MEET THE PARENTS: EDITION FOUR
WITH ANNA & RACHID, DISCovery bay
Welcome to this week's edition of our parenting sleep newsletter! In our featured interview, join me as I sit down with Anna and Rachid, based in Discovery Bay, Hong Kong. They share their personal experience with me as their sleep coach to transform their daughter Lily’s sleep which in turn has re shaped their entire evening and personal sleep quality too!
Facing multiple night wakings, and endless bed time resistance, Anna came to feeling somewhat hopeless, truly believing that reaching better sleep for their family was in fact impossible. As professional ballroom dancers, they really needed the quality sleep themselves as well and this journey for Anna, Rachid and Lilly has been life changing. Join us as we delve into their inspiring story! Let's get started...
CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR FAMILY, WHERE YOU ARE CURRENTLY BASED AND A BIT ABOUT YOUR JOB/CAREER/BUSINESS?
We’ve been living in HK for the last 6 years, and professional ballroom dancers and teachers, our lives are very busy, hectic and require a lot of traveling, late nights, early mornings and working odd hours. It’s been quite challenging with Lily’s arrival which also coincided with the end of Covid restrictions in SE Asia which meant that our business exploded at the same time as we had a new baby to take care of.
TELL ME ABOUT YOUR INTERESTS AND PASSIONS AND HOW LACK OF SLEEP, AND SUBSEQUENTLY IMPROVED SLEEP HAS IMPACTED THIS?
We’ve really enjoyed all the outdoor activities that HK has to offer-hiking, beaches, water sports, but for the last 13 months it has been pure survival mode and we found that we were barely managing to work and take care of Lily with no time being left for ourselves.
WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO SEEK THE SERVICES OF A CHILD SLEEP COACH IN THE FIRST PLACE? THERE ARE MANY RESOURCES AVAILABLE AND I’M KEEN TO UNDERSTAND WHAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOMEONE WHO TRIES TO NAVIGATE THESE ISSUES ON THEIR OWN, AND THOSE WHO SEEK A DEDICATED COACH TO WORK ALONGSIDE YOU?
I just decided I can’t live like this anymore. I’ve done a lot of reading and research on sleep training etc and I definitely was against harsh methods which a lot of parents and books recommend, so didn’t even want to try them, but everything gentler that we tried ourselves didn’t work.
HOW DID YOU COME ACROSS MY SERVICES, AND WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE ME?
You were mentioned on a whatsapp mum’s group, and I actually private messages one of the mum’s recommending you to get more details as we tried working with another sleep coach before and it was not a good experience, so I was a bit unsure about trying again.
CAN YOU DESCRIBE WHAT YOUR SLEEP SITUATION WAS LIKE BEFORE YOU STARTED WORKING WITH ME? WHAT WERE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES YOU WERE FACING?
Quite a disaster. It would take a really long time to get Lily to sleep, often around 1 hour, and would involve a lot of crying, holding her and it was exhausting. She would then wake up every hour, sometimes more often, and if she had a 2-3 hour stretch of sleep we would consider it a great night. It was extremely tiring and was difficult to function properly, as it was like this from the beginning, so 13 months of sleep deprivation.
WHAT WAS YOUR IMPRESSION OF MY COACHING PROCESS AND APPROACH?
It was very clear and we got plenty of instructions and guidance which left nothing for us to figure out ourselves, which was actually very nice as we just had to follow and trust the process. You were also very responsive if we had any questions and checked in on us frequently which we appreciate and it made us feel like you were genuinely interested in helping us.
HOW DID THE COACHING PROGRAM AFFECT YOUR DAILY LIFE AND THE OVERALL WELL-BEING OF YOUR FAMILY? WERE THERE ANY NOTICEABLE IMPROVEMENTS YOU CAN SHARE?
We are still catching up on sleep. But the big difference is that we are already much more rested, less stressed and not anxious about going to bed.. That means that we can be better focused on the creative work that we do and also having better quality time with Lily and ourselves.
WHAT DID YOU EXPECT FROM THE PROCESS? DID IT MATCH YOUR EXPECTATIONS?
It by far exceeded our expectations as I would never be able to believe that Lily can sleep through the night after just 3 weeks and that the process would be so smooth and stress free. We were just hoping for any sort of improvement and longer stretches of sleep to start with.
CAN YOU SHARE ANY MEMORABLE MOMENTS THAT OCCURRED DURING YOUR JOURNEY WITH MY SLEEP COACHING SERVICES?
I think really the best thing is that the bedtime is now enjoyable for both the parents and Lily and she actually can’t wait to get into her bed, so we’ve used the bedtime routine as a nice time to bond with her.
HOW HAS YOUR CHILD'S SLEEP QUALITY AND CONSISTENCY IMPROVED SINCE WORKING WITH ME?
Dramatically, she is now consistently sleeping through the night and even if she wakes up for a short moment, she self settles and doesn’t need us.
WERE THERE ANY UNEXPECTED BENEFITS OR POSITIVE OUTCOMES THAT YOU EXPERIENCED FROM USING MY SERVICES?
Just having less stress and not having to dread the bedtime and the nights, it’s nice to know what we can look forward to some rest in the evenings.
AS A FAMILY, HOW DID YOU FIND THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE OF WORKING WITH A CHILD SLEEP COACH? DID IT POSITIVELY AFFECT THE DYNAMICS WITHIN YOUR FAMILY?
It was great for us both to work with you as usually it’s me reading up and researching everything baby related even though Rachid is very present in the every day life with Lily, so him joining our calls and getting all the information first hand was really helpful and he has done the first 2 weeks of work at bedtime himself which was really great as he now knows how to handle different situations too.
WHAT ADVICE OR INSIGHTS WOULD YOU OFFER TO OTHER FAMILIES CONSIDERING THE SUPPORT OF A CHILD SLEEP COACH TO ADDRESS THEIR SLEEP CHALLENGES? HOW CAN IT BE MORE BENEFICIAL THAN LOOKING AT VARIOUS OTHER RESOURCES ONLINE OR IN BOOKS FOR EXAMPLE? WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST VALUE – ADD FOR YOU USING A COACH?
We would definitely advise anyone struggling with their child’s sleep to work with a sleep consultant as it was so successful for us after trying to resolve the issues ourselves. It was easy because we didn’t need to question if we are doing the right thing and help was within easy reach if we had questions or doubts
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD OR SHARE ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH ME
We enjoyed working with you because it felt like you cared about making this work and you were involved and it never felt rushed no matter how many questions we had.
I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Anna and Rachid, who were an absolute pleasure to collaborate with and truly worked as a team.. Transforming your baby’s sleep routine requires dedication, commitment, and perseverance, and through my guidance you'll transition away from quick fixes toward sustainable, long-term solutions establishing healthy sleep patterns for your child. Right from the start, Anna and Rachid showed incredible dedication, great communication skills, and consistency which truly paid off!
As your dedicated holistic sleep coach, I offer a personalized approach that aims to create a positive and sustainable sleep experience for your baby or toddler. Achieving consistent, restorative, and wholesome sleep patterns is the goal, and many parents witness this transformation within a matter of weeks, if not days in certain cases. My methodology involves a thoughtful evaluation and adjustment of various factors in a specific sequence, gradually and supportively addressing high-level dependencies. The emphasis on these foundational sleep elements, combined with my unique sleep schedule creation process, ensures that every adjustment is tailored to your child's distinct needs rather than conforming to a one-size-fits-all approach.
In contrast to generic advice prevalent in mainstream media, my approach recognizes theshortcomings of average-based recommendations. Resolving sleep challenges requires a specifically tailored strategy that aligns with the unique needs and temperament of your baby. The intricacies and differences among children are not adequately addressed in generic advice or books. This is precisely where my expertise makes a significant impact, offering a tailored and nuanced approach that aligns with the individualized transformation every parent seeks when dedicated efforts are made.