Frequently Asked Questions
Is sleep consulting/coaching the same as cry it out?
No! The cry it out method was actually made popular by Dr. Weissbluth. The method involved putting your child to bed awake and then letting your child cry until he fell asleep without any check-ins or help from the parents. The Ferber Method (which is often confused as cry it out) is a gradual extinction method where you put your child down awake but then check back in on them at timed intervals with the intervals growing longer throughout the night.
There are many other types of sleep training methods that involve little to no tears with as much comfort and attachment as you would like. Depending on your timeline, your baby's temperament, your goals, and your past successes - we will develop and recommend a method that aligns with your style to ensure success.
My baby is a really bad sleeper, I don't think anything can help. How can you guarantee that your plan will help?
Babies are actually born as natural sleepers. They do not need to learn "how" to sleep. Most of the time, a baby who is considered a bad sleeper has learned sleep associations that make it harder for the baby to fall asleep independently and to stay asleep or soothe to sleep between sleep cycles. My steps and guides will help you learn to follow your baby's lead on their needs. We have a tendency as parents to overhelp our children instead of letting them guide us on what they can do independently. Following the techniques that I show you, allows you to still comfort and guide them when they need you while giving them space to show you their developing skills. I will not leave you hanging. My job is not done until your baby is sleeping more soundly through the night with the elimination of unnecessary night wake ups.
How much does it cost?
Our pricing varies depending on the type of package you select. We have a basic package that offers one week of support and a customized sleep plan for $150. Our standard package offers two weeks of support, a customized sleep plan, and virtual discussions for $250. Our step up from that increases the time on the virtual discussions to an hour each and offers unlimted text or phone support until midnight on nights one and two for $350. Our highest package at $550 continues those offers and adds phone or text support throughout the entire night as needed for nights 1 and 2 as well as unlimited phone support for the two weeks of sleep training.
How long will it take before we start to see changes?
There is no "one size fits all" to this but most families see significant improvement within 5 days and soundly sleeping through the night by 7 days. It does depend on our method and approach as well as the child's age but those are all things we discuss in the intake so that your expectations are managed and you have the information you need to succeed in implementing the plan.
How old does my baby have to be before we can start sleep training?
As a newborn care specialist and certified pediatric and newborn sleep trainer, I am qualified to work with newborns in the fourth trimester (0 to 3 months) all the way up to age 8 for school aged children.
Newborn sleep training is not about getting your baby to sleep through the night. Our goals are often to create flexible schedules that follow appropriate wake windows, practicing skills like laying down awake, and managing expectations about what baby is able to do developmentally.