Do You Need a Sleep Consultant or a Sleep Trainer?
Let me guess.
You’re here because you were Googling “sleep trainer” or “sleep consultant” at 3am. You saw a list of baby sleep consultants, sleep coaches and sleep trainers who offer a vast array of services at different price points. You’re confused about why some baby sleep consultants charge $500-$1,000 and others are more than $7K.
The short answer? Only one of them provides real-time sleep training support with an experienced expert.
I’ll break it down.
What is a Sleep Consultant?
Baby sleep “consultants” consult by phone, email and text. They give you a plan, but then you’re on your own to implement that plan. They’re not with you in person, they don’t observe and don’t tailor their guidance based on what they see.
Sleep training with a book or a plan is HARD. It may be the hardest thing you ever do.
Here’s what we know:
Following a plan in the middle of the night is impossible when you’re already sleep-deprived. Also, the plan…
- Won’t teach you to read your baby’s body language and make informed decisions
- Is useless when you and your partner are arguing at 3:00 a.m.
- Doesn’t help you make real-time decisions when the plan isn’t working
- Ensures that sleep training will be harder for you and your baby
Many of our clients learned the hard way. They spent weeks or months following plans, then gave up after limited to no progress. They come to us feeling terrified that they’ll never sleep again.
What is a Sleep Trainer?
Expert sleep trainers (that’s us!) are with you live – in your home – helping you sleep train your baby in real time. It’s a more significant investment because we’re with you for up to 6 days, and our unlimited follow-up support ensures your success.
An experienced sleep trainer will help your baby master new sleep habits faster because they observe and help you shift your strategy in real time. Also, your baby may sleep 10-12 hours on the 2nd or 3rd night! (Not guaranteed — but highly likely!)
How we coined the term “Baby Sleep Coach”
When I was searching for sleep training support in 2004, there were only books and blogs. Books by Gina Ford, Richard Weissbluth, and Richard Ferber were my only resources. Michel Cohen of Tribeca Pediatrics had just started his campaign about the benefits of early sleep training (from 8+ weeks), but he gave no advice about how to do that. Long story short, after I got my kids sleeping through the night (at 8 weeks) people started asking me how to sleep train their babies. I tried giving advice over the phone like sleep consultants do, but I was never comfortable calling myself a consultant, and I was never comfortable giving advice about something so precious over the phone. When I began staying with families to guide them through sleep training, that’s when I started using the term “baby sleep coach”. Because I was in their home, coaching parents through sleep training in real-time, helping them understand the nuances between their baby’s cries and body language, “baby sleep coach” felt like the most accurate way to describe what I did, and what I used to describe my team. Now there is a whole industry around baby sleep coaches – it’s a big business!
Reading signs of tiredness in infants
Our team of baby experts, sleep trainers, and baby sleep coaches help you learn to read your baby, understand their habits and needs, and when to respond or observe. Sleep training is a nuanced process and it’s also emotional for you. While helping your baby master sleep skills over 3-5 nights and days, we also teach you how to listen to your baby’s body language by showing you what we see and hear. We incorporate this into our sleep training strategy tailored for your baby.
Sleep trainers offer guidance in real time
Sleep trainers are with you to offer choices and recommendations in tense moments when you’re scared you’re doing it all wrong. We give you the confidence to read your baby and make decisions after we leave your home.
Baby sleep trainers bring an outside, experienced perspective. We’ve seen it all! We’re well-rested, we’re not emotionally attached to your baby so we can observe facts, we see things you can’t see, and we collect data. We help you make split-second decisions, which makes sleep training so much easier for you and your baby.
Our clients tell us again and again that hiring us was “the best money we’ve ever spent,” “life-changing,” and they “could have never done it without you.”
The difference in-home sleep training makes vs. a sleep consultant
The idea of inviting a stranger into your home for 3-5 days may not be initially appealing, and it is a bigger investment, but it can literally be the difference between weeks or months of crying and struggling, or sleeping through the night in 3-5 days. If you’re unsuccessful with sleep training, it could mean a child in your bed for 12 years!
All of our sleep training packages include 3-5 days of real-time sleep training support in your home followed by four weeks of unlimited guidance from a dedicated Mommywise Coach.
If you want an honest assessment about what’s best for you, reach out today and let us help you decide!
Tell us more about your situation. We’ll answer your questions and help you decide what kind of support will help most.
FAQs
What is a sleep consultant and what do they do?
Baby sleep “consultants” give you a plan to implement on your own, consulting parents by phone, email and text. They’re not with you in person, don’t observe, and don’t tailor their guidance based on what they see.
What is an in-home sleep trainer?
Sleep trainers (like those at Mommywise!) are experts who live in your home to help you sleep train your baby. They observe you and your baby in real time, so they can tailor their training specifically for your family. Need additional support? A sleep trainer ensures your success by providing follow-up by text or phone.
What does a sleep coach do while in your home?
An in-home sleep coach works closely with your family to develop a personalized sleep plan for your baby, guiding you step by step through the sleep training process. They provide hands-on coaching, real-time adjustments, and emotional support to help you confidently establish healthy sleep habits. An in-home sleep coach ensures you have the tools and reassurance you need for long-term success.
What does a sleep consultant cost vs. sleep training cost?
While investment in our sleep training is premium, the value is priceless. We offer several sleep training packages to suit your needs.
Sleep consultants often provide a guide or sleep plan for a small fee, including limited text and email support. Parents implement sleeping recommendations on their own without the personal, insightful guidance of a sleep trainer alongside them in their home.
What does being a certified sleep consultant really mean?
A “certified” sleep consultant means that the consultant has paid for a sleep consultant course from a sleep consulting company. The consultant pays the sleep training company to teach them their sleep training method (they’re all a similar form of a Ferber-style sleep training plan that parents implement on their own. Typically the “certified” sleep consultant also pays the sleep consultant training company royalties and/or licensing fees to be listed on their website as one of the “certified” consultants they trained.
Here’s the catch: A “certified” sleep consultant may never have actually sleep trained a real baby. We at Mommywise exclusively certify our team. We do not offer trainings as a revenue source. We “certify” Mommywise sleep coaches and trainers including in person curriculum with real live babies. Mommywise sleep coaches and sleep trainers have years of experience as postpartum doulas and Newborn Care Specialists before they’re even considered to train with Mommywise, and all the training they have is with real babies and real parents in real time.
2 Responses
I have a 4 week old baby and he struggles to go down for naps and when he finally closes his eyes, he will only sleep for 20 mins and startle himself awake. He doesnt seem relaxed. At night time he struggles to sleep as well but once he does sleep, he will fall asleep for 2-3 hours at a time. What should I do?
Do you sleep train toddlers age 2-3?