Infant FAQs

As a mother of 3 young boys, I have been where you are. I thought my oldest son was a poor sleeper, then along came my second to prove me wrong. I know how sleep deprivation can affect every area of your life – your relationships, your mental well-being, your ability to parent, and your life as a whole. Sleep deprivation can affect your child’s development, health, mood, and overall well-being as well. Sleep is a biological necessity, for both you and your child.

I also know what a world of difference a well-rested baby makes to the family. My third son learned good sleep skills from the start, and he was such a well-rested, happy boy. We were all well-rested enough to enjoy each stage, instead of stressed trying to manage a chronically overtired, miserable baby, which we experienced with our first two children.

It brings me such joy to be able to help you go from being an exhausted and frustrated parent to a well-rested, happy family. I truly care about each child and each family and it is my goal to help bring you to the world of restful sleep.

I understand how challenging and stressful it can be for parents to make changes to their child’s sleep habits while second-guessing every step of the process. My focus is to educate parents to help their child get the quality sleep they need. I will work with you to create a sleep plan based on your child’s needs, so everyone in the family can get a good night’s sleep. I provide support throughout the entire process, so you never feel lost or alone. Good sleep is possible. Let me show you how!

There is no one size fits all answer here. The best answer is- when you feel ready to be consistent with the changes we will discuss. While I can provide you with all of the information, if you do not implement it, or follow through, you will not achieve success. Ensuring you feel ready to commit to these changes will help your baby be successful.

It is also important to note that we will need 2 weeks of consistency while you implement our program so that you will not be traveling or having house guests. Baby needs to practice falling asleep at home, in her crib as often as possible. The more consistent we can be with this, the less confusing it will be for her, and the faster she will learn these sleep skills.

This is very individual, and we will discuss this in depth and decide on this together. If we decide your baby does not need a feeding, we will discuss a night feed wean down, to make this process as easy as possible on mom, baby and the entire family.

When we work together, we will remove all sleep props including a parents presence, so that your child learns completely independent sleep skills, and sleeps in his own bed.

My approach is gentle and will ease your baby through the transition of learning to sleep independently, while maintaining your active involvement. I have a variety of methods that can be used depending on the baby and family needs- we will discuss which is the best fit for your family. While I do not teach a “CIO” method, there will be some protest on your baby’s part. Making changes to anyone’s sleep habits usually results in some resistance – even as adults!

When we work together, the amount of crying is considerably less than if you were to try sleep training alone with a sleep method off of the internet or a book. I have a very holistic approach, incorporating schedules, routines, ensuring good feedings, in addition to the independent sleep skills, which is all tailored to your family with my personalized support, which will help ease your baby through this transition.

How much crying really depends on your child’s personality, how big her sleep debt is, and how overtired she is. Crying is a symptom of fatigue, confusion, and frustration, and may not be prevented.
I will guide you on how to support and reassure your baby as she learns how to fall asleep on her own. The good news is that when done right, crying is minimal and success is achieved. Once babies learn how to fall asleep on their own – which can happen pretty quickly – the crying decreases, then goes away! It’s very short term with huge rewards for everyone in the family at the end of the journey.

Yes!! We will be sure to involve multiple caregivers as we work together, so your baby learns that the rules stay the same for each person. We will discuss when and how to involve your partner, and other caregivers to achieve this. We want your baby to be able to easily fall asleep, for whoever tucks him in.

Often, families see a dramatic change in just a few nights! Typically, by the end of the 2 week period, babies are sleeping through the night (minus a night feeding, if needed), and working on great naps. Sometimes naps can take longer to come together. Our goal by the end of our time together is for your baby to be making good progress on her naps. You will have the skills and confidence to continue practicing, until her naps finish lengthening. Every child is different, so I cannot guarantee a timeline.

Naps can take 1-4 weeks to solidify, so they may not be perfect at the completion of our time, particularly if your baby is on the cusp of a nap transition. These typically happen at 3-4 months (4-3 naps), 6-9 months (3-2 naps) and 12-15 months (2-1 nap). Any transition of dropping a nap can and often will take extra time as her body adjusts to this change. At the end of our time together, she will have gained great skills and you will have learned the tools and gained the confidence to continue moving forward as her naps lengthen.

My goal is for each of my families to achieve their sleep goals, and I will do everything I can to help you get to this point.

I cannot guarantee my services because some of the results are out of my hands. Parents play a huge role in the success of the process. Both your commitment and follow through are necessary for success. I will do everything in my power to get you to your goal, but I can not force you to follow the plan. Of course, mistakes and misunderstandings happen from time to time, but these are easily corrected along the way as we stay in touch throughout the plans implementation. As long as you follow the customized advice I give you, and you truly want your child to sleep better, I will help you and your baby reach the goals we outline in the initial meeting. Families that follow the plan make tremendous improvements.