Episode #262: Gentle Sleep Coaching with the Sleep Lady Kim West

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Dr. Elana interviews guest Kim West also known as the Sleep Lady! We know how big of a pain point sleep can be for parents – whether you have an infant waking every 2 hours to eat or a 5-year old that won’t stay in her room all night and finds her way into your bed – WE GET IT! We’ve been there, done that, and still doing it!!! 

Sleep training is not the most fun part of parenting but when you feel it is time for a change it can really help transform the entire family’s life! 

Now… we heard from MANY of you that the crying it out method doesn’t resonate with you. Well, I am right there with you Mama – who wants to hear their little ones crying for hours on end? It is torture!

Well… did you know there is another approach?! It is called a Gentle Sleep Coaching Method!

We wanted to share this approach with you so we chose Kim West to be our expert guest today. Author of 3 books on sleep, appearances on Dr. Phil, the Today Show, NCB Nightly News, Good Morning America – just to name a few – Kim has successfully helped thousands of parents all over the world get a good night’s sleep WITHOUT letting their children cry it out alone.  

How amazing does that sound?!

We are so excited to share this interview with you now as Kim answers dozens of your questions and shares tips/tricks and pearls that will surely help you get the sleep you deserve!

Topics Discussed:

  • The 3 different methods of sleep training options
  • Tips to help set an infant up for long term sleep success
  • How to best wean an infant from relying on night nursing or bottle-feeding
  • The 4 developmental milestones to look out for before 12 months of age that may impact sleep
  • How to gently move your child from co-sleeping to their own room without crying it out
  • Tips for older kids who wake in the middle of the night
  • So much more!!!

Show Notes:

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This episode’s guest

KIM WEST, LCSW-C, is a mother of two daughters and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (which is a child and family therapist) for over 25 years. Known as The Sleep Lady® by her clients, she has personally helped over 20,000 tired parents all over the world get a good night’s sleep without letting their children cry it out alone. Kim has appeared on the Dr. Phil, Today Show, NBC Nightly News, Good Morning America, TLC’s Bringing Home Baby and CNN, and has been written about in a number of publications including The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Baby Talk, Parenting, The Baltimore Sun, USA Today, The Telegraph, The Irish Independent and the Washington Post. Kim is the author of three books: “The Sleep Lady’s Good Night, Sleep Tight: Gentle Proven Solutions to Help Your Child Sleep Well and Wake Up Happy”, “ The Good Night, Sleep Tight Workbook” and “The Good Night, Sleep Tight Workbook for Children with Special Needs”. Her first book “The Sleep Lady’s Good Night, Sleep Tight” is in its third edition and has sold over 140,000 paperback copies. Dedicated to providing tired parents with excellent sleep advice and coaching while knowing Kim could not help everyone herself, she started the Gentle Sleep Coach® Training and Certification program in 2010–the first and most comprehensive training program in the world. This program was the start to what is now a global industry- Baby and Child Sleep Consultants. To date, the Gentle Sleep Coach Training and Certification program is available in 2 languages.