Now what, you're sleep deprived and your gut tells you that your four and a half month old, who was sleeping really well until a week ago, but is now waking up every two hours to nurse, is probably not waking up because he is hungry. "At four and a half months, my son suddenly regressed and was waking up all the time. I have a 6 year old who expected breakfast by 6am and a dog who wanted to be walked shortly after. I had to get them all out of the house and to school and babysitters before 9am when I started my own day at work. I just don't have the life my mother had when we were kids; she was at least able to squeeze in a nap." Said, Marsha Cross, mother of two. So what are today's mothers doing? "They are calling sleep consultants," says Sara Cohen "many moms today have high powered careers and are use to calling in the "experts" when their computer isn't working properly or their business needs to improve its numbers."

We, at Sleepy Family, looked into what the other sleep consultants are saying. Vivien Sonnenberg, a popularly used sleep consultant in the San Francisco Area, says the only way to teach a baby to sleep is to let them "Cry It Out". This is the method being recommended to most moms who consult with a sleep specialist. The message tends to be "Let them cry because it works". Many moms are comfortable at least experimenting with the CIO method, but what if you are not? "There seems to be only two sleep consultants in the San Francisco area who do not advocate the CIO method. Angelique Millette, who is a soft spoken parent coach in Marin County (she uses both the CIO method and the non-CIO method) and myself, Sara Cohen. That is why I started Sleepy Family, to help the message reach mainstream America that not only is there alternatives out there, but they really do work and tend to me more conducive to being a breastfeeding, responsive parent. A breastfeeding Mom has Prolactin and Oxitocin running through her veins, telling her not to respond to the cries of her baby, or not breastfeed him at night, is like telling her not to eat when she's hungry; every cell in her body is telling her to do so."

The important thing to know when your baby is four and a half months old, is that it is normal for your baby to have a sleep regression at that time. "Progress, even in the sleep department, is never linear." Says Sara "How you respond should depend on what your goals are, and well, whether you can take a nap in the middle of the day or have to lead an important meeting at your firm."

The bottom line is, you're going to do what you're going to do. Don't feel guilty about the decisions you make in the process and do look into your resources for self care and sleep management, then make a decision that feels right and "works".

Bio: Sara has spent a lifetime around home births and childcare. She is a Birth and Postpartum Doula. Additionally, Sara is a certified Early Childhood Educator, who completed a field study in Nepal on Marriage and Family in the Hindu Society. This background, along with her own experience as a co-sleeping mother and postpartum night doula, has left Sara with a well rounded look at the many approaches to family sleep. Sara started an online community of Sleep Consultants, Doulas and Counselors, called "Sleepy Family" www.sleepyfamily.com , to create a collection of wisdom from which to advise parents on their family's sleep challenges.