Sometimes, the smallest moments—a deep breath, a hand on a forehead, a quiet pause—can create the biggest shifts. A mom I recently worked with had one of those moments, and with her permission, I want to share the story with you.

When we first met, this sweet boy spent the entire hour crying and screaming and whining, and sounding generally extremely overtired.

When the visit opened and I asked about wins, this sweet mom said that she didn’t think that it was going to work to breathe together, but that the other day when he was frustrated and tired, she took deep breaths and he fell asleep. As we were talking, we realized that he was showing some drowsy cues. It was getting a little bit late for a nap, but we figured that he could at least get in an hour without interrupting nighttime sleep. He was watching a show while we were talking. I asked what she would do if I wasn’t there, and she said that he gets really frustrated if she tries to put him down for a nap in the afternoons.