A baby that wakes up 10 to 15 times a night is probably close to a parent’s worst nightmare. But exhausted parents take note, there is a solution. One-woman show Amy Douglas is bringing Sleepy Baby Consulting to Columbus. Douglas is a certified sleep consultant that, within a few nights, can have your little one sleeping soundly.
Douglas knows what it’s like because she’s been there. Her little one was up all hours of the day, and at the suggestion of her pediatrician, she decided to hire a sleep consultant. Within a few days baby Douglas was sleeping through the night.
“So naturally I became very passionate about this industry,” she says.
Sleep training was also the perfect opportunity to take her healthcare background in a new direction. She’d been a massage therapist before an auto accident left her unable to practice. She then turned to newborn care consulting and was searching for something more when she discovered sleep consulting.
“I’m Ohio’s first and currently only certified sleep consultant via the International Maternity and Parenting Institute,” Douglas says.
So how does it work?
“Once a parent decides they want to work with me I really take an in-depth guide and learn more about the individual child,” Douglas says. She asks about things like family dynamics, nutritional intake and sleep environment. There’s a lot of components that may not seem directly related to a baby’s sleep patterns that actually have a big impact.
Each of Sleepy Baby Consulting’s plans are highly customized. What works for one might not work for another.
“I like to educate them on the different methods,” Douglas says. Education is a big part of her work. She not only has to inform parents about the relatively new industry of sleep consulting, but also dispel myths like cry it out is the only course of action.
There’s a variety of ways exhausted parents can take advantage of Douglas’ breadth of sleep knowledge. Packages range from phone and email consultations to the sleepover show-me-how option. No matter the package, the goal is to leave parents with a step-by-step guide they can implement on their own.
“It’s typical when working with me that a baby is sleeping through the night in four or five evenings,” Douglas says
Sleepy Baby Consulting works with expecting parents all the way up children that are six years old. Douglas helps expecting parents make sure everything is in order, hopefully eliminating the need for sleep consulting later on. With a wide range of ages, she finds about six months to be the sweet spot to start sleep training. By then a young one starts to distinguish day and night.
She notes that many of her clients aren’t the typical baby that might wake up a few times during the night.
“There’s not a need for everybody,” Douglas says. These are children who wake up in excess of 10 times a night or are crying so long they make themselves sick. Douglas can help parents determine what’s “normal” and what might be an issue.
As a near miracle worker for an issue that everybody knows somebody that’s going through it, “We couldn’t’ have asked for a better reception,” Douglas says. While it’s a very specialized industry, it’s resonating with parents.
Sleepy Baby Consulting is holding a February giveaway for a free consultation. For more information and to register, visit sleepybabyconsulting.com.
