Common Questions For Sleep Consultants

Seven years ago, my husband and I reached out to a sleep consultant to help with our daughter’s sleep. Before our consultation, my husband and I sat down and prepared a list of questions to ask our sleep consultant. I was recently going through my computer and deleting old files, and I found the questions we had typed up in preparation for our meeting!

Fast forward a few years; I’m now a mother of 3 little girls and a sleep consultant! Now that I am helping families with their sleep issues, I find there are some common questions we get asked as sleep consultants. If you are contemplating working with a sleep consultant, here are some questions and answers to questions you may have as well!

After The Personalized Sleep Plan Has Started, How Long Does It Take Before You See Results? 

Every child is different, but we tend to see significant improvement with night sleep with most children within 3- 4 nights! When we make healthy sleep changes for our children, nights typically come together first, followed by naps and then any early morning wake-up challenges.

We’ve Been Using The Baby Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit. Should We Continue To Use It?  

Looking back, this question and situation make me cringe! My daughter was 7 months old and rolling well. The Baby Merlin’s Magic Sleepsuit is weighted, which is unsafe once babies begin to roll. We never recommend weighted sleep sacks for this reason. Now, I recommend the unweighted Snuggy Buddy option. (discount code: BELLALUNA10)

What Is The Ideal Bedtime? 

Bedtime was laid out clearly in our personalized plan, and I was SHOCKED at how early it needed to be! Bedtime varies for each child, but a normal range for babies is between 6:30-7:30 pm and can move earlier than that on days with poor day sleep. As sleep consultants, we typically ALWAYS recommend an early bedtime!  

How Much Crying Should We Be Prepared For During Sleep Training? 

Our sleep consultant told us the same thing I say to my families. It varies per child, but there will be crying! Anyone who tells you there will be no tears is lying to you!

We are changing sleep associations and creating new healthy sleep habits. In order to do this, we are making changes and children are fond of change, at all! They protest the changes by crying. It’s important to keep in mind that sleep training will not harm your child. All of their needs are being met.

Will The Crying Harm Her? 

Short answer: NO! Read this article to learn more about why I say this emphatically!

We Tried Cry It Out for 45 Minutes, With Checks Every 15 Minutes. My Daughter Was Hysterical. Are You Sure That We Will Be Successful?

First off, crying it out (CIO) isn’t the only option! There are all different types of methods that the Bella Luna team uses and we help families pick a method that aligns with their parenting philosophy, yet is still effective.

Also, CIO does not involve checks. What we were attempting to do was timed intervals, which ultimately worked for all three of my girls once I had a plan, but it didn’t change overnight!

Second, I always remind my clients that we can’t do something 1 time and write it off as not working. How did we expect to make major changes in one night?! I remember we did this for one night and gave up. How did we expect to make any changes in one night? Sleep training requires patience and consistency.

She Does Not Nap Well At Daycare. What Can We Do?

Some children don’t nap well at daycare, and we try to make the best of daycare situations and be very proactive. Here are some tips on daycare napping.  We also provide our clients with a Daycare Sleep Success Guide to help partner with the teachers on improving sleep while in their loving care.

At Home, She Naps From a ½ Hour To 2 Hours. What Should I Expect? 

Short and inconsistent naps are super common with overtired kids! They have trouble connecting their sleep cycles. Our personalized sleep plan gives strategies to teach babies how to connect their sleep cycles so they can take restorative naps. (you can get a break too!) Anything more than an hour for the morning and afternoon nap is considered restorative.

She Is Wide Awake After Rocking Her For Hours. What Do We Do?

This is one of the biggest reasons we hired a sleep consultant! Rocking can be overstimulating for a lot of children so instead of it working as it did when the baby was a newborn, now it makes it harder for the baby to fall asleep.

During our consultation and in our sleep plans, we provide insight into how to address situations like this, then we support parents while they are making the change. That whole, children don’t like change thing again!

We Have A Fan On In Her Room. Should We Keep It On?  

YES, for a couple of reasons…

• We always suggest a white noise machine! White noise helps to block sounds coming from within the house and it is also really calming for babies. It was LOUD in utero!
• A fan can be part of a safe sleep environment, to help lower the likelihood of SIDS. You just want to make sure that it isn’t blowing on your baby.

How Much Sleep Does She Need? 

Day and nighttime sleep needs vary by child, but most children fall into these ranges.

At seven months, she needed a lot of sleep, way more than she was getting! She needed about 11-12 hours of night sleep and 3-4 hours of day sleep (2-3 naps).

Our Goal Is To Have Her Sleep More, Fall Asleep Quickly, And Be A Happy Baby. We Also Need Sleep Too!

When working with a sleep consultant, these are realistic, attainable goals! We have these same goals for all of our families!

I hope my insight into the common questions for sleep consultants help! If you need assistance, I’d love to be your guide on the journey to healthy sleep habits! Schedule a discovery call today so I can learn more about your sleep situation and guide you on what package would be best to meet your family’s sleep goals!