frequently asked questions
As a sleep consultant my job is to get babies and children to sleep better by working with the entire family. This may happen with a small tweak in their schedules or it may require more work and some “training”. I don’t consider myself a sleep trainer because sometimes there is no sleep training involved. My primary goal is to educate parents and caretakers on healthy sleep habits and develop ways that you can achieve better sleep.
After a complementary phone call you will receive several sleep questionnaires to fill out that ask about everything from your child’s medical history to your own sleep habits. Once we receive the questionnaires we will schedule a time for our consultation where we will delve into these questionnaires and discuss your child’s issues in depth. After the consultation we will follow up with you (within 48 hours) and send you a sleep plan or follow up email. At that point you can begin your sleep plan immediately. We will provide support for the contracted time so you can reach out to us with any and all bumps you encounter along to way.
Most children are sleeping better within two weeks.
Yes and no. While Cry-It-Out (CIO) as a sleep technique gets a lot of press, there are many other methods that are just as effective in sleep training. We work to tailor each sleep plan to your family so if you are not interested in CIO we will definitely pick another method that suits you better.
Since many babies are still developing sleep patterns in the first 4-6 months of life, we generally do not do any serious sleep work before that time. However, there are always ways to help young babies develop healthy sleep habits from the start. If you would like assistance before 4 months of age please contact us and we may be able to help. We work with infants through age 5.
Part of the reason I picked Sleepy Mama and not another company name is because for the first months of my son’s life I was very sleep-deprived. He was a terrible sleeper from the get-go. I knew exactly how to create healthy sleep habits and I was so wrapped up in my new baby that I ignored what I was supposed to do. Once I started listening to my own advice not only did my child start sleeping better, but mommy and daddy slept better too. So it wasn’t easy and some nights it still isn’t, but now our family is in a much better place with much more sleep!
A Certified Postpartum Doula is a support person who comes in the home to help educate as well as care for the parents and child in the postpartum period. This support may include education in areas of infant feeding, sleep shaping, childbirth recovery, and emotional assistance. It may also include some light help with household tasks. Sometimes you may even need me just to watch your newborn while you take a nap! Usually my postpartum services are utilized within the first 2 months.
As a Postpartum Doula I also offer overnight support. During this support I will help take care of your newborn so that you are able to get blocks of uninterrupted sleep during the first few months. As a sleep consultant I do offer half-night packages but do not offer full overnight sleep training.