General FAQ’s
What is Holistic Sleep Coaching?
It’s a practice, which uses 360 degrees of observations making every family unique in the approach to sleep for your littlest person. This is not textbook application of training methods. This is not any kind of non-responsive sleep training such as Cry-It-Out, Timed-Checks etc.
This is lifestyle and parenting practices re-balanced within your very individual family unit, teaching sleep through love and support.
The results are long-lasting happy sleepers, you included!
What Exactly Is A Cry-it-out (Cio)/non Responsive Sleep Training Method & Why Babesofbliss Doesn’t Practice This?
The sleep training industry has provided some slick marketing labels to soften the real meaning of what CIO (or versions of it) is for parents. “Controlled Crying” is another such label, as is “Timed Checks” and “Shush-Pat”
These are in place to reassure parents that what they are being instructed to practice is not so bad. However, what is really being practiced with these methods? If we are honest with ourselves, isn’t this a practice that asks us as parents to “ignore your baby’s needs (their vocals/their cries) at sleep time and wait until they fall asleep so that you can all get better sleep”?
That’s the bottom line and being a Baby Listening™ Instructor as well as a holistic sleep coach, I am also teaching parents that newborn babies are capable of expressing to you up to 25 needs from birth.
Your newborn baby, at sleep time, is telling you so many many things!
I would like to stress that this must not be taken as judgment. It is easy for you to feel judged if you have tried this with your child and had a bad gut feeling about it.
My goal is to educate from neutral points, from a place of love. I also aim to raise as much awareness for parents. CIO methods are dished out to desperate parents as “gentle methods” which is misleading if you are being asked to practice any form of non-supportive practices.
I ask only for you to ask yourself with honesty, that if you knew this and take an honest look at what other sleep trainers or consultants are actually asking you to do, how can being told to ignore your baby’s cries be a respectful teaching environment for the emotional needs and brain development of your little one?
How does form secure attachment bonds within your family unit?
I often wonder, would as many mamas agree to trying this method of sleep training if the trainers were honest about explaining what they are actually asking parents to do?
Can I use any non-responsive or delayed response methods if we Co-Sleep?
Any sleep consultant that finds a way to convince you, that using a non-responsive method of sleep training such as Cry-It-Out/Controlled Crying (see above) while room sharing, as a workable solution, is not putting your child’s needs first, even when not room sharing.
Research published in the journal of Early Human Development*
demonstrates that ignoring a baby’s needs caused raised levels of cortisol in their saliva. This raised level continued to be present when the babies no longer showed signs of behavioural distress. Their behaviour had been eliminated yet their physiological distress was still present when the stress hormone was measured.
What does this mean?
Babies who are ignored are not learning how to manage their stress and discomfort.
You are teaching them that no one is coming to help them despite them asking for help at sleep time.
(This human response applies to co-sleeping in the same room and when the baby is in their own room.)
Does babesofbliss.org practice any non-responsive sleep training methods such as Cry-It-Out (C.I.O)?
No, I do not practice non-supportive or non-responsive sleep training techniques.
What Are Your Methods?
I choose to protect your parent-child attachment bonds throughout the sensitive transitions by teaching you empowering parenting techniques which in turn lead to a respectful sleep education for your child.
I am very protective over the family dynamics and their effects on the entire family’s sleep. Tapping into nature’s wisdom in order to get long term good sleep and teach what it means to be emotionally aware and connected to these are my goals for you. You may read more here https://babesofbliss.org/me/
Can you help me fix night wakings, bedtime battles &/ or no-sleep cycles for my toddler or pre-schooler?
YES I can. These age groups are assessed on a case-by-case basis to ensure the most stress free approach and that your family’s specific needs are met.
Please reach out to me here
Can my baby’s doctor help me with my baby’s sleep?
Your paediatrician or child’s doctor doesn’t actually get that much training when it comes to sleep. They can provide general and helpful guidelines on sleep but unfortunately don’t have the time to support you throughout the process. They may choose refer you on to someone like me for further guidance should you need more one-on-one attention.
Can a sleep coach help me if we **co-sleep?
When choosing private one-on-one sleep coaching with me, I prefer that your child have its own room set up for the most optimal long term, safe sleep learning results for your family. However, if by co-sleep you mean room share, and baby has their own sleep surface, then yes, there are different options that I will be able to suggest for you to try out. These options will be personalised exclusively for your family practices and what is the most respectful for your baby during the big changes.
Every family is so very unique and as such, I will need to determine every family’s best practices on a case-by-case basis. I will never provide you with a one size-fits-all approach if that’s not what will work best for your baby or your family.
My goal for you is to ensure that the guidance that you get from me will provide you with the long lasting results that you are hoping for!
As such, sometimes room sharing is not going to be your best choice for optimal, long term, sleep results.
We can definitely chat more about this!
Disclaimer: **Co-Sleeping is defined as sharing the same room but NOT sharing the same mattress/sleep surface. Any health risks to your baby associated with the un-advised practice of bed sharing, will be solely your responsibility following implementation of any of my guidance.
Do you offer any options for me to try in my own time instead of the one-on-one-private coaching with you for room sharing?
Yes I offer different types of phone consultations where I will provide you with lots of easy to set into place practices together with realistic sleep expectations, bringing some big improvements to your family’s sleep. Please reach out to me.
Do we as parents need to discuss or prepare anything before you can help us with our little one’s sleep?
I love to suggest that you as parents first discuss your parenting philosophies together to be sure you are both on the same page moving forward. This is a beautiful exercise in self growth and discovery as well as some common goals that can bring you and your husband closer together surrounding the topic of family sleep!
As a general guideline, a baby over six months of age is able to sleep between 6 and up to 11.5-12 hours at night.
Why is it important for your little human to be able to fall asleep using their age appropriate developmental abilities and learn this skill?
Babies who need help to fall asleep and stay asleep, long term, tend to fall asleep through total exhaustion due to a very present no-sleep cycle and accumulation of a sleep deficit.
In my experience, this is most visible in babies over 6 months but newborn babies can be utterly sleep deprived and show signs of minor depression as well.
Overtired little ones simply switch off from the world by their body temporarily giving up on being awake. This will result in your little one waking up right after their first sleep cycle (usually around 30mins..or less) only to find themselves right back where they started, wanting to sleep but unable to do so.
Ultimately, this practice interferes with the natural development of sleep triggers & the ability to learn appropriate inhibition when your baby’s brain is developing critical inhibitory connections.
What Guarantees Do I Have that this will Work?
You will only get out of this as much as the effort that you and your husband put into it. I am here to show you how your baby can learn to love their sleep. It is then up to you to put into place the new parenting practices to allow good sleep to happen.
You may read real mama testimonials about their experiences with me and their sleep successes on the Mama Experiences page for further information
How Do I Choose the right Baby Sleep expert for My Family?:
My experience working with so many families as well as being a holistic mama has taught me some of the most important things to consider when choosing your family’s sleep professional.
#1: Research!
Your baby’s wellbeing depends on it and it’s time to step up your parenting skills!
Certification credentials are only a small part of real life, outcomes.
Honest word of mouth client experiences sharing long lasting positive sleep results, years afterwards, is your most honest sign that the practitioner is practicing supportive methods.
#2. Try not to let price be your deciding factor.
A good sleep specialist will usually have various package options to cater for different sleep needs. Babesofblis.org will never provide a one size fits all method solution for your baby and family.
#3: What are some of their parenting philosophies? Ask questions!
-Do they use CIO methods?
-Do they feel it is required for your child?
-Would they ever consider that you drop naps early?
-What’s their experience working with a high needs or strong willed baby or toddler?
#4. How many of their families where able to complete the course with them VS giving up or asking another sleep coach to fix re-occurring problems ?
A successful sleep coach should be able to tackle all difficulties that occur & keep the family on track throughout the learning curbs, without the help of someone more experienced than them.
Sleep with me is achieved by understanding your baby’s needs not removing a behaviour.
Do I need a Crib Mobile or baby Monitor?
A crib mobile will depends on your baby’s current age and this is something that I would be happy to discuss with you during our coaching sessions.
A baby monitor is also something that I will discuss in depth with you.
Not all baby monitors are actually what I consider to be a reliable source of monitoring and any wi-fi device is not a reliable or safe baby monitor option for baby.**
To find out which baby monitor I love you can visit my FAV FINDS
When coaching with me, I will answer some of the more common questions surrounding baby monitor use such as:
“When can I start or stop using them?”
“When is a baby monitor helpful, when is it not for sleep learning? – best practices”
What Else Could Be Causing My Sleep Challenges?
- Food allergies
- Sensory Processing Disorders
- Breast Feeding Difficulties
- Reflux or other medical issues such as heart rate irregularities & sleep apnea.
If your baby suffers from any of the above I urge you to seek help from the appropriate specialist.
Conclusions
Baby sleep is just like being a mama & papa, every day can bring new challenges & you can only do your very best when these crop up to guide your little one, the best you know how.
Whether you are more comfortable having a whirl at sleep training your baby on your own or with the help of a book or by coming to someone like myself for a more supportive sleep learning experience, there are always ways to work through your child’s sleep.
Coach Gabrielle
By-Whendy Middlemiss.
** https://ehtrust.org/health-effects-of-wireless-baby-monitors/
+ further reading regarding parent & child targeted Wi-Fi devices:
https://ehtrust.org/key-issues/cell-phoneswireless/ridiculous-wi-fi-tech/