One Family's Quest to Sleep Well

Oct. 28, 2006 — -- It's every parent's dirty little secret: Their kids don't sleep through the night.

For the Nunley's -- mom Katie, 18-month-old daughter Charlotte, dad Patrick and 4-year-old son Benjy -- the problem had grown from a secret to a dilemma they couldn't ignore.

During the day, the Nunleys were a happy family. But when bedtime rolled around, they were happy no more. The Nunley children didn't sleep through the night, and neither did their parents.

"It was hard," said Patrick Nunley.

"Impossible," added Katie Nunley. "It's pretty much been almost four years that I haven't slept more than three or four hours consecutively. Benjy was getting up at least twice a night and coming in to us. And then Charlotte was getting up probably three, four times a night. I mean, it was crazy. … That just left no time for us as a couple to relax and unwind together."

Patrick and Katie would end up sleeping in Benjy's bed so often, they got Benjy an adult's queen size bed.

"Often, we played musical beds," Katie said. "And often, it would be me and Benjy in [one room] when we woke up, and Charlotte in with daddy. And we had a lovely game going."

Both the kids had what are called "sleep crutches," a habit a child needs in order to go to sleep. Charlotte's was her milk cup.

"She would have her milk sippy with books as she was going to bed, and then in the middle of the night," Katie said. "Usually, she would cry so hard and so long until we got it for her."

For Benjy, it was reading books and twirling mom's hair.

"Benjy has been into my hair probably since he was six months old," Katie said. "He'd, you know, look up at me and twirl my hair, and we'd all say, 'Oh, that's so sweet.' … And then it just kept going and going, to the point where it's like a drug."

The lack of sleep was tearing the family apart. Katie and Patrick knew they needed help.

They got it from Kim West, also known as the "Sleep Lady." West is a trained sleep therapist who coaches families to get their children to sleep through the night.