Yesterday, I ran across an article in the Huffington Post entitled “I Read All The Baby Sleep Books”. In the article the author (a mother) is seemingly overwhelmed by the wealth of (mis)information available to parents who just want one thing: a baby who sleeps through the night. The article points out that every sleep book seems to have a different opinion about how to help your baby sleep: Cry it out. Don’t let your baby cry. Keep a log. Don’t worry about it. Your baby needs to be held constantly. Don’t rock your baby. The advice literally goes on and on.
All of that information can be confusing (not to mention completely overwhelming)! As a new parent, you don’t know who or what to believe. To make matters worse, how are you supposed to know which method will work because every child is different? And what about the books that provide bad information? Usually when parents turn to sleep books it’s because they have a baby who is not sleeping, and everyone is already exhausted. So they get online (or drive to the local bookstore), and stare at the myriad of books that promise to help their baby learn to sleep. The problem is in the amount of information. So what’s an exhausted, desperate parent’s best choice?
Find a Certified Gentle Sleep Coach
My advice is to seek out a personal sleep coach. I am biased but I think you should hire a Gentle Sleep Coach. My faculty panel and I have personally trained each of them. Find your perfect coach here.
A sleep coach is specially trained to help your baby sleep. They have the training and experience to help sort through all of the information, and will help you sort out what’s right for your family.
Why a sleep coach?
1. Information Overload.
Did you know that Amazon has more than 20,000 results for baby sleep books? That’s a huge number, and a lot of opinions about baby sleep. Rather than attempt to sort through an onslaught of information about baby sleep, a Gentle Sleep Coach can help you choose a proven method that has worked for literally thousands of families.
2. A sleep solution that is specifically tailored to your family’s needs.
Why is this important? Sleep is not (contrary to popular belief) one size fits all. Every baby is different, and therefore has different needs. With a personal sleep coach, you save yourself time and stress because your coach has been there. She’s a baby sleep expert. She will help you decide on the best sleep method given your child’s age, temperament, and your parenting philosophy.
3. Personal Support.
Although most families find that they can help their baby learn to sleep in just a few weeks, those few weeks can be rough. Most likely, there will be less sleeping for the parents, and more encouragement as your baby learns an important life skill. Every day is not the same, and often, parents have questions. With a trained sleep coach, you have someone who is an expert. No leafing through chapters and indexes trying to find an answer.
4. A Sleep Coach is YOUR Coach.
Yes, the sleep coach is there to help you gently sleep train your baby, but more importantly, she is there to help you through this process. Often, parents find themselves questioning and second-guessing, and that’s where a sleep coach can step in with reinforcement and reassurance.
5. Confidence.
Perhaps the most important of all the things that a certified sleep coach can do for your family is instill confidence. Yes, she’s there to coach you while you coach your baby, but more than that, having a certified, trained specialist will give you confidence that you are making a good choice for your baby, and will help to give you the confidence to follow through.
What was the most helpful part of your sleep coaching experience?
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