Baby Sleep consultation: testimony from a mum
- Elise Armoiry My Baby Moon
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Baby Sleep consultation with the NDC-Possums approach ( from Dr Pam Douglas)
Here is the testimony of a mother seen in a baby sleep consultation, I thank her for sharing here her feelings about the Possums/NDC approach that I offer in sleep consultation. Many mothers contact me because they are drowning under contradictory advice, and there is a lot of misinformation on this topic on social media. A real business has been created around the distress and fatigue of parents.
Baby Sleep consultation: Testimony on the NDC/Possums approach
"Following a sleep consultation with Élise, I wanted to share my experience, hoping it could resonate with other mothers.
Since her birth, my little one has never had very stable sleep, neither during the day nor at night. She took several 20-minute naps during the day and woke up at least 7 or 8 times a night, sometimes every hour. Falling asleep was an absolute nightmare! We spent hours trying to get her to sleep by rocking her, breastfeeding her, carrying her in our arms, using white noise (or not), trying different bedtimes (6pm or 8pm), giving her a bath (or not)… I was exhausted, at the end of my rope. Bedtime had become anxiety-inducing, and I often ended up in tears, overwhelmed by my baby's cries that I couldn't understand.
I then started looking into baby sleep. I went on the internet, I consulted ChatGPT and TikTok. As my research went on, I noticed that I was only seeing information related to sleep. I was scrutinising the comments of other mothers, hoping to find a miracle solution, the key that would unlock this terrible situation! That's when several keywords started jumping out at me: wake windows, recommended sleep time by age, "the more a baby sleeps, the more they want to sleep", overstimulation, assessing tiredness cues, bedtime routines and independent settling.
I ended up following all the advice I had found. I watched my daughter's tiredness cues and offered her a nap within the right wake windows, always in the same conditions. Result: I stayed locked in our dark bedroom, offering the same settling conditions every time. As a result, I often denied myself outings, for fear of exceeding the wake windows. At family gatherings, I was in a state of hypervigilance, scrutinising each of the "signals" I thought I was decoding. I had even downloaded an app to record her wake-up time, her bedtime and all her nap times in order to calculate her wake windows.
I decided to consult Élise, as I had already contacted her for breastfeeding advice. During our exchange, she questioned everything I had been able to read on social media! She explained to me that the idea that I MUST be able to get my baby to sleep is a misconception and a guilt-inducing narrative, because it implies that the responsibility for falling asleep rests solely on my shoulders. I was putting myself under enormous pressure, I was afraid of "breaking" my daughter because I wasn't respecting her rhythm. Élise told me about the research of Dr Pam Douglas and gave me one piece of advice: let go, release control and trust my baby. She reminded me that sleep is a biological function and that the parameters necessary for falling asleep are natural.
So I tried it! In any case, I had tried everything, so what did I have to lose. It was hard, because it went against everything I had been doing for months. I deleted my app so as not to be tempted to enter data into it and I followed her advice: I no longer watched the clock. I allowed myself to go out, regardless of the moment, repeating to myself: "I trust my daughter, she will adapt!" She adapted!!!! Little by little, outings became less anxiety-inducing, because I stopped overthinking! And guess what: I didn't break my daughter 🥰🥰🥰
I hope my feedback will allow other mothers to let go and follow Élise's advice. For my part, this consultation allowed me to change my outlook and it was extremely beneficial for my mental health!"
How does a sleep consultation with Elise Armoiry work?
We discuss for one hour the baby's sleep and your difficulties, the myths and social constructs around the topic of children's sleep, the physiology and biological reality of the small human, the safety of bed-sharing in the case of co-sleeping, and above all your feelings. There is only one session, but at 10 days I carry out a follow-up to check in. I give you access to the online summary programme on the My Baby Moon app/website, and you can also interact in the mothers' group. You can also come to the live group exchange meetings.
Professional Training for healthcare professionals
If you are a healthcare professional, I offer an introduction course on the NDC Possums approach: see the Lactasource website.
Contact me for advice or questions!
"My Baby Moon" by Elise Armoiry, IBCLC lactation consultant & founder of My Baby Moon. More than 2,000 families supported since 2014.
Pharm D by training, specialized in breastfeeding and sleep. Possums Practitioner (Dr Pam Douglas NDC Approach)
Tel: 00337.49.50.67.82
Website: https://www.mybabymoonibclc.com
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