At what point would you pay for sleep help

WyoGal · March 2010

Okay, so we're no where near this phase, but this ad for "Your Child Sleep Coach" keeps popping up on mamabargains and I was intrigued. For $160 she'll tailor a sleep plan for you.

https://www.childsleepcoach.com/2009/06/services-and-pricing.html

If she were Pantley or Ferber (with a clause about no CIO) and M was truly having sleep problems I'd consider it, but when you read her 'About Me' (which is truly heartbreaking) I don't see a single reason why I'd pay her money to advise me on my child's sleep. I've taught Step-Up-to-Writing as well, and it's done diddly squat for my ability to help my child sleep :-)

Anyway, because we are soooo far geographically from a sleep specialist or even a pseudo-specialist the thought's never crossed my mind. For those of you who live in cities with sleep "trainers" and specialists, have you ever investigated one? At what point would you consider hiring one? Has anyone hired one? How'd it go?

webMistress0609 · March 2010

We're pretty close to hiring someone. We've seen some improvement over the last 2 weeks so I'm holding off right now. If things don't get any better by Ari's next pedi appt, I'm going to ask the pedi if there's anything else medical that needs to be ruled out. Then I'll email Pantley & see if I can get help or a rec on someone who can. If that fails I'll hire someone once he's around a year old.

I'm just not willing to let Ari CIO, nor do I think it would work. Crying in arms with DH is such a freaking disaster - he's a tension increaser, badly. Last night DH tried to settle him, he was close to puking he cried so hard, which happens pretty quickly, & then when DH brought him back to me he was so wound up he didn't go back to sleep until 5. The process started at 11.

I think Ari's problem is just normal developmental stuff coupled with sleep problems from his undiagnosed health issues. Except for one good week, he's been a crappy sleeper since he was born. He's never been able to learn to sleep well or self soothe because he's felt like crap most of his life, plus he's a high needs, clingy baby.

EcoBaby · March 2010

I would hire someone right now! $160 isn't that much for good sleep. I don't know if that was the same person in Parenting magazine, but they also had a sleep coach in there, but her regiment required a form of CIO, which I won't do.

WyoGal · March 2010

webmistress, are their lots of good resources in your area? Would you be looking for sleep clinics w/MDs or more experienced gentle night nannies? (I'm not sure if that's the right phrasing but I hope you get my drift). I hope I don't come across as nosy, but I'd be interested in hearing about the process, but I'd be happier hearing that you and Ari figure this out sooner rather than later. You two have been through so much. Hugs!

WyoGal · March 2010

EcoBaby:
I would hire someone right now! $160 isn't that much for good sleep.

I agree with that, it's just her credentials seemed to be lacking and I think it was only for an email/phone consultation.

Then again, I'm cheap and just try and exhaust you all for free :-)

webMistress0609 · March 2010

WyoGal:
webmistress, are their lots of good resources in your area? Would you be looking for sleep clinics w/MDs or more experienced gentle night nannies? (I'm not sure if that's the right phrasing but I hope you get my drift). I hope I don't come across as nosy, but I'd be interested in hearing about the process, but I'd be happier hearing that you and Ari figure this out sooner rather than later. You two have been through so much. Hugs!

I don't even know at this point. I guess I'll wait & see what his pedi says. I wouldn't usually ask a pedi about sleep but since his sleep has been disrupted by reflux/allergies for so long, I'm wanting to be extra careful to rule out a medical cause, like an ears/nose/throat problem or something. I posted above but right now it's like he's trying really hard to sleep & just can't settle for about a 4-6 hour block of time at night. I'm not sure what the solution is b/c the obvious things to try aren't working. Meh.

MrsAmers · March 2010

At the moment, I would rather pay a mother's helper or someone similar to come to my house every night or every other night for 2-3 hours to do my chores. Do the dishes, run the laundry, fold the laundry, clean the bathroom, clean and make bottles, etc. Someone to do everything that I have to do every evening between DD's bedtime and when I can finally crash. Then, I could go to bed by 8 or 9ish and get more sleep...even if the sleep is still interrupted.

For the most part, DS wakes, nurses and goes back to sleep. I think I could survive on interrupted sleep better if the total time I was in bed was longer...and getting up later isn't an option.

I'm not convinced that there is any "sleep expert" out there who can deal with my kid better than I can. I realize that DS isn't an extreme case of bad sleep and that DD was a horrible sleeper who had periods of good sleep, and I certainly think there is value in reading lots of sleep books and cherry picking the good advice. But in the end, I'm not convinced that there is anyone on the planet who I could pay to come teach my kid how to sleep in a way that I would be comfortable with.

I'll sleep better someday.

lanie30 · March 2010

I'll be getting help from the beginning next time. A night nurse, for sure.

lanie30 · March 2010

I think her bio is a tragedy overshare. but! i think she has probably the same amount of experience and education as Elizabeth Pantley. Actually probably more.

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