You've been on the fence now for sometime deciding whether or not you should hire a sleep consultant. NOTHING seems to be working at all. Not to mention you wish there was a help-line phone number in the back of all those sleep books that you've read, right? I would have loved to call the author of the first one I read and yelled, "BUT WHAT IF HE WAKES UP BEFORE IT'S TIME TO EAT AGAIN?!" I wish that I would have known this profession existed then, hell, my husband even joked once that he would have spent a whole paycheck for some sleep help besides the typical "let them cry it out" advice handed to us by multiple pediatricians. Screw that, I heard enough crying as it is with a newborn- the last thing I wanted to do was let him scream all night in his crib alone. Sleep & the City does things a little differently, a little gentler, a little more realistic, and a LOT more modern. Here are 10 Great Reasons why YOU should look to hire some help in the sleep department for your little:

1. The obvious: Your sleep-deprived, overwhelmed, and not at your best. You're here visiting and probably wouldn't be otherwise unless you had one or more areas of sleep you'd like help working on :) Parenting & adulthood is HARD- we strive to make raising children just that much easier.

2. We are certified in multiple Pediatric Sleep courses & have over 5+ years of child care experience in a private facility. I've seen a LOT of meltdowns, partly because I'm a Mom myself of two toddlers 3 & under, but mostly due to all of my experience within child care facilities. Most of these meltdowns are due to lack of age-appropriate sleep. Many of these children go to bed too early, too late, miss naps (or don't take them at all), or have sleep crutches that parents are unaware of how to break. I've been certified in newborns, infants, toddlers, multiples, & special needs children, in lieu of my Bachelor's Degree and child care work. I'm well versed in sleep requirements for children 0-6, and isn't it much easier to talk to a person rather than search the internet for hours for advice that "might" work? (On a side note, about 90% of the sleep advice I see on Mom boards are terrrrrrrible unfortunately!)

3. Those sleep books you read can't answer questions. All of the packages at Sleep & the City come with a minimum TWO WEEKS of support. If your little is refusing to nap, text us. If your schedule is terribly off after a vacation, email us. We've read all those books too, but the difference is we have the answers to the "what ifs". ;)

4. Your child's sleep problem will not just "go away". You've heard all the media say ADHD is on the rise, and the child obesity rate is off the charts these days? Missing the appropriate amounts of sleep can lead to misdiagnoses, weight gain, trouble concentrating, inability to handle stress, and temper issues: in school-aged children that never learned healthy sleep habits. So yes, perhaps when your toddler is 10 years old he or she will fall asleep on their own, but why even risk it when the negative health effects behind poor sleep is so overwhelming?

5. At Sleep & the City, we don't use "Cry it Out". The term “cry it out” is a term commonly misused in the media and on Mom groups. This method of sleep training coined by Dr. Weissbluth, or “extinction” as he calls it, refers to putting a child into their rooms at bedtime, leaving, and not returning (no matter what) until the following morning at the desired wakeup time. Although this practice can be efficient (if done correctly which sadly, most people don’t), this is not a method I use in my business unless specifically requested by a parent. With that said, I’ll be honest- with any major changes in a child’s routine, especially when it comes to sleep, there can be tears- this is how they communicate. Similar to a car ride- if they are screaming in their carseat you wouldn’t pull over and put them on your lap to continue driving, correct? Most likely those tears were due to baby being bored, or wanting to be held- not because he/she is in pain or scared, does that make sense? We work together to ensure any tears that do come as a result of our time together are simply “tears protesting a change.” :)

6. Child sleep is consistently changing. What will work at 3 months, won't work at 6 months. What works at 6 months won't work at 10 months. What works at 2 years won't work at 4 years old. With Sleep & the City, we ensure that you know what's coming next, instead of just telling you how to "fix your current issue" and sending you on your way. And we know exactly when you can expect these changes ;)

7. Your baby can't sleep anywhere but your arms, or in your bed. Unless you plan on holding your babe until they are 10, you'll need to come up with a new sleep environment, preferably one that you want him/her sleeping in until they are 10, so if that's their own room- great! If it's in your room, wonderful! If you wish to continue bed-sharing/co-sleeping, you can! The trick is finding a happy medium that everyone can agree on and be happy with, AND get a restful sleep.

8. You have a child over the age of 6 months that still wakes up multiple times at night. Most doctors will agree that a healthy baby can go up to 10-11 hours at night without a feed after the age of 6 months. There are exceptions of course (preemie, low weight, etc.) but most children 6 months and up (even when receiving a feed) should go back down to sleep within minutes afterwards with no parent intervention needed. If your babe is waking more than once, there are multiple reasons why, and figuring THAT out is enough to make anyone go crazy.

9. You have a child between 6-36 months that refuses naps, or takes very short ones. Missed naps, short naps, car naps: all cause night wakings, messed up schedules, and even early rising before 6am. Ain't nobody got time for that. Email us now and we can chat about these cat naps.

10. Your child requires you to lay down with them every night to fall asleep, or comes into your room multiple times at night. This is mostly for the parents with the walking babies, or the kiddos in toddler/big-kid beds. Turning off the light, shutting or even worse, locking the door so they are unable to get out is traumatizing to me just thinking about it! At Sleep & the City we have a FAIL-PROOF method to get your toddler loving their rooms again, and that means date night every night for you now instead of sitting by the beds for 2 hours a night waiting for them to fall asleep.