• Skip to content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Shop ModernMom
  • Become An Insider

ModernMom

The premiere destination for moms

  • Parenting
    • Pregnancy
    • Baby
    • Kids
    • Tweens and Teens
    • ModernMom Monday Videos
  • Cooking
  • Living Healthy
    • Breast Cancer
    • Health & Fitness
    • Body after Baby
    • Beauty
    • Relationships
    • Love
  • Lifestyle
    • Crafts
    • At Home
    • Education
    • Travel
    • Pets
    • Decorate
    • Money
    • Brooke Burke
  • Celebrate
    • Holidays
      • Easter
      • Valentine’s Day
      • New Year’s
      • Christmas
      • Hanukah
      • Halloween
      • Thanksgiving
    • Birthdays
    • Parties
  • Must Have
  • Contests
  • Entertainment

Dirty Little Secret

December 21, 2010 by Quinn Daly Leave a Comment

I’ve talked about accepting Failure in previous posts but I have to admit that I didn’t think I would have to accept Failure in sleep training. So in an effort to accept it, here goes. My name is Quinn, and for over six months, my youngest of two daughters has not consistently slept through the night. My partner and I are hallow-eyed, embarrassed, and have been privately fighting in the trenches to set our family routine straight. And we have been losing.

For the first year of her life, our daughter went to bed and slept like a dream. No fuss. We used to congratulate ourselves on what a great job we did sleep training her. Then, a couple months after her first birthday, some switch went off inside her little body and she refused to go into her crib. And I’m talking violent freak outs that cause her to vomit. We have cleaned up gallons of puke since in our effort to force her into her crib. It has been shocking and, as we deployed multiple methods to sleep train her, there has been a growing sense of shame as they haven’t worked.

So we kept it to ourselves and talked only to our pediatrician. We started to share our situation with our family and friends. This was a big step, because we figured there would be a lot of judgment from them about our inability to control our kid. While we did get a lot of stories about sleep training that worked, we also talked to families who faced a similar struggle. They too are trying to sleep train through the fog of sleep deprivation- winning some nights and losing others. They are in the trenches too, carrying their own dirty little secret. It was a relief to know that we are not alone.

Emboldened by this, we dug up the contact info of an early childhood specialist whose parenting group we were in a few years ago. We met with her last week and we are now working steps of a plan that she helped us create. It has removed a lot of the stress and the shame. And while my youngest still isn’t in her crib every night, we know we will get there and have support along the way. As parents, I have to think that we all have things that we can’t get control of, that shame us, but that we know we have to figure out and manage. In the few short years that I’ve been a parent, I’m learning that this is part of the process. What I learned recently is that these are things that we don’t have to suffer alone.

Comments

comments

Filed Under: Parenting

About Quinn Daly

Always trying to be the best partner, mom and executive she can be, Quinn blogs honestly about the rewards and challenges of being a Modern Mom. A native Californian, her office is a block from the ocean and her weekends are spent running up and down the beach with her husband and two girls.

Reader Interactions

Primary Sidebar

Search

Tell a friend

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

ModernMom TV

Featured

10 Life Lessons I Want To Pass On To My Daughter

I look at my little girl, who is now three years old, and I … [Read More...] about 10 Life Lessons I Want To Pass On To My Daughter

Must Have

STEM-related Toys to Include in Your Child’s Easter Basket This Year 

April has arrived which means it’s time to pull out the food … [Read More...] about STEM-related Toys to Include in Your Child’s Easter Basket This Year 

Did you know?

cold sore and fever blister remedies

Cold Sore and Fever Blister Remedies

Dating a Man With a Big Ego

Dating a Man With a Big Ego

Do You Have to Refrigerate Glazed Donuts?

Do You Have to Refrigerate Glazed Donuts?

Cook London Broil in an Electric Pressure Cooker

How to Cook London Broil in an Electric Pressure Cooker

Negative Effects of Single Parent Homes

The Negative Effects of Single Parent Homes on Children

When to Take a Toddler to the Emergency Room With a Fever

When to Take a Toddler to the Emergency Room With a Fever

Mild Cramping During Early Stages of Pregnancy

Quick Ways to Cook a Round Steak

Quick Ways to Cook a Round Steak

Can You Get Pregnant Without Menstruating?

Juice Vs. Concentrate

Juice Vs. Concentrate

Footer

  • About Us
  • Contact ModernMom
  • Advertise With Us
  • Press
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contributors

Copyright © 2023 Modern Mom. All Rights Reserved.

Reproduction of any portion of this website only at the express permission of Mom, Inc.

The information provided on ModernMom is for educational use only. It should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.