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Sleep consultants

15 replies

amiz86 · 17/12/2017 21:39

Can anyone recommend a sleep consultant they have had success with?

I'm really struggling with my 6 month DD, she always been a poor sleeper and self settler but it's just not getting any better.

I'm back to work soon and I'm really worried how I'm going to cope with no sleep.

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
crazycatlady5 · 18/12/2017 09:38

What seems to be the problem with sleep? Lots of people think baby sleep should just improve over time but in fact it’s like a rollercoaster for the first year. I do feel your pain. Mine has always been a ‘poor’ sleeper and we’re almost 11 months now and it’s starting to improve. Do you cosleep? It’s a great way to get the most rest for everyone involved. Often a sleep consultant offers a quick fix that you have to then keep redoing every time your baby is ill/teething/going through a leap (all normal things). At its worst can you go to bed earlier?

LadyGAgain · 18/12/2017 11:54

We used www.twilightnanny.co.uk (I have no vested interest). DD was waking every 90 mins at 7 months and I'd had enough. Within 4 days I had my first whole night sleep. Was worth the £80. Every penny. Good luck! I feel your pain.

greendale17 · 18/12/2017 12:00

2 of my friends used a sleep consultant. Both babies now sleep through the night and can self settle

greendale17 · 18/12/2017 12:01

Forgot to add that they too were co-sleeping and the babies sleep was not getting better

crazycatlady5 · 18/12/2017 15:47

The point of cosleeping isn’t really to get them sleeping betttr we waking frequently for some babies is normal - cosleeping means the most rest for everyone as baby only wakes momentarily rather than you having to get out of bed, resettle and then put back in cot.

riddles26 · 19/12/2017 08:32

I used a sleep consultant when my daughter was just under 6 months - I have sent you a pm with the details.

The difference was life-changing and it was certainly not a quick fix. The techniques we used taught my daughter good sleep associations so she learnt when it was time to go to sleep (and that sleep was not a negotiation). She also showed us how to successfully introduce a comforter which my daughter uses to help her sleep and between sleep cycles. When we have experienced teething/illness/developmental changes, she has needed more help from me than usual to get to sleep but the good sleep associations have stuck so we have not gone back to the nightmare we had at the beginning.

I would wholeheartedly recommend using one if your budget allows - once we resolved sleep issues, she became a much happier baby with decent sleep and I felt like I was a much better (and more relaxed) parent

amiz86 · 19/12/2017 17:29

@riddles26 thanks for taking the time to reply - I

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amiz86 · 19/12/2017 18:08

@riddles26 thanks for taking the time - I can't see your PM tho? I'm really interested in the sleep consultant you used xx

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riddles26 · 19/12/2017 20:09

@amiz86 I'm sorry I have no idea why it didn't sent the first time. I have just resent it.

MuMuMuuuum · 19/12/2017 20:18

The Parent and Baby coach. Saved our sanity!

We also have a copy of the Save Our Sleep book. It's regimented but helps us when we need a guide through sleep regressions.

amiz86 · 19/12/2017 21:52

@MuMuMuuuum thanks I will have a look at this

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amiz86 · 19/12/2017 21:55

@LadyGAgain thanks I will check these out, it's nice to hear it's worked for some people!

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Oly5 · 19/12/2017 21:57

Don’t l all sleep consultations lead to the baby crying? I’m interested in any no-cry methods

amiz86 · 19/12/2017 22:14

@crazycatlady5 my DD wakes every 90 mins throughout the night and try's her best to start her day at 4am. She's awake pretty much all day apart from 2 30min naps if I'm lucky.

She doesn't fall asleep in the car seat or pram anymore. She screams when I try to get her of to sleep, I can see in her little face that she is exhausted as am I.

I do occasionally co sleep, but I can't don't sleep when she's in bed with me. She doesn't want to sleep next to me, she wants to sleep on me or in my arms. She knows when she's been put down and screams.

I'm on my own, so she dictates when I sleep, I can't just go to bed early. At the moment I'm using a sleepyhead and I can get about 90mins before she wakes up or realises she's been but down.

I need to go back to work soon, but I'm so worried if it's still like this I'm going to be exhausted trying to work and keep up this nighttime routine we've got our selves into.

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ElphabaTheGreen · 19/12/2017 22:17

There is no such thing as 'no cry' methods.

There is either leave your baby alone to cry methods or sit with your baby while they cry methods. That's the bare fact of the matter. 'The No Cry Sleep Solution' sells brilliantly because that's what everyone wants, but its main success is in getting you to adjust your expectations - you don't get a baby that sleeps 12 unbroken hours per night within a week of implementing its methods.

OP - we used Ann at Nurturing Sleep (she comes up easily if you Google). She is one who doesn't advocate leaving alone to cry and has a very holistic method - she doesn't just focus on sleep but on the whole baby, which is interesting. I used her with DS1 when he was around 19mo (he was sleeping well within about six weeks) then with DS2 when he was 6mo, but with the latter, it didn't work at all until he was almost 18mo. This re-enforced to me that sleep is an entirely developmental skill - neither of mine was ready to sleep independently, or for long unbroken stretches, until they were much older. Co-sleeping was the only solution.

FWIW, I went back to work full time when each was 8mo and waking every 90mins to 2hrs every night. I was absolutely sick with horror about how I was going to cope before I went back, but I had no choice. It actually wasn't that bad. When you have something else to think about other than how little sleep you've had, you can actually plough through the day better than when you're stuck at home with a baby thinking about nothing else other than sleep.

Both sleep fine now, by the way at 5yo and 3yo. They've neither of them ever done the fabled '7-7' because they obviously just don't need as much sleep, but they do reliably do 8pm-6am, self-settling, in their own rooms. It does end, I promise Smile

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