Frequently Asked Questions
Sleep Help
With a background in childhood education and my extensive training in pediatric sleep consulting, I am equipped with the education, training, and skills to help your baby meet his or her sleep goals. First, as a former educator, I have worked with numerous parents over the years to help each of their children reach their full potential. Second, as a Pediatric Sleep Consultant, I have continued this trend of collaboration to ensure children are getting optimal sleep to benefit their overall health and well-being. I provide a balance between knowledge and empathy which helps families I work with thrive and feel supported while they teach their baby or child one of the most important, independent healthy life skills: sleep!
Where I excel the most with families is in my follow-up support. I will work with you every step of the way so that you are not alone in the process. I will partner with you through the implementation of a collaborative sleep plan – through any successes and setbacks we encounter – answering any questions or concerns you have, and being there to support and guide you.
If you have a baby or child who is experiencing sleep issues, I would be happy to investigate further and get to the heart of the issue. Sleep is a biological necessity, not a luxury. It is an important component to a healthy lifestyle.
I have been personally selected, trained, and mentored by Dana Obleman, the renowned pediatric sleep expert and founder of the Sleep Sense Program. The Sleep Sense methods have been used by over 100,000 families (and counting) to solve their children’s sleep issues. I am one of the less than 200 Sleep Sense consultants in the world.
My approach to improving your child’s sleep is pretty simple:
- I will review the how’s and why’s of sleep, as well as the educational component of why sleep is important, and we will dig deeper to reach the heart of your child’s sleep issues.
- I will provide an easy to follow, step-by-step plan that lets you make some choices about what is the right approach for your child (All children are different, and nobody knows your child better than you). When creating a plan, I take into account your baby’s age, health, feeding habits, developmental stage, daily schedule, parenting style, family dynamics, and sleep goals.
- I will provide follow up support through phone calls, email, and Voxer during the weeks following our consultation by guiding and supporting you through the process.
- I will show you how to measure success as we track your child’s night sleep and naps. This way, we will monitor progress, make changes if necessary, and learn your baby’s specific sweet spots for sleep. I will tell you what to expect along the way as we embark on your baby’s sleep journey together.
There will most likely be crying involved if your baby is over 3 months. It is natural for babies to cry, although unpleasant. Healthy babies cry. Crying is a form of communication for babies, which allows them to express their feelings and it can be a way for them to protest the new changes around sleep habits. Making a change to your baby’s sleep habits will most likely be met with some protest, as change is hard for everyone. However, the gift of sleep you are giving to your baby as they continue to grow and develop will outweigh the cons of a few extra nights of tears. That’s why I’m always sure to tell parents that my program will most likely involve at least some amount of protest on the child’s part.
However, I will never ask you to leave your child to cry alone, nor will I ask you to ignore their cries. I do not teach the “Cry it Out (CIO) Method”, where you lay your baby down to sleep for the night, leave the room, and do not return until morning. I use a more gentle approach, where parents support their baby while they learn independent sleep skills. One of the reasons why my method is so successful is because we work together to develop a plan that you feel comfortable with, based on what you know about your child.
It is not possible to predict the amount of protest from each individual child because there are so many factors to take into account – baby’s temperament/personality and accumulated sleep debt – but I will be there to guide you through the process every step of the way. We will talk through how to respond in a confident, calm, gentle way. What you will get is a happier, well rested baby!
Establishing healthy sleep habits can begin as early as birth. However, newborns need to eat frequently, so typically longer stretches of sleep are not expected until they are a little older and and have matured developmentally and physically. I do offer prenatal and parents of newborns my newborn education plan, where I teach the foundation of healthy sleep habits from birth. If you are interested in more formal sleep training, I would recommend waiting until your baby is at least four months of age. If you are expecting or interested in my newborn education plan, you can view the newborn package here:
I work with children up to 6-years-old. If you are interested in my services for an older child, you can schedule a free 15 minute discovery call here: https://SleepytimeConsultant.17hats.com/p#/scheduling/hhscvvnwrzthfptbpfrzdrfpffspztww
Ideally, everyone in the house should be on the same page in order to provide consistency so your baby can reach their full sleep potential. My suggestion would be to sit down and talk to your partner about why you would like to make a change to your baby’s sleep, what the changes would do for you personally if your baby was sleeping better, and ask your partner how it could change for them. Your family deserves this and I will be here when you are ready. I will be more than happy to answer any questions your partner has about the process.
“With all of the information that’s readily available online, and the resources you have at your disposal in the form of friends and family who have managed to get their kids to sleep, why would I want to hire a sleep consultant to get my child sleeping through the night?”
It can be stressful and confusing trying to navigate “Google” and the many books that are available, all of which have various philosophies.
Working with an expert can help simplify the process, especially in a sleep deprived state! I will be there to guide you along the way and hold you accountable for your goals. We will figure out what works for YOUR family and child’s needs.
The biggest reason why the solutions that work for one parent don’t work for another is simple – every baby is different. Some babies are heavily reliant on sleep props. Others can’t sleep in a room that’s too warm. Some may not be getting enough daytime sleep, and others might be overtired. This baby might have developed an association between feeding and falling asleep, whereas that one might be ready to drop their second daytime nap. And, of course, it could be any combination of all of the above, or the many other sleep challenges that babies might experience.
Adding to the challenge is the fact that most solutions do not work overnight, so parents might try a solution that could potentially help baby start sleeping through the night, but abandon it before it takes effect due to some heavy protesting on baby’s part.
In short, sleep is a complicated issue and there’s very rarely one single thing that can remedy the situation overnight.
As a Pediatric Sleep Consultant, I have the experience and training to recognize which problems result in specific symptoms, and can work with you to develop a personalized plan for your child that addresses those individual issues. I can also provide some much needed support when things don’t seem to be working, and give you the encouragement you need to follow through on that plan until it starts to work.
If you are committed to make changes to improve your baby’s sleep, then yes! The value also goes beyond getting your baby to sleep, but also purchasing self care for mom and dad. Sleep is beneficial for the entire family and can improve family dynamics. Sleep training is one of the best and biggest improvements in how we lovingly raise our children today. Check out my testimonials to decide for yourself.
