Reality TV star reigniting debate over sleep training your baby

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A reality TV show star is reigniting the debate over sleep training your baby. Some question whether it's responsible or over-the-top to hire a professional trainer.

This mom paid a professional to train her infant while she and her husband went away. Some think it's smart while others call it irresponsible.

Working mom of two Katy Landrum calls it "the best money I've ever spent" - paying someone else hundreds of dollars to sleep train her 3-month-old baby.

"Since we were planning on hiring a sleep trainer and we had an upcoming night away, we thought you know, why not save myself the heartache," Landrum said.

In an online article for Redbook Magazine, the 34-year-old real estate agent, part of HGTV's "Selling Los Angeles," wrote that "at $30 an hour, bringing a professional in to manage the process seemed like a no-brainer."

She then planned a getaway to a luxury California spa and report because, "I didn't want to be in earshot of Bo's weeping. Treating ourselves to a restful retreat meant we could try to enjoy ourselves instead of dwelling on what was taking place at home."

Landrum said, "I was so nervous, I kept trying to come up with reasons why he wasn't ready to do it yet."

Sleep training babies can be a controversial issue. "It's usually not that black and white. Often, it's a blend of methods depending on the baby and what the parents feel comfortable with," Dr. Tanya Altmann said. "What may be right for one family may not be right for another family."

"I know that it's controversial for people to sleep train, but for me being a working mom of two, it was just something that I felt strongly about," Landrum said.

Landrum's article has now been shared thousands of times online with many commenting. One person wrote, "This is so selfish." Another said, "If a woman doesn't have time to be a parent, she shouldn't have kids."

But many others came to her defense. One person wrote, "I'm all for making home life happy and rested for both parents."