Why I Hired a Sleep Consultant and It was the Best Money I’ve Ever Spent

Babies cry—am I right, mamas? 

They cry when they’re hungry or fussy but most importantly they cry when they’re tired AND overtired. So. Much. Crying. 

I did more than my fair share of reading about babies and baby sleep. I read What to Expect, the First Year, The Happiest Baby Guide to Great Sleep and we picked up the major tips: Swaddling, White Noise, Dark rooms, you name it. We learned the “5 S’s” early on and we stuck to them, thanks to our doula’s suggestion and the book’s step by step outline.

Giuliana was an OK sleeper up until 4 months, but that’s where it took a turn. 

We were doing all the things the books said, but she kept on cranking. She was waking up 3-5 times a night and the only thing that would get her to go back down was a feeding, even though I knew (did I mention all of the reading I did?!) that it was a negative sleep cue. But I couldn’t worry about that after a while, I was sleep deprived and desperate. Something had to give.

At the 6-month mark, we asked the pediatrician what can we do? She said that she was finally ready to be sleep trained, so read a book or find instructions online.

As I sat in the doctor’s office, all I could think was that this wasn’t going to cut it for me. I DID READ THE BOOKS. I HAD LOOKED EVERYTHING UP ONLINE. It’s clearly never as simple as doctors make it out to be, because if it was, every kid would be sleeping through the night. But why is everyone afraid to say that out loud or ask for help? 

As I continued to ask around amongst my circle of new mom friends, I was horrified to hear the confessions that their kids didn’t sleep until 18 months, 2 years and beyond. Lucky enough for me, I clearly wasn’t the type to suffer in silence.

Once I had my husband’s buy-in after a consecutive week of 5-wakings per night, I floated the idea of hiring a sleep consultant to some inner circle friends and received mixed reactions. Why would I do that? Could it be worth the money? Are you a bad mom if you can’t get your kid to sleep? Or simply, shouldn’t you suffer through it like the rest of us? (HUGE eyeroll). 

The reality is that I’m a working mom whose currently remote and if I wasn’t getting enough sleep myself, I wasn’t going to be of good use to anyone, Giuliana included. 

I began my search like I usually do: I asked the experts. I reached out to two close contacts of mine who I met through Poppy Seed Health and asked if they had any suggestions. What I got back was about 6 different names and ruled out two off the bat due to pricing. One didn’t get back to me quickly enough, which I deemed a bad sign, so I was left with three companies. I was able to get appointments with two companies the very next day and a third for the following Monday. 

Both consultations were great. While they pretty much had similar styles and almost identical pricing, there was something about the women at the Littlest Learners that my husband and I were drawn to. I felt connected to them somehow, so I went with my gut and it paid off in spades.

 I am not joking when I say that Maddy and Margot of the Littlest Learners are angels sent from heaven.

They are kind, patient, whip-smart and have a sense of humor about this whole raising kids thing—or at least I think they did because they laughed at all my bad jokes.

We began our relationship with them by a phone consultation, followed by a survey on our baby’s sleep patterns and behaviors. Next, they provided us with a custom plan for Giuliana and followed it up with a longer phone discussion about how to implement in and answered ALL of our questions. (And for those of you who know Phil and I personally, we ask A LOT of questions).

 Then we began our two-week sleep training journey. The four of us were on a text chain where they checked in several times a day. We asked questions after question and filled them in with what was going on, almost on an hourly basis. Through this in-depth connectivity, they had the sense of Giuliana’s patterns that went way beyond completing a survey, and they go to know Phil and I as parents and individuals and coached us accordingly.

Within a few days, we noticed a major difference. G was crushing her naps, and sleeping through the night with 1-2 wake ups.

By the time a week had passed, she was only waking up for 1 night time feeding around 3am (which was our goal given her age and that she is still breastfed) and we were beginning to feel human again.

Now that it is all said and done, I am overjoyed to report that Giuliana is a sleeping champ at both naps and sleeping through the night. For me, this sleep journey was one that was akin to becoming a mother and getting comfortable in the decisions that I need to make for my family. I need to continue to trust in my own instincts and make decisions based on the three of us and no one else.

And while I’m still on the subject of sleep training and hiring a consultant, here’s how I think of the whole thing about hiring help: you can’t always quantify “wellness” spends in life. Think about that gym membership, or that expensive massage or that trip to the nutritionist when your GP can’t figure out what’s wrong with you. Wellness is hard to quantify—you can’t show off a new outfit or car or a home reno—but it’s the best money I’ve spent in a long time.

Plus, I lied. You can quantify this wellness purchase; I no longer have huge, dark circles under my eyes. Thank you to the wonderful women of the Littlest Learners.