It Works!
We’re Sleeping Through the Night!
Well, where do I start…we went from waking every 1, 2 or 3 hours and taking sometimes an hour to get back to sleep to sleeping thru the night!!! Sleep (for everyone) makes a world of difference. We are all much happier! ? You also taught me so many good parenting tips like remembering to breathe, and “my yes means yes and my no means no” which now is really coming into play since I have crawling and cruising 9 month old that loves to explore everything. I would be glad to talk to anyone that was interested in your services.
Loving Lessons was the answer!
We were in need of desperate help. Loving Lessons was the answer. We were co-sleeping with our 3rd child and it just wasn’t working anymore. I was not a fan of “crying it out” and I felt so insecure about sleep training. I had so many questions that the books I read didn’t answer for our personal situation. Irene was there for us throughout the entire process. We were in touch daily at first through phone calls and/or emails. This helped us through so much! We could discuss the night before or the nap that morning with Irene and therefore, could adjust our plan as needed. This made me feel so much better. I needed reassurance that I wasn’t being a bad mom if I let my baby cry to sleep! It took us a total of 5 weeks until we got our son to sleep like he needed to be. It wasn’t easy, but I know without a doubt that without Irene, it wouldn’t have happened at ALL. Her positivity was so supportive and put our family at ease throughout this whole process. I would highly recommend Irene to any of my friends with children struggling to get good sleep.
Southwick Family
Sleeping in her own bed!
We are thankful for the sleep consultation as it has increased everyone’s sleep. Plus, Emma now understands that she needs to sleep in her own bed during the night and she wakes up a much happier toddler and remains that way throughout the day.
You seriously gave me my sanity back.
I was a SAHM for 18 months and I loved staying home with my son but the negative sleep association and nap refusal was taking its toll on me as a new mom. That was probably the hardest thing (so far) I’ve dealt with as a parent but the reward is a healthy sleep association that I am so thankful for. No more sitting in a parked car in the driveway or pushing him in his stroller in the house for naps! A happy rested baby is perfection. Thank you Irene for not letting me quit!
Proper sleep is a necessity, not a luxury!
In 2006, I considered myself a baby whisperer. My daughter was a great night sleeper (7pm-7am, like clockwork), but a terrible napper. I would rock her for, literally, hours a day so she could have a morning and afternoon nap. When I was about to lose my mind, I read “Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child”. The methods outlined in the book worked like a charm! For years I recommended it to any parent that had a complaint about their child’s sleep habits. In my opinion, parents that could not get their child on a sleep routine were either (a) inconsistent or (b) not following Dr. Weisbluth’s method.
Fast forward to 2011 and the arrival of Jack! He was clearly brought on this earth for me to love to pieces and teach me some humility! Good old Dr. Weisbluth’s method didn’t work with Jack. In fact, none of the sleep methods worked. Sure, Jack wanted and needed his rest. But only if his momma was holding him. Otherwise, forget it!
After 6 months, I contacted Irene. My friends teased me about hiring a sleep coach. I told them it is just like hiring a lactation consultant. I’m sure at some point that was considered a luxury! Jack needed to learn to sleep on his own as badly as some babies need to learn to nurse properly!
Irene kindly and without judgment walked us through some processes. She is an expert and able to pull from many resources – both documented and from her own case studies. I loved that she analyzed our sleep logs and then guided us with suggestions. She was very good at assessing our tolerance. For example, are you willing to listen to some crying or does that not work for you? She coached us frequently and I just felt like I had so much expert support to get me through a tough time. Did I mention that we started all of this right before Christmas? But Irene was there for us through all of it. And for that, I can’t say thank you enough!
No more bedtime antics
We began working with Irene at Loving Lessons in August 2011. Our son was almost 8 months old at the time and struggled with his afternoon nap, midnight wake-ups, and early morning antics.
By coaching us in proper responses that were uniquely tailored for our son, Irene turned things around with her keen observation and unyielding pursuit of solutions. We saw results almost immediately, but she kept with us, finessing the plan until we reached a point where Max takes two good naps a day, sleeps through the night, and wakes around 7 each morning.
We are so grateful for the work she did with us and firmly believe that everyone getting better sleep has made Max a happier child and my husband and me happier parents.
The entire family gets more sleep
We started working with Irene for help with our 12 month old, but soon realized that our 3 1/2 year old’s sleep could also use some tweaking. She gave us a set of tools and ideas appropriate for the 3 1/2 year old and a different set for the 12 month old. The support to implement the sleep plan was terrific. The follow-up with Irene was invaluable to understand what was working for our family and what needed some adjustment. With her help we were able to get both kids on track with good sleep habits. Now the whole family is sleeping uninterrupted through the night. The kids are less grumpy, and the grown-ups are (gasp!) well-rested!
No “Cry-it-out” methods here – this works!
During our move from NY to NC my son ended up sleeping in our bed and we couldn’t get him out. We tried everything that had worked when he was younger and still no luck! I was torn… there was a part of me that loved having him there to cuddle and there was a part of me that wanted my bed back! I started reading a lot of blogs that said it was normal and okay to co-sleep and I was resigned to the fact that it would just stay that way.
8 months later with a 21-month old practically taking over my bed, I saw a Groupon offer for Loving Lessons and I jumped on it- what could it hurt I figured… I’m not the type of person who could just read a “how-to” book and make it happen, but Irene is your in-person how-to book.
She literally spent 3 hours with my husband and me during our first session. She was a fellow mom who understood my mixed feelings about the whole thing and sensed that I was exhausted with the idea of what lay ahead. Irene’s method does not allow your child to “cry-it-out”; you are there for them the whole time, comforting them until they’re fast asleep- After three weeks of “shuffling” my son is in his crib and sleeping through the night!
But more than just sleeping we now have a quality family bedtime routine- He sits quietly for story time and is even picking out books to read and turning the pages, After we read two books, he hugs and kisses both my husband and I and runs down the hallway to his bedroom with excitement! He lifts his arms up at the end of his crib for us to put him in and after telling him how proud we are that he’s a “big boy” he lays down and goes to sleep. It’s amazing! I never thought it would happen and SO easily too. I feel silly that we had waited so long to seek help and feel very proud that we did!! THANK YOU IRENE.
No more nap time struggles
Irene has been instrumental in us realizing the importance of sleep for our child’s development and early education. When our child first turned two years old; she started to fight naptime. We were fine with giving up on naptime even though my child was always short tempered. Irene talked us through the importance of keeping a set schedule that included naps. We persevered and sure enough naptime became less of a struggle. Our child is always happy now, loves books and loves learning new concepts. We think this is a direct result of us consulting with Irene and continuing naptime as well as a sleep schedule. Thank you Irene!
Irene Gouge’s Loving Lessons saved me!
I was running on fumes, averaging 3-4 hours of sleep a night and wondering why my 7-week old daughter was simply miserable. She wouldn’t sleep for more than 2 hours at a time during the night or day (often times less) when Irene came over to help us. Her suggestions were tender, warm and incredibly useful! And if something wasn’t working for our family, she listened very well and gave us another idea.
The best part was IT WORKED! The same night Irene came over for the first time, our daughter slept 4 hours straight and within 2 weeks she was sleeping as much as 6-8 hours straight into the night. Of course, things weren’t perfect because Dani was so young and her nap schedules were really rough for me and her. Whenever I called Irene, she was WONDERFUL, understanding and could sense my urgency and frustration. She calmed me down and let me know so stay the course and Dani would find her way with our guidance. She did! And just when Irene said she would. She’s nearly 6 months and sleeps sometimes as much as 13 hours straight thru the night, naps well and is a VERY happy baby.
Because of Irene, I can happily spend more time with my toddler while the baby is sleeping, and my husband has since bonded with the baby so much better because both are far more rested and happy. I LOVE IRENE and her Loving Lessons. Oh, and she has fast become a friend to me, answering questions not only about Dani but about my 2-year old, when I just cannot find a solution on my own. She’s a tremendous person and resource and I would NOT hesitate to recommend Irene to ANY ONE OF MY FRIENDS!!!!!
No more Paci!
Our daughter Hannah has always been a good sleeper. As first time parents my husband and I were hesitant of taking our 2 year old daughter’s paci away. We had heard stories from those transitioning or post transition to become paci free that it had been a nightmare with screaming all hours of the night. After consulting with Irene about the best way to tackle the transition, we decided to create a Paci Countdown Chart for our daughter. I had come to the conclusion that it was going to be difficult first week without the pacifier. With the steady support and reassurance from Irene we were successful and there were no tears by night 3! Becoming Paci Free went much smoother than I expected! Thank you Irene for your wonderful suggestions and constant loving support!
LET’S CONNECT!
Let’s work together to begin laying a healthy foundation. Here’s how it works:
We’ll start with a short interview to be sure we are a good match. Every family is different, so support is different and customized to serve your family well.
