IDKwhatImDoing

I love that you’re coming to this already from a place of empathy for the struggling parents, so definitely express that when trying to help here. If I were the couple, here’s what I think would be most effective way to approach me:

1) Let the parents bring up the topic of sleep and their struggle. If they’re open to talking about it, they might be open to suggested solutions.
2) Acknowledge that this season of life was hard for you too. Acknowledge that you want them all to be able to get the rest they need.
3) Identity the resource(s) that you have found most helpful and share it with them. Let them read through it and process it on their own, in their own time.
4) Understand that they may not implement the advice shared. It might not work for them and their lives. You can approach this with curiosity- Ask how’d it go? What parts didn’t work? Were there any pieces of the advice that helped? Let their feedback inform your response. Did they not have time to read the resource? Maybe give them a summary of the information. Did they try it but not get the desired results but seem open to new ideas? Then help do more research and repeat the process of 2-3 with some fresh ideas that may better fit their situation. Do they seem angry with the check in on the sleep training? Then just back off the subject.

My husband and I struggled with this too. We tried routines but struggled until we got into daycare. Turns out ours wasn’t getting enough stimulation throughout the day to be tired enough to sleep on her own at night until making some baby friends.

– First time mom who works