a classic case of day-night confusion. After his day full of great long naps, he wouldn’t settle to bed until after midnight – sometimes closer to 3am! Even then, he would be back up again by 6am. Because Omar was awake so frequently during the night he was feeding often and, in fact, taking in a lot of his milk intake then so he could do his longer sleep stretches during the day.

Suffice to say, Nour and her husband weren’t getting much in the way of sleep!

When Nour came across an ad for Baby Sleep Consultants’ Online Sleep Programme and read the testimonials to see how it had worked for others, she decided to give it a go.

“I just really badly needed some more sleep,” Nour shares.

“I looked through Baby Sleep Consultants’ whole website and decided I would give the guide a go first and go from there, moving onto a more individualised plan if needed.”

The online guide fills in some gaps

For Nour, the online guide was packed with enough information to help her get Omar’s sleep back on track. “There were so many things I just hadn’t realised until then – like that babies have certain awake windows, related to their age, that is all they are able to cope with,” Nour admits. “When I started putting some of this new information into practice, we saw an almost immediate change!”

Before tackling timing too much, Nour set out to change where Omar was sleeping – to what she referred to as a “more sleep-approved environment.”

“We’d previously set up Omar’s bassinet in our lounge, despite the lights being on and often having the TV going. When I read more about how darkness helps them release the hormones required to support a deeper sleep, that was the first place I started,” Nour shares.

Then it was time to get the timings on track. “I started putting in more of a routine and, in particular, paying attention to those awake windows,” Nour explains.

“One change I made from early on was waking him from his first morning nap after only an hour. This also helped our feeding to get onto a better schedule and meant that Omar started getting more of his milk during the daytime.”

A turnaround for the whole family

The change in Nour’s household has been significant. “Within a week of starting the programme, Omar slept right through the night,” Nour gushes.

“We got him down at 7pm and he slept through until 6:30am – not even waking for a feed. I didn’t know babies could do that then! And now when he does stir, he can settle back to sleep himself too!”

At nearly four months old now, Omar is thriving. He is much happier, and Nour is pleased to know that he’s getting the right amount of feeds and good quality sleep throughout each day.

“I didn’t realise how much a routine – and knowing where to feed them and how much sleep they need – would have such an impact on how they sleep at night… It was the best decision ever!” Nour claims.

Nour has also seen a huge shift in herself too.

“I have so much more energy now, and my mental health has improved also. Prior to this I was so stressed and sleep deprived – it was really horrible,”

Nour shares.

She’s loving being able to wind down and have some quiet time – and a hot cup of coffee! – in the evenings.

Emma Purdue

Emma is the owner and founder of Baby Sleep Consultant, she is a certified infant and child sleep consultant, Happiest Baby on the block educator, Royal Melbourne Children's Hospital Sleep Educator, has a Bachelor of Science, and Diploma in Education.

Emma is a mother to 3 children, and loves writing when she isn't working with tired clients and cheering on her team helping thousands of mums just like you.