Searching for the right Baby Sleep Consultant can be a daunting task. In the end, you need to feel comfortable with your selection, as the journey to addressing the sleep challenges is often an emotional one – one where you will rely on the guidance and support of the sleep consultant throughout the entire process.
Consider these points when searching for the right consultant for your family;
Knowledge of the consultant – is the sleep consultant professionally trained with the various sleep training methods or do they only practise with one particular method? Do they take a holistic approach in teaching a baby how to sleep? Do they consider a baby’s personality and temperament when recommending a particular sleep training method? How long has the consultant been working in the field? How many families have they helped?
Determine the fit – do you prefer a structured approach or do you feel more comfortable with a gentle and graded approach when it comes to making changes to your baby’s sleeping habits? Many untrained sleep consultants are quick to prescribe the cry-it-out method, which may go against your philosophy or doesn’t fit with your baby’s personality or temperament.
There are a number of baby sleep training methods and approaches available to parents to help teach their baby to sleep. Most of these approaches fall into one of three categories;
1). No-cry methods 2). Crying methods and 3). Methods that sit somewhere in between options 1 and 2. It is the sleep consultant’s job to work closely with parents to determine what method is best suited to their parenting philosophies and then equip them with the tools, education and strategies they need to help improve their baby’s sleep.
Before you hire your baby sleep consultant, make sure your philosophy matches their process and methods.
Compassion and empathy – often, you form a close relationship with your sleep consultant, as working with someone to overcome any challenge is always a bonding experience. Given that you are likely to develop a close working relationship with your consultant, your sleep consultant should care about you, your baby and honour your parenting style.
Training, experience and testimonials – what training has the sleep consultant done? Do they hold relevant qualifications? How many years experience do they have? Does the sleep consultant have others to vouch for their services? Often, sleep consultants receive feedback and testimonials on their Facebook Pages, website, Instagram, LinkedIn profile or on parenting blogs which may help you in your decisions.
On going support – teaching your baby how to sleep, sometimes is not a quick fix. Does the sleep consultant support and guide you during and following the consultation? If so, what does the support consist of? And how long does the support last for?
Referrals – you can ask one of your mums at mothers groups, friends or local parenting Facebook groups to see if they have already reached out for help and can make a recommendation. You can view My Newborn’s reviews HERE.
Whether you are a mother of a newborn or 2 year old, it’s never too early or too late to start teaching your baby/child healthy sleeping habits. If you have a baby or young child who is having sleeping difficulties, and you have tried almost everything to help them sleep better, maybe you need to take it one step further and hire a Baby Sleep Consultant?
