Book - Off to Bed, Little Ones - Anna Wahlgren

Are you so tired that you're afraid of losing your mind?
Being unable to sleep is a torment. Sleep deprivation is a highly feared method of torture. Someone who is prevented from sleeping will quickly be ready to accept anything in exchange for sleep.
Now you must no longer accept just anything.
Your child neither !
The cure Off to Bed, Little Ones will help your child sleep soundly, peacefully, and continuously.
Not for five, six, or seven hours but twelve hours.
Do not despair anymore! The help you need is in this book !

272 pages
16.5 x 24 cm

Self-managed Facebook support group Au Dodo Les Petits

Here is my preface for "Au Dodo Les Petits":
This book is a work that pulled us out of the water and gave us the impetus to republish it so that it could help other families on the brink, as we once were. Zia was born at home and in the water; she is the youngest in a blended family of six children. At six months old, her unpredictable nighttime awakenings, combined with a complex family situation, led my partner Aurélie to acute exhaustion, endangering her health, Zia's health as she wasn't getting enough sleep, our relationship, and the very existence of our family. Not to mention breastfeeding, which was part of a vicious cycle, because the more exhausted Aurélie was, the less nourishing her milk became, and the more Zia would wake up. My own attempts to get up at all of Zia's awakenings were futile, except for introducing me to nighttime walks to lull her back to sleep...

and some news about Aurélie:

Hello, hello

So, any news about our nights...
Zia has been sleeping through the night since the end of August, in her bed, so she has been sleeping through the night since she was 6 months old. The treatment was a real success after 48 hours.
For me, it took about 6 weeks to really recover.
Today, Zia is 9 months old. For the past 3 days, she has been waking up again around 1 a.m.
The first night she did that, well, she hadn't wanted to eat in the evening and her stomach was growling, so I breastfed her, she nursed a lot and went back to sleep until morning...
The next day, we were very careful to ensure she ate well in the evening, and the night was uninterrupted...
The following night, she made small cries around 3:00 AM, Eric got up, placed his hand on her back, and she went back to sleep.
Last night, around 5:30 in the morning, there were "cries" of hunger, I breastfed her and she went back to sleep until 8:30.
Conclusion:
- listen to the baby and do not be rigid
- Zia is growing and needs to eat more
- Zia needs to be reassured and thanks to the treatment because a simple "lapping" is enough !

Aurélie Mazerm

Some testimonials from the Facebook group :

"Hello everyone! So we started the sleep training on Monday night, determined. We didn't meet all the conditions since we put Diane, 6 months old, in her sister Albane's room, who is 2 years and 4 months old. I thought it was going to be total chaos and that no one would sleep... Diane woke up every hour as usual, but I didn't breastfeed her... It was dad who took charge for the first two nights... with - mistake! - the mattress in the girls' room! - the first night was very difficult, but we had explained it well to her, and I really believe she didn't feel abandoned or insecure at all. And then, despite the crying, Albane, who still often wakes up at night, didn't wake up!!! We continued, I took over on the third night, with some long periods of wakefulness but fewer awakenings! And yesterday, only one awakening... and last night, miracle! She slept from 7:30 PM to 6:20 AM straight through! Despite her sister waking up at 5 AM!! The wake-up was still tough but so joyful :) we are almost euphoric about these new prospects! Diane is glowing from sleeping well, she has been eating very well for three days, and is even more patient than she already was... and Albane loves having her sister with her in the room!!! I admit I didn't read the book entirely, only 3/4 before starting, it was too urgent! But it was enough to convince me and determine to start, with no doubt about the benefits for the whole family. Meals are now well-defined and no more breastfeeding on demand during the day, and everything is much more serene... for her and for me!!! It's the method opposite to what I practiced with the older one. But I believe that ultimately sleep education is a service to the whole family. Albane breastfed a lot until 18 months, and today her sleep is still unpredictable. Security is undoubtedly more constructive than an immediate response to all desires... Which are not needs!! Haha, it makes me laugh to see myself saying that!!! Courage to all! It's worth the effort..."

Céline Ohana

"3rd night of the treatment that just passed, our little one slept from 7:35 PM to 6:45 AM with a 30-second wake-up at 6:10 AM!!! And to think that 3 days ago, he was waking up every 30 minutes and nursing!"

Nanou Brech

"Hello, update after a month of treatment... Lyse sleeps very well from 8:45 PM to 7:30 AM and has a nap of 1.5-1.75 hours, so we are delighted! Most importantly, she falls asleep without crying, happily asks to go to bed, and although she sometimes asks to be accompanied to sleep, we stick to the method. We are thrilled; she has returned to daycare one morning a week and she is happy (whereas before it was difficult). She is starting to use the potty and eats very well, I am nearing the end of breastfeeding. She nurses in the morning and at 4 PM, Lyse is 18 months old... Despite many questions, it's working and we are delighted... We are starting to talk about it around us... There you go, all the best!!!"

Nelly Le Tendre

"All the previous testimonials having been extremely helpful to me, I am bringing you a mid-treatment testimonial! I am on the 3rd day of the treatment."
My daughter is 2 years and 2 months old. I still breastfeed her from time to time, but mostly, she would only sleep at night by regularly asking to nurse. This would wake me up each time, and I had a lot of trouble falling back asleep afterward, knowing that she slept between me and her dad from the middle of the night (her dad would go get her as soon as she cried and asked to be with mom) and that at the slightest request, I would respond to her desire to nurse... Before the treatment, I was constantly on edge, irritable, and above all, I realize that I spent my days in "energy-saving mode." I couldn't fully live in the present moment because I kept in mind the need to conserve energy for the nights... with the feeling of being continuously "on duty."
We are on the third day of the treatment, and everyone seems relieved to finally have some structure (I must say that at home, we had no set routine; our daughter could eat at 7 PM or 9 PM...). And the treatment is working wonderfully. I put my daughter to bed in 15 seconds, and she falls asleep peacefully on her own afterward. The night still requires a few reassurances that everything is fine, that mom and dad are watching over her safety, by reciting the nursery rhyme, but otherwise, it's perfect.
However, last night, her dad was supposed to take over for the nap and the night. While the nap went well, as soon as he took her in his arms to put her to bed in the evening, she seemed anxious. We didn't insist, and I put our daughter to bed in 15 seconds. Last night, our daughter woke up several times, and I briefly went into her room to reposition her and fan her (10 seconds) to help her fall back asleep after a moment of crying. I'm not sure if I did the right thing, knowing that normally, after the first night, you're only supposed to go into the baby's room in case of a major crisis... She seemed very upset, which is why I went in. She fell back asleep immediately.
"Here are the first days of the treatment!"

Natacha Matsunuma

"Second night and my little Adèle asleep in 2 minutes!!! Thank you thank you thank you thank you!!!"

Servane Renier

"Hello parents, for us, the routine has only been in place for a few days (we started 3 weeks ago). At night, our daughter wakes up once to eat between 5 and 6 am, some nights (mostly midweek) like the one that just ended, she woke up 4 times! But this is becoming less and less frequent. We do everything to explain to her why we are doing this, the benefits it brings her and us, that we love her... and well, if the routine has to last longer, it's not a problem. Initially, I was breastfeeding my daughter on demand at night and she hardly napped! Today, no more "fluttering," no more fan, just a cuddle moment, a story, and sleep! She still whines a little, sometimes for 2 minutes, sometimes for 20, but never more, and she falls asleep on her own!"!
We have a somewhat unique situation; we moved 15,000 km, changed hemispheres, went from having a very present father to just one hour a day with his daughter, with the presence of grandparents (which doesn't always help!), but we are managing. We have to believe in it, listen to our child and our heart. Sometimes, rereading passages from the book (after several readings, it's less vague and confusing) helps.

Coralie Obrist

"A little message after a second night that went very well, 50 minutes to fall asleep again, but no crying this time! And no waking up during the night. And this, despite the fact that a rhinopharyngitis started yesterday (as Anna described in her book…). So we are delighted!!"

Lise Bilotte

"Second night! Much better, as expected. First wake-up at 3 a.m., wonderful!!! Then soothing and listening until 4:30 a.m. with 20-minute phases of silence. I am moved when he calms down and falls back asleep several times just with the lullaby. Anna was right! Then sleep until waking up at 7 a.m.! If it continues like this, it's incredible, I'm amazed!!!"

Sébastien Keruel

"A little update on the continuation of our treatment, we are on day 21. After a rocky start, our 4-year-old daughter is going to bed perfectly and last night, she slept through the night without waking us up (for the first time since she was born)."
We have made adjustments to the routine. We don't do the playful activities (it irritates her too much), but we have a special time with her for cuddles, a story, nursing, and she goes to bed wonderfully well.
She prefers the door half open and that doesn't bother us, she has a small nightlight.
"It's such a pleasure to see her sleep and us too."

Emma Charpentier

"Hello everyone, lovers of your babies :)"
I want to say a big thank you to Aurélie and Eric for the reissue of this golden book!!!!! Because even while breastfeeding, thanks to the tools, we have a 6-month-old baby who falls asleep on his own almost every time, without the breast, with a lullaby and a comforter. He still wakes up at night but goes back to sleep immediately (with the breast…) We are also co-sleeping with a large mattress just for him so we’re not too close, and we also practice EC (Elimination Communication). We are waiting until he is 9 months old to "ask" him to eat less at night… But we can see that, little by little, he is regulating himself, calmly…
I wanted to share another tool that we use alongside and that honestly helps us a lot: connected communication :) (the coco) for those who don't know, it's something amazing :)
To experiment with !!!!
Especially when implementing sleep training or using tools, it's cool to know what the baby thinks about it :)
To Sleep Little Ones + the coconut = good good :)
Big kisses to all
"May love be with you"

Caroline Nguyên Capsulecorp