Sleep
You’re so tired - but with all the conflicting information on sleep out there, you’re also confused and overwhelmed. We get it, and we can help!
We pioneered the field of private consults for pediatric behavioral sleep more than two decades ago for parents just like you. Our personalized, step-by-step approach helps babies and kids learn great skills quickly - with minimal tears.
If you are like most parents whose child isn't sleeping ...
Your baby needs lots of assistance to fall asleep - breast, bottle, or motion - then wakes throughout the night or takes short naps.
Your toddler protests the minute you leave the room, asking you to lie down with him, bring him water, or read one more story.
You have a little night visitor who's unwilling to sleep in her room, and desperate for sleep, you snuggle her into your bed ... again.
What if your child instead ...
Went to sleep each night without protest,
Slept soundly through the night without waking, and
Took regular predictable naps each day?
We really can help make this dream become a reality, standing by your side every step of the way — just as we have with many thousands of parents across the globe.
Full Sleep Consultation
We conduct a round-the-clock assessment of your child's sleep problems, allowing us to see what’s standing in your child’s way of sleeping well. Then, together, we collaborate on a customized, step-by-step plan that feels right for you.
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In our full sleep consultations, we address:
How you currently try to get your child to sleep
How you respond when she wakes
Environmental issues
Scheduling and timing for nighttime + nap sleep
Feeding patterns during the day and at night (if applicable)
Your child’s current developmental stage
Your child's temperament
We then collaborate on a customized, step-by-step plan to help your child sleep through the night and nap well (if your child still naps).
Care is taken to ensure that the plan works specifically with your family's needs and preferences, that your child does not "cry it out" alone or struggle unnecessarily, and that you continue to maintain a loving bond with your child while she learns important new skills.
Follow-up support is included with a full consult. Your child must be 3-4 months old and 14 lbs. prior to the consultation.
Private full consultations are conducted by phone or video, or in person.
Mini Sleep Consultation
Mini consults are helpful for fine-tuning questions about your sleep plan or for targeting a specific area of sleep, such as naps or early wakings. Mini consults are also useful when sleep bumps off track after a bout of teething, an illness, a new developmental milestone or travel.
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Mini consults are available to parents who have purchased our Sleepeasy Solution book and are familiar with our methods. Mini consults are also available and to past clients, or who have questions about only one specific aspect of sleep, such as early wakings.
Mini consults are conducted by phone or video, and are offered in 25-minute or 50-minute sessions.
Newborn Sleep Consultation
Babies birth to 4 months old can have very unpredictable sleep patterns, as their brains and bodies are developing rapidly. While we can’t expect perfect sleep till babies are at least 3-4 months old, there is plenty we can do to help shape younger babies’ sleep and help them get as much rest as possible.
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In a newborn consultation, we’ll look at current sleep and feeding patterns and offer suggestions for adjusting scheduling, baby’s sleep environment, and how to gently, gradually help your baby lengthen nighttime and nap sleep - without allowing your baby to “cry it out.” Newborn consultations are 50 minutes long and are conducted by phone or video, or in person.
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Q: What is your background and qualification for helping children sleep?
A: We are master’s-level professionals who actually pioneered the field of private consultations for pediatric behavioral sleep! Believe it or not, there was no such thing as personalized help for your child’s sleep when we started our business in 1999. As child and family therapists, we saw lots of tired families who needed guidance and support with this difficult challenge, so we took it upon ourselves to draw from our education and professional background to research and experiment with the best pathway for helping children sleep quickly with the fewest tears. Word spread rapidly among parents and pediatricians in our local community in Los Angeles, and once our book came out in 2007 we were hearing from parents all over the world.
Our methods incorporate ...
our master's-level training in attachment theory, child development, and family systems
the most current research on children and sleep, and
our experience in having helped hundreds of thousands of families get great sleep over the past two-plus decades.
Our approach is designed to minimize crying as much as possible—and to help your child learn new sleep skills quickly.
Q: What are your philosophies about children and sleep? Do you believe in letting children cry?
A: We do not believe in letting a child "cry it out" alone. Instead, we help parents find a middle ground between allowing their child to learn new skills while offering plenty of love and support along the way. We work with each family to determine the best way to support your child's progress, while maintaining a strong and loving connection. Our approach is designed to be a “least tears” pathway to helping both your child and family get the rest you all need.
Q: What age children do you work with?
A: We work with babies, toddlers, and children. We can help parents of newborns birth to 3-4 months to help shape sleep in the right direction, while understanding that perfect sleep is often not possible till after 3-4 months. Babies at least 3-4 months (and 14 pounds) can learn how to sleep through the night (11-12 hours) and nap well, and toddlers and children can learn how to sleep through the night and nap well (if still napping). If your child is older than 5 years and has sleep problems, we can likely help as long as your child's sleep problems are behavioral and not medical. Please send us the details of your situation and we'll be glad to contact you.
Q: What if my child and I are sleeping in the same room?
A: Whether to sleep with your child in your room or have her sleep in her own room—whether in a crib or bed—is a very personal decision for each family. We fully support a family's decision to share a sleep environment as long as sleep safety guidelines are followed, and if you choose to do so we will be happy to design a sleep plan that fits your preferences. If you have been sharing a sleep environment and want to help your child transition to sleeping more independently, these details are covered in a consultation
as well.
Q: How long will it take for my child to sleep well?
A: That depends a lot on you! Consistency in following your plan is your number-one key factor for success. Most babies and children are able to sleep well in 3 to 5 nights. For naps, the norm is 5 days, but it can occasionally take a bit longer—up to two weeks. With older children, or children who are used to being held while they sleep, healthy sleep at night and during the day can take 7 to 10 days, sometimes a bit longer. However, you’ll see plenty of progress well before then.
Q: Is there any way to avoid my child's tears and frustration while she learns?
A: If only we could wave a magic sleep wand and just make children go to sleep—poof—with no tears! While we do not advocate allowing a child to "cry it out" alone, children do feel some frustration in the process of learning how to sleep no matter what we do to help them. Our goal with each family is to give you an air-tight, leak-proof plan that will minimize crying as much as possible. During your consultation, we will carefully discuss how you will support your child with love while she learns to sleep. After two-plus decades of being in practice and the hundreds of thousands of families we have helped all over the world, we have only heard from parents that their attachment with their child is stronger and healthier than ever after sleep learning!
Q: Why do I have to wait till 3-4 months and 14 pounds to help my baby sleep without my help?
A: There is a very important cognitive milestone that happens between 3 and 4 months—the baby's brain goes through a giant growth spurt. By 3-4 months (adjusting for any prematurity), we know that babies have come all the way through that milestone, and that is the point at which babies can learn how to self-soothe - and to remember from one day to the next how they did that. A baby also needs to weigh at least 14 pounds to ensure that he or she will be able to sleep longer stretches at night. (Note: For breastfeeding moms, we will discuss in detail your milk supply and baby's feeding patterns, and help you gently wean any unnecessary nighttime feeds if you wish.) You don't want to ask a baby to do something they are not developmentally capable of doing - and under 3-4 months and 14 pounds, they are often not ready.For babies birth to 3-4 months, we do offer newborn consults for parents who’d like guidance in helping to shape their baby’s sleep in the right direction, and while we can’t have expectations for perfect sleep till after 3-4 months, sometimes these changes can improve sleep quite a bit! Even if you prefer to try things on your own for now though, please know that there are no "bad habits" for the first 3-4 months —feel free to rock, feed, or soothe your baby to sleep if necessary during this time. We can turn everything around smoothly after 3-4 months.
Q: Can you be with us in our home to support us while our child learns?
A: It's no problem to arrange for this kind of support—contact us and we can discuss your needs with you. (Pricing varies according to need and where you live.)
Q: Do you guarantee that your products or services will help our child sleep?
A: Happily, we have never had to offer a guarantee, because when families follow their sleep plan 100% consistently, children naturally fall into healthy sleep patterns in a very short time. We've never yet met a child who couldn't vastly improve his sleep habits! That said, we will happily refund our fees for anyone who is not satisfied with our services.
NOTE: Children with certain medical or developmental issues may not be good candidates for a sleep-learning program. Feel free to contact us for more information if you have a child dealing with such issues.
Imagine life as a rested parent!
Our book The Sleepeasy Solution offers our no-fail, heart-centered approach to helping babies and children get great sleep — usually in 5 nights or less!
“Last Tuesday, little 6-month-old Olivia was still waking throughout the night. Four nights later (last night), she slept 12 hours from 7pm to 7am. I followed your night weaning and sleep-learning guidance to the letter and am astounded at how successful it's been. I've been recommending your book for the past 7 years, since we used it with our first child and am happy to report that it's still so helpful. Thanks again!”
—Emma, mom of Olivia (6 months)