To hire a sleep consultant?

[ru53]

Baby is nearly 1, has gone from sleeping in 4-5 hour chunks through the night which I found totally manageable to waking every hour. I kept thinking it was a phase but it has only got worse and I’ve probably been reinforcing it by letting her breastfeed back to sleep as it is the quickest way.

Now I’m going back to work something needs to change. I’ve read 2 books on baby sleep that have completely opposite advice and I’m so confused. Has anyone ever hired a baby sleep consultant and were they any good? It’s so expensive but we can afford it and I need something to work relatively fast (but not cry it out as I’m too weak, not giving in and breastfeeding will be hard enough.) I’d always cynically suspected they were just a scheme to rip off exhausted parents but now I’m desperate.

Absolutely do it.

If books haven't helped then get the professionals in. They'll give you the confidence you need to do what's needed to get into the sleep routine.

Especially if you can afford it - to be honest I can't think of a more worthy thing to spend money on - sleep!

Good luck x

What are her day time naps like/timing etc?

I did get sleep consultant for my twins when they were 1.

You're not weak not to do CIO, that would be a horrible thing to do to your baby so you're just showing basic empathy. Re: sleep consultants, I think they vary massively as anyone can style themselves a sleep consultant. So choose very, very carefully... I think gradually working towards less breastfeeding in the night is a good idea though for a starting point and do you really need a sleep consultant for that? A lot of them are snake oil salesmen.

Def do it.

Sleep deprivation is awful

I'm a mn and though I do sleep training - I prefer starting when newborn and getting into good sleeping habits

But I know lots of excellent sleep trainers

Where are based and I can see if know one near you

Thanks everyone, @Blondeshavemorefun I’m in the South East. I did start trying to night wean and it was going ok.. but last night she woke at midnight and just cried for an hour eventually I just gave in and fed her to sleep. Her day naps are regular but short, max 1hr 20 but often only 40mins. She naps once at about 9:30 and second nap about 2:30. She’s up at 6am which I wouldn’t mind if the night sleep was better.

I have managed to stop feeding her to sleep in the day and for bedtime, so I feed her before I take her up. But at 3am I don’t have the willpower to rock her for 45mins to only get an hours sleep, when I know if I just bring her into our bed and feed her we will both be asleep in 5mins.

@BurbageBrook thats exactly what I’m worried about to be honest. And one of the sleep books I read basically just said look some babies just don’t sleep very well or do need a lot of parental input through the night and that’s just how it is. So am I just going to put us all through a load of stress for nothing?

I wouldn't hire one. I think it's a ridiculous concept😆 It's your baby. You deal with the sleep/eating/teething issues yourself.

I got one when my son was 14mths. I was back at work and couldn't cope without sleep. She had him sleeping through the night within a week.

I'd definitely do it! Best money I've spent.

Same as me. I will Message you

Why is it ridiculous? People hire professionals all the time to help with all aspects of their life.

Personal trainers, gardeners, cleaners, decorators. Yes you could try these things yourself but why struggle if an expert can help?

Sleep is so important and having a baby is hard work - few of us know what on earth we're doing to begin with. If you've found a secret rule book for a perfect baby please do share!

Similar OP, couldn't cope with no sleep once back at work when baby was similar age - hired a sleep consultant and solved problem in a week with no CIO

You need to find someone who uses methods you agree with of course and feel like they would work for your baby, have a chemistry chat about your circumstances or ask for local recommendations etc

Oh wow that’s encouraging, weirdly the last couple of nights have been better again but she now has a bit of a cold. I think you’re right about finding someone who uses gentle techniques.

I think it doesn’t help that I feel quite torn between getting it sorted so she sleeps ‘through the night’ on her own in a cot, or just going the other way and just getting her a floor bed and accepting that I will probably end up sleeping in there half the night. On one hand that would be fine but then I’m thinking about if we have another baby at some point she will need to be on her own then so better to get her used to that now.

@frazzled101 Who did you use? I'm in desperate need of recommendations.

Dee Booth from Sleep Fairy and Parent Rescue. Used her 3 times in six years for different phases of sleep regression my DD went through. Dee is an absolute god send. Cannot recomment highly enough.

I don't think you understand how it works,you still deal with it all yourself, someone doesn't do it for you.

Do it OP,my friend had great success with one.

Best money we ever spent. Within a day she’d identified that he was suffering with silent reflux and that was why he wasn’t sleeping well. Propped the cot up, medication and sleep solved in a week. We were convinced we were doing something wrong and should be able to sort it ourselves.
He was 11 months old and I was about to go back to work and needed to be able to get a solid few hours to be able to function.

@Longdaysandnights1 i used Goodnight Guidance, she’s had a Facebook page. She’s based in NI but I used her fully remotely so location didn’t matter.

when mine was around 9months old. I used the Facebook page ‘Evidenced Based Sleep Training’ where you can post your situation and ‘sleep experts’ post their advice. But I just used the fact sheets attached to the page which have excellent advice on wake windows and nap schedules. I didn’t really agree with their actual sleep training advice, the nap advice was enough.
then more recently, I used this person on how to navigate stopping feeding to sleep and multiple night wakes https://www.instagram.com/babysleepconsultantgb?igsh=MnpoeHQ3NGhneDc0
she was excellent!