The difference between Joya and other sleep consultants is that she cares more, checks in (even after sleep training), and helps get babies sleeping without causing emotional trauma. I would highly recommend to any parents in the DC area who are having trouble getting their baby or kid to sleep read more

As many parents can relate, kids go through different sleep patterns in their short life. Around 2, my daughter was very dependent on me to fall asleep. I reached out to Joya based on a recommendation and she gave me some good advice and a plan which helped so much. A year later at 3, my daughter once again had sleep "issues". I once again reached out to Joya for help, I was so tired and desperate. She explained how toddler sleep training works and laid out another plan for me to follow. Within 3 days, we were all finally sleeping again! Joya is a baby whisperer! She is easy to work with, personable and has a wealth of knowledge. Thanks to Joya, we've all been sleeping well for the past few months! read more

Joya was a Godsend! Being pregnant during the pandemic was incredibly taxing and I wanted to set myself up for success in the 4th trimester when we brought our daughter home. We knew because of COVID we wouldn't have the hands on support from loved ones that new parents need and there are truly no words to describe how much Joya's support meant to me. We initially booked a mix of day and night sessions the first 6 weeks and ended up extending until I went back to work at 12 weeks because I wasn't ready to let her go! The overnight sessions meant this exhausted mama could sleep, something that was so foreign those first few weeks. And while for a brief moment it seemed like a true luxury, it was actually an investment in my health and healing from labor and delivery which ended in an emergency c-section. Joya helped me get the most ideal latch and hold the c-section (maneuvering baby around incision was tough), maintain a robust supply and also build a decent stash in the freezer. When my supply dipped she helped me get it right back up. Because we didn't have access to in person childcare classes, I had quit a bit of anxiety about bringing baby home that I didn't expect since I had so much hands on experience with my Godchildren. Joya eased my first bath anxiety because I was worried I'd either make the water too hot and hurt her or too cold and make her uncomfortable, she showed us how to help baby receive gas, as gas was the culprit in our hardest nights, and even organized her room in a way that made middle of the night diaper (and sometimes clothing) changes easier. Most helpful of all her support was establishing good sleep habits and routines with our daughter that i'm sure will be life long if we keep up with her suggestions. At 3mos, she's slept through the night 4 times, so I think we're on the cusp of consistent restful nights ourselves! This was critical for me because sleep plays a huge factor in their development, behavior and overall wellness. Our baby is HARD to put down - sometimes we rock her for nearly 30 minutes - but has gotten easier over time the more we stick with tips from Joya. I felt like I had a shoulder to lean on in Joya, I felt seen and heard and no question seemed too small to ask. We only know what we know as first time parents and she gently and honestly offered her best guidance. I miss her already!!! I plan to bombard her with regular updates and cute pics of our daughter :) read more

My 13 months old son could not sleep on his own, and we used to hold him, pat him, and bounce on a Yogaball for 40mins to get him asleep during nights and naps. He used to sleep at 9pm, and wake up twice during the night, and he would not go back to sleep at 4:30 am in the morning. That means I had to do the Yogaball bouncing for 80 minutes every night and get up early at 4:30 in the morning. For the past year, I felt extremely exhausted. I could not bear it and luckily, I found Joya. she guided me through the sleep training program, which was amazingly efficient and gentle. After 3 weeks, my son could fall asleep on his own, and he can sleep from 8pm to 8am without waking up during the night. joya is my life saver. Highly recommend! read more

I am so thankful to have met and worked with Joya. We hired her as a postpartum doula when our second daughter was a couple weeks old. She is knowledgeable, kind, supportive, and great at communicating. Even during the height of COVID in our area we felt safe with her coming to our house because she was so clear about the additional precautions she was taking. She helped us develop a schedule/sleep pattern for our infant that got us longer stretches at night. I dealt with postpartum anxiety and depression and she was so sweet and helpful - she was taking care of me as much as the baby and it really helped me heal and become more confident in my parenting. I 100% recommend her. read more

Joya was so incredible! Of all of the experts & specialists to help us with our daughter, she was by far the most sensitive to the issues and attuned to our child. She could just as well have been telling the future - every one of her insights and directives for sleep-training went EXACTLY as predicted, which further assured us that she was the best person for the job. When we first started with her, our 4-month-old daughter was in complete control of our sanity. 3-4 months later, she surpassed all of our expectations - sleeping through the night, on schedule, on her own with nearly no need for us to attend to her. It's literally a life that we hadn't expected to see, and we couldn't be more grateful. Thank you!! read more

Joya is my an outstanding and amazing resource, sleep specialist, and doula!!! She literally is apart of my family now. We hired her as a doula to start with a Daddy Bootcamp to help empower my husband while I transitioned back to work. Then we continued the relationship by utilizing her as our sleep specialist. She is the baby whisperer! In addition, she understanding and knowledgably yet balances when to push you and when to back off. I have recommended her over and over again! My son literally went from sleeping in our bed to sleeping in room and through the night (12 hrs) in less than three weeks. read more

Joya was a lifesaver for us! Within days our almost 8 month old baby was sleeping for almost 12 hours overnight and in two weeks we had weaned her off dream feeds and had her on a regular nap schedule. I can't recommend Joya's services enough! read more

Our family is so thankful for Pediatric Sleep Specialists! I often wonder why we didn't contact them sooner. Thank God for this agency! We finally have our lives back! read more

My partner and I wanted support in sleep training our 9 month old daughter, as we moved her to her own room and eliminated night feeds. Joya assured us that it would take only two weeks for the baby to sleep through the night in her own room, using a gentle method that aligned with our preferences. We were skeptical given how far we had to go, but we followed Joya's plan and things went just as she had described. Joya was supportive, compassionate and brought a good sense of humor in addition to her expertise. We would recommend Joya's coaching to others seeking support in baby sleep matters. read more

We reached out to Joya as she was highly referred by a friend. I was reluctant to try a sleep coach as I thought my son was uncoachable. However, Joya was patient, yet stern and helped us (daddy and mommy) realize that we were part of the problem and to be accountable to being consistent with a schedule. She also identified other issues such as feeding portions and scheduling. Needless to say, after weeks with Joya our son is sleeping through the night and we are now working on attacking naps! read more

I reached out to Joya when my 12 month old was struggling with night time and day time sleep. She would wake up multiple times a night and cry for long periods until we went in to soothe her. It was exhausting and put a huge strain on my mental health. We tried the cry it out method and it was horrible. Joya's approach was successful and after 2-3 weeks we saw a huge improvement. She now consistently sleeps 11 hours/night and is a good napper! Joya offers a holistic approach, which is what we needed. Not only does she discuss sleep but meal time and how meals can impact sleep. I feel much more confident in what my little one needs AND equally important, my little one is thriving and is so happy!! read more

When we first came to Joya we were DESPERATE. My then 6-month babe had never slept more than 4 hours at a time, she was healthy but teeny, and we had a 3-person care team that was all over the map in terms of approach. Girlfriend had no set schedule. We also had an idea of what some (but not all) of the problems were but not idea how to even begin addressing. Every book/site/ app told us "they need to learn how to fall asleep on their own" and "put baby down awake" - but no one told us the HOW. We were also very committed to maintaining as much of a connected model as possible - no cry it out and no leaving baby alone. Joya was our answer to allll of the above and more. Her approach *works* and she was super accommodating to tailor to our needs. Not only that, but she also helped us transition successfully into the world of solids in the process. I'm typing this as I shed tears of joy. In a matter of 2-3 weeks my baby went from waking every 2ish hours to sleeping straight through the night 10.5 hours. Grateful and relieved do not begin to describe how we feel! If you are desperate and delirious, as we were, make the commitment and do not look back! read more

Joya is a lifesaver! When we reached out to her, we were at our wits end. I was struggling with PPD, my partner had just started a new job, and our little one needed to be held most of the night. Because sleeping and eating are so closely tied for infants, Joya took a holistic look at our daily routines. In doing so, she helped us to identify that our baby had an extreme dairy allergy that was impacting his sleep. She also gave us recommendations on everything from bottles to swaddles to a therapist that specializes in PPD. And once we addressed the dairy allergy, Joya helped us set up better sleep habits. She guided us through the 4 month regression and helped with the transition out of the swaddle and the bassinet. While all of this was happening, Joya spent a few nights with us observing our baby while allowing us to get some much needed sleep. She was always just a text or phone call away when questions came up. On top of all of that, Joya is warm and reassuring and helped ease our fears as panicked new parents. It was such a relief knowing we had Joya on our team! read more

We hired Joya to cover three overnights for us with my then 13 week-old during my first week back at work. She was professional, friendly, and empathetic. We had no qualms about leaving our child in her care overnight, and she took excellent care of him (in addition to helping with a few things around the house that made that week much easier for us). When my husband took our son to day care but forgot his milk at home the final morning (rookie mistake) Joya even volunteered to drop it off so that he didn't have to come get it and end up late for work! Joya also carefully observed our kiddo, how he ate, and how he slept, and her recommendations have made a HUGE difference. As new parents, you don't always know what it is that you don't know. Our baby had been struggling with reflux, as well as with gas that was keeping him (and us) up at night. Simethicone and gripe water helped some, but Joya watched him bottle-feed and pointed out where he was not latching very well on the bottle and was ingesting significant amounts of air. Per her suggestion, we changed the brand of bottle, and both the gas and reflux have significantly decreased. She also had us adjust his bedtime to be more age-appropriate, and she noted what we had not: our kiddo was still cold at night despite his layers and sleep sack. This was making it nearly impossible for him to get himself back to sleep when he woke in the middle of the night. She showed us how to keep him toasty and taught us how to assess whether he was warm enough. In just a few days he went from sleeping 2-4 hours at a stretch to sleeping 5-7 or more, and when he does need soothing we have an easier time getting him back to sleep. Can't recommend her highly enough! read more

Joya has been an absolute lifesaver for us. With family far away and this being our first baby we were completely lost when at 3 months old we had to rock her to sleep for long stretches for naps and bedtime. Joya's guidance and hands-on help was exactly what we needed. She helped us understand our daughter better and taught us how we could help her learn to fall asleep on her own. It was impressive how quickly our baby improved. Joya is such an attentive, sensitive and kind person. We also really appreciated her COVID-protocols (daily temperature checks) which made us feel very safe having her in our home and interacting with our baby. read more

Every new parent NEEDS Joya in their lives. We hired Joya as our postpartum doula and it was the best decision our family could have ever made. When our son was born two weeks early she was on the phone with us in the hospital providing advice and guidance. She FaceTimed with us at 10:00 at night and walked us through how to set up my pump, sterilize bottles, and establish a system to make feeding easier. The first time Joya came to our house after we left the hospital she could see how much help we needed and stayed hours beyond her scheduled time to help us care for our new baby, unpack and assemble baby items, organize our home, and even take care of me as I recovered. She cancelled her weekend plans to help our family when we desperately needed it, and I honestly don't know how we would have made it through those first days and nights without her. We initially only booked one week with Joya, but that quickly turned into another month, and then another two months after that. We booked night and day sessions with Joya and she taught my husband and I the basics of caring for our new baby, and tackling issues like gas, a tongue tie, and difficulties with feeding and sleep. We had a lot of challenges with sleep, but thanks to Joya we are now doing much better at four months. We look forward to continue working with her when our son is old enough to sleep train. Our baby also clearly loved Joya and we felt very comfortable leaving him in her hands overnight so we could get some rest. Joya is compassionate, knowledgeable, and extremely talented at what she does. If you have a baby or are expecting, I highly recommend working with Joya! read more

Not sure how we could have gotten through the "fourth trimester" without Joya! She was with us every step of the way, from reviewing my baby registry and making some great suggestions to what I did (and dIdn't) need, to offering invaluable expertise in navigating our first few nights at home, helping me map out a plan for pumping to support my breast feeding goals and giving us those precious extra hours of sleep by taking over night duties in those first key weeks. When it was time to start sleep shaping, she implemented her understanding of my child into a detailed plan for us to apply, all the while offering us advice and encouragement via text and calls. She did this all with in a warm, confident and pragmatic style which helped get us through the tougher aspects of new parenthood. I am a more confident parent because of her partnership! Every household and child could benefit from her talents! read more

Joya definitely changed our lives with our baby! I don't want to know where we'd be without her. Our baby girl was born in Oct. 2019 and always had issues with sleeping but it worsened around 4-5 months. She would wake constantly through the night - one of our first sleep logs before starting sleep training she woke 14 times. Naps were terrible with us having to rock her to sleep and she would wake up minutes later. We started sleep training with Joya and it only took one night for her to improve drastically. The second night we placed her down in her crib and she fell asleep within 10 minutes and slept peacefully. Within a few weeks she was sleeping fully through the night with no night feedings. Naps also improved drastically as well. We strongly recommend sleep training with Joya! Our baby girl is now 10 months old and I cant imagine if we had never done sleep training, what life would look like. It feels great to be able to just put her down in her crib and she falls asleep calmly on her own with no sleep props other than a sound machine. I think this also will have life long benefits for our daughter, helping her to be a strong sleeper and independent in general. read more