Everything You Need To Know About Sleep Consultants - And When To Call One

The first year of your baby’s life is one of constant evolution and learning. You’re in this big hazy new world together, trying to understand each other a little more each day. It’s tiring, it’s exhausting and most of the time it can feel like a continuous loop that never ends. What we’re saying is, it can be hard work raising a child. That’s why the saying says, ‘it takes a village.’ So when you feel as though you need help, it’s important to ask for it, and one of the most important means of help you can ask for is that of a sleep consultant.

So we called on Australia’s leading qualified baby and child sleep expert - Steph Gouin, aka Sleep by Steph, to answer some of the most common questions from desperate new parents. Here we dissect what a sleep consultant actually does, how much it costs and what you actually get for your money.

What does a sleep consultant actually do?

"A sleep consultant is a professional who works with families and individuals to help them develop and maintain healthy sleep habits, practices and routines. As a Baby and Child Sleep Consultant, I educate and empower parents with babies and children of all ages. I teach them everything they need to know about sleep and how to set up all the basic sleep ‘foundations’ like environment, nutrition, day and night routine, maintaining consistency and so on. I also work with parents who have older babies, toddlers and children with poor sleep patterns and behaviours. Together, we uncover the reasons for the sleep difficulties, make the all-important changes to the ‘foundations’ and then we implement the new habits and behaviours to help the baby, toddler or child fall off to sleep (and fall back to sleep) easily and effortlessly."

When should you call upon a sleep consultant?

"In my opinion, every parent should engage with a good sleep consultant before their baby is born or in the first few weeks of life. Setting up the healthy sleep 'foundations’ from as early on as possible can be a ‘game changer’. When parents are well informed and feeling confident from the start, they enjoy their baby’s a lot more and they often avoid having to navigate the horrendous path of sleep deprivation and exhaustion that, sadly, many families for go down for months, sometimes years."

What do you normally ‘receive’ when you enlist the help of a sleep consultant?

"Sleep consultants are everywhere these days and interestingly, we all different services, packages and educational resources.

Some sleep consultants go into the home for ‘day-stays’ and ‘overnight-stays’ where they offer a more hands on service and approach to helping families achieve great sleep.

Many sleep consultants offer one-on-one education and support virtually, in the form of phone / video call, email or text message support packages. There are also loads of online sleep programs out there that parents can do at their own pace in the comfort of their own home.

My business offers a ‘Support Call’ service. As part of the service, families fill out a comprehensive questionnaire prior to their 45-minute consultation call, which allows my team and I to identify where things are ‘going wrong’ and what needs to change in order to make better sleep start happening. We discuss everything during the call and set families up with their ‘plan of attack’ moving forward. We encourage families to purchase their Support Calls only after they have read (or watched) and attempted to implement the strategies and recommendations in our simple, straightforward eBooks and online video program."

Will a sleep consultant make your baby just cry it out?

"Cry it out’ or Controlled Crying are terms I prefer not to use when I’m working with families. These terms cause unnecessary worry and concern which we don’t want.

The reality is that, yes, babies and children often cry during the ‘falling to sleep’ process for many different reasons i.e., exhaustion, tiredness, frustration, and so on, especially when we first start working on improving their sleep and routines.

I believe it is important parents are aware of this and understand the reasons for the crying in the first place.

I tell all parents to go in and hold their baby or child if they are crying during the ‘going to sleep process’, if they feel they need to. In saying that, I also tell parents not to rush straight to their baby or child at the first sign of crying, knowing that not all crying is ‘bad’ and that because we have ticked all the ‘foundation’ boxes before putting them down in their safe sleep space – baby or child is healthy, warm, full, in the correct environment etc., going in won’t always help, it often disrupts and overstimulates them, making things worse."

How much does a sleep consultant normally cost?

"There is a huge variation in how much you will pay to enlist the help of a sleep consultant. For a more comprehensive sleep support package where the consultant comes into the home, you may be looking at paying hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

For a comprehensive phone or email support package where the sleep consultant works with you for an extended period (1-2 weeks), you may be looking at $400 to $500 or even more.

Online sleep and routine video programs and eBooks (like ours) are a lot more affordable and can range from $20 to just over $100.

Our Support Calls (including the comprehensive questionnaire) are also very affordable at just over $100."

Are there options for more support from your sleep consultant after your time has finished?

"Absolutely.

We want all the families we work with to feel loved and supported every step of the way. Many of our families purchase our Age Basics eBooks month after month, for reassurance and just to make sure they are on track as their baby or child grows and gets older. For a more individualised, one-on-one service with myself or one of my team members, they have the option to book in as many Support Calls as they need throughout their sleep journey too."

Want more Sleep By Steph?

You can reach out to Steph via her Instagram page @sleepbysteph or via her website here. You can also visit Steph at our 2023 Melbourne One Fine Baby Expos at the Royal Exhibition Building with FREE one-on-one consultations in the Tommee Tippee Advice Hub.  Book your FREE tickets here.