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There are so many things to look forward to when you have a new baby at home, but sleep deprivation is not one of them! It’s no secret that I have had some kids (and still do) that struggled greatly with sleep. That led me to the Taking Cara Babies Newborn course called “Will I Ever Sleep Again?”
With my oldest, he did not sleep through the night until he was almost 2 years old. And while my second child was sleeping through the night once he was about six-months-old, he had many other problems and my oldest was a lot easier in a lot of ways (you can read about my challenges with my second child here).
My Baby Sleep Experience- What Led Me to Cara
When I was pregnant with baby #3, I had to acknowledge that I needed some serious help in the sleep and baby routine department. I couldn’t seem to get it right.
Whenever I asked friends about how they got their baby sleeping so well, many of them recommended Taking Cara Babies. Even my pediatrician asked me if I took Cara’s class.
Well, about 2 weeks before my due date, I decided to go for it and purchased the course. In this review, I will look at it through two lenses– the lens of a first time mom that is brand new to newborns & sleep, and the “been there, done that” mom that already has some background knowledge.
What Can You Expect from a Newborn?
Newborns are not meant to perfectly adhere to adult schedules and sleep through the night the day they come home from the hospital. While our well-meaning parents and grandparents often tell us about how their kids slept through the night from day one, we have to remember that they also participated in many unsafe sleeping practices to get that sleep (belly sleeping, putting baby in a separate room and ignoring cries, etc).
Newborns are also unique individuals and they are not going to magically behave a certain way just because we have a few tricks up our sleeves.
But there are some things we can do to set them on the right path for good sleep, and that’s what this course is all about.
When Nothing Seems to Work
That was the struggle I had with my second baby. You can see in this picture how wide-eyed and bushy-tailed he was when I would try to put him to sleep!
I felt like a failure because nothing I did seemed to work and I felt like I was doing everything possible to get us on the right track. I read any sleep book I could get my hands on at the library. I hated talking about our struggles because people would say, “Well, my friend just did this and it worked perfectly.” Or “Haven’t you tried XYZ? That’s all I did and it worked great.”
These statements were super triggering for me. Especially when I was postpartum, sleep-deprived, and trying absolutely everything I could. Statements of, “Just do this” were not helpful, and quite honestly, irritating. I know people want to help, but did they think that I sat around all day not trying to do anything to find answers?
I still shudder a bit when I think of the newborn days with my second baby. They were wonderful in so many ways, but it was also a very challenging time in my life. I was just sooooo tired.
That led me to Taking Cara Babies Newborn course. I wanted to LOVE the newborn days with my third baby.
Course Format
This course is a video series that totals about 2 hours in length. There are 8 segments. It also includes some PDF downloads for your reference and some extra videos for special situations.
I cannot emphasize enough how much I LOVE the course format. The format of this course alone compared to other sleep resources makes it worth purchasing.
Some sleep resources I’ve used in the past have been lengthy books (think The Baby Whisperer, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, The No Cry Sleep Solution, etc- who has the time to read a whole book when you’re sleep-deprived and want answers that you can start implementing right that second? Not a new parent, that’s for sure!) and The Baby Sleep Site members area & sleep consulting.
What you need is a guide that not only teaches you what you need to know but helps you troubleshoot when things don’t work the way they are supposed to. Cara’s course does a great job of that.
Will I Ever Sleep Again? Course Content
Let me start by saying that I cannot tell you exactly what is in the course. That would be unethical as this is a product that can be purchased. Cara does not run ads on her site and is not sponsored by other companies, meaning the only way she makes money is through course & service sales.
However, I can do my best to share what I learned as appropriate and how valuable I felt it was.
In this course, prepare to learn how to calm a fussy newborn and get them set up on the right path for healthy sleep habits. You will learn about getting your baby on a healthy routine that benefits the whole family. She also offers some troubleshooting videos for when your baby isn’t taking to the teachings as you hoped.
If you are a first-time parent:
This is the most concise and helpful resource I have come across. The course format is perfect for a busy, sleep-deprived parent. It takes some of the best tips from the best baby sleep experts out there and brings them together in an easy-to-follow framework.
If this isn’t your first baby:
You may or may not find something new in this program. For myself, I had heard many of these things before, but it was an excellent refresher because I had forgotten a lot of it, so it reminded me of how I want to start with my next baby.
Also, the thing I appreciate most is that it cuts out the fluff and GETS RIGHT INTO IT. That’s what busy parents need. I didn’t have to sit and re-read two or three long books to figure all of this out.
Most importantly, she brings lots of great information together and tells you what you need to do and when. She synthesizes the best information you can find out there and ties it together so you don’t have to try and do that yourself.
She also gives a lot more grace than other sleep experts and acknowledges that your newborn baby is not going to follow a perfect schedule.
She is much less regimented than other sleep experts, and she leaves a lot more room for different parenting philosophies. But despite being less regimented, I found that her program worked the best for me. Lo and behold– newborns are not regimented creatures!
Course Pricing
The price of the newborn course is $74. This is more expensive than buying a book like The Baby Whisperer off Amazon, but the videos and conciseness of the information make it well worth it in my opinion.
It also makes it easier to share information with your partner. I know my husband is unlikely to read a parenting book… videos makes it so much easier for us to watch together and be on the same page.
I think the price is absolutely worth it for first-time parents. But if you have been through the newborn stage before and have read other resources, you may or may not feel the course is worth the cost. However, I am glad I purchased it with my third baby because it gave me a firm direction to follow this time. Read my results below–this is worth even more than the $74 to me!
Results
Cara’s newborn structure is meant for 4 weeks old and up. You can implement the framework earlier, but just remember that the first few weeks are all about survival and adjusting.
Also, all babies are different. It’s hard for me to say what can be credited to Cara’s program vs. my baby’s personality.
But my third baby has been a complete NIGHT AND DAY difference from my first & second babies.
I have been following what the program says, and for once my baby is actually behaving as expected. One of the goals of the course is to help babies gradually lengthen their longest stretch at night, and the length of that stretch corresponds with their age (a 4-week old can go 4 hours, a 5-week old can go 5 hours, etc).
My baby has been doing this! While she had a couple of random 4-hour stretches before she turned 4 weeks, by the time she was 4 weeks old they started becoming consistent. Then she started doing 5+ hour stretches at 5 weeks, and 6+ hours stretches at 6 weeks. She stayed at 6-hour stretches for a couple of weeks after that, but I was regularly getting 7-hour stretches by the time she was 8 weeks.
She is now 9.5 weeks, and thanks to following Cara’s SITBACK formula, she just slept through the night for the first time! I don’t expect her to never need a night feeding ever again, and I’m willing to give her one when she needs it, but I am SO GRATEFUL she can put herself to sleep and sleep for long periods. This pic was my happy baby when she woke up after sleeping all night (it is red from the light bulb–that is described more in the course).
SHE ALSO NAPS. It is amazing and I can actually get some stuff done, or even a little bit of time to myself!
My Recommendation
I highly recommend the Taking Cara Babies Newborn sleep course for ALL new parents. If you are a veteran parent, I do recommend it if you have struggled with baby sleep in the past. You may find you have heard a lot of this information before, but it was so helpful for me to have the best and most effective sleep tips consolidated into one place, and not have to read a 300-page book to refresh my memory.
If you need more support, consultations can be purchased for more specialized help from Cara and her team. However, I have not needed that option at all with this child.
I wish I had found Cara earlier when I was dealing with sleep issues with my middle child.
Check out Taking Cara Babies sleep programs here. You won’t regret treating yourself to better sleep!
Remember:
No matter your child’s sleep journey, remember this: You can only do so much. Then it is up to the baby whether or not they will sleep. It is not our fault if they don’t take a nap at the right time or sleep for long stretches. There are things we can do to set ourselves up for success, but if your baby doesn’t respond the way you want them to, don’t lose hope and don’t blame yourself. You will get there.
Have you heard of Taking Cara Babies? Let me know your best sleep tips in the comments!
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