🧑Parental preference👨
Do you struggle with being the only one who can get your little one to sleep? Or maybe your little one refuses your support and only wants the other parent?
This is very common. It can be due to a number of reasons:
🤱🏻Breastfeeding to sleep. If you are feeding your baby to sleep and this is the only way they know how to fall asleep, then literally nobody else can get them to sleep.
❤️They feel most comfortable with you if you are always around them. This is very common when off on maternity leave
🤗One of you is a ‘softer’ parent who gives the little one what they want and the other is a ‘firmer’ parent who doesn’t. (I mean this in the nicest way possible!) Your little one will be drawn to the softer parenting style as is natural!
What can you do about it?
– Eliminate the breastfeeding to sleep association so that someone else is able to put your little one down to sleep successfully. This doesn’t mean you have to stop breastfeeding. Just make sure there’s a gap between feeding and putting your little one down to sleep. You could feed and then pass your baby over to your partner to settle.
– Have both parents do the bedtime routine for a couple of days so that your little one gets used to both of you being involved and then one of you can leave just before it’s time to put baby down. After a day or two, the other parent will be able to do the routine from the start.
– Consistency – make sure both of you are on the same page with the routine and boundaries that are in place. This is especially important for older children who know that one parent will read 8362 stories before bed and the other sticks to only two!
I hope these tips help! Please ‘like’ this post if you have found these tips useful and please do reach out for support if you are struggling ❤️
