- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Washington Babies
EllaSmella
member
Seattle Area Sleep Consultants/Sleep Doulas?
EllaSmella
member
Hey there...I'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a Seattle area sleep consultant or sleep doula. My LO's sleep has deteriorated to the point that my husband and I can no longer function and we are looking for someone to help us. Anyone used either of these services or heard good things about anyone in particular? Thanks!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Seattle Area Sleep Consultants/Sleep Doulas?
Are there such things?
Please use this forum - there are alot of women on here happy to help you - and we all went through it - and we've all done it different ways (whatever was best for our individual families)
What have you tried? Are you a co-sleeper parent (attachment parenting) or is the baby in a crib and willing to do CIO? We can as a group help you out.
What baby books have you tried reading?
There's the Baby Whisperer, there's Ferber, there's the No Cry Sleep Solution - and many more.
Easter 2011
Yes, there are such things.
I have tried a number of things. No Cry Sleep Solution, Baby Wisperer, Sleep Lady Shuffle and even a brief stint with Ferber, which I abandoned because I couldn't handle hearing him cry for such a long time.
I would describe myself as a modified attachment parent. I breastfeed, and we do a combination of cosleeping and crib sleeping. He starts the night in the crib, and usually ends up in our bed by 1am or so. We have tried to eliminate the cosleeping thinking that it was causing the problem, but his sleep just deteriorated more when we moved him full time to the crib, and then we were up and down all night ourselves which just made it worse.
Right now he wakes up every 1-2 hours all night long. This started right when he turned four months old. He refuses to go back to sleep without nursing. He is very stubborn and can stay up for hours at a time waiting for me to give in to nurse him. We've tried "cold turkey" no nursing, and we've also tried to reduce the number of minutes he nurses to reduce the wakings.
He will not go to sleep for anyone but me. If my husband tries to put him to sleep, or to handle the overnight wake ups, LO will (literally) stay up the whole night waiting for me to come put him to sleep.We have tried my husband handling all wake ups for a number of nights, and bottle feeding him when he's hungry and he will refuse the bottle and be awake all night.
We've taken him to the pediatrician to be checked out multiple times to make sure there is not an underlying medical issue and he is not teething and does not have ear infections.
I know you're trying to be helpful, and I am glad to accept any advice you may have, but to be fair, I am three months deep into this, I've done a ton of reading and researching, and I don't necessarily think anyone on this board is going to have a magic solution for me.
Unfortunately, I don't have any recommendations, and while I know plenty of people who have dealt with sleep problems with their children, I don't know anyone who's used a sleep consultant or sleep doula.
Sorry that you're dealing with this!
I dont' know anyone who has used anyone like that but I definitely got to the point where I was searching one out!
I know that Children's Hospital has a sleep clinic for infants. There's a pretty long wait list to get in for a sleep study, so you might want to just make an appointment to have it "out there" for you in case you need it.
I remember someone posting on (I think) Tiffany's FB some ideas for sleep coaches, so maybe she'll weigh in. I searched and found these options:
https://www.redtri.com/seattle/rebecca-michi-seattle-sleep-consultant
https://www.babyprofinder.com/v7439-Renee-Beebe-M-Ed--IBCLC.html
I feel like I got to the point where I was so tired I couldn't even get it together to try to call anyone to help. So I understand where you are! I hope you can find some help and some answers. I figured out a plan that worked for me to just survive it til it passed. And it did pass. But it was an ugly long time. And I didn't really do anything very active to change it (like CIO or anything) until my kids were older and I could talk to them and reason with them a little more. I will share that at 7 months it was on the downslope for both of mine. That's a really hard time for sleep. So there might not be anything "wrong"... But hopefully someone can help you get some rest!!
Try Rebecca Michi.
I hope you get some rest soon!
Bio & Blog | The Chic Bambino | Bumps & Babies Fair
You could also try here: https://www.napsdoulas.com/whatadoulaprovides.html
And if you just want some relief at night, you oculd try the nanny services around... I know there's Annies Nannies, Sitter City, and several others.
Have you tried Ferber's night weaning? We used that as a guideline to break the night nursing habit around 9-10 months. DS had slept 10-12 hours from 3-6.5 months and then was up 2-4 times a night from 6.5-10 months. It wasn't that bad compared to many, but it was exhausting with our schedules.
Basically we delaying nursing for longer and longer stretches during the night while comforting him in other ways. So since he normally woke after 3 hours, we made him wait 3.5 at first and then stretched him to 4. Over about 2 weeks, he dropped all night feedings and went back to sleeping 10-12 hours again, with no CIO. I also made sure he was offered milk more often during the day to help tank him up in case that was the problem.
Good luck - I hope you get some rest soon.
Hi There!
I mostly lurk on this board, but I *had* to jump in on this one. We went through a similar problem with my son, and his naps had deteriorated to me nursing him to sleep on the couch and sitting there with him. Every.Single.Nap. Nights were better, but not good. We read all the books, tried all the magic suits, etc as well.
We finally decided to work with Helen Sands: https://www.childsleepconsulting.com//
My son was 10 mo, so I'm sure there will be variations, but she used a modified CIO. VERY modified. I would def email her and get a feel for her. She is very matter of fact, and will tell you exactly what needs to be done. It was hard work, but my son was napping in his crib within the week, and now takes 2 good naps plus sleeps all night in his crib with just a minute of crying while he gets comfy.
I would definitely recommend her and felt it was WELL worth the money.
ETA: She is in Canada (I think BC) but it was all phone/email. It worked for us.
FWIW - One of the links Jill posted - Renee Beebee - she's a Lactation Consultant, not a sleep specialist. I wouldn't go to her for sleep issues.
Good luck. I was in a similar boat with my daugther until she was 8 months old. She woke up every hour to hour and a half without fail. She was so small, at the time, that my pediatrician had me feeding her every 2 - 3 hours at that point still. I remember lying on the floor of my office one day with my door shut, crying, because I was so tired I just had to sleep.
There is a reason sleep deprivation is used as means of torture during warfare & interrogations.
(And FWIW, I know you said you've tried everything....I felt the same way at your point. I ended up letting my daughter CIO at 8.5 months out of pure exhaustion on my part. 5 days later she was a champion sleeper and has been ever since. She didn't cry for more than 20 minutes before falling asleep during those 5 days. At the time, I didn't think it'd ever happen)
She also says she's a sleep consultant: https://www.babyprofinder.com/v7439-Renee-Beebe-M-Ed--IBCLC.html
Unfortunately, I don't know that CIO is in the cards for us. We tried the Sleep Lady Shuffle (attended CIO) for one night and he cried for three hours straight. We're not talking whiny/complain-y crying, we're talking full blown hysterics. I know that CIO takes multiple nights to work, but I just don't know that it's healthy that he cries non-stop for that long to get to any point that might be considered a success...
Thanks for those who suggested some resources. I had a call with Rebecca Michi yesterday and she sounds promising. Hopefully she can provide us with some help.
EllaSmella, I can relate! I just contacted Helen Sands (Vancouver, BC) for some help with my 10.5 month old. He had a period of time where CIO worked after 3 days and he slept 13 hours straight for a few months. At 10.5 months, he's like your daughter and is waking multiple times per night and refuses to stop crying unless I go in to nurse him. He has never taken a bottle, so it's all on me and I'm at my limit and no longer able to function well. We've been fighting this for about 3.5 months now and it seems to be only getting worse.
I will certainly follow up if I have success with Helen. Please let me know if you do find any local (I live in Seattle as well) resources that are helpful as I don't think we can keep this up much longer.
I would recommend Rebecca Michi Sleep Consultant. www.rebeccamichi.com
She's based in Seattle and has free workshops too.