If you know me, you’ll know that I believe that solving baby and toddler sleep issues is like putting together a puzzle. While many people believe that sleep training is just about what “method” you use (CIO, Ferber, etc.) this could not be farther from the truth. There are so many different pieces to the sleep-solutions puzzle. You can follow any singular prescribed method to a T, but unless you have accounted for other pieces of the sleep puzzle (things like appropriate schedule, helpful routine, nutrition, optimal environment, baby’s temperament, and more) you may be left even more confused, frustration and still not getting any sleep!
With a plethora of different factors to consider, sleep training your baby in a comprehensive, intentional, and – if I’m being honest – fair way, requires a lot of brain power which many exhausted parents just don’t have the energy to muster.
Having a clear plan of action that addresses all pieces of the sleep puzzle is so important for your peace of mind and your baby’s success. That’s why at Oh Baby Consulting, you’ll not only get a personalized, step-by-step action plan that fills in the gaps for your baby, but also much, much more. Check out some of features of the plan that I will create for you.
1. An overview of the science of pediatric sleep
While the plan I create is intended to give your family a path back to sleep, I promise that this part is actually interesting. Selfishly, I love incorporating a little science lesson into each sleep plan because I’m a huge sleep nerd, but I also believe that understanding the foundation of how your baby or toddler sleeps is key to appreciating the changes we’ll be making.
2. An overview of the changes we’ll be making (and why!)
I will use your family’s personal sleep goals to create a roadmap for solving your current struggles. But we won’t stop there. Recognizing why the “old way” wasn’t working and how the “new way” supports your goals will equip you with a good base of knowledge to help you understand how the changes we’ll make will help your little one become a sleep superstar!
3. Example daily schedules
Teaching the skill of sleep is infinitely easier when your baby is following an age-appropriate schedule. As part of your sleep plan, I will offer routine suggestions, timing recommendations, and schedule considerations to help make the sleep-learning process easier on your baby. But don’t worry, you don’t have to be in nap-jail until your baby stops napping! While I will ask you to prioritize home-sleep for the first couple of weeks, I will give you many resources for how to live your life once we have built a solid foundation.
4. Step-by-step action plan for bedtime & night wakes
This is where you’ll find your sleep training “method.” But we’re not just going to “point and click” or try to fit a square peg in a round hole when it comes to choosing a methodology. I’m going to take what I know about your baby, your family’s values and comfort level, and your goals to structure a plan of action that will give you crystal clear strategies for handling every scenario that might come up at bedtime or in the middle of the night. This will not only give you peace of mind, but your consistency in response will ultimately make the process easier on your baby.
5. How to handle naps, deal with nap refusals, and extend short ones
Daytime sleep and nighttime sleep have a symbiotic relationship so it’s nearly impossible to work on one without working on the other. Naps can be trickier than nighttime sleep to nail down (due to hormonal and metabolic factors) but you’ll learn exactly how to handle whatever your little one decides to throw at you. When we work together, we’ll make sure that all sleep improves.
6. Additional information & tips for success
As is probably obvious by now, sleep teaching is way more than just what methodology you follow and even more than following an appropriate schedule or having a conducive bedtime routine. There are many emotional factors and nuances to unpack when making sleep changes, and I promise that I will always help you tie up any loose ends.
And the best news is that your personalized sleep plan is just a small part of a one-on-one coaching package with Oh Baby.
The best part about working side-by-side is not even the written plan that you’ll be able to refer back to, but the multi-week ongoing support you’ll receive as we move through the process together. We’ll stay in touch via email, Voxer (a walkie-talkie app), and digital sleep tracking to monitor how things are going, troubleshoot tricky situations, answer all your sleep questions, and ultimately make sure the process is working for you.
My goal is to give your family a path back to sleep, and that’s exactly what I intend to do!
Don’t need a personalized process? Check out the course!
