Family Sleep Consults
At HBHM Inc., we are big fans of sleep! We know that things are much more difficult to deal with when you haven't had a good night's sleep. This is true for both parents and infants.
The newborn period is fraught with sleep deprivation, and this is completely normal. New babies eat frequently and sleep a lot, but not as consistently or for the long periods of time that parents are used to. This phase eventually passes, and some normalcy will return to the chaos that a new baby creates. But for most families, there is a period of adjustment while both parents and baby figure things out!
We believe that the best way to deal with sleep issues is to establish good sleep habits in the newborn period that support a baby's natural circadian rhythm. It also is very helpful to understand normal infant development and have reasonable expectations of what your baby is capable of at each stage. We disagree with any advice that recommends enforcing a strict newborn sleep schedule. First, we encourage our clients to get breastfeeding off to a good start. Once that is accomplished, we can start addressing sleep. For families having difficulty establishing a routine that supports their baby’s circadian rhythm, we offer sleep consults.
Sleep consultations can be provided in person in our East Greenwich office, your home (for an extra travel charge of $50 for Rhode Island only), over the phone or via telemedicine. They include unlimited phone follow-up* until this child is sleeping soundly through the night and the family is happy with the situation. You also have the ability to call as your child grows to talk about the inevitable challenges that will come up later in life (dropping the morning nap, transferring to a bed, illness, travel etc. ) This is available to you until your child is 27 months old. For any issues after that, we recommend our Parenting Preschoolers consult.
Sleep consults are available to families with babies that are at least 3 months old, toddlers and preschoolers, as well as to both breastfeeding and bottle feeding families. For families with a baby under 3 months of age, we recommend our sleep class or a lactation consult. Often we find that the way the baby is being fed is causing the sleep problem and if we fix that, the sleep improves!
Sleep consults are provided by our sleep expert, Kathy Moren RN IBCLC. Kathy has over 30 years of experience as a pediatric nurse working with families to help them facilitate good sleep for their babies. She is also the mother of 4 boys that are fantastic sleepers! She will talk with the parents (it is best when both are present) to get an accurate history and learn what a typical day and night is like with respect to both sleeping and feeding. She will explain what is going on developmentally with your baby and make recommendations for changes that can improve the situation. Kathy works with parents to come up with a plan that they are comfortable with and provides them with a written summary of the consultation and detailed written instructions. Once we receive your online payment, you will be asked to sign our consent and HIPAA form. Please read it thoroughly before paying for your consult.
Please call us at (401) 884-8273 or contact us via email if you have more questions. Once you pay for a consult via the button below, you will receive a phone call to schedule your consult with Kathy Moren.
*Please note that the unlimited phone follow-up for the sleep consult is only for the child for whom you received the consult, and not subsequent children. Thanks for your understanding of this policy!
Customer Comments and Testimonials
“Kathleen was a game-changer for us. She gave us the confidence to parent our little guy instead of letting him walk all over us at bedtime. Now he sleeps 7-7 (sometimes even later on weekends!). Can’t recommend the solo session highly enough. I share Healthy Babies, Happy Moms with all my friends who are having difficulty with newborn sleep. We’re all so lucky that they’ll do Zooms so that all of us who live outside of Rhode Island have access to their expertise!”
“By the time I made the decision to call Kathy we were desperate. My son was 6 months old and we were all exhausted. Not napping well, waking every 45 minutes or so all night long to nurse. I was a mess; depressed and anxious from lack of sleep and not enjoying my experience as a new mom nearly as much as I “should”. The support Kathy provided was essential. The first night, I was a wreck, but he slept for 9 hours straight, when I truly thought that wasn’t possible. For the next year and a half he slept through the night, every night, without a peep, or on the rare occasion he did wake up, he would put himself back to sleep without any intervention. I became the mom I was meant to be- happy and calm. Whenever I hit a bump in the road in this journey, even now, I can call and briefly chat with Kathy to get an idea of if I’m heading in the right direction, or get a tip. Her continued support has been invaluable! I highly recommend her as a sleep consultant, she changed our lives!”
“I am so grateful that you came to my home and helped Jayonna and I. You completely saved me from having a breakdown. We are doing fantastic and the baby is growing like a weed. She has been sleeping 7-8 hours per night for several weeks now. I couldn’t ask for a better baby and I have your help and advice to thank for it.”
“...Without your help, both in that class and over the phone, I never would have been able to manage nursing and pumping for over a year. I couldn’t even get my newborn to sleep without your help! Today, Charlie still asks to take his nap and happily goes to bed each night. Even our pediatrician is impressed...Your practical suggestions on a sleep routine took into account the fact that we already had a three year old and helped us smoothly integrate a newborn into our family...Thank you!”