Newborns have not yet developed the ability to learn to settle themselves to sleep independently, so we focus more on setting up an environment that supports sleep, without the expectations that we place on older babies who are neurologically able to learn to self settle (between 4-6m). My ‘Welcome Home’ Sleep Package focuses on your little one’s sleep environment, awake windows, settling techniques, and tricks to tackle classic newborn issues such as ‘my little one won’t sleep in her bassinet’ and ‘how do I encourage longer naps and stop the cat napping?’.

There are a variety of sleep training methods that you can use to help build new, positive sleep habits, or change existing ones! I will provide you with the information and guidance so that you can choose the method that you think will suit both, considering your little ones temperament, without compromising your parenting philosophies.

You can absolutely employ age appropriate techniques to teach your little one to build healthy sleep habits at any age, but it definitely helps to start early! Between the age of 4-6m is a really great time to start gently introducing self-settling, if you haven’t already! Once your little one learns to crawl and stand in their cot, there is an added layer of fun associated with sleep training, hehe! And of course, toddlers and pre-schoolers are incredibly smart, persistent, and stubborn (sometimes more stubborn than their parents!) and they know how to talk (and yell!), so this can be a challenging time, too! I provide you with loads of tools for every age and stage, so nothing is impossible!

The best time to begin is when you’ve got a relatively free 2-3 weeks, where you can spend time focusing on your new routine without too many disruptions. If you have travel planned, or it’s a particularly busy or stressful period of time for you, I would suggest waiting until things are a little quieter, to set you up for success!

I certainly can! All of my packages offer video/phone calls and support using platforms such as Whatsapp, which means that no matter where you are I can support you through your little one’s sleep journey!

Yes absolutely – I will always support you, no matter which sleep training method you choose to use, and how you choose to feed your little one! Depending on age, I may touch on topics such as ‘feeding to sleep’, covering the impacts of this as a sleep association, and how you can separate the feed from the sleep, so that your little one can learn to go back to sleep without requiring your breast each time.

The American Academy of Paediatrics advocates for co-sleeping in the form of room-sharing (as opposed to bed-sharing) due to the increased risk of SIDS for young children, particularly those under the age of 1yr. The safest place for your baby to sleep is in their own sleep space, on their back, and in the absence of any bedding or items that can cause entrapment or suffocation. In the interest of ensuring that my advice places your little one in the safest possible environment for sleep, I follow these guidelines. I am more than happy to work with families who are looking to move away from co-sleeping, to independent sleeping.

Absolutely not. Just like us adults, children have their own personalities, their own temperaments, and they can have their own natural (or environmental) tendency to be wakeful or to enjoy their sleep! For some children, sleep just clicks for them! Sleep training is a very useful tool for little ones that have issues surrounding sleep! But if your little one is getting plenty of sleep, and there are no issues for you or your little one, then there is no need for you to sleep train!

Absolutely not. Just like dropping your little one off at daycare each day, or refusing them their 3rd cookie, sleep training can cause little ones to express their emotions, and for babies and young children, this typically comes out as crying. I understand that this can feel distressing for parents at times, but just know that there are various gentle ways that you can approach sleep training in order to fully support your child, in the room, through this big transition. I also advocate for plenty of ‘wind down’ time together – A great opportunity for you to bond and connect with your little one before settling them to sleep.

While it’s true that the older children get, the trickier they can be to sleep train (think about how clever and stubborn your toddler can be!), it absolutely doesn’t mean that you can’t help them build great new habits! I really enjoy working with children in their toddler and preschool years – There is a whole different set of tools that you can employ here and honestly, you can have some good fun with them, too!

Depending on the method in which you choose to use, you can start to see great results from about 3 days – 2 weeks. Gentle, in-the-room methods can take a little longer, but allow you to remain close to your little one as they learn these new skills. More out-of-the-room techniques generally achieve results the quickest, offering your little one the space to learn to settle themselves to sleep, while still ‘checking in’ at intervals, which can really suit the temperament of some young children.

There are a number of reasons why sleep training hasn’t worked out for some people. There can be underlying health issues that require medical support rather than sleep training to address, such as sleep apnea. There can be feeding issues or nutritional imbalances, inhibiting the child's ability to sustain themselves overnight, meaning no matter how hard you try, you just can’t get your little one to sleep through the night! It can also depend on the method you used, and whether that worked well with your little one’s temperament. And it can also depend on your ability to remain consistent and persistent throughout the process, as it’s easy to fall back into old habits, especially at night when you are very tired! This can be incredibly confusing to your little one, and can slow or halt your progress. If you’ve tried before and you would like to try again, please know that you really can do it! I would highly recommend taking advantage of my 2 week Extended Sleep Support Plan, to ensure you are well supported through those crucial early weeks of sleep training!

Yes, of course you can! Working alongside Daycare can be tricky, particularly if they have policies around sleep times or not waking babies etc. I always encourage families to have good open discussions with their Daycare, to try and come to an agreement on the best possible sleep outcome for your little one. If you find Daycare works against your wishes, that’s OK – There is still plenty that you can do for your little one in the hours and days surrounding Daycare, and you can absolutely employ your routine and sleep training tools during these times!

Waking a little one from their sleep can feel like you’re doing the exact opposite of what you’re wanting to achieve – more sleep! It can also interrupt your lovely child-free time, which can be so important both for your mental health, and also getting all of those jobs done that just won’t do themselves! But there is method in the madness, I promise you! Once your little one gets into a really good sleep rhythm, you will end up with a little one that sleeps predictably, during biological nap windows (meaning it’s wonderfully restorative sleep!), giving you all of that time back, to do what you need to do, for you!

Children often need more comfort while they are sick, which can result in them waking more often overnight than they normally do, and calling out for that needed comfort. I advocate for doing what you feel is best here! If you feel your child just has a sniffle, then you may find they can still settle themselves back to sleep, without the need for extra intervention, and you can continue with your sleep training efforts as normal. If you feel that your child is quite unwell, do what you need to do to comfort your little one and achieve some sleep - You can pick up your sleep training once your little one is feeling better!

Traveling can really rock your little one – Everything is unfamiliar and it’s particularly hard if you are changing time zones! You can definitely try to work on your settling, sleep environment, and other healthy habits while you are away, but your little one could struggle with the unfamiliarity or change in time zones! Because of this, I would suggest waiting until you are settled in, or back home before attempting to make substantial changes to your little ones’ sleep.