Hi, this is Jessica Sawicki with Luli Sleep Consulting, and today on the Sleepy Q’s podcast, I’m going to be talking to you about why working with a sleep consultant is helpful. So before I go into that, I want to ask you guys my listeners to make sure you leave a review. Also, don’t forget to send in any questions or comments or any topics you’d love for us to cover. We’d love to hear from you.
So why is working with a sleep consultant helpful? This is my favorite topic because not only do I do this, this is my job and I love it, but I too also once hired a sleep consultant myself. In this podcast, I’m going to share with you guys a little bit about my experience and what it means to work with a sleep coach.
So the funny thing is, is that many years ago, I found myself working with a sleep coach. Yes, I was on your side of the table. Isn’t that funny? And the crazy twist to all of it, I worked with Linda. She was my sleep coach. So back a few years ago, when I, at that point only had two boys. They were both ages three and almost two. So my youngest, who’s my second now , was about 20 or 21 months. And he decided to jump out of the crib. Now I had both of my kids fully sleep trained. They were both sleeping great. And this kid just threw me for a loop. One morning, he decided to just jump out of the crib and I’ll never forget that thump at five in the morning. My husband and I ran out of the bed. We ran to the door to go meet him. And when I went to go open the door, he had tried opening the door on his end and he had locked himself in the room. I of course, started panicking. My husband went to look for something to pop the lock open. And we ran in and needless to say that was the most anxiety inducing , experience I had with my second son at that time. My son was sleeping perfectly fine, jumps out of the crib out of nowhere at five in the morning, and then locks himself in the room. We spent all weekend long trying to put him back in the crib for him to only jump out. Every single night that weekend. Every single morning. At that point I knew I needed help. And that’s when Linda came into the picture. So we worked together on getting my then 22 month old, sleeping in a bed. Now remember he’s under the age of two. He’s not even two yet. And we had to teach him how to sleep in a bed. Let me just tell you that after that month long of sleep training, my husband and I were forever grateful for Linda and all that she helped us do.
So few months later, I decided to do the same thing, become a sleep coach myself, and follow in her footsteps. I felt like I needed to help everyone else too. I felt like I wanted to , help others who had sleep issues as well, because I know what it feels like to be on the other side. My son having sleep issues and me being on the other side, exhausted and not knowing what to do.
We all need help sometimes
So here’s the thing in parenting across the board: we all need help and guidance. Our kids don’t come with manuals. We have no idea what we’re doing and we’re really learning step by step moment by moment, stage by stage. Now, as parents we’re constantly reading a lot. We’re reading the latest article. We’re going to the internet, we’re sharing other article pieces or opinion pieces with our friends. We also get a lot of unsolicited advice. Our friends and family will tell us all the things that worked for them and how it was great for them and how you should do the same. So as parents, we’re constantly reading, we’re asking our friends, uh, people are giving us advice. So same thing when we’re looking for answers to our child’s sleep issues, feeding issues, you know, we want to know how can we get our kids eating better? How can we get our kids sleeping better?
It’s hard to tease out the important information
Here’s where the sleep coach comes in. As parents, we’re reading, we’re asking, we’re even downloading the free latest questionnaire answer, reading all the books, going on the internet. We’re really inundated with a lot of information. And we don’t know what’s right, or what’s wrong. That’s where the sleep coach comes in. Now Linda and I, and most sleep coaches out there, are mothers. So we get it. We understand what it feels like not only to be tired, but also really need, need sleep. We also understand hearing your child cry is a little bit hard. So we are mothers . And at the same time, we’re certified sleep consultants. So what that means is we have a certification and a training and an extensive training on sleep and manners and behavior and anything that is related to your child those six years. We’re looking at colic, reflux. What’s the latest data on sleep and kids, screens? Anything that is really related to your child’s sleep those first five to six years in both sleep and anything surrounding that area. So we’re mothers and we’re certified sleep consultants.
So you’re probably asking what does that mean? Okay. You’re a mother, you had a certification, but how can you help me? How can we work together? What is it that I, as a sleep coach can give you? So here are three things that I want to talk about. One, we take a holistic approach. Two, tailor made solutions, and three guidance and support.
A holistic approach
So let’s talk about the first one holistic approach. What does that mean? Before we work together, we always request an intake form and a three-day log. And here we’re looking at your situation, your issues, your child sleep issues. What is your current situation? Do you guys share a room and what are your goals? What’s your parenting style? What do you feel comfortable doing? So really it’s not just let your child cry it out.
Tailor made solutions
There’s really a lot of parts to this that we need to look at to be able to determine number two; tailored made solutions. So we’re not going to just tell you, okay, leave your child to cry it out. It’s not just black and white. There are a lot of pieces to the puzzle. We’re not going to make up a new method. But what we’re going to do is look at the methods, decide what we feel is best for your family and your situation. And of course, add the extras. How many feeds does your child need? And if so, how are we going to do those middle of the night feeds Are we keeping a lovey? Where you sleeping? So. While there’s three main methods, we are taking that holistic approach and coming up with a tailored made solution to your issues.
Guidance and support
And then lastly, guidance and support. So let’s talk about this one for a bit, because we can all get plans. We can all read. We can all get answers to our questions, , but the reality of it is that every child will respond differently. So you won’t know how your child will respond to the solution that you got. So you’ll have to try it out, test it, and then see if your child is responding the way they should. And what happens when they don’t? Here’s where the guidance and support comes in. My child has been crying for three days straight and I don’t see an improvement. What if I cut out too many feeds and actually my child does need it. So here’s where we come in. As coaches, we are there for you. We coach you. We guide you. So you are working with your kids and their sleep. You’re responding to your child because as a parent, that’s what we want you to do. We want you to be able to respond to your child, but we are coaching you. We’re guiding you. This is like going to nutritionist. You know what to do? When it comes down to it saying no to that cookie or saying no to that ice cream is very hard. And so how do we approach this? Can we eat the cookie every so often? Your nutritionist guides, you, your dietician guides, you, your pediatrician guides you. This is what a sleep coach does we guide you along the way. Because sometimes the solutions that were initially thought, aren’t the correct solution. So we need to change a little bit. Maybe we add a feed? Maybe we change the method?
And so now what? What does that mean for you guys? First, I would say look at the issues. What’s wrong? Is there anything going on that I would like to change? Anything from, I have to lay down with my child every night to fall asleep. Or I have to feed my child to sleep. And what are your goals? What are the problems that you want to fix? And what are the goals to that? And then of course, reach out to us! Let’s work together and let’s get your child sleeping!
