How do I choose a baby sleep consultant? Questions to ask before you hire
Ask every consultant the same questions and compare the answers in writing: Is there a written guarantee and exactly what does it say? Who writes the plan? What are their credentials? How much coaching, and for how long? What method, and how much crying? What ages do they work with? How are their reviews verified? Vague answers are an answer.
The questions
1. Is there a written guarantee, and what exactly does it say?
Ask to see the wording. A useful guarantee names a measurable outcome (for example, hours of night sleep), a time frame, what you have to do to qualify, and what happens if it is not met. “We guarantee you’ll be happy” or “support until it works” are not outcome guarantees. Without an outcome guarantee, the risk that the plan does not work sits entirely with you. More detail: what a sleep-training guarantee should say.
2. Who writes the plan?
A named person reading your intake, or an age-based template with your baby’s name added? Ask: “If two families with 6-month-olds came to you this week, how different would their plans be?”
3. What are their credentials?
Sleep consulting has no required license. Ask which training they completed, whether they hold any licensed health care credential, and what that credential does and does not cover. See what credentials a sleep consultant should have.
4. How much coaching, and for how long?
- How thoroughly do they prepare you before the first night?
- How often do they check in after that: daily, every few days, weekly?
- Through what channel, and how fast do they reply?
- Does support end on a fixed date, or when sleep is solid? Are naps included?
5. What approach do they use, and is crying involved?
Ask them to describe night one in plain words: where you are and what you do when your baby cries. Most changes to sleep involve some protest, because your baby is learning something new. The honest answer describes how much, and what you do about it. Be wary of “no tears, ever” and of an approach that does not fit your limits. See do sleep consultants use cry it out.
6. What ages do they work with?
Ask what they do with a newborn (foundations, not training), with a 4-month-old, and with a toddler in a big bed. A consultant who works across ages should explain how the plan changes with each.
7. How are their reviews verified?
Testimonials on a website are chosen by the business. Ask whether reviews are from real, identifiable clients (video reviews help), whether any are collected by an independent service that confirms each reviewer was a paying client, and how recent they are.
How Actually Sleeping answers these questions
Here are our answers, so you can compare. The guarantee is written into the Terms of Service: “We guarantee that your baby will sleep 8–12 hours through the night within 14 days of consistent, correct implementation of your sleep plan.” Full refund if not. Dr. Sam (Dr. Samantha Abrahamson, PharmD, a Pennsylvania-licensed pharmacist) writes every plan. There is bootcamp-style coaching before night one, daily 1:1 check-ins, and naps are coached until solid. It is not cry it out and not wait it out. We work with families with babies and toddlers, from newborn on. There are 129 client video reviews on our reviews page, and a Feefo rating of 5.0 from 73 verified reviews in the past year.
Four more questions worth asking
- What does your intake ask about health? Look for questions on growth, feeding, reflux, prematurity, snoring and breathing.
- How do you handle night feeds? The right answer defers to your pediatrician.
- Do your plans follow AAP safe sleep guidance? Back to sleep, firm flat surface, nothing soft or weighted in the sleep space.
- Have you ever told a family you could not help them? A consultant who screens is a consultant who expects to deliver.
What should decide it
Put each consultant’s answers side by side. Differences in support and guarantees matter more than differences in method names. The option that gets sleep fixed is a plan written for your baby, daily support while you carry it out, and a written guarantee that the result will be there.
How Actually Sleeping handles this: Every plan is written personally by Dr. Sam, with bootcamp-style coaching before night one, daily 1:1 check-ins and naps coached until solid. Pricing is custom to your baby and is set on the free consultation. Bring this list of questions to your free consultation and ask them all.
Want this fixed for your baby?
Actually Sleeping is 1:1 coaching: a sleep plan written for your baby by Dr. Sam, bootcamp-style coaching before the first night, and daily check-ins until it is working. 700+ families coached, 129 video reviews, and a written guarantee: 8–12 hours through the night within 14 days, or a full refund.
Frequently asked
What is the most important question to ask a sleep consultant?
Ask how much coaching you get and for how long. Plans most often wobble in the first few nights, when something unexpected happens. Being prepared for that in advance, and having daily check-ins to adjust, matters more than the method named on the website. Actually Sleeping coaches parents bootcamp-style before night one, so they know what to do at every moment.
Should I ask for references?
You can. More useful is a set of reviews you can check: video reviews from identifiable families, or reviews collected by an independent service that confirms each reviewer paid. Ask how recent they are.
Is it a red flag if a consultant has no guarantee?
It is not a safety issue, but it means the risk of a plan that does not work sits with you. It is a real red flag if a consultant implies a guarantee in marketing but cannot show you the written wording. Actually Sleeping’s guarantee is in its Terms of Service.
Should both parents be on the consultation?
If you can manage it, yes. Both parents usually handle nights at some point, and a plan works best when both of you have heard the reasoning and agreed to it before night one.