Have you ever even heard of the title sleep consultant? I know I had zero clue that job even existed before I had my oldest son so hopefully this can help you better understand what the job is. Adult sleep consultants do exist, but I’ll be focusing my attention on pediatric ones in this blog post.
Baby Love
When you find out you are pregnant, it is the world’s greatest news! After settling with the news and making sure you have a healthy growing baby, the planning begins! What theme to choose for the nursery, what stroller to invest in. Some parents even find out if it’s a boy or a girl!
I think we can all agree that we don’t know what we don’t know. Meaning, did we know those nights were going to be so long and sleepless in the beginning? Like, really know? Of course not! People try and tell you, but it can be difficult to wrap your head around. This is where sleep consultants come in.
So what is a sleep consultant?
Sleep consultants are trained to provide you with education about sleep, advice followed by support. They provide you with support and guidance over a time frame ranging from a one-off phone call to multiple weeks. Sleep education is not on the baby registry at Target or Amazon, but it should be! The biggest goal for a sleep consultant is to provide a plan to achieve consistent consolidated restorative sleep for children and families when the previous accommodations were not working.
To be clear, every parent has the decision to do what works best for their family. Many parenting topics can be “hot topics”. At the end of the day, if your sleeping situation is working for your family then there is no reason to change your ways or “sleep train”.
But Wait, Sleep Consultants Are More Than Just Sleep Training?
Additionally, sleep consultants can be references for other things like normal bedtimes for kids or mock schedules. They can even teach you how to transition your toddler to a bed, but it doesn’t mean you have to follow it. That is the beauty of knowing the options you can explore and finding what works for your family.
Parents will naturally talk to close friends and families to see how they got their kids to sleep, but sometimes that doesn’t quite cut it. And it’s no surprise seeing as though each child and family dynamic is unique. A sleep consultant will intake basic information along with a plethora of other questions. With that, they formulate a plan based off a child’s specific needs as well as the family’s. Dropping the use of a pacifier for one kid may not be a big deal, but for another it might mean war. Perhaps a parent is in the military requiring solo bedtime or siblings needing to room share are some of the many other possibilities consultants work with. It is not a one size fits all approach.
Cry It Out Stigma
Often, sleep consultants get pegged with the idea that they *all* teach cry it out. Cry it out as in put your baby in their crib, walk out and leave them to cry themselves asleep. It’s important to research the sleep consultant that you would like to work with to see if it’s a good fit.
There are a handful of different methods to sleep train your child. Personally, I do not teach cry it out. I have a few options and after intaking information about a child’s temperament along with family dynamic, I come up with a plan that provides support from parents.
At the end of the day, parents will choose what they need when they need it. No one should ever feel guilty about wanting to teach their child good sleep hygiene and hiring a sleep consultant when they are feeling sleep deprived and lost.
Sleep Consultant Certifications
A handful of programs exist to certify sleep consultants. Certification programs are solely based off that specific program. So, with that being said, there is no universal metric to which sleep consultants are standardized. Continuing education is up to the specific sleep consultant.
A couple different programs that someone can get certified include The Cradle Coach as well as The Collective for Family Rest and Wellness. Once certified, you can join a group called The Sleep Sorority which includes advice and mentorship from fellow sleep consultants.
Should I hire a sleep consultant?
While sleep training is one of the biggest reasons for using a sleep consultant, there are many others. Sometimes you are simply looking to remove the swaddle from your baby and wondering how to do it. Perhaps you are hitting a milestone (the infamous 4 month) and looking for pointers on how to deal with those developments. Maybe you’re travelling and looking how to time your naps at the new destination. All can be provided from your sleep consultant. Don’t be afraid to ask!
Here’s a quick hit list on scenarios that parents often reach out for sleep consultants
- When families are at their wits end and having sleepless night after sleepless night seeking an alternative
- Baby or child needing help with naps at daycare
- When you have a newborn and wondering how to manage sleep (spoiler alert; feed, nurse, rock to sleep whenever you want- here’s where we start to lay foundation)
- When baby is out of the newborn phase and still needing to nurse/rock to sleep, but it’s not working for your family
- How to manage twin sleep
- Your toddler is the king or queen of stalling at bedtime
- When your child is transitioning from 2 naps to 1
If you are looking to get any more information on sleep consultants or sleep training, please do not hesitate to reach out. You can email clementineparent2020@gmail.com or book a 15 minute discovery call to have a chat.