Ilana Got Personalized Help – And You Can, Too!

Meet Ilana Collison. Ilana lives in North Dakota, but when she originally came to us for help, she had just moved to the U.S., from the U.K. And as if an international move weren’t stressful enough – she did it with a baby who just refused to sleep!

Once Ilana and her family were settled in the States, she contacted us for help with her son Tyler’s sleep. Here’s her story…

The Baby Sleep Site^®: Ilana, tell us a little bit about Tyler’s sleep history.

Ilana: Tyler was one of those babies who just resisted sleep. It was a bit of a joke amongst some of my mummy friends, how Tyler was such a poor sleeper. I often heard, “And I thought mine was bad! I can’t believe he’s been up all day and won’t sleep”. Yep, believe it! And he wouldn’t sleep at night time either. When he did, he woke up multiple times.

Now, before Tyler was born, I had accepted that my own hours of sleep were going to be few and far between. I knew that having a newborn, and then moving to a new country when he was just 3 months old, was going to be challenging. I just wasn’t prepared for the toll that it really took.

The Baby Sleep Site^®: That’s understandable – there’s probably no good way to adequately prepare for something like that! So once you were settled in the U.S., what happened?

Ilana: Once we got settled into our new house, Tyler was 6 months old, and we were ready to have him sleep in his crib, in his own room. Apparently, however, he wasn’t! At that point, I began scouring the internet for information.

At first, I didn’t find anything helpful. Yes, I had a bedtime routine. Yes, we were consistent, but things were just getting worse and worse, and I really felt like Tyler was suffering. I believe that sleep is so important for a baby’s development, and Tyler wasn’t getting anywhere near what he needed. He was grumpy, and his happy mood started to change for the worse.

I can’t convey how bad things had become, surviving on so little sleep for such a long time. And Tyler himself had become so challenging. I loved my son, but things were dismal. My relationship with my husband had become strained, too. One day, I just cried, and cried, and cried. It just all got to be too much.

The Baby Sleep Site^®: Oh, Ilana – that must’ve been so hard. We know lots of parents who’ve been in that same position – all the exhaustion and sleep deprivation catches up to them, and they finally break down. What did you do then?

Ilana: At that point, I had already come across The Baby Sleep Site^®. So, I waited for my husband to get home from work, and then I literally begged him to sign us up for a Baby Sleep Site consultation package. I was of course skeptical to be parting with money for advice online, but with SO many positive testimonials, I figured it surely had to work. Not only that, but I sensed a real empathy and compassion from reading Nicole’s weekly newsletter, and I just felt that this was going to work for us. And I knew that I had it in me to stick to a schedule. I just needed some pointers and support.

The Baby Sleep Site^®: So after you purchased your package – what happened then?

Ilana: I wrote up our family history, for [my sleep consultant] to use. Even just writing out the sleep history helped me feel better – it’s like I was emptying my mind of all the issues and putting them into e-mail form. From that moment, I started to feel like there was hope. And then there was – an e-mail from [my consultant], with our family’s Personalized Sleep Plan^® attached! It was like a ray of light!

The Baby Sleep Site^®: And what did you think, reading through the plan?

Ilana: The sleep schedule was detailed, and it provided insight and options, as well as room for tweaking to suit our needs as well as Tyler’s. [My consultant] even preempted what Tyler may do in response to the plan. That surprised me – I knew what he would do, but how did she? How could someone who had never met my son know him so well? I honestly couldn’t read the Personalized Sleep Plan^® fast enough! Not only was it informative and clear, but it was positive and encouraging – all the things I knew I needed to get started.

The Baby Sleep Site^®: Okay, Illana, this is the all-important question: once you started implementing the plan, did it work?

Ilana: Tyler responded to the new routine really well! Within about 4 days of putting the plan into action at home, we saw a significant change. My baby was actually taking naps during the day and sleeping better at night! No, it wasn’t perfect right away. But he did pick up his new routine so quickly.

Soon after that, Tyler slept through the night for the first time. I remember lying awake at 4 a.m., wondering if he was okay, and if the baby monitor was working! But of course, nothing was wrong; he was just fast asleep, and enjoying his crib! Now, Tyler doesn’t sleep through the night perfectly every night, but in the main, he does. And now, if he does wake up, we know exactly what to do, and so does he! Now that Tyler is finally getting the sleep he needs, my husband and I are, too. Now, everything about our family is different, and I am starting to feel like my old self.

I should say that I don’t for a minute think our help here is done! We just weren’t blessed that way, with an ‘easy’ baby. This is merely ‘au revoir’ for now, as we shall no doubt be in contact with you again soon (but hopefully not too soon!)

The Baby Sleep Site^®: We’ll keep an eye out for your e-mail, Ilana! 😉 Before we wrap things up – any final words you want to offer our readers?

Ilana: I have no reservations about recommending this service – in fact, I’ve done so a number of times already! To my consultant and the entire Baby Sleep Site team: thank you for a most wonderful service. Your patience, humor, and quality advice have been second to none and are worth every penny!

There you have it! Ilana felt hopeless, and like there was no solution for her son’s sleep problems – but there was a solution. There is a solution for your baby’s sleep challenges, too – and The Baby Sleep Site^® can help you find it! Don’t waste another sleepless night; contact us today, and you can start your family’s journey to better sleep tonight!