At the core of my approach is following sound biological and neurological knowledge that we need sleep to stay alive; therefore I work with the understanding that babies arrive into the world knowing ‘how’ to sleep.
I start by reviewing the baby’s sleep environment and current routine to ensure that they are conducive to sleep. I will also enquire about current feeding/food intake to ensure that hunger is not a factor, as babies need ‘fuel’ to sleep. After these key factors have been addressed, I will start to work with the parent/s, and directly with the children where appropriate, to implement the correct age-appropriate timing and settling techniques.
I am committed to educating and empowering parents to be confident to follow their parenting instincts, and to helping simplify the minefield of 21st century parenting.
The short answer is No. My approach is not the same as these methods. However, depending on the age and temperament of your child and how many changes we need to make, the reality is that there may be some noise (whinging, grizzling and/or crying) involved. The majority of bedtime noise is, in fact, not emotional. It is typically due to:
- baby protesting a change to their usual bedtime routine
- the timing not being right for their current needs (overtired/undertired)
- an adrenalin release.
Imagine if you were used to being lulled to sleep every night with a lovely relaxing massage – would you be happy for that to stop? Would you complain or demand for pamper time to be reinstated? Or, imagine you went to sleep during a nice warm snuggle with a loved one, but then woke up soon after in bed on your own. Would that be a little jarring? As part of the process, we may need to adjust baby’s sleep environment and/or tweak their routine. This may lead to some protest in the short term until they adjust to the changes.
Crying at bedtime may also be baby letting you know that they’re not quite ready for sleep yet, or they were ready for sleep a while ago and now they’re overtired.
Making some noise can actually be positive, as babies can only switch off their internal sensory systems once their hormones are balanced correctly. If, for example, their adrenalin level is higher than their serotonin and melatonin levels, the only way they know to right the balance is to cry to expel the adrenalin. This is why, first and foremost, we will focus on tummy (food intake) and timings to give baby the best possible chance of going to sleep, and minimise as much ‘noise’ as we possibly can.
This largely depends on the age and personality of your child; however in most instances it takes 3–5 days to make a behavioural change and 5–7 days to consolidate. It will also depend on which variable has been the main precursor driving the sleep issues. If it is linked to food intake (hunger) it is fixed as soon as this need is met. If it is due to parental behaviours, it will take a couple of challenging days before we start to see improvement. However, it is worth the persistence and consistency, and you will have my full support along the way to keep you committed to the long-term goal of a healthy, happy, independent sleeper.
The younger, the better, so that we can keep sleep cues on a biological and instinctive level. If you are having any sleep issues, I suggest you reach out as soon as possible as it only gets more difficult to break problematic behaviours as children grow older.
Secondly, children with a healthy sleep foundation tend to cope better with developmental leaps, illness and teething.
Lastly, and most importantly, 70–80% of a child’s adult neural pathways are created during their first three years of life and most of this development occurs during sleep. If your child is not given the opportunity to get enough sleep, they also will not grow and develop as they should.
I work with children up to 8 years old.
I genuinely believe that all healthy infants, with no underlying medical conditions, have the potential to be ‘good sleepers’. All babies arrive into the world knowing how to sleep, since we have to sleep for neurological survival. How well a healthy baby actually sleeps on a deep biological level comes down to a few variables – no pain/discomfort, a full tummy, tight adjusted awake times, and their parents/carers supporting them to use their own cues and skills from birth. Where the differences lie between different babies is the total amount of sleep. Some babies will need less sleep than others, but the variances are quite small.
Absolutely! The majority of my days are filled with sleep issues as this seems to be what parents struggle with most. However, I am also able to help with behaviour, development and feeding. I can also support you as parents and assist you in finding the most appropriate healthcare provider if you have more complex issues and I am unable to help.
I generally recommend following the correct age-appropriate awake times that are adjusted according to how the day is unfolding, rather than a tight, set routine. For some children this may mean that things do happen at a similar time each day (e.g. one day nap between 12–2pm), but for others who are younger and require more naps there will be some differences day to day. The key thing is keeping their hormone levels balanced throughout the day by ensuring they do not become overtired. It is the total amount of sleep in each 24-hour period that is most important.
For many families, especially those with more than one child, it’s not possible to be at home all day offering naps in the cot. The idea behind encouraging natural sleep is they are given the opportunity to recognise their own cues and do not have to wait for a parental prop to signal sleep time, so are more flexible in being able to sleep in different places as the need arises.
I’ve been doing this for a long time and every few months a parent shows me a new gadget that I didn’t know existed, marketed to them with a promise that it will make their child sleep! Examples of parental props or sleep aids include Lulla dolls, special lights, white noise, dummies, the SNOO bassinet, ‘shush’ machines, rockit shaker for prams, etc.
What do all of these things have in common? They interrupt the baby’s natural sleep instinct. Babies are born with the biological ability to sleep. When we introduce all these gadgets, perhaps alongside settling techniques like bouncing, rocking, driving, and feeding to sleep, we start to teach a baby that this is what they need in order to sleep. Not only are these gadgets unnecessary, but they’re also a waste of money and add complexity to your life – more to remember to pack every time you leave the house! AND some of them can actually negatively impact the quality of baby’s sleep. Inevitably you’re going to need to wean your baby off these sleep aids at some stage, so my recommendation is to never introduce them and to support your baby to do what they are biologically capable of.
If you have started using some of these gadgets I can support you to remove them, either by gradual weaning or going cold turkey. Our approach would depend on the item itself, how it is being used, and the child.
There is no question that breastmilk is wonderful for a baby and that breastfeeding can be an easy and low-cost solution for those mothers who have a smooth and positive breastfeeding experience. However, I have found over the years that breastfeeding is challenging for many women who then soldier on under the pressure of the ‘breast is best’ ethos. Not only can this impact the mother’s experience and emotional wellbeing, but it can also result in a hungry baby who then doesn’t sleep well, as hunger overrides the sleep instinct.
The long-term benefits of sleep far surpass the benefits of breastmilk. Seventy to eighty percent of a child’s adult neural pathways will be created during their first three years of life. However, almost all of this development occurs during sleep. So, put simply, if your baby is not getting adequate sleep, they will not have the opportunity to grow and develop as they should.
Therefore I passionately support the ‘fed is best’ mentality. I have seen breastfed babies go from tired catnappers to brilliant sleepers with the simple implementation of a formula/EBM top up.
I would never tell my clients they need to stop breastfeeding, but we do need to ensure that baby isn’t hungry as part of the process. One we have eliminated hunger as a factor affecting baby’s sleep (which may have absolutely nothing to do with their breastfeeding experience), we look into all the other potential factors.
My consultations all include an amount of follow-up support, depending upon which package you book. During this time I continue to work with you to support you in making the changes required to improve your child’s sleep. It is rare that a client requires more than one consultation for the same child during the same stage; however an additional consultation and follow-up support can be arranged at a reduced rate should you feel you need this.
I do often have parents return to me for future consultations as their child grows and enters new phases (hello terrible twos!) or with the birth of a new bub. I am honoured to help my families throughout all stages of their child’s life. I am still in contact with many families years down the track and enjoy receiving updates and photos to celebrate many different milestones.
The success of your consultation is largely dependent upon your commitment to the process and, given this, I am unable to provide a monetary guarantee. I do however guarantee that I will do my absolute utmost to help you and your family by sharing my years of education and experience. I also include follow-up support in all of my packages to allow me to work with you to fine-tune your routine and continue to make recommendations to ensure we achieve a positive outcome. Sometimes it takes some tweaks and adjustments to get it right, but I am committed to getting the best outcome for your family.
I try to be as flexible as possible as I understand that children and sleep deprivation can be difficult to juggle. I am happy to reschedule an appointment if necessary as some things do happen but I do however charge 50% of the consultation fee for a last-minute cancellation within 24 hours of the scheduled time.
