Sleep Sense™ Success Stories

Sleep Sense™ Success Stories

Over the years, I’ve received hundreds of sleep success stories (letters, emails, and videos) sharing how well The Sleep Sense™ Program has worked for families like yours. Here are just a few of them:

Meet Gianna, Tim & Lucia (8 months old):

After three months, Gianna and Tim felt extremely lucky that their daughter Lucia was such a good sleeper.

She’d eat regularly, every three hours or so, and then she would just happily, naturally fall asleep.

But after those first few wonderful months, Lucia started to get particular about when and where she would take her naps, and especially what her routine involved.

“It started getting to the point where we would rock her and rock her,” said Gianna. “We’d lay her down in her crib and she’d wake up the second we put her in there.”

After a particularly grueling night, and somewhere between two and three hours of rocking with Lucia still wide awake, Tim and Gianna called their doctor to ask what they could do.

Their doctor mentioned that Lucia might have developed some sleep associations, which was an unfamiliar concept to both parents. They went online to do some research, and after some searching, Gianna discovered the Sleep Sense Program.

Ready to see these kind of results with YOUR son or daughter? You can get The Sleep Sense Program (at a great discount) using the link below:

Get Started Here!

Rather read than listen?

View Transcript

Tim: Hello.

Dana Obleman: Hi there. I’m Dana Obleman. Welcome to our success story of the month. Today, we are talking with Gianna. Hi, Gianna.

Gianna: Hello.

Dana: Why don’t you just start, Gianna, and tell us a little bit about yourself, and where you’re from, and who’s the little cutie we’re talking about today?

Gianna: First of all, you have me and my husband Tim, is here as well.

Tim: Hello.

Dana: Oh, Hi! Great. I love to hear from fathers.

Tim: We’re a team over here.

Gianna: Yeah. We are a team. We currently live in San Francisco, and we have a 31 week‑old, as of today, daughter named Lucia. We started the Sleep Sense program when she was about five and half months‑old, I think. It’s been working like a charm ever since.

[laughter]

Dana: Awesome. Great. Good to hear. Well, welcome. I don’t want to dig up painful memories, but why don’t you go back in time a little bit here to before you found Sleep Sense, and give us a little feel for what was going on with her and in your family at that time.

Gianna: I think we were really lucky from the get‑go, because Lucia was really good about sleeping through the night and sleeping in general. Some of that we attribute to the hospital, because they recommended we put her on a schedule from the beginning. It started that way with feeding her. We feed her every three hours, and she’d naturally fall asleep.

Now, looking back at it, I guess it’s just part of being a newborn and how much they actually sleep. She was always a good sleeper. We got into a habit of rocking her to sleep.

There were times that I’d go on a walk with her during the noon hour with a carrier, and she’d sleep in the carrier the whole time, or we’d put her in the car and go somewhere, and she’d sleep in the car. We thought we were lucky and everything was going OK until, I guess it was around her witching hours?

Tim: Yeah. It’s probably around three months or three and a half months where she started…I don’t think she’s getting the quality of naps that she necessarily needed. We tried a lot of different methods of insuring that she would get sleep, or figure out how putting her to sleep via serious rocking and some serious coddling, and making sure that she does go to sleep.

I think that she eventually became very dependent on that. I was expecting our lives and her lives, and ultimately, she would be very upset and not getting the naps like I said. And then, taking a long time and being overtired a lot because of the lack of naps.

That was a good month and a half of a lot of witching hours, and a lot of difficulty, and a lot of research on our part, mostly Gianna, in terms of what we can do. Luckily, we did find Sleep Sense, and enacted it after five and half months, and it’s been really good.

Gianna: I think we got lured into that notion of, “You can’t spoil a baby.” When we would rock her, or sometimes I’d take naps with her, we felt that that was OK. We ended up calling our doctor and said, “What can we do?” It started getting to the point where we would rock her and rock her and rock her. We’d go to lay her down in her crib, and she’d wake up the second we put her in the crib. It was horrible. [laughs]

Dana: What was your doctor’s advice at that point?

Gianna: At that point, she mentioned that it sounded like she had sleep associations, which I had never heard of before. That’s how I found you, because I Googled “how to break sleep associations,” and Sleep Sense came up. I started reading it, and was like, “Oh my God, this makes [inaudible 04:34] end.” This was the first time anybody seemed honest, and straightforward about it, while still being caring.

Tim: Realistic. [laughs]

Gianna: Yeah. Tim and I, we bought your book, and that night we started it. I guess our last straw was one night putting her down for sleep around, I think we were putting her bed too late too. That was our other problem. We took turns steadily rocking her for two and a half to three hours, and that was like, “OK, we can’t do this anymore.”

[crosstalk]

Tim: …infringing upon us. To me, there’s a lot of fluff in the industry, quote, unquote, that I think overly tries to make the parents feel better, that they’re doing the right things no matter what.

I think that you have a lot of very honest, like, “Yeah, they’re going to cry. They’re going to cry. Realistically, there probably is no other way to figure this out, and to have them figure it out because it’s going to help them.”

I think that clicked with us, and said that as much as it’ll hurt in the short term for her to get through this, we’re really helping her for the rest of her life.

Dana: It’s so funny. I’ve done these for a few months in a row now, and I always feel like people have a final straw, like there was a night. Everybody’s story goes similarly, where it was like, “One night, I just realized I can’t take this anymore,” and start looking for some solutions.

When you started that night, what were your emotions like? Were you nervous? Were you Fearful? Were you excited? What were some of the thoughts running through your head as you went into night one?

Gianna: For me, I was both excited that we might’ve just found a good solution, but also I was scared to hear her cry. We had called a good friend of ours who had gone through a similar thing, and he stayed on the phone with us while Tim, and I sat here listening to her, and that helped me [inaudible 06:59] . That helped a little bit. What did you feel like Timmy?

Tim: I had talked to a lot of my friends, and I think like actually it’s probably easier for the father. Not easier. I lean more on the fact that it’s helping her, rather than just focusing on the tears. It’s very difficult. You don’t want her to be in pain. You don’t want her to be upset.

I think I just tried to focus more on literally repeating what you had written as far as, this is helping her in the long run, it’s helping us in the long run She’s got to figure out how to go to sleep on her own. It was the positivity, and the realism of it that I focused on to get through it. Frankly, the first night it was almost spot on to what you had said, as far as it being an hour. No, it was 50…

Gianna: …45 minutes.

Tim: 45, or 50 minutes right on the dot, and then went to sleep.

Gianna: We put her down for her first nap. We thought she was going to cry for the same amount of time.

Tim: Then she cried for five minutes.

Gianna: She was asleep within five minutes. We looked at each other like, “Are you kidding me?”

Dana: That’s great. How did the next few days go for her? Did she do better each day, or was it a little bit of a two step forward, one step back scenario? What kind of things go?

Gianna: Her naps went like that every time, where she went to sleep right away. It was the night time when we put her down, that she went 45 minutes the first night. I think the second night was her worst night.

Tim: I think it was 45, an hour, and then it wiggled down from there. Gi actually had to go on a sales conference, so I had flown my mother out here to help with the process as well, so Gi was out for two days. She learned very quickly.

We’ve had certain hiccups from the process until now, and then it whittled down to eventually it would be put down, and then at max 10 minutes of whimpering and crying, and then just going to sleep. It was really very quickly.

Dana: That’s great.

[crosstalk]

Dana: Whenever I hear that, too, I think that maybe she was looking for her own strategies, she just didn’t know what they were. Like a baby, they’re ready for it. One of the things that happens often is people look for help after a really bad night.

I always say a really bad night is good news, because if the sleep prep was working well, it wouldn’t be problematic. The fact that you’re sitting there trying to rock this baby to sleep for two hours straight, and it not working, usually means it’s not working for her either. She’d really like to figure this out on her own, she just doesn’t know how.

Gianna: Totally. That’s a great point. That’s a great point.

Dana: What have you noticed since doing the program? Let’s start with her. What have you noticed? Have there been any changes in her as far as developmental milestones being met faster, or just an overall sense of contentment on her end, or not too much change?

Gianna: I’d say all of the above right there. She wakes up really happy. From all of her naps, she wakes up really happy. She’s definitely just hit a ton of [laughs] milestones all in the last two weeks here, which is so fun to see.

You can tell that sleep’s contributing to that, too. It’s hard because I feel like despite the issues before, she’s always been such a fun, little, happy baby, but it’s probably grown that much more.

Dana: How about for you guys? What have you noticed change‑wise since doing the program?

Gianna: It’s huge for my husband [laughs] because before, we were still feeding here around the five month mark at nine PM. Oh, she just woke up. She’s coming over. [laughs] I think we were putting her to bed too late there for a long time. That was hindering time for me and Tim to have together, too. Now, she’s in bed by 6:30, so Tim and I have all night to have dinner together, we can hang out. It just feels like we have a much more balanced life now.

Dana: Some people, when they hear that, they feel bad about it almost, in a way that oh, I decided to become a parent, therefore I shouldn’t have any free time or time to spend with my partner.

When you’ve missed on it for that long, and it’s been gone for that many months, and then you get a taste of how lovely it is to actually have a little bit of time in the evening where you can just reconnect with each other, and do your own thing, it’s just so important.

Gianna: Totally. That was something that we kept reiterating, too. In order for us to be good parents, we have to be good as husband and wife. We want to keep that foundation really strong. That’s really important to us. Seeing that reiterated in your book, too, helped us to keep pushing through with this, too.

Tim: For sure.

Dana: It’s not selfish. Wanting to sleep well and wanting some time to yourself is not a selfish thing. It’s good for the whole family. What would you say to anybody who’s sitting on the fence a little bit about this whole thing?

Gianna: Oh, my god. [laughs] We tell everybody to do it. Get off the fence.

Tim: It’s funny because I think even ever since when Lucia was born, I would say that you would probably admit that you had no intentions ever of…

Gianna: Crying.

Tim: …not the “cry it out method”, but a method of that being the figuring it out for yourself to keep. I think that, not to say you hit a breaking point, but I think you just understand. Thankfully, we found you to have it be a realistic take on, “Look, this is what you need to do.” We would definitely recommend this to everybody in terms of like you said, it’s about a balance for everybody, and she’s better for it. We’re better for it, and she’s growing so much.

[laughter]

Dana: She’s so adorable. I love those pictures that you sent. She’s such a cutie.

Gianna: Oh. Thank you. She has two teeth now. In the last two weeks she got two teeth. [laughs]

Dana: Oh. How did she do through that sleep‑wise?

Gianna: We actually wanted to ask you about that. She’s doing fine. She’s still sleeping through the night, but last night, you could see she was still a little bit more restless with it, but now that she has the tools of how to put herself back to sleep, she definitely will put herself back to sleep at night, no problem.

It’s more her naps, sometimes. Yesterday, she woke up from a nap screaming and crying, which was hard to hear. It was also like, “Oh no. You haven’t slept long enough.” We call it “night nights.” We said that she had to go back to “night nights.” Her cry after that was horrible. I think some of that is part of the teething, but I don’t know.

Dana: Yeah. It most likely is. Some kid’s sail through their teething and you don’t notice, and one day they have teeth, and you didn’t notice a single thing. I do find that babies who sleep well tend to handle it a lot better than babies who don’t, because they’re not teething all the time.

But then, it’s fair enough to assume that as the tooth is actually cutting the gum that they might be in some discomfort, or running a slight fever. You hear all kinds of things associated with teething. What are the times of her naps?

Gianna: We wake her up at 6:15 to do her first feeding. She’ll take her first nap about two hours after that. She has about two hours of wake time in‑between all of her naps. She goes 6:15 to eat, and then she’s down by 8:00 AM, and then she’ll wake up again around 9:15 to eat again.

Tim: Then at 11:15.

Gianna: Yeah. That one, she usually sleeps until about 12:30, and then she eats at 12:30, and then depending if she sleeps all the way to 12:30, she’ll go back to sleep around 2:30, and that one, she’ll sleep sometimes between 2:30 to 4:00, or 2:30 to 3:30‑ish. She’s down for the night somewhere between 6:00 and 6:30.

Dana: Let’s keep an eye on it for the next few days and see if it doesn’t blow over, and if it doesn’t, then send me an email. We might need to tinker with her schedule a bit here, and move some naps around. I think it’s too soon to tell.

Gianna: OK. That was going to be another question for you, too. When should we start thinking about moving her from three naps to two?

Dana: It varies from baby to baby, but somewhere between the sixth and eight months is when babies turn their [inaudible 18:15] . How many months is she now?

Gianna: She’s seven months. She’s 31 weeks.

Dana: I’m guessing that that’s the direction she’s moving in. We can email converse about her schedule.

Gianna: Cool.

Dana: We can free up people who are listening in at the moment.

[laughter]

Gianna: Oh. OK. Sorry.

[laughter]

Dana: We’ll just do it via email. I really want to thank you. I’ve been in this business for 12 years now, and I can tell you it never gets old or tiring to hear people share their joy over finding a solution to poor sleep skills. I really appreciate you taking a bit of time out your day here to share your story with us.

Gianna: Of course. Thank you. Thank you for your book. [laughs]

Dana: You are very welcome. Thanks so much. Enjoy the rest of your day.

Gianna: Thank you, Dana. Thank you.

Dana: Bye‑bye.

Tim: Bye‑bye.

Meet Kristen & Lily (1 year old):

Lily was a good sleeper most of the time. Then, at nine months, when Lily began teething, she began nursing more often during the night.

At first, it was twice a night, then three times, and then she wouldn’t fall asleep after nursing, so Kristen starting lying on the floor with her.

“It just kept snowballing,” said Kristen.

Kristen and her husband had been trying for a while to get pregnant, and now that their dreams had come true, Kristen felt conflicted that she was, on the one hand, so overjoyed about having a baby, and on the other, so miserable from her lack of sleep.

During their first family vacation, Lily hardly slept at all. Kristen ended up sleeping the entire trip on the hardwood floor and they ended up packing up and heading home three days early.

That was when Kristen realized she needed to get some help.

Click below to listen to her story…

Rather read than listen?

View Transcript

Dana Obleman: Hi, this is Dana Obleman speaking. Creative Sleep Sense Program, and I want to thank you for joining us here today. We are having our success story of the month today with our client named Kristin.
Hi, Kristin.
Kristin: Hi, Dana.
Dana: How are you doing today?
Kristin: So good, thank you.
Dana: Why don’t you start off and tell us a little bit about your precious one. I know her name is Lily, and how old is she now?
Kristin: She just turned one on Saturday.
Dana: Did you have a big celebration?
Kristin: A small family gathering but it was really nice.
Dana: Did she get to try cake for the first time?
Kristin: She did, and she loved it. [laughs]
Dana: It’s like a little rite of passage, isn’t it, when a baby turns one?
Kristin: It is. I didn’t want her to have too much because she was going to be going to bed, but she tasted it and she just like it.
Dana: Why don’t you go back to those days before you found Sleep Sense and tell us a little about what was going on in your family at that time?
Kristin: She was about nine months when she started to get her first piece. At that point she started nursing a lot and especially at night. I would let her nurse and fall asleep and then I pick her up and put her in bed while she was asleep. Once a night, turned into twice a night, three times a night, and then it was like all night long.
I was hardly getting any sleep, my husband was hardly getting any sleep. Then she would nurse and not fall asleep and I would rock her to sleep after nursing her. Then she wouldn’t fall asleep after rocking. I would lie on the floor with her till she fell asleep. It just kept snowballing. She needed more and more help to fall asleep. She was hardly napping.
I was very cranky and my husband was feeling cranky, and she started getting cranky. She’s a really happy child, but we saw that it was starting to affect her personality and that was really upsetting.
Dana: Before the teething, how was the sleep before that point?
Kristin: She was really good actually from the time we brought her home from the hospital. We were like we have a [inaudible 02:32] slept really well and she [inaudible 02:35] really well. I would put her down awake soon after she was born. I would put her down awake and she managed to stare in the light or roll around the bed and just fall asleep. It was really shocking when she started not sleeping.
Dana: That’s really interesting and it’s not that unusual. Typically, babies who start off not sleeping well turn into toddlers and older children and it snowballed with them not sleeping well. But I do get emails from people saying that they did have a baby that slept relatively well.
At some point whether it was a developmental milestone, or teeth coming in, or some sort of other [inaudible 03:20] came up and then all of a sudden those skills flew out the window and they started to becoming prop reliance.
Kristin: Yes, it was that. It was. [laughs] She needed more and more props as we went on.
Dana: Yeah, that’s right. When it was in the heat of being as worse as it could get, how often were you finding yourself up in the night with her?
Kristin: It varied from every hour and a half to at the very worst time it seems like it was every 45 minutes. On a really bad night, it seems like I would just get her into the crib, I’d come back, lay down in bed and then she was up again. She wasn’t hungry anymore but she didn’t know what to do at that point to fall asleep. It was bad.
Dana: Was she in bed with you or did she always have her own room?
Kristin: She started out in a bed next to our bed. By the time she was three, four months old, we moved her into her own room.
Dana: You were just literally getting up every 45 minutes to go to her?
Kristin: Yes.
[crosstalk]
Dana: Was there anything like me, it takes me…if somebody wakes me up in the night, it’s not like I’m a light switch and I can just go right back to sleep when baby is. It takes me time to get myself back to sleep.
Kristin: Yes, and I’m really light sleeper as well and my husband snores so…There were some nights…If he would not be snoring, I’d leave the room. I’d come back, he was snoring. I couldn’t fall back to sleep at all.
Dana: That’s tough. What were some of the things you noticed…let’s just start with you because you’re the best example of how a person might feel sleep deprived. What were some of the things you were noticing happening for yourself during these tough times?
Kristin: I’m usually a pretty easy going person but I became very grabby and would snap at my husband, my mom, the dogs. It’s just not like me and I just didn’t feel well at all. I didn’t feel like myself. I wasn’t very happy. We wanted the baby so bad. We had trouble getting pregnant in the first place so it was upsetting to me to not be happy.
I thought I got everything I wanted, finally, why can’t I just be happy even without sleep?
Dana: I hear that so often, and it makes me sad because as a mom I think a lot of people just feel they should grin and bear it or this is just something that has to be tolerated and lived through because you decided to become a parent.
I can remember having those feelings myself when my first son wasn’t sleeping well. I’m thinking, “I guess this is just what I signed up for. I’m going to have to learn to live with it,” but the truth is sleep is such a necessity. Really you can not live without it. If you do and you are, then you start to feel the effects of that in a really negative way and it’s just not a selfish thing to want to sleep well.
Kristin: Yeah. The relationship between my husband and I became very strained. That was extremely upsetting as well because he needs a lot of sleep and he wasn’t getting it and having…I stay at home, luckily, but he was going to work, so there was that tension as well.
Dana: Just check often on every relationship we have whether it is with friends, family, spouse, even the baby. I always say I can’t be the best mom that I can be if I’m not meeting my own needs as well.
Kristin: That’s true.
Dana: Do you remember a day or some people say it was the night they hit rock bottom and they started looking for help. Do you remember when you decided some things have got to change here?
Kristin: Yes. [laughs] We took our first vacation with the baby. We got there, and she couldn’t sleep at all. There was no napping, and at night no matter what I did, it seem like she couldn’t fall asleep. They had a really nice bed in the master bedroom, and I never slept in the bed. I was on the hardwood floor with the baby on some blanket the whole time.
We left three days early because it just wasn’t worth it any more. It was just horrible. She’s not a crier, and she was crying, crying, crying the whole time. She was just so unhappy and it was for my husband’s birthday the trip. The night of his birthday, he was waiting for me and I couldn’t leave her room. It was just a mess. [laughs]
On the way home, took three hours in the car while she was crying I was like this cannot go on.
Dana: That’s right. Everybody has one of those stories, very similar. What did you decide to do, or how did you stumble across the Sleep Sense program?
Kristin: Researched online about crying it out, about ferberizing, all these different methods. We started to try something I just couldn’t do. I couldn’t let her cry. I just could not do it.
One afternoon we were at a picnic with a mothers group in our neighborhood. It was getting on 4:30. We’ve got to get her home. I’ve got to try for a nap and this woman looks at me and says, “You look so stressed out, what’s wrong?” I said, ” I’ve got to get my baby down for a nap” She said, “Right now?” I was like, “Yeah.”
She goes, “Oh.” I said, “We’re having a lot of sleep problems.” She said, “I try this thing called Sleep Sense. It was a miracle.” My husband was like, “You are going to look that up when we get home and we’re going to do it.” [laughs] We did and I could not believe it. I could not believe within three nights, she was waking up only once. We were in total shock.
Dana: That’s good news and so, that first night when you’re getting ready to start it, did you have any fears or concerns or maybe some excitement? What were your emotions like that first night?
Kristin: I was very excited. I was also like, “This will never work, she will never fall asleep.” But she did. She did sleep eventually sleep and it didn’t take that long.
Dana: You were just sitting there thinking to yourself it was never going to work and was your husband thinking the same thing or was he cheering you on?
Kristin: I’m not sure because he was in bed asleep. [laughs] I’m not sure what he was thinking but when I got back into the bedroom after she did fall asleep, he was like, “This is wonderful! This is going to work. This has to work.” That’s what we were both thinking.
Dana: Most people find that the first night it’s really the hardest, and once you get through night one, things click into place really quickly after that. Did you have any moments during night one where you thought, “Oh, I’m just going to throw in the towel here, and nurse her”?
Kristin: Not on night one, actually. Night one was not terrible for us. She did get sleep, I think she was so tired at that point that she got more sweet than we expected. We had more trouble a couple of nights in after she realized that this was happening.
Dana: That’s common. I call it night five regression. It doesn’t always happen exactly at night five. It’s somewhere in that first week where the baby thinks, “OK, I don’t know what you’re up to here, but I’m going to see if we’ll go back to the old way.”
Kristin: Yeah, especially for her naps. She protested quite a bit, but eventually she’s napping really great now, too. It’s amazing.
Dana: That’s awesome. What have you noticed as some happy benefits to doing the program? What have you noticed in your own self, in your family, and even in her?
Kristin: For her, she’s just back to her normal self. She’s not over tired, and that makes a huge difference just not having her melt down. She’s very active, so for her I feel like she’s healthy and she’s happy. That’s really what we wanted.
My husband and I went on a date last week which was wonderful. We’re just having our nights back. I was getting to a point I was so terrified of her waking up, and that I wouldn’t be able to get her back to sleep and I wasn’t going to get sleep. I couldn’t fall asleep even when she was asleep. [laughs] Not having that, we put her to bed, I put her down, she falls asleep, and she stays asleep.
We have our nights back which is just heavenly.
Dana: That’s one of the best benefits, I think. Again, some people when they start out thinking “Well, I’m a parent. I don’t deserve my own time.” Everyone needs a little bit of time to decompress and focus on some things that they like to do, and even just have some couple of times is that hour or two in the evening where you can reconnect with your partner, and talk about things.
Maybe watch a movie that’s not “Dora the Explorer” or some baby show, and just enjoy your time. It makes a big difference, again not just to your own happiness, but to the whole experience of parenthood when you’re getting your needs met. So important.
Kristin: It’s huge, because like I said I was feeling like, “Why am I not happy?” That’s what we wanted to have a family, and be joyful. We are again, and that’s all that is from the world.
Dana: It really does. I always say to people, “Imagine if you have to exist on a diet of bread and water only.” You wouldn’t be happy or healthy with that either, and that’s what means driving yourself into sleep deprivation. It feels like a diet of bread and water.
Kristin: Yes, it feels worse.
[laughter]
Kristin: It’s worse.
Dana: What would you think if anyone is listening, and they’re thinking about the program, and they have some hesitation? Do you have any words of wisdom for anybody that’s on the fence about this.
Kristin: It was the best money I ever spent. After we bought it, my husband was like we would have paid tripled that, because of the change in everything. I just never though I’d be a person who would need a program or buy a program. I do it naturally, but it worked.
You call it Sleep Sense, and it just made complete sense. The videos for me were the best things. They just tell you exactly what to do. You don’t have to guess, you follow the program, and it worked. It just worked. It was the best time investment and money investment we’ve ever made.
Dana: That’s great. I hear that a lot, because I think when you’re already sleep deprived, and your brain is not working as well as it normally should be, it’s really hard to get too heavy into a book, and figure out a plan. I hear a lot that the videos just help people figure out what to do that day, and going into the night, and just gives you a really clear path.
Kristin: Absolutely, and it’s true. I was before that trying to piece together what to do, let her cry a little bit then go in, then leave. I was not thinking straight, and so I didn’t have to think it all with the videos. It was very helpful.
Dana: I really appreciate you taking some time out of your day to talk with me today. I never get tired of hearing people success stories. I just want to thank you once again for joining me here today. Good luck with the toddlerhood that you’re about to embark on. Let me know if you have any new questions.
Kristin: Thank you. We cannot thank you enough. I was very excited to talk to you, and thank you in person. We’re eternally grateful.
Dana: I appreciate it. Thanks so much, and enjoy the rest of your day.
Kristin: You as well. Thank you.
Dana: Bye bye now.
Kristin: Bye bye.

Plus, you can read or watch plenty more sleep success stories below! Oh, and if you’ve got a sleep success story you’d like to share with me, please get in touch at dana@sleepsense.net.

*Disclaimer: Testimonials are from satisfied customers. Results vary.

Megan & Lyle:

Lyle was initially a pretty good sleeper, according to his mother, Megan. He would go to bed at around midnight and sleep until 7 or 8 in the morning.

But then, at about 3 ½ months, Lyle started getting fussier with his eating, and was only napping for 10 to 20 minutes during the day.

At night, his parents had to rock him to sleep. When that stopped working, they reverted to driving him around in the car.

It would take 45 minutes to an hour before he would fall asleep, and then Megan would have to hold her breath while she carried him from the car to his crib, and attempted to lay him down without waking him up. Something had to change.

Then, at her high school reunion, a classmate told Megan about her success with the Sleep Sense Program. Megan and her husband started the program the following day. Click below to listen to her story…

Rather read than listen?

View Transcript

Dana Obleman: Hi everybody. Welcome to our success story of the month. Today, we’re talking with Megan. Hi, Megan.
Megan: Hello.
Dana: Welcome. Why don’t you just start, Megan, by telling us a little bit about yourself, where you’re from, how old your baby is, and what’s your baby’s name.
Megan: My name is Megan, and I am in Port Mann, BC, Canada. My baby, his name is Lyle, and he’s six months old, and we started the Sleep Sense program when he was five months.
Dana: Tell us a little bit about Lyle as far as any developmental milestones he’s working on. What kind of a baby is he?
Megan: Right now, he’s just getting up to all fours and wanting to crawl. He’s rocking back and forth on his hands and his knees, doing lots of babbling, and squealing, and all sorts of noises. We’re also starting solids, so he’s taking some rice cereal, and pureed fruits and vegetables, and stuff like that.
Dana: Is he enjoying it?
Megan: Yeah. He’s a little bit unsure about the food so far, but he generally gives everything a try, but then, he’ll be a little bit fussy after, that’s still a work in progress.
Dana: Right. I always thought six months is one of my favorite ages. I just find that you can really start to see their personality come through, and they just can interact so much more.
Megan: Yeah, he’s a pretty happy baby. He’s always smiling and giggling, he’s a lot of fun.
Dana: That’s awesome. Why don’t you go back to that period in your life when he wasn’t sleeping so well? Can you tell us a little bit about some of the struggles you were experiencing with him?
Megan: Yep. He was actually a pretty good sleeper at first. The first couple of months he would sleep from about midnight until 7:00 AM, and we thought that was pretty good, and then, he started, around the third month, getting a bit fussier with his eating. Yeah, it was a struggle to get him to take a full bottle.
Also, we were having to rock him to sleep, we carry him in our arms, rocking him and bouncing him, and also, he just wasn’t really getting any long naps during the day. He would just cat nap for 10 or 20 minutes here and there.
Then around three, three and a half months, he started having really horrible, inconsolable periods of crying, generally at night, and there was nothing we could do to get him to stop crying.
Bouncing didn’t help, shoulder rides didn’t help, bottle, he didn’t want anything, so we resorted to driving around with him in the car to get him to fall asleep, that was probably the worst period that we had.
He was really fussy with eating. Yeah, he wouldn’t take a bottle, just very fussy and very cranky.
Dana: In the middle of the night you’re driving around, trying to get your inconsolable baby to sleep.
Megan: Mm hmm.
Dana: Yeah, that sounds tiring.
Megan: Sometimes, it would take 45 minutes to an hour, and he would still be crying in the car, but eventually, the car would get him to sleep. Then, we’d bring him home and really try to gently put him down so he wouldn’t wake up. Yeah, that was a really tough time.
Dana: At that time, you must have thought this seems a little out of the realm of normal, perhaps. Did you start asking around or looking around at anything that could be actually going wrong with him?
Megan: Yeah, we thought…initially, we thought it was his teeth bothering him, because he did cut some teeth early, and then I thought, “Well, maybe it’s just the period of PURPLE crying. Maybe this is just normal.”
I was still pretty concerned, because his eating was still really poor at that point, and he was going down on the growth percentile chart.
Then I was like, “Well, maybe…” I just assumed he was really tired and thought maybe he’s just not getting enough sleep, so we started doing the Baby Whisperer pick up, put down method. I had been given a book by my sister in law. We tried that for a little bit, and we didn’t really get any results.
Then, I was at my prenatal class reunion around Easter, and one of the girls said that they were doing Sleep Sense, and they were having really good results, yeah, the next day, we came home and started that.
Dana: I’m curious, when you went for his wellness check up, did you ever mention to his doctor that you were experiencing these challenges in the night?
Megan: No, I didn’t really mention it.
Dana: It’s interesting. I find that some people either talk to everyone they can get their hands on, including their doctors, to see if there’s any magic solution to these problems, or else most people suffer quietly, and they don’t start have ground or start to question any of it, I was curious to know where the level of desperation was for you in particular.
Megan: Yeah, we were pretty…I was pretty nervous, just because the he was…the eating was still fussy and he wasn’t gaining weight. Yeah, we were pretty nervous at that point.
Dana: When you sat down and you had a look through the Sleep Sense program, what were some of first thoughts you had about it?
Megan: I just thought…I don’t know. I felt hopeful. I was thinking like, “OK, we can watch a couple videos a day. That’s totally doable. I can fit that into my day, as busy as it is with the little one.”
I felt confident that we can manage it. Plus, the girl in my class said she was having such good results, it gave me…I felt hopeful. [laughs]
Dana: It’s interesting. People have such an array of emotions. When they read it, some people tell me they’re excited, and they can’t wait to start, and they feel really hopeful. Other people feel absolutely terrified, they’re dreading the whole thought of it.
Did you ever have moments where you thought, “Oh gosh, this sounds really hard and don’t know if it’ll work”?
Megan: I guess maybe the first day, when I was putting him down for the first nap. He was doing some pretty hard crying for the first couple days with naps.
I definitely had moments of doubt, but the first night, he slept almost 10 hours uninterrupted, after that, I thought, “Oh my gosh. This is going to work.” I was pretty confident, if we just stuck with it, that it would eventually work.
Dana: What did you identify…what was his main sleep prop?
Megan: Walking around with him and bouncing him to sleep.
Dana: He was getting a lot of help via rocking.
Megan: Yeah, and he had other things, like he had the soother, as well, and the white noise machine.
Dana: After that first night, and you had some really good success right out of night one, that’s actually a little bit better than average, he’s a nice student for sure. [laughs] What did you find was the hardest part?
Megan: The naps. Yeah, the naps were definitely the most challenging, because I was…I am home with him by myself while my husband’s at work, it was just me dealing with the hard crying for the first couple days, that was definitely hard.
Dana: What would you say was your progress rate on that? Does it take a week or two before you felt like he was getting the hang in that?
Megan: Probably about two weeks, he really started to…around a week and a half, he really started to consolidate.
He would sleep over an hour and a half, or sometimes two hours, not consistently, but I started to see that he was lengthening his naps and able to settle himself back to sleep if he half woke up, so about a week and a half to two weeks.
Dana: Yeah, that’s right. That sounds about average. It’s always a bit baffling to me, even after all these years, why a baby can really get the hang of this and do so great at bed time and through the night, but yet, nap times feel like a totally different story. It can be really frustrating. Yeah, absolutely.
What did you…you tried the Baby Whisperer and didn’t have great success with that, what did you like best about the Sleep Sense program? What really helped you get to success?
Megan: I really liked the format of it, just the fact that it was short videos that we could easily watch before Jason went to work, and just the fact that I didn’t have to look through a 300 page book and try to troubleshoot on my own.
Your advice was really black and white, like “If this goes wrong, try this, and if you experience this, well, try this,” and it was just really practical quick advice that I could use immediately.
Dana: That’s great. Yeah, I think that that’s one of the hard parts about a book in particular, that not every baby fits. It’s not a one fit all kind of situation, you get into a book and think, “That’s all great if all goes well, but what if it doesn’t, and what if it doesn’t follow the exact path there?”
Yeah, I’ve heard that a lot about the program, and that’s really one of my main goals was to make this easy enough for people that they could sit down…they’re already sleep deprived, right, your brain’s not working the way it should be anyway.
Megan: Exactly.
Dana: Yeah. To get a plan in place, and then know, “Night one, this is what we do, and night two, we do this, and we handle this situation this way,” and really, if people can stay committed to it, then, they really will see the return on their efforts.
Megan: Mm hmm. Absolutely.
Dana: What kind of things have you noticed, either personally…let’s start with personally. Sleeping better has improved your life in what kind of ways?
Megan: It’s just nice to be able to know that by 7:30, he’ll be in bed and he’ll sleep a consolidated amount of time, uninterrupted.
We can have dinner together and spend some time together in the evening, my husband and I, just to know that he, if he does wake up and he does fuss, that he’s got the skills, knows how to get himself back to sleep, and we don’t have to rush in and rescue him immediately.
Yeah, just knowing that we have that consolidated time together, and also, naps during the day. I can count on that time where I can get chores done around the house uninterrupted. I think he’s happier, too. He seems he’s in a better mood. He’s eating way better, and yeah, that’s about it.
Dana: That’s great. Did you notice, was there any change in…you mentioned there was a bit of concern around his weight. Did sleeping better help get his weight back on track?
Megan: Yes. About three days after we started the program, he was showing real interest in the bottle, which he hadn’t done for a month before, and he was actually really wanting to eat, and finishing his bottles, and he’s also back on track with his weight. He’s still small, but at least, he’s back on the growth scale.
Dana: Yeah, that’s right. It’s funny. When you were saying how it’s just nice to know that, come 7:30, he’s down for the night and you’ve got some time to yourself. My mother in law was talking to some friends the other day and she said, “My kids are older, but they still go to bed pretty early.”
She said, “You know what? When you’re babysitting those kids, and even if you’re having the worst day, you can make it because you know at 7:00, they’re gone to bed.” [laughs]
Megan: Yes. [laughs] I know there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. [laughs]
Dana: Right. On those bad days, you’re waiting for bedtime sometimes. I get it. Yep.
Megan: Yep.
Dana: Let’s bring your partner into this discussion a little bit. What kind of effects was this having on him and how do you see improvements in his life?
Megan: We’re just all getting more sleep now. He feels less tired at work. He can basically sleep through the night. I get up and do one nighttime feed with the baby, but Jason can stay asleep and get some uninterrupted rest, and he just feels more rested during the day.
Also, when he gets home, Lyle is in a better mood. He’s happy and he can at least spend an hour to an hour and a half with him when he’s not cranky and crying. Yeah, he’s getting more quality time, I would say, with the baby.
Dana: That’s great. That’s one of the complaints I hear often from fathers in particular about the program, that if I put this baby to bed so early, then daddy’s not going to get enough time with him, but I think you hit the nail on the head in that it really is quantity…
I’m sorry, quality, not quantity, even if your time with baby is reduced a bit, if he’s in a better mood and you’re having more fun together, that’s really…that’s the best situation. You just want to spend time with a happy baby, instead of a grouchy one. It makes a big difference.
Megan: Yeah, for sure.
Dana: Is there anything maybe you’d like to say to anyone out there who’s on the fence about the program?
Megan: Just go for it. It’s honestly one of the best decisions we made. I’m just so happy we got him on track. He’s a totally different baby now. He’s just so much happier, and we’re all much better rested, and just honestly, just go for it, because it’s totally worth it.
Dana: I just want to thank you so much for spending a little bit of time here with me today, sharing your story. I’m so happy that all of you are getting the sleep that you’re required and definitely entitled to, thanks so much and I hope you have a great rest of your day.
Megan: Yeah. Thank you very much.
Dana: Take care.
Megan: You too. Bye bye.

Why didn’t we try this sooner?! As we speak he is sound asleep in his crib – and has been since 7.15 pm. We are so pleased to get the evenings to ourselves again, and Tinius – who has always been a very happy boy – is even more happy now!*

– Karianne Wanggaard

It so changed our life, and probably saved our marriage as well. It has meant the world of difference to me and my family.*

– Jennifer (10 month old son)

For most people, a nursery is a place where there is joy, and peace and fun, and for so long…it was a place of frustration and anxiety and overwhelming exhaustion. I encourage you, if you have not bought this program, it will make such a difference in your life and the life in your child.*

– Michelle (11 month old son)

It is the best investment we’ve gotten for our dollar.*

– Lynne & Jay (6 month old daughter)

The strategies in the program are so practical, so educational, and so fair.*

– Jessica (1 year old son)

I would like to say a huge ‘Thank You’ to you. Your system is well explained and well researched and has worked wonders in our house. It is like Hana is saying ‘Thank You Mammy – I really needed this’, she is so happy since we began.*

– Fiona O’Connor

Thank you, Dana, for your Sleep Sense Program. It saved my family.*

– Ronica (3 children)

My husband and I found a really nice balance between what we both wanted to do to ensure our children had a great sleep at night.*

– Leslie (7 month old son)

Since we got The Sleep Sense Program, our lives have not been the same.*

– Katie (10 month old daughter)

In nine nights, we were able to just put her down and leave the room.*

– Jodie (9 month old daughter)

I must say the program is nothing short of a miracle… our little baby was 5 1/2 months when we did it… and its changed all of our lives.. Ryder sleeps thru the nite and naps like a baby! Prior, he was up to nurse 4-5 times a nite and had never really slept in his crib during the day to nap… I had to either rock him or nap with him on me… turns out the little guy loves to be in his crib!*

– Jill Guttridge

If (the Sleep Sense program) can work for Camden, who was waking up every hour throughout the night, it can work for anybody.*

– Tricia (3 month old daughter)

The Sleep Sense Program taught me not to create more hurdles for myself.*

– Christina (3 month old and 4 year old)

You were our saving grace.*

– Linda (8 month old son)

Now, we put him down in his crib awake, he plays happily… the whole family gets better sleep.*

– Rachel (9 month old daughter)

My husband and I have so much time for each other now in the evenings and not worried about waking him up. Once he is sleeping, he rarely wakes up to noises. I even hosted 8 friends last week while he was sleeping. I thought the noise would wake him but not a peep!

I can’t express enough gratitude for you writing this book, you have sincerely changed our lives! Thank you so much!*

– Kim Conner

Every night I’m grateful, I thank the Lord above that I ran into The Sleep Sense Program.*

– Amy (10 month old daughter)

Sleep is the best gift anyone could have ever given me. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for saving my family from sleepless nights.*

– Paulin (6 month old daughter)

The steps are so easy to follow. They make sense. The Sleep Sense Program gives you all the tools you need to do it.*

– Jackie (6 month old daughter)

The clouds opened and the heavens came down and she started sleeping.*

– Sheila (2.5 year old daughter)

I just want to share that I am THRILLED with your program! We are now into the 2nd month and even in the very beginning he is sleeping 11-12+ hours straight through the night!

He has learned to put himself back to sleep and we never thought that would happen, it has been simply amazing! We used to be the parents who got no sleep, now our friends are jealous that he sleeps so many hours through the night and their child doesn’t! I brag to EVERYONE about how well he sleeps and that we have a life again!

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I never dreamed I would sleep through the night for 8 hours again! You are awesome!*

– Stephanie A.

It was hard work, but it really pays off in the end. We are really glad we used Sleep Sense.*

– Margaret (4 month old daughter)

I appreciate how you gave me step by step instructions. I was totally guided through this whole entire process.*

– Maria (5 month old son)

A couple weeks ago he started protesting bedtime again and I just turned to your book again and started training him again, started a routine again, and it took maybe a night or two and he was back to his old self. Thank you so much. It has meant a great deal to our family.*

– Lori (6month old son)

The brilliance of this program is just unbelievable, and it’s so well written… it reassures you the whole way through.*

– Adele (14 month old son)

I had a 6 1/2 month old that was up 5 times a night. Now he sleeps 11-12 hours at night and takes two 1 1/2 hour naps each day.

It is so nice to put our 10 month old in his crib and listen to him talk to his stuffed dog before he falls asleep. Within two weeks of starting the program he was sleeping through the night.

At this same time he started mastering his milestones as soon as he started sleeping. I now have a super energetic baby, but he does sleep well. Thank you so much for the program!*

– Beth Quave

It has really changed my energy level and her energy level. I don’t know what I would have done without it.*

– Rebecca (9 month old daughter)

Our whole family sleeps through the night, and we are so grateful for that.*

– Kelly (5 month old daughter)

After Sleep Sense: no more hysterics at bedtime and her room was a place she loved to be!*

– Dawn (20 month old daughter)

I’m four months pregnant, and you can bet we’ll be using the techniques we used in the Sleep Sense Program; and we’ll be using them a lot earlier than six months.*

– Madelaine (6 month old son)

I wanted to thank you for your wonderful manual. I have a baby girl of a year and a half who was very active during the day and was having problems sleeping through the night. Thanks to your program she’s sleeping all night, and though she sometimes wakes up, it is for very little time and she goes back to sleep on her own.

It’s been a blessing for me and my husband, but of course also for her, since she wakes up very happy and goes about her day happier than ever and as active as always, too.*

– Miredly Ramos

The information on the program is wonderful. It makes sense, it’s not hard to implement, and it really does work.*

– Lara (2 month old daughter)

I found the Sleep Sense program and it is probably the best money we’ve spent when it comes to our child.*

– Sarah (6 month old son)

Thank you Sleep Sense! My daughter Is happy, content, and a great child to take care of.*

– Gillian (8 month old daughter)

If it wasn’t for you, our daughter would be a single child!*

– Tammy (9 month old daughter)

I must say the program is nothing short of a miracle…Our little baby was 5 1/2 months when we did it, and its changed all of our lives.

Ryder sleeps thru the nite and naps like a baby! Prior, he was up to nurse 4-5 times a nite and had never really slept in his crib during the day to nap .. I had to either rock him or nap with him on me .. turns out the little guy loves to be in his crib! My deepest thanks.*

– Jill, Mike, and baby Ryder

They sleep even when we travel, and we travel a lot.*

– Kara (2.5 year old son)

It honestly was a godsend. If you keep on track with the program and listen to the advice that is given, and take it seriously, it works wonders.*

– Lane (6 newborn son)

The manual has age specific plans… so you could start at any point with your baby no matter how old they were.*

– Stephanie (9 month old daughter)

To our surprise it only took three days with minimal crying on first day and no crying on the other two.*

– Edna (1 year old son)

I ordered the sleep sense program and had wonderful results.

Tyler slept through the night without any crying by the second night.

Thank you for the information, it really helped!!*

– Jennifer Brahsear

We started the Sleep Sense program about three weeks ago and our entire life has changed in our house. We are eternally grateful for the tools the Sleep Sense Program has given us.*

– Sarah (10 month old daughter)

Silence is golden, thanks to you; and we really do attribute this to you.*

– Tammy (9 month old daughter)

We have never looked back. Our household was transformed. I can’t thank you enough.*

– Gaynor (6 month old son)

Dana’s program has been so helpful in our house to give us some really specific strategies and skills and support to help our children have healthy sleep.*

– Lauren (4 year old daughter and 8 month old son)

It is 10 to 7 on this lovely Spring evening and Joshua is sleeping soundly in his cot as he did last night and the night before for 10-12 hours.

Thankfully, your Sleepsense plan put us all back on track and we hopefully will never look back.

Many thanks again and good luck in all that you do.*

– Toni Taylor

I was just amazed at how simple and practical and easy this program was to use.

* – Rachel (6 month old daughter)

Thank you very, very much for your hard work and thank you so much for the book; it definitely makes my life much better.*

– Eva (7 month old daughter)

I always say that I can handle anything during the day with my children as long as I’m getting my sleep at night, and thanks to the Sleep Sense Program, I’m getting my sleep at night.*

– Jill (3 month old son)

I cannot rave about this enough. I’ve told all my friends.*

– Catherine (5 month old son)

We are writing you because we feel so well rested for the first time in 11 months that we actually have ambition to do things like email people!!!

It has been one week today and I can tell you the improvement is incredible! He goes to bed 2-3 hours earlier (and is truly tired) he sleeps completely thru the night and awakes only an hour earlier than before!

Now we can consider having another baby since I know this won't happen to me again!*

– The Bates Family (very well rested now!) Brandon, Angelique and Jace

Any mom that I talk to who has been asking about sleep issues with their child, I suggest that they check into your product because I have had such great success with it.*

– LeeAnne (4 month old son)

(Your book) changed my life… has helped me achieve what is one of the most important things; teaching them to fall asleep on their own.*

– Pily (2 year old daughter)

I could hold her because I wanted to, not because I had to.*

– Joanne (newborn daughter)

Thank you so much for writing the book and getting us back to our old sleeping habits and getting our kids into new sleeping habits.*

– Tammy (3 month old son)

Since getting onto your sleep sense program, Beau has been an angel. It was hard going for about a week or two when we first started, but now he goes to bed without hesitation and sleeps well through the night. It was a blessing to my husband and I.

We have regained our lives – slightly anyway and are back in the land of the living because of the sleep we now get in the night and a bit of a rest in the day.*

– Trev and Beau

We noticed a huge difference in her mood, her sleeping patterns. Truly it is a miraculous program.*

– Rhonda (22 month old daughter)

I am very thankful I came across your Sleep Sense program.*

– Nancy (11 month old daughter)

It’s written in a very easy to read language; it’s set up so you can easily access any of the sections you need; and that’s important, because as parents you don’t have time to spend researching what you need.*

– Rhonda (newborn daughter)

I was at my wits end and… I found the Sleep Sense program. She’s been sleeping through the night ever since.*

– Reagan & DJ (8 month old daughter)

I’m so thankful to have gone through this program.

It was easy to read/follow and the videos were an extra bonus to keep us on track! We looked forward to watching one each day/morning.

My 7.5 month old son now has the skills to put himself to sleep at night with little fuss. We noticed changes already on the second night, then by the 5th night he slept 10.5 hours through the night which was his first time ever to do this!

My husband and I have our evenings back and it feels great knowing that he has some independence with getting himself to sleep when he is tired.

Kudos Dana, you have a simple yet powerful program… which WORKS!*

– Mari Chris C.

I chose the Sleep Sense Program because it is suitable for every age group and I was a little concerned about our daughter only being 3 months (and 1 day to be exact). My husband and I read it and started the training that same night.

I had my doubts about the program working as well as was promised, and I thought, if any baby was going to prove this program wrong, it was ours! But, to our surprise, we saw MAJOR improvements on the first night!

We are now in week 3 of the training and I am happy to say that everyone is getting much more sleep. My husband and I have our nights (and bedroom) back to ourselves and our little girl is so much happier during the day time.

Gone are the days of swaddling and re-swaddling, rocking, bouncing, swaying and shushing. No more trying to transfer baby from our arms to her bed without waking her.

I realize now that we were doing her a disservice before by reacting to every little fuss and I feel like we have done such a good thing by teaching her this important life skill. Thank you so much!!!*

– Joanna B.

I was only 6 days into the Sleep Sense program (which was going great!) when I got appendicitis! So much for routine! Even after surgery it was impossible for me to get back on track for a few weeks.

However, the day I returned from the hospital, despite the chaos, my 11 month old son slept 10 hours straight for the first time and put himself down for 2 naps during the day for an hour and a half each, which he had never done before!

Until then I was convinced he only needed one nap a day. It was obvious to me he had learned some sleep skills over the previous week. He did become attached to a few old sleep props a few days later and woke a couple of times during the night because I had to do what was easiest for me while recovering from surgery (ie. nursing in my bed), but I knew the program worked and I could get him back into routine again when I felt able. Even during the disrupted routine however, he continued to have two naps during the day and took no time at all getting settled.

The Sleep Sense program provided the encouragement I needed to do what was best for my son and I started to reap the results the very first night. It without a doubt works. Thanks for the books, the videos and additional support.

It was all needed and worth every penny!*

– Kristin K.

Hi Dana, I used to put my baby in his cot at 7pm and he was back on my lap by 7.15pm. I would walk my lounge flat with him until finally getting him to sleep on my shoulder and putting him back in his cot at around 10pm. He would then wake up every 2 hours for a breastfeed. I was exhausted…

After putting some of your program into practice, he is now in his cot at 7pm and asleep by 7.15pm. I have time to cook and eat dinner, tidy the kitchen and relax in front of the telly with a cup of tea. I feel like my life is getting back on track. His nap times in the day work pretty much the same. He is much more happier. He is eating well and not cranky like he used to be.

I am eternally grateful for your help and will recommend your book to any other mothers who are hassling with their babies.

Thank you very much!*

– Wendy Bow

When our 8 month old twins were still getting up several times a night my husband and I were getting desperate for sleep. The endless nights of interrupted sleep were starting to take their toll on our life and our relationship. I was feeling totally fried.

I read several other books and tried countless other tricks to get my babies to sleep, but nothing worked. A colleague at work recommended The Sleep Sense program and it was a life saver. The book is easy to read and concise and the program is uncomplicated. My husband really appreciated the videos and they were a wonderful way to get him involved since he is not a big reader. One of the things I loved the most about The Sleep Program is that it addresses the problems and issues that can come up like teething, travel, early wake ups and naps.

The perfectly timed emails were fantastic. Teaching your child to fall asleep on their own is a big deal and can be very overwhelming but The Sleep Sense program gives you the information, the tools and most importantly the support and confidence you need to do the right thing for your whole family.

I can’t say Thank you enough to Dana Obleman. We have our lives back and my twins are well rested and happier.

I would recommend The Sleep Sense Program to all parents.*

– Celeste Levesque

I wanted to thank you for the Sleep Sense program. Things have been hectic at our house (contractors all over the place doing loud work during the day), so naptime has been challenging. But we implemented some things we learned from the Sleep Sense program at bedtime, and what a difference!!!

We’re only on the fourth night, but already Megan has developed her own self-soothing techniques, falling asleep on her own albeit with some crying, waking only once to eat during the night and putting herself back to sleep on her own with her other nightwakings.

My husband and I are so happy to have a long stretch of sleep again! Thank you so much. We still have some work to do regarding naps, but we’ll get there.

Thanks again and take care.*

– Christy Murray

This is the first time I have communicated with you directly since purchasing my online bible to a better life!! Austin took two and half weeks to get into the routine of an earlier bedtime and not relying on me to feed him prior to.

Our routine is bath, brush teeth, pajamas and bed (with a bottle) starting from 6.30pm. It used to be whatever it took to get him to sleep at about 7.30pm and still be struggling at 9.30pm. Now by 7pm it is ME time and I can not thank you enough.*

– Kind wishes, Stephenie B., Australia

I just wanted to write to let you know what a HUGE success your program has been in our household!

I am not a first time parent, my two older kids 4 & 5 have always been good sleepers. They both started sleeping through the night at 6 weeks old and were also very good nappers. They would always get put to bed awake and before they were sleeping through the night, they only woke up once to eat and I never turned lights on or gave them any stimulation, I just fed them and put them straight back to bed!

With our third baby however I was not quite so vigilant. I guess it is because I know he is my last and I just always wanted to cuddle him. I knew in my head that I was creating a monster, but wanted to keep my baby a baby for as long as I could.

The other morning (at 3am) out of sheer desperation (he is 8 months old) I came across your web site and bought your book. Later that day for Orrin’s second nap I began implementing your strategies and lo and behold he slept for over an hour! I was thrilled!

And that night I put him in bed awake at 7pm without his soother and he went right to sleep and did not wake up until 6:30 the next morning. I was so happy and relieved to finally have a wonderful uninterrupted sleep. But was a little worried as I was fully expecting this not to happen for another couple of weeks. Beginners luck I thought, but sure enough it has happened night after night for 5 nights now. My only regret is that I didn’t do this sooner.

Thank you very much!*

– Sarah Blackmore… no longer sleep deprived!

I purchased your program shortly after my first contact with your website many months ago. I am pleased to say that Georgia now sleeps through the night (12 hours minimum) and can easily put herself back to sleep should she stir during the night.

I am pregnant with my second child, due 3rd August, and am looking forward to putting this baby into a proper sleep routine much earlier than I did with Georgia.

I wanted to thank you for your sleep sense program, as I don’t know what I would have done without it. I refer to it as my “bible” and have recommended it to many of my friends. My beautiful Georgia is finally getting the correct amount of sleep and she is so much happier now that she is well rested. I only feel guilty that it took me the first 14 months of her life before I did anything!*

– Kind regards, Jenny P.

I actually purchased your Sleep Sense program a couple of months ago and I thought I would take this opportunity to thank you. It is absolutely amazing!

I followed all of your instructions and my 2-year old was sleeping through the night (in his own room) in less than a week. The first couple of days were terrible. He would come into our room about 15 times per night. He also threw terrible tantrums which included emptying the contents of his dressers and removing his mattress from his bed!

However, by Day 3 we started seeing positive progress. I don’t have to tell you what a difference it has made in our household. We are all sleeping again and my son’s overall disposition has improved. He was always a good boy but because he was tired, he would act out at times. I am happy to report that he has stopped throwing tantrums entirely and he seems generally happier and more secure.

I have referred you to six friends and I will continue to refer you to others having sleep issues.

THANK YOU!!!!!!!*

– Christie O’Toole

It has been six months since I purchased your program and after recommending it to yet another friend, I realized that I never passed along my thanks to you. This program changed our lives! After just a week of starting your program, our son, Connor (now 17 months), has been regularly sleeping through the night and still takes 2 naps during the day with little or no struggle.

I had read a few other books and articles about getting your baby to sleep through the night, but your book was the first one that really “clicked” with me.

Thank you for providing actual step-by-step instructions for implementing the program, unlike other books/articles, which discuss the theory and procedures at great length, but don’t give you the REAL tools you need, like multiple examples, a workbook, and the Sleep Sense spreadsheet. Using the examples you provided, I created a customized “Daily Routine” sheet for Connor, which I kept for about six weeks. The routine became so routine that we still follow it! Not only that, but another huge benefit was that I determined that Connor has some food allergies that I probably never would have realized had I not been recording his daily meals and sleep patterns!

Thank you again for making your program available at an affordable price and for conveying your knowledge in a straightforward yet compassionate manner. I’m just so thankful I found it for our first child! I truly don’t know what we would have done without it!*

– Sincerely, Kristin Oakes

I purchased your program 9 days ago and since then we have a new baby boy. Hayden slept 12 hours last night, from 7pm – 7am. WOW!!!!!! He now sleeps more during the day, in fact he sleeps for two hours at a time instead of just the standard 40 mins. And it’s all because we now start our routine earlier and put him to bed before 7pm. He only cries sometimes and that we think is because we let him go to long and he is slightly overtired. Otherwise he has adapted really well.

Thank you so much. Hayden now has a very happy Mummy.*

– Regards, Alison Jansen

I just got your message and program about 2 hours ago and I can’t believe I am writing you at 8:21 pm. This is usually when I am struggling to get my 3 year old to bed. But we followed your plan to the letter – developed a routine – and she was asleep by 8:12. I even hung around a little and have checked on her once just to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.

Thank you so much. I cannot tell you what a help this has been. I know every night might not go this smoothly but I now have hope for a normal life again.*

– Stephanie Haley

I just want to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!! Your program really does work!!!

Our 15 month old son was waking 3 or 4 times a night. We were so tired that we would just put him in bed with us to get at least some sort of rest.

I bought your book last week and tried the first night. He woke several times but would be sleeping again in a matter of minutes. Now, less than a week later he goes to bed @ 7:00p and and sleeps 12 – 13 hours, maybe waking once.

Again thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!!*

– Sarah Turnbaugh, RESTED MOMMY!!!

We subscribed to your Sleepsense program and I am pleased to say that last night, for the first time ever, Jaime slept for 9.5 hours!

I put her to bed at 7pm and she went to bed without any protest (this has happened for 4 sleeps in a row now!). She woke at 10pm so I fed her(roll over feed) and returned her awake to her bed….where she stayed until 7.30 this morning. I did hear her stir at 2am, however, to my amazement she re-settled herself back to sleep. After 13 consecutive nights of getting up to her at least twice during the night… my husband and I couldn’t believe it!

Thanks very much for writing a program that gave us (me in particular) the confidence to let her learn how to sleep like the big girl that she is (7 months now)!!*

– Best, Natalie & Simon

I bought the e-book one week ago one sleep-deprived night around 11PM. Voraciously I read a few chapters and resolved to start SleepSense immediately. I liked the practical, hands-on solutions you described for my 8-month old daughter. I’ve paid better attention to her physical cues for sleepiness. I didn’t even realize that she had a routine for the day until I read your book.

Planning my schedule around her naps is tricky, but well worth it. In less than 4 days she could sleep through the night WITHOUT me getting up to feed her and rock her back to sleep. In a week, she was able to go down to sleep for a nap or the night without a fuss – peacefully looking up at me as if to say, “thanks, I really am sleepy right now and I want to go to bed”.

Now I’m the one who has to adjust to going to sleep before 10PM! My clock is still wired to stay up to lull the baby back to sleep one last time before I put myself to sleep. After watching my daughter, my mother-in-law is very impressed with how easy it is to take care of her. Her words were, “whatever you’re doing is working, so keep it up.”*

– Sincerely, Winnona Gaviglio

I cannot thank you enough for giving me the gift of sleep! Two days before my son turned 9 months old, I was at my wits end and felt like I was on the verge of a breakdown. I had not had more than 4 hours straight of sleep in a year, and was truly exhausted. It affected my home life, my relationships with friends, and especially the quality of my work at my job.

My son had never slept more than 5 or 6 hours straight, but at 6 months old he began to wake up every 3-4 hours. I honestly thought he was just hungry, but didn’t realize I was setting him and myself up for sleep failures. Well, he is now 9 months old. As of last night, which was night # 8, on your sleep program, Christian slept for 10 1/2 hours straight! He woke up one time, cried for about 30 seconds, and was back asleep before I could even open my eyes to check the time. By night 3, he was sleeping 9 hours, which was amazing to me. Because I was so accustomed to waking up throughout the night, I can’t even sleep past 4:30 am now, but I know that it will take some time for my body to realize that it can truly rest again.

Thank you for giving me my me-time back in the evenings, for giving me sleep back at night, and for teaching me how to be a better parent. We are all much happier now, and I am even back to working out in the mornings while Christian sleeps. At this point, I am telling EVERY parent that I know about your program. It was well worth every cent and more!*

– God bless you! Gailda Davis

Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!!!!!!!!

I just had my first full night of sleep in 5 1/12 months. It was the third night of implementing the program and she slept from 7:00 to 5:00 and went back down until 7:00. I am so happy I woke up crying:)

Thanks again! You are a life saver* ~ Elyce, Kevin, and Jaidyn Battle

Just to let you know that I purchased your book this day last week and I am so delighted to report that Charlie’s sleeping patterns have improved greatly so much so that he has slept through the night for the past 3 nights. It was the best money I ever spent on a book and I am really delighted with his progress all thanks to your book. I hope it continues!* ~ Claire O’Callaghan

I signed up to your sleepsense program around 2 weeks ago. The first night, Jamie fell asleep after 20 minutes. Since then, Jamie has slept through every single night.

This is a major breakthrough after 15 months of broken sleep!!! I already knew what I should be doing to get Jamie to sleep really, but your book gave me the confidence, and encouragement to actually do it.*

– Many thanks, Joy Lumb

THANK YOU SO MUCH! Your sleep programme is fantastic and truly works! Last night was our 6th night and things are going brilliantly well! I really can’t thank you enough.

Joel slept through on the 3rd night, had a bit of a blip on the 4th night, but I think it was because he had a dirty nappy and was uncomfortable but 5th and 6th nights…straight through!

I can’t recommend your book highly enough and will certainly be mentioning it to all my friends in Britain who are having similar problems.*

– Thank you, Carolyn

You are a life saver!!!! Within 1,5 weeks of starting your program, Kaide is going down at 7:30 with no arguments, and he is managing to put himself back to sleep within 10 minutes, he is also having two nice sleeps in the day. I am a totally different person, and our relationship has improved tenfold.

After having just accepted that this was to be my lot in life, I had resigned myself to the fact that I would have to survive on between 3 and 5 hours sleep a night. I have my own business, which means if I loaf, I don’t get paid, so sleeping in the day is out of the question. Kaide is with me all day and would only sleep for 30 minutes once a day, so as you can imagine, I could not function to full capacity at all.

We got advice from everyone, and tried everything, but all people could say was, “you made your bed, now lie in it.” Everyone knew the problem, but no-one could give us a solution, even the doctors. That is until I stumbled upon your website. You made it so easy.

Our history with Kaide was the cause of the problem. When he was born, his Dad and I were building a lodge in the Kruger National Park. Seeing as the house we were in was the only accommodation at the time, we had to share it with builders, plumbers, head office staff etc etc, with up to 14 people sleeping in a three bedroom house with us and our 6 week old baby.

Kaide also had colic, and as I was the only one who never had to do heavy work, it was my duty to keep the little guy quiet when he awoke in pain, so everyone else could get a decent nights sleep. I would sit up all night with him to keep him quiet, and pass out at about 5am. During the day he would only sleep for 6 minutes at a time, so there was no time for me to sleep then either. As he got older we found that if he went down before 8pm he would wake at 9:30, and would not go back down until 12:00. If we put him down at 9pm, he would sleep till 8am, but still he awoke at least 5 times a night and needed me.

Having become so accustomed to rocking and shushing him back to sleep, when he awoke in the night, that is exactly what I would do. Not realizing that this was not actually what was expected of me, that my child would not despise me, or worse end up with a low IQ from screaming. I definitely suffered with depression and only now can I see how badly. I was starting to lose it, and Kaide and I were not enjoying one another at all. Your program has given us back our lives, and has recreated that special bond that I lost with my child.*

Thank you so much!

– Gary, Candice and Kaide

An absolute sanity saver!

Our little boy was waking 8-10 times a night, and I was falling apart. Within days he slept 5 hours straight – longest ever, then within a week he started sleeping 11 or 12 hours straight. The clincher for me is the fact that you can email in concerns and questions and they are promptly responded to – personally, not some generalised answer.

Thank you so much! I have recommended you to everyone I meet!* ~ Ann

Logan was 9 weeks old when we implemented the program and it was the best thing we ever did! I’m not going to lie and say it was easy (especially night 1), but by night 2 Logan was sleeping 12hrs and only waking once to feed! It was glorious!! Logan will be 3 months old this week and I can honestly say that he now enjoys his bedtime and nap times and is a happier and healthy baby boy and I can’t wait to have another!*

Thank you Dana!

– Sarah

I am on day 15 of sleep training and have had the best 24 hours in a LONG time! My 5 month old son slept for a full 12 hours with no crying to go down and then has had three great naps of an hour and a half each with minimal crying. Each day is better and better the longer you stick to the plan. The first day is very difficult and the are some set back days but all in all having a plan to follow helped me to go from waking every 2 hours in the night to a full 12- I’m not really sure how to cope with all this sleep! I have already recommended sleep sense to 4 friends and a stranger in the line up at toys r us!

I think the plan, the email support and the videos were absolutely great.*Thanks ~ Charlotte

You saved my life!!!!! Just after 1 night my 9 month old daughter was sleeping alone in her crib! I couldn’t believe it!!! Thanks!!!*

Thank you Dana!

– Tanya

Our 7 m old son was not sleeping and my wife was running on empty. We had read so many different tid bits and gotten so many different forms of advice but Nothing was working. My wife had gotten the number of a sleep specialist that we could set up an appointment via Skype with for over $300! I saw the sleep sense program and Dana online and convinced my wife to give it a try. Only 1 week on the program (check in method-10 min) he is sleeping through the night!!!*

Thank you!!!

– Jesse

Our little guy wasn’t a terrible sleeper, but it was quite a job getting him to fall asleep.

Using the sleep sense program was great because it was so specific and had an answer for every question we had. It was really reassuring to have a video everyday to confirm we were on the right track and making progress.

We have had great success. Little man goes to sleep at 7 without fuss and usually wakes up between 6 and 7. 2 good naps of an hour or two. The husband and I have been able to catch up and eat dinner together every night while baby boy snoozes peacefully!*

– Ruth

I was at my rock bottom and I hadn’t slept in weeks. I wasn’t sure how I was going to manage this new baby and a toddler.

There were lots of tears, then I came across the sleep sense program through a blogger. My 15 week old baby had already shown he could sleep the night so I went for it. The whole program changed my life and the life of my family. it changed the way I saw things and the way I parented.

I loved the way the program was set up and the coaching videos. I loved that Dana was no nonsense but at the same time compassionate to parents because this is not easy to do. Our baby has been sleeping through the night since day 2. I could not believe it. But I am a believer now.

Thank you for your help and guidance.*

– Diane

This program has been a godsend for me. My husband works away and so having to wake numerous times throughout the night was well and truly taking its toll.

My now 6 month old sleeps 7pm to 7am and his day sleeps range from an hour to 1 hour and 45 mins. Yes initially it hard work, because we took his dummy away (although he never really relied too much on it) and the crying was tough but having Dana’s email support to guide really helped me cope!!*

– Abbie

From the first day I started the program with my 6 month old, I had great success. I love how organized the 14 day program is. It felt like Dana was right there with me, helping me to tackle certain issues through her videos. I never felt alone and gained so much insight, knowledge and confidence to help my baby become a better sleeper. My baby girl went from getting 7-8 hours with a night waking to now sleeping 11-12 hours through the night. Although, I am struggling with her naps, I know it will get better.

I also liked how Sleep sense offers so many resources from the blogs to asking a direct question to a counselor. I emailed a question not sure if i would get a response or generic answer and was surprised to get a response quickly. The only area of improvement I would recommend is that some of the videos did not allow me to rewind or fast forward. So if I missed something I had to watch the video from the beginning. I would recommend this program to any parent.

*(Disclaimer: Testimonials are from satisfied customers. Results vary.)