What is a sleep consultant, what do they do and how can they help me?
So, you've decided that it's time to get some professional help with your little ones sleep, and you've been recommended by a friend to hire a sleep consultant. You may find yourself wondering, what is a sleep consultant and what do they actually do?
A sleep consultant is a sleep specialist who provides support and education to families around children's sleep hygiene, environment, awake windows, safe sleep practices and so much more, to ultimately help families improve their sleep.
A sleep consultant like myself will look at your whole family situation holistically and take into consideration your child's temperament, along with their sleep needs, your family circumstances as well as your family values and even their diet.
Here is just a snippet of the types of things a sleep consultant can help you and your family with.
Understanding your child's sleep needs
I take the guess work out of everything and help you understand exactly how much sleep your child needs as well as how long they should be awake for between naps. Of course every child is different and some children need more or less sleep than others, I will always reassess progress over and over again to ensure that we are meeting your babies needs.
Putting in place an age appropriate routine
One thing you may not realise is that there is a lot of false information out there. It can be hard working out how long your baby should be awake for, when they should be napping, what time an appropriate bedtime is and how many times they should be feeding through the night. This is just some of the things that we will go through when we look at implementing an age appropriate routine for your little one. Let me be clear here though, a routine is not a strict schedule it is a flexible guide to help you structure your day.
Teaching your little one how to self settle
Ever wondered what it would be like to be able to put put your little one in their cot and know that they can happily put themselves to sleep independently? This is something that I can help you work towards.
Teaching your little one how to self settle is NOT about putting them in a room and letting them cry without being responsive at all. There are many different techniques that we can utilise to teach your little one how to self settle that are gentle. Any technique that I recommend for you takes into consideration your child's temperament, you parenting philosophy and lifestyle too.
Getting through the dreaded sleep regressions
Sleep regressions typically coincide with major developmental milestones. You may have finally gotten your child into a beautiful routine and then all of a sudden you feel like everything has fallen apart again. I get it, it's so tough! I can help you put a plan in place to support your little one through any sleep regression. Getting through sleep regressions can be challenging, but the key is consistency.
Getting through Nap Transitions
It's scary when you need to think about transitioning naps! You're thinking, will my baby last that long without sleep, how do I go about it? Whether it's dropping the 3rd nap of the day, dropping to 1 nap or transitioning away from naps completely, I can help you with a clear plan to make these transitions.
Helping your little one sleep through the night
I'm sure this one hits home to most sleep deprived parents. We can optimise your little ones day sleeps and feeds to encourage longer stretches of sleep at night. Now, we need to be realistic here, we can't expect a 3 month old to sleep a solid 12 hours overnight. It is very normal for a 6 month old baby to still need a feed overnight, but a baby that is on 3 established meals a day who has doubled their birth weight is very much capable of sleeping through the night.
This is just a very quick snippet of some of the things that I can help you with, feel free to contact me if you have any questions at all.
What should I look for in a sleep consultant?
It's so important to mention here that sleep consulting is an unregulated profession, so make sure you do your research and choose a sleep consultant who has had formal training. I have a background of 10 years experience working as a paediatric nurse and have completed my sleep consultant training with baby sleep consultant which was an extensive course covering all things sleep, from newborns to 5 year olds.
If you are ready to improve not only your child's sleep but sleep for the rest of your family too, then click the button below and book your free 15 minute call with me.
Claire x
Claire De Simone is the founder of Hush Baby Sleep. She is a certified baby sleep consultant, a paediatric nurse with 10 years experience, a wife and a Mumma to 2 precious little human beings.
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