FAQs

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Contact Rachel using the contact information detailed Here

Once you are ready to go ahead –

• We will schedule a meeting that normally lasts 1.5 hours.
• I will email you out a consultation form (this is a 9 page document) that I will need completed 48 hours before our meeting to review.
• We will then meet to discuss the sleep coaching plan that suits your child/family situation.
• Following our meeting I will provide you with a detailed document outlining your childs sleep needs and sleep coaching plan.
• I will also provide you email support for 2 weeks once you start coaching to make sure we are all on track and up to 8 followup phone calls (to be used within a month of starting to coach).

A.

In order to sleepcoach your child successfully you will need to plan when you are going to start sleep coaching.
Once you start coaching – You will need to make your child’s sleep routine a priority for the first 3-4 weeks as it takes the brain up to 4 weeks to learn a new routine/behaviour.
You should ensure that you have no plans to go on holidays/move house/ have new baby etc or break your child’s routine during that time.
You and anyone else minding your child during naps/bedtime need to be consistent as intermittent reinforcement does make it harder for your child to learn to self soothe to sleep.

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Yes – You can begin to “Sleep Shape” your baby at a very early stage. I run Baby Basic workshops monthly and I address how to create good sleep habits from an early age in this workshop.

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You will need to wait until your child is at least 6 Months old (corrected) to begin sleep coaching. This is because before this your child will not be able – both physically and psychologically to sleep coach successfully.

If you can wait until your child is 6 months old you will see success faster as the 6 month developmental milestone can cause alot of sleep disruption.

A.

By the time you have come across my website, you have probably already been advised numerous times to try various ‘cry it out’ techniques. You may have tried them, and spent those dread-filled minutes hovering outside your childs bedroom door listening to your little one getting more and more upset.If this is the case you will be glad to know that I do NOT advocate a cry it out solution. Research has shown that this approach is NOT beneficial for anyone.

Gentle sleep coaches believe that there is a softer, more gentle way to help children learn to sleep better and to self sooth, and we will never ask you to leave your child to cry for long periods without your reassurance.

I believe its all about helping your child to become happy and confident in their sleep space, with an understanding that you are always there for them – rather than that you won’t come back no matter how upset they get.

A.

Every sleep coaching plan is put together from scratch for the family I am working with. It’s really important that parents feel comfortable with the approach, so that they have the confidence and commitment to carry it.

Once I have assessed  your family’s situation, I will create a step by step sleep strategy which will only be ready to implement when you are 100% happy with it.  Because every child is unique, so is every sleep coaching plan.

A.

Rachel is a trained Gentle Sleep Coach and only uses gentle sleep coaching methods. Because babies and small children often aren’t too happy about changes to their routine there may be one or two tears along with way but I will NEVER ask you to leave your child cry it out alone. You will always be with your child supporting them through the sleep coaching process and I can happily say that most parents are pleasantly surprised by how quickly and positively their child adapts. Many families find that one of the main benefits of working with a sleep coach is the support they receive in managing their child’s responses.

A.

Every child has different sleep issues to address, and generally older children will take slightly longer to accept a new routine. That said, I generally see an improvement within a week to ten days and we have usually made enough progress to conclude active coaching within two to three weeks. The average time Rachel spends actively sleep coaching a family would be around 14 days.

A.

Rachel has completed the most extensive professional sleep coach training program available. For more information on this program and the gentle sleep coaching philosophy click here