If you haven’t heard of a sleep consultant or a sleep coach before or if you aren’t entirely sure what it involves, here are some brief answers to the questions I’ve often received.
In the words of the wonderful Lyndsey Hookway… One person’s need for reassurance and validation can be another person’s sleep emergency. I will not question why it’s either manageable or an emergency for you.
My role is to support you with your personal goals, in a way that is respectful to the child and age appropriate.
Babies cry to express their emotions or discomfort. They are either telling us that they are in pain, uncomfortable, confused or just unhappy with the current situation. As parents, it is our duty to comfort our children and make them feel safe and secure. As we change the baby’s routine it is possible that the baby will become upset. When this happens we must be there with the baby to provide comfort and reassurance so that the baby can then trust and accept the new routine. I will never ask you to leave your baby to cry on its own. My goal is to provide gentle strategies which you can implement slowly without shocking the baby or causing it to cry.
- Establishing a healthy routine from the start.
- Transitioning to a toddler bed.
- Nightmares and night terrors.
- Early morning wake ups.
- Frequent wake ups during the night.
- Night weaning.
- Bed-sharing.
- Switching or ending sleep associations.
- Twins
- Children with special needs
- Sleep disorders and parasomnias
Honestly? There is nothing I will suggest to you that is not available either in a book or on the internet somewhere. There are so many tips, tricks, strategies and methods (as well as variations of each one) that you could spend all your sleepless nights reading about them.
The secret is that there is no one-size-fits-all sleep strategy. Each baby and each family is different. For this reason it can sometimes be frustrating and confusing to hear advice from friends and family. Just because it works for them, doesn’t mean it will work for you.
That depends. Babies wake during the night for many reasons. The question you should really be asking is…. “Should my baby be sleeping through the night at this age?”
Part of my role is to make sure you are aware of what is normal for your child’s age and what can be expected of the child.
I do not use any kind of cry-it-out techniques in my sleep plans. I’ve been trained in promoting gentle, no-cry solutions which are age and developmentally appropriate. I work with evidence-based sleep strategies which are protective of infant and child mental health and attachment.
Absolutely not. However, needing a sleep consultant doesn’t mean that there’s something wrong with you or your child either. Some families are happy to ride out the first few years of sleeplessness and are comforted easily with the thought that this too shall pass. Other families have what we like to call “unicorn babies” that sleep peacefully through the night from the very beginning and nap like angels during the day.
The bottom line is… if you are struggling to cope and it’s affecting your family too it’s definitely worth a try to let someone help you.
As with most things in life, the more committed you are, the better results you will have. It is best to tackle this at a time when there are no trips planned or other major events taking place in the family. Be patient and be calm. Devote the time to your child. Children can sense your emotions and mirror them.
The sleep plans I provide are tailored specifically for each family and each child. Every child is different and every family has different sleep goals. What might be unbearable for one family, can seem completely normal to another. In my sleep plans I try very hard to offer at least 2 options for the parents to choose from. We can go as fast or as slow as you like. We can also take a step back if we feel we’ve moved too fast for the child.
I do not sleep train babies or children. I support and empower the parents so that they can help improve their child’s sleep.
Sleep training goes against my parenting principles. I am a huge advocate of respectful and responsive parenting and I practice this with my own children.
No. My role is to educate and empower the parents so that they can help their child to sleep better. I provide evidence-based information, options, solutions and support.
No. My sleep plans can accommodate bed-sharing, room-sharing or sleeping in separate rooms.
Absolutely not. This is entirely your decision. We can accommodate breastfeeding in our sleep plan.