The Benefits of Sleep Training

When a family starts thinking about how to get their child to sleep better, it can be for many reasons.

what we see commonly is:

• Overwhelm from the entire adjustment to parenthood, and there has never been a chance to “catch up” from the first weeks
• A family with expectations for how a baby should behave, but little understanding of how babies realistically behave
• Families who have tried to change habits, but their baby “just won’t go to sleep.” 

Working with a sleep trainer is more than turning off the lights and leaving your child to cry until they are exhausted. We do not support that behavior or advice.

Working with a sleep trainer is taking an assessment of how your family’s day is currently structured, in an entire 24-hour period, and making a plan that uniquely fits the needs and philosophy for your family. 

Working with a sleep trainer means being in tune with where your child is at developmentally and emotionally, and seeing what their current behavior says about their night parenting needs. 

Working with a sleep trainer means readjusting expectations to be in line with what is possible for your baby, and what will be possible as time progresses. And sometimes, it means adjusting daytime behavior along with the nighttime routine. 

Here are a few things every parent should expect from a reputable sleep trainer 

1. Your sleep trainer should be able to describe the sleep needs of your baby regardless of when you are asking for help. The way a newborn sleeps is different than the way a five-month-old sleeps. There is no one-size-fits-all plan, and a sleep trainer will ask thoughtful questions that help outline a full picture of what is going on with your child. 
2. Your sleep trainer should be able to tell you what the plan will be before getting started with changing rituals and habits and help you understand why some small adjustments may make a huge difference. 
3. Your sleep trainer should be able to help your family determine when the right bedtime is for your baby. Is it 6 pm, 7 pm, 9 pm? Each family has a different rhythm, and babies are susceptible to the energy in the house. 
4. Your sleep trainer should be able to make a reasonable impact after the first visit, but also help you understand that your baby is not a robot, and sleep training isn’t about making your child do something they don’t want to do. Sleep training is about helping your child learn how to find security in ways they don’t yet identify and feel safe sleeping in their space. 
5. You should not feel like your sleep trainer is making you do things that feel unsafe or neglectful. If at any point, you need to be with your child, your sleep trainer should support that and reiterate the ways everyone can feel comfortable with the plan. 

Sleep training is a profession that gets a nasty reputation. We know. We’ve heard it. We want to share that babies who have been able to learn safe self-soothing techniques are well attached, and have all their physical, emotional, and mental needs met.

When you work with sleep trainer with a wholistic family sleep plan in mind you can expect:

• Sleep! 
• Less anxiety about the health and well-being of their child
• Happier kids and parents
• Tools to understand how your child communicates
• Less guilt 

We want families to have the help and support they need, be it with extra hands-on care from skilled doulas, or with additional education and support of sleep coaching. Caring for an entire family means having everyone’s needs met, and we’re here to help make that happen.