Can you relate to this scenario? Your baby isn’t sleeping well, and you’re exhausted. For the first month of your baby’s life, they slept like a champ. You fed, swaddled, rocked them, and off to sleep they’d go. Now, a few months later, your little champ sleeper requires a lot of feeding, rocking, and other movement to fall asleep. At last, you get them down to sleep in their crib, and 40 minutes later, your little one is up and crying. You’re frustrated, exhausted, and don’t know what to do. Your friend has mentioned there are pediatric sleep consultants, and you’re intrigued. Can this person help me get my baby to sleep better?

The Search Begins

As a result, you start googling “baby sleep training,” “pediatric sleep consultant,” “HELP! my baby won’t sleep”, “what to do when my baby doesn’t sleep,” “pediatric sleep trainer,” “sleep consultant,” “child sleep specialist” and probably some other phrases. Up pops a list of pediatric sleep consultants. You then look at some of their websites to see what they offer and what getting help from a Sleep Consultant is like. Three pediatric sleep consultants/ coaches look interesting to you. Maybe one of them can help. Then, you reach out to the first one and schedule a discovery call. Now what? This post discusses questions to ask a pediatric sleep consultant to help you with this dilemma.

The Discovery Call

The discovery call is the first conversation you will have with a pediatric sleep consultant. During the discovery call, you will get to know a little about the person who will be able to help you solve your little one’s sleep issues. It’s a time to make sure that their personality and methods align with yours. Finally, it’s an opportunity to briefly talk about your baby’s sleep issues and hear what the sleep consultant says they can offer you. Once you hire someone, they will send you an intake form to fill out in order to get more specifics about your baby’s sleep issues. They will take all of the information, on the intake form, into consideration while they are determining the right sleep training method for you and your little one. Below, I have listed some questions you may want to ask during the discovery call. They include the experience level of the pediatric sleep consultant, the level of professionalism that their business is set up, as well as how the actual sleep plan/training will be done. The more information you have, the better your understanding of how the process works and if this is right for your situation.

Questions to Ask a Pediatric Sleep Consultant

Here is a list of questions to ask a pediatric sleep consultant so that you can hire the one that is right for you:

• What kind of experience do you have with babies?
• How long have you been working with babies?
• Do you have experience working with babies that aren’t yours?
• How did you get into the baby sleep business?
• What kind of training or certification do you have?
• What organization is your training and certification through?
• How can you help me with the specific sleep issue my baby has?
• What kind of support do you offer?
• Is your sleep training done remotely or in person?
• What are the sleep plans like?
• Will my baby cry?
• If my baby cries, is that harmful to them?
• Will we need to make changes in our baby’s room to follow the sleep plan?
• Once I decide to move forward to do the sleep training, how long before I can start it?
• Once I begin the sleep plan, how long until I see results?
• Is there a guarantee that my baby will sleep once I finish working with you?
• Should every parent hire a sleep consultant/ trainer?
• Do you have references from former clients?
• Do you have professional liability insurance?

Communication with your Sleep Consultant

Additionally, there are a few other things that will help you decide if this person is the right fit for you. Are they willing to tweak their sleep plan to make it more workable for your parenting and personality style? Will they take the time with you that you need in order to fully understand how to follow the sleep plan or will they send out the written sleep plan without going over each step. You’ll want to make sure that you understand all of the different scenarios that may happen throughout the process with your little one. It’s important to understand that once you begin the sleep plan if, you don’t fully understand how to handle a situation that may arise, the sleep plan can backfire, and you’d need to start all over the next night. Because of this, it’s imperative that you have an excellent communication plan.

Final Thoughts

I know how exhausting and frustrating it can be when your little one is not sleeping well and keeping you up at night. My daughter, who is now grown, was a great sleeper for the first 3 months and then changed. We did not know what to do and so we simply lived with it for a few years. I would not recommend doing that. There is a pediatric sleep consultant out there for you. It’s a matter of taking the time to find one that has a lot of general baby experience along with a pediatric sleep consultant certification from a great trainer.

Once you’ve had a conversation with a sleep consultant, you’ll probably get a good idea if this person is someone you would or wouldn’t be able to work with.

I hope these questions to ask a pediatric sleep consultant make it easier for you to hire one. What other questions would you ask? Please leave a question in the comment section to share with other visitors.

Are you ready to help your baby sleep more soundly? Visit our Newborn Sleep Tip Sheet with Coaching services, and we can start your baby’s process of sleeping well today!