A Client Success Story with Jayne Havens
On this episode of the Becoming a Sleep Consultant Podcast, I’m sharing a recent client success story that’s too good not to tell! A local family reached out for help with their 3.5-year-old’s sleep struggles—and just a few weeks later, their lives are completely transformed.
With clear expectations, consistent follow-through, and a dose of accountability and support, this family created meaningful change—at bedtime and beyond.
If you love a good transformation story or want a peek into what working with a sleep consultant is really like, give it a listen. This is a story you won’t want to miss!
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Transcript:
Intro: Welcome to Becoming a Sleep Consultant! I’m your host Jayne Havens, a certified sleep consultant and founder of both Snooze Fest by Jayne Havens and Center for Pediatric Sleep Management.
On this podcast, I’ll be discussing the business side of sleep consulting. You’ll have an insider’s view on launching, growing, and even scaling a sleep consulting business. This is not a podcast about sleep training. This is a podcast about business building and entrepreneurship.
Jayne Havens: I thought I would come onto the podcast today to share a recent success story. This is a good one, so buckle up.
This is a local family here in Baltimore, and they were referred to me by one of the pediatricians in the practice where I take my kids. I had actually never been referred any business from this doctor, so of course I wanted to put my best foot forward. This little girl—we’ll call her P—is three and a half years old, and her parents had been struggling with sleep for months. They had been advised by their pediatrician to lock her door when they were struggling, so that’s what they did. But they just didn’t feel right about it.
I’m not sure how long the door was locked before they decided to open it back up. But when they reached out to me, bedtime was back to being an hour or longer power struggle. P was waking her parents up in the middle of the night and oftentimes sleeping on the floor in the hallway outside of their room.
Mom and dad wanted to restore peace around bedtime but also get P back into her bed sleeping all night. I presented them with a written plan and a script for a family meeting, so they could set the expectations for behavior around bedtime and sleep for P. I also walked them through role play strategies so that everyone could feel confident that P understood the expectations and would be able to follow through. We eliminated all screen time, and we set up an incentive system to reward her with experiences—not food or prizes—for good behavior.
In addition to providing a sleep plan and a family meeting script, I also provided some documents to help parents with verbiage for better daytime-limit setting. In my experience, I find that when children are struggling with respecting bedtime boundaries, they also tend to struggle with boundaries during the day. Giving mom and dad the tools to set really clear expectations and limits during the day empowered mom and dad to take back control of their household. And it also positioned P to see that she was going to be absolved of the responsibility of being in charge of their home.
Before implementing the new routine on night one, mom and dad surprised P with a couple of videos from family members. Grandparents and aunts and uncles made selfie-style videos to encourage P to follow the sleep rules and earn her sticker in the morning. They encouraged her to make good choices because it feels good to sleep through the night. They let her know that they believed that she was capable, and they wanted an update in the morning.
The first night, if I’m being entirely honest, was rough. P tested every limit. But mom was ready. P wanted dad to do bedtime. She wanted more tissues. She demanded another sip of water and help with her blanket. Mom was ready with rehearsed verbiage and body language. She showed up with confidence and did exactly what she said she would do. P put up a decent fight, but she eventually went to sleep. Mom felt good about the way she showed up for her child.
That night, P woke up in the middle of the night, but she didn’t wake up her parents. She quietly went to the hallway and slept on the floor for the rest of the night. She made a good decision to not wake anybody up, and we all saw this as a great start.
Bedtime on night two was significantly better. Mom reported that bedtime was still a power struggle, but P was asleep within 20 minutes rather than her typical hour plus that it was taking to get her down. Mom and dad were both seeing their hard work pay off. By night three, P went down without any fight, which was a huge win for this family. Mom and dad couldn’t believe it. She did continue to sleep in the hall, but she wasn’t crying or waking anyone in the house.
Because bedtime had improved so quickly but P was still waking up in the middle of the night and choosing to sleep on the floor in the hallway, honestly, I was a bit nervous that this was just going to be her preference. Mom and dad really didn’t want her sleeping in the hall from 1 AM onward. And honestly, I didn’t blame them. We decided to put a printed picture of a stop sign on the inside of her door—as a visual reminder that if she woke up in the middle of the night and got out of bed, that she should stop, make a good decision, and get back into her bed where she could be comfy cozy for the rest of the night.
Instead of talking about whether she did a good job or a bad job with sleeping, we just focused on how sleeping on the floor isn’t comfy cozy, and her body would be way happier if it was on a comfy, cozy mattress all night long. She would earn her sticker once she spent all night in her bed. Communication is key, and we made sure to have these conversations daily so P would really get with the program.
During the week, mom and dad are working, so P is cared for at home by her aunt. We decided to leverage P’s good behavior that she was exhibiting during the day for auntie by awarding her stickers for naps—that she took successfully. This was just what P needed to feel successful and get the win. Once she started earning stickers for naps during the day—naps with auntie were never a problem, by the way—she was motivated to earn them for overnight sleep as well.
Within a few more nights, P was going down at bedtime without any protest, staying in her bed, and sleeping all night in her room. If she woke early, she would wait patiently for her okay-to-wake clock to turn green. She was earning stickers, and those stickers were traded in for adventures.
Since P was successfully falling asleep independently and sleeping through the night within the first week, we spent the second week of our time together reintegrating dad into the bedtime routine and working on daytime behavior. P is now using the potty with less of a power struggle. She’s having an easier time transitioning from one activity to the next. And overall, she seems more confident in her ability to play alone and try new things. Mom and dad are so thrilled with the progress.
Because I was headed out of town for spring break before our time wrapped up, I made sure to pop a thank you package in the mail to them—pajamas for P and a written thank-you note to mom and dad. This is something I do at the end of every single contract. It’s always such a fun surprise for them to get that package in the mail. It’s completely unexpected, but always appreciated. The texts I get from mom and dad with their child wearing the pajamas and grinning from ear to ear never gets old.
In addition to sending out a package to the family, I also sent a handwritten thank-you note to the pediatrician who referred them my way. This is a doctor that had not previously referred to me, so I wanted to make sure that she knew I was so grateful that she shared my name. Not only did I express my gratitude, but I also briefly explained my process so the pediatrician could better understand what it looks like for me to support families. My hope is that this will lead to more referrals from her in the future, and I’m pretty optimistic as this case was a slam dunk.
I had my closing call with the parents this morning. We spent 30 minutes basically felling about what a different place they’re all in, just a few weeks from when they got started. Their lives are totally changed for the better. And this wasn’t just about sleep. These parents are now feeling so much more confident to show up for P in a way that benefits their entire family dynamic. They have verbiage in place for limit setting during the day. They have routines in place for bedtime at night, and everyone is feeling happy and well-rested. Seriously, I can’t believe that I get paid to do this work. I hope you enjoyed this short and sweet episode. I will see you all again next week.
Outro: Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Becoming a Sleep Consultant Podcast. If you enjoyed today’s episode, it would mean so much to me if you would rate, review, and subscribe. When you rate, review, and subscribe, this helps the podcast reach a greater audience. I am so grateful for your support.
If you would like to learn more about how you can become a certified sleep consultant, head over to my Facebook Group, Becoming a Sleep Consultant or to my website thecpsm.com. Thanks so much, and I hope you will tune in for the next episode.