What would a sleep coach tell me that I don't already know?

amother

Aqua

Fri, Jul 29 2016, 2:42 pm

pesek zman wrote:

Nothing wrong with that at all, but that's not how I understood the OP question

Had she said, I'm interested in helping my baby to sleep better. Here are her issues, here are mine, what do you recommend, that's fine. She asked specifically about what sleep coaches do. I and others responded that the alternative to hiring a coach is reading a book that matches her sleep philosophy, but she balked at that suggestion, so I'm not sure what she was asking.

She didn't balk at your suggestion. Your tone could've been gentler and you were quite judgemental. I was surprised to be honest.

amother

Magenta

Fri, Jul 29 2016, 3:17 pm

Thank you lovingmother and amother aqua- you hit the nail on the head. Yes, I was simply asking if a coach would teach me more than what I know already, which is routine (yes, short one), bottle, soothe in bed, if she cries wait 5 min, see what happens, then every week or so increase wait time, and whatever else. That's all I was asking, to see if it's worth it. I did feel kinda belittled by pesek zmans answer. Oh well.

LittleRed

Fri, Jul 29 2016, 4:46 pm

To OP and anyone else - there is nothing wrong with asking for help. Hashem gave us all different temperaments, personalities, kochos. This is the kind of thing that mothers get defensive about but you don't have to justify a sleep coach of all things. It doesn't matter if someone else would do it herself or if you technically have time to read a book. If this is something that could help you and you can afford it, don't worry about it. Getting help from professionals and outsourcing things is hardly being lazy or whatever else anyone may have insinuated.
Additionally, many consultants will give you a free 15 minutes or so to get a general idea of your situation and outline what they would do, so you can get a feeling for if it's worth it.

notshanarishona

Fri, Jul 29 2016, 7:35 pm

Yes, a sleep coach will tell you more than that. Each sleep coach has their own mehalech but there are different theories about how to get baby to sleep better that a lot of times a person wouldn't realize on their own. For example, scheduling naps and then putting baby to baby same time every day makes a big difference. Or slowly teaching baby to fall asleep on her own instead of letting cry or nursing to sleep . It's true you can probably learn similar to what a sleep coach will tell you by reading a book and following it carefully but a real person helping you makes it easier .

amother

Wheat

Sat, Jul 30 2016, 6:15 pm

I don't have any personal experience, but my friend was thrilled with Batya the Baby Coach. She had read all the books, but what the baby coach did was tailor make a plan to her baby specifically.
It started out with her having to log everything the baby did for a day or 2 - I can't remember how long. Then the baby coach analyzed it with her and showed her what to change.

rowo

Sat, Jul 30 2016, 10:46 pm

amother wrote:

Yes, a sleep coach will teach you a lot more than that.
The routine is not just about the 5-10 minutes before you put the baby to bed. It's about their whole day.
It's about understanding the needs of a baby and their sleep cycles.
They will probably talk about the sleep environment and feeding throughout the day and night.
Etc etc

amother

Papaya

Mon, Dec 12 2016, 2:01 pm

amother wrote:

Wondering if it's worth spending money on a sleep coach for baby. Dh and I not willing to let her cry it out. She's 5 months. We have a bedtime routine, end with a bottle, soothe her in crib. But she inevitably wakes up an hour or two later. Is it worth getting a coach, or are we doing everything one would tell us anyway, and we just have to wait it out?

Idk if it's too late but totally worth it! We hired one and didn't have to use CIO at all! my baby sleeps so well now! theres a lot more to it that books don't help with. lmk if you want contact info.