FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

A Sleep Consultant is a trained professional who educates families in regards to children’s sleep. Also known as a sleep fairy! We work collaboratively with families helping to make sleep a certainty, while personalizing care plans so that parents see improvements fast. Sleep consultants primarily work with families for a few weeks at a time, but we also teach classes and workshops for professionals and new parents.

While there are plenty of online resources and books to choose from, the amount of learning, planning, and time that goes into researching many different ideologies that can make it overwhelming for families. Or maybe you’ve already read ALL THE THINGS, but are having trouble discerning what the right fit it is for your child and your parenting style. That’s where I come in! I personalize a plan so that you can start seeing progress from night one, and have the peace of mind that you have all your bases covered for any curve balls sleep training might entail.

YES! YES! YES! While I cannot guarantee no crying, a major benefit of working with a me is that we talk through and identify the source of the tears, which eliminates a lot of confusion and parental guilt associated with it. People often fear what they don’t understand, and I provide evidence based information and compassionate coping strategies for parents so they can make informed decisions on the behalf of their family. The most important thing is that you feel ready and committed to sleep training so that it goes smoothly. I provide expert guidance so you are able to confidently deduce if the particular situation you are experiencing needs intervention or not.

Of course! Every baby is different, and the connection between mother and child is deeply personal. Sleep training can still happen while night nursing. If you are unsure if your child is still needs a night feeding, I reccommend consulting with your pediatrician and IBCLC.

Yes! That’s what free discovery calls are for. Let’s chat and we can go over any questions that you might have and get to know one another in the process. You can reach out to me by clicking the get started button on the top right hand side of the page, use the contact me page, or text/ call me at (503)893-8139 Even if we aren’t a perfect fit for one another, I can refer you to another colleague.

Heck yeah I can! I do normally reccommend nursing schedules for infants starting around 4-5 months but its been my experience that breastfed babies have the same ability learn how to sleep through the night independently as babies who use other feeding strategies.

Yes! While the techniques and strategies that I reccommend for families may take a little longer to show progress, I LOVE supporting nuerodiverse children and teens and know that there is huge potential for growth and progress.

I accept clients starting at 4 months of age and typcally cap at 6 years old. I do support older neurodiverse children and teens. I also work with parents teaching classes before and right after baby is born all about safe sleep and newborn sleep shaping.

No. Cry it out, also known as extinction method is defined by setting your infant or child in their sleep space and coming back in the morning. I teach other more responsive and frequently parent present sleep training methods. I always give multiple choices for parents sleep training. While there is still crying, parents are able to discuss and set personal boundaries when it comes to duration. Once we establish that crying is a short term aspect of sleep training, and is not something we are doing to the child, but for them I find that it can empower parents to make the choices that feel right for them.

I studied and became a certified pediatric sleep consultant through the Center for Pediatric Sleep Management in 2023. I also enrolled in a postpartum doula program at the Birthingway College of Midwifery in 2018, and enrolled in a doula mentorship program attending and facilitating New Mom support groups.

While it can be hard to hear our children cry, there are no peer reviewed studies that have found a connection between sleep training and emotional damage or parent child connection quality or style. This study done by the American Academy of Pediatrics has found the opposite to be true.

I am happy to support families looking to transition out of bed sharing, or continue room sharing due to space limitations. However, I cannot work with bed sharing families since it is deemed dangerous by the American Academy of Pediatrics for infants, and is not covered by my business liability insurance. I understand that different families have different solutions to sleep related problems, and there may be other sleep consultants out there that can help. I remind clients that most parents and their children will see the best results after sleep training in separate beds anyways, and “starting” in bed will just elongate the process. At the end of the day, we all want sleep, and there are many ways to get consistent sleep. Some just work faster and more effectively than others.

When you know, you know. The answer is different for everyone, but sleep training can be started at anytime after 4 months, and its not to late! Gentle sleep shaping can be done from birth.

Possibly, if you live in Portland, Oregon. I take a few infant and toddler cases each year. I find that children and parents learn best and get consistent results when they are all active participants in the sleep training process, but I am happy to support you and provide in person coaching.

I primarily work remotely so I can support more families, and stay financially accessible to the most number of people.

Yes! I support clients virtually, so I happily work with families coast to coast in the United States and Canada.

Yes! I primarily work one on one with parents sleep training their children 4 months- 6 years. I do make an exception to this age guideline for neurodiverse children and teens. I also teach safe sleep classes to nannies and doulas and newborn sleep 101 classes to new parents.

Yes! I offer payment plans with installments 2-6 months for sleep training support packages. If you were to book a $575.00 2 week virtual sleep training support package that would be just $115-$287 per month.

Yes! Ask your pediatrician to write a letter of medical necessity for you indicating that your child is in need of sleep training. Then send that letter to your health savings account agent to look over. Your HSA acount agent will reimburse you for sleep training services in most instances.