Getting baby to sleep can be a tricky task for most parents. Each week we share a success story from the baby sleep training frontline. Today we talk to Britta Fairclough who sleep trained little Corinne when she was 11 months old.

Photo courtesy Britta Fairclough

I finally decided to bite the bullet and sleep train because….

I was miserable. I NEVER had time for myself, or my Husband, at the end of the day, and I dreaded nighttime because it was just the start of my sleepless night.

My biggest worry about sleep training was….

I was worried all the crying wasn’t something I could handle. I knew Corinne could handle it. I had sleep trained my older Daughter years before, but I just didn’t feel as if I could handle all the sad moments. I was so sleep deprived that my emotional state was making it hard for me to see that I was putting my own fear on her and causing us both unnecessary stress.

Before sleep training my baby slept….

Horribly. She was waking 5-7x a night.

After sleep training my baby sleeps….

Soundly! She puts herself to sleep and stays asleep for 11 hours.

The sleep training process itself was….

Way less painful than I expected. After one night of fewer wakings, both of our moods improved, and things only got better from there.

Did your attachment with your baby change in a positive or a negative way after sleep training?

It definitely improved. We are both much happier and actually enjoy each other.

Do you feel like sleep training was a healthy choice for baby, you, and your family?

Without a doubt. Before sleep training, it disrupted our entire day and night and I missed out on time with my older daughter.

How would you respond to hearing, “Sleep training is selfish”?

I was not a good Mother before sleep training. I was constantly tired, emotional and quick to frustration. No one was benefitting from our sleep situation, and it was affecting every single aspect of our days together.

How many nights did it take for baby’s nighttime sleep to improve and how many nights did it take for baby’s naps to improve?

Nighttime sleep improved on the third night. Naps took about two weeks.

Would you recommend BST to a friend and if so, who and why?

Yes – because everyone deserves great sleep, and children NEED it.