Frequently Asked Questions

Unlike anyone else offering this service, I am a board-certified pediatrician with over 15 years of experience caring for children from birth through adulthood. While sleep is a critical component of overall health, and the focus of Lush Little Lullabies, my expertise extends far beyond. I have extensive knowledge and experience spanning the broad universe of pediatrics, which helps better inform my sleep coaching recommendations for you and your family.

With personalized sleep coaching, we're able to craft a plan that is specific to your baby's needs and your family's situation. This customization can't be achieved through generalized reference sources alone (i.e. books, websites, speakers, etc). Likewise, sleep coaching offers an opportunity for a more comprehensive assessment, sleep plan implementation, and real-time support than a pediatrician is generally able to offer in a busy practice (including after hours text support, evening/weekend follow-up calls, and detailed written  roadmaps).

If there were one correct method, everyone would use it, and Lush Little Lullabies wouldn’t need to exist. That being said, every method you’ve heard of (e.g. Ferber, Chair, Fading, etc) has worked for some people. Since no two children are exactly the same, nor are any two families, my approach will consider those factors unique to your situation, and may incorporate elements of any strategies you’re already familiar with, that may sound appealing to you.  

This will give us both a chance to get to know each other. In order to develop a plan to help your child learn to sleep, it's important that I understand all of the factors that contribute to those sleepless nights. These may be environmental, schedule/work-related, temperament, etc. 

Likewise, in order for you to have confidence in my advice, you need to feel comfortable with me. You're placing an enormous trust in me, and I want you to feel confident in that decision. I believe a face-to-face conversation is the best way for us to achieve that trust.

If after our introductory call, we decide to work together, we'll have a follow-up video-call, where I'll gather more specific details about the sleep environment, any logistical hurdles, your child's history and any other relevant factors. We'll decide what a reasonable goal is, which will take into account all of the above information, and ultimately what success looks and feels like to YOU. For any of our custom sleep packages, I'll then get to work on a customized sleep plan, that I'll write up and present to you during another video-call within a few days (ideally within 24-48 hours). If you love it as is, great! If there's anything you think is not feasible, or simply doesn't work for your family, we'll adjust it until it's right. 

Sleep training begins the day you come home from the hospital, but evolves over time, as babies grow, and their overnight needs change. A good guideline for how often most healthy, neurotypical babies need to feed overnight is: 

2 months: every 2-3 hours throughout the night

4 months: 1-2 feeds in an 8-10 hour period

6-9 months: Should be able to sleep 8-10 hours without feeding

9 months and up: Beauty Sleep!

For most children ages 6-18 months, I believe I can help them sleep through the night. Even though children less than 6 months don't typically sleep through the night, I may be able to help improve your status quo, if it seems excessive or exhausting. Likewise, while children older than about 24 months are much harder to sleep train, I may be able to help you get back on track. These are things we can certainly figure out during our brief introductory call, with no cost to you.

Children with certain medical conditions may not be good candidates for sleep training. Those include many premature babies, those with cardiac, pulmonary or other metabolic conditions, epilepsy, certain developmental delays, etc. This is obviously not an exhaustive list.  During our introductory call, we can explore these factors and see if my services are appropriate for your family. If it is determined that sleep coaching is not a safe choice for your baby, you should consult with your pediatrician, who will have a more comprehensive understanding of your child's medical history—including what may or may not be reasonable steps and goals in this regard (please note that Lush Little Lullabies is  not able to provide medical advice through our services, and we are NOT establishing a doctor-patient relationship).

Likewise, those with a strong cultural or personal commitment to co-sleeping (which is strongly advised against by the American Academy of Pediatrics) may not be the best candidates for my services. But you probably already knew that…

Generally speaking, I believe we can see early successes within 3-5 nights. This would be best case scenario, of course. Certainly within 1-2 weeks, I would expect you to feel really good about  how things are going.

Details are listed in the Plans/Pricing page from the dropdown menu above. Please be advised that when booking with Lush Little Lullabies, you are receiving a coaching session with a veteran medical professional of over 15 years. Our package prices reflect this level of expertise and will be higher than most sleep coaching services offered by a parent who has completed of an online sleep certification program.

Our collaboration starts with the FREE introductory call, wherein we’ll get to know each other a bit. Once we decide to move forward, I’ll gather some more information from you (through another longer call, and possibly some emails back and forth). After that, I’ll get to work on your personalized plan to get you all some much needed rest. Once that’s prepared (within a few days), we’ll schedule a follow-up call to review the plan, adjusting where necessary to make sure you’re completely satisfied with how it looks. Once we put the plan into action, I’ll continue to work with you with pre-planned or ad hoc touch points during the process. 

Yes! If you live in Southeast Michigan and are looking for a pediatrician, please feel free to send me a message through the contact form. I can provide you with more information on how to schedule a new patient appointment with me at my medical practice.

No, Lush Little Lullabies does not provide medical advice. Services are limited to coaching about sleep habits, and do not constitute medical advice. You should consult your child’s physician for any medical concerns. Services provided by Lush Little Lullabies are for coaching and informational purposes only, and do not create a doctor-patient relationship.