Would you like me to answer your baby sleep problem in my next video? If so, scroll down and submit your question in the comment section below. I will pick several questions a month to answer and post them here on the blog!
Hi, I’m Kim West, the Sleep Lady. In this video blog, I am going to answer Christina’s question:
“So, how do you sleep coach in a 1-bedroom apartment? What modifications should I make to your method?”
Thank you so much for asking this question, Christina. This is very common question that I get asked frequently. Here’s what you would do:
With The Shuffle, you would keep bedtime the same.
• Sit next to the crib for the first three nights; • then (depending on where the crib is and the relationship to the door) sit next to the door or on your bed;
• then move to the door (depending on the make-up of the room);
• then move to the hallway.
You can follow the same beginning steps for bedtime and do all of the same chair positions with naps.
Where it gets trickier is in the middle of the night:
1. Move the crib as far away as possible from your bed
2. For the first three nights, you are going to get up and then sit next to the crib.
3. In the middle of the night (after the first three nights) when your baby wakes up, reassure him from your bed. You can always do the initial crib side check.
So, if it’s 1:00 a.m. when your baby wakes up, go over to the crib. Make sure they’re okay (check to see if the diaper hasn’t leaked, or that your baby has a fever, or their foot is stuck in the railing, etc.) Once you’ve confirmed that your baby is fine, reassure him quickly and go back to your bed and “shhh shhh” from your bed. If your baby gets really worked up, you can still go over to the crib side, pick him up to comfort (not to hold to sleep) and put him back down in the crib.
That’s the major difference in how to do the Shuffle in a 1-bedroom apartment! Another thing to consider (this works in some apartments and not in others) is that if you feel like your child is looking at you, thinking, ‘Well, geez. How come I’m not allowed to sleep in there anymore? And you’re right there.’ I’ve had parents either get a screen that they can use as a wall or hang a sheet from the ceiling so that it looks like a wall. With these options, you can still do The Shuffle just modified to accommodate for the screen or sheet. Again, you can just do the traditional Shuffle with naps. I hope that helps.
Video filmed by In Focus Studios
If you have experienced a similar situation, please share! Supporting each other makes parenting so much easier!
