The power of relaxing and accepting baby's sleep needs: Shane (2,5 years) and Amélie (3 months)

Accepting that baby's sleep cannot be forced and remaining calm about it proves to be a very powerful way for Shane and Amélie's mom to guide them towards solid sleep habits.

About my children Shane is a busy, affectionate little boy who has developed his motor skills very quickly. Amélie is an affectionate, slightly jumpy girl. She’s had a bit of a difficult start after birth, but she is well now.

I do not want to let my kids cry to go to sleep.

My golden tip: Shane used to come into our bed every night. That was not so successful in the long run.

Now we have his toddler bed beside my bed and he sleeps quietly when he sees me lying beside him.

A book tip My own ideas were confirmed by the book: The Continuum concept - In search of Happiness Lost by Jean Liedloff (ISBN 9780201050714). The way I deal with sleep is largely affected by it.

Our baby sleep experiences

Baby sleeping through the night in my experience is something that cannot be forced. When Shane was 1,5 years old, he was not awake for a night feeding. Shortly afterwards he would no longer breastfeed. We have never let him cry.

Shane settles for sleep by himself since the birth of his sister. He goes to bed when he's tired. We do the same for daytime sleep.

Amélie is very different. I just put her in her crib – next to our bed – after her last feeding and she falls asleep. She does not have the same need for contact as Shane.

The tip I can give anyone is: follow the behaviour of your children. Even if it can be very exhausting: the time that they are so dependent on you is relatively short.

I’ve been through quite difficult times when Shane was really little. But when I decided to relax about it, everything became easier. If you do not worry but remain calm, the children pick that up and everything is automatically better.

This may sound a bit easy but I really mean it: it all passes in the end.