Interview with Bay Area Sleep Consultant Dr. Sarah Mitchell

One of our favorite things about the community in the Bay Area is the fantastic resources at the fingertips of new parents! At Bay City Doulas, we consistently network with other professionals in our area to bring our clients additional support during pregnancy and postpartum. For our blog this week, we interviewed Bay Area Sleep Consultant Dr. Sarah Mitchell. Enjoy!

Thank you so much for joining us, Sarah; we are excited to have you here today. Can you start by telling us a little bit about yourself?

I’m a chiropractor by training but found my passion as a sleep consultant. I’m from Ottawa, Canada, and have been in the bay area for almost eight years. I have a son, a daughter, and a toddler Maltipoo named Maple, an homage to our Canadian roots. I feel immense gratitude each day for being able to live in this beautiful state and two for being able to make a difference in the life of tired parents each day.

How did you become interested in becoming a sleep consultant?

I started as a chiropractor but found my passion in empowering parents to teach their little ones to sleep and parent day and night confidently! This all started when my son just wouldn’t sleep longer than 2-hour stretches! I was so tired and couldn’t find reliable resources to help me. So I went to the literature and researched everything about baby sleep. By understanding the science and behavior, I implemented a sleep teaching plan for him at four months of age and helped him become a champion sleeper—that was when the Helping Babies Sleep Method was born.

Is there one method that you find works best for families? 

When it comes to newborn sleep, there are five pillars to The Helping Newborns Sleep method.  

Pillar 1 – Understanding that the drive to sleep is biological, but how we sleep is learned. When we understand this, it changes our entire mindset around sleep shaping and sleep teaching.

 Pillar 2 – Timing. When you understand sleep science and behavior, you learn that putting babies down too early or too late will make it harder for them and you!

 Pillar 3 – Being an Intentional Feeder. Feeding and sleep are so intertwined. If your baby doesn’t eat well or has gas or indigestion, that will affect your sleep. This pillar focuses on using food for fuel rather than to soothe. Not that you can’t use food to soothe sometimes, but it’s not the primary method. 

Pillar 4 – Assisting. In the newborn stage, babies lack hand control and maintain the startle reflex, so they can’t fully self-soothe. We can work on self-soothing skills, but you’ll likely have to assist. However, you can do so in a manner that allows you to slowly fade the amount of help they need over the weeks and months.

Pillar 5 – Troubleshooting. When things don’t go your way, there’s usually a reason, and you want to be able to read your baby’s cues and needs to meet the root need instead of band-aiding it. 

These are the main pillars that work for most families. Then, we edit them depending on needs due to particular circumstances such as allergies or reflux. 

What is one piece of advice that you have for families regarding newborn sleep? 

It’s your job to establish when sleep happens. Sleep cues can sometimes be hard to read. Marrying sleep cues and the clock can be ideal for nailing appropriate nap timing, making naps go more smoothly.  

What does the process of working with you look like? 

I work with parents through my group coaching program with online classes. Additionally, I offer high-touch, one-to-one consultations where we dive in-depth into the challenges. I create a custom-tailored plan based on preferences, a child’s age, and ultimate sleep goals. We implement a plan, monitor and gather data and feedback, and then check in to make changes or continue to follow the initial plan. My goal is to get you to your sleep goals as gently and efficiently as possible. I have an incredibly high success rate because of my ability to listen and ask the right questions, in addition to years of experience working with a variety of personalities, both parents and babies 

You recently wrote a book, can you tell us about it?

The Helping Babies Sleep Method; The Art and Science of Teaching Your Baby to Sleep are for babies to two years old. Your complete solution for babies is here. The Helping Babies Sleep Method teaches you the art and science of teaching your baby to sleep.

• In the newborn stage, you’ll learn how to avoid common parenting pitfalls and work on gentle no-tear sleep, shaping to achieve long stretches of age-appropriate nighttime sleep quickly.
• From four to 24 months, you’ll learn about sleep science to thoroughly understand the physiology and behavior of having a great sleeper.
• At every age, the method addresses your baby’s daily activities: feeding, sleeping, naps, playtime, and nighttime sleep.
• Evidence-based approaches that are easy to understand from birth to two years..

The Helping Babies Sleep Method helps you create your customizable sleep plan based on your child’s age and parenting philosophy and provides best- and worst-case scenarios. You’ll never be left wondering, “What do I do now?” You’ll see progress within two to three nights. Most parents have completed their journey in two weeks and comment on how good it feels to be well-rested and confident they’re doing the right thing for their baby.

Where can families interested in learning more find additional information?

Please visit my website to learn more! You can also visit my youtube channel by clicking here.

Thank you for joining us

Thank you, Dr. Mitchell, for joining us on our blog this week! Sarah is an excellent resource for families who would like to learn more about baby sleep. We look forward to having her on our blog again in the future. Thank you for reading this week’s blog, “Interview with Bay Area Sleep Consultant Dr. Sarah Mitchell.” For more tips and tricks on all this pregnancy, postpartum and parenthood visit our weekly blog.