FAQs

Of course! I offer a 'Sleep teach' package which gives parents a valuable insight into the sleep behaviour of newborns. We discuss rhythms/cycles of sleep and I teach you how to help your baby learn the 'skill' of sleep. I'll advise on the positive sleep associations you can put in place with a manageable bedtime routine. We put in place a routine which shapes your baby's feed schedule to facilitate sleep in the day and night. I provide you with the best advice on how you can lengthen the periods your baby sleeps during the night and the ways in which you can begin to encourage sleep independence.

Of course! It is never necessary to end breastfeeding in order to successfully sleep train your child. Breastfeeding is such a comforting experience for babies and toddlers and you can hold on to feedings and still encourage healthy sleep habits.

There are many approaches and gentle techniques that work. It can be exhausting for mother and child when a dependence on the breast to settle to sleep has been formed. We will review the milk calories your child needs and ensure these continue to be offered. A child with a feed to sleep association can still be fed in the night. The frequency, duration and way in which your child is resettled will be the focus.

Of course! My gentle techniques to approach settling to sleep and night wakings can be applied in the same way even if sharing a room. If you are in the same bed, there are still many ways to ensure you all get a good night’s sleep. I also work with many families who are looking to help their child with a smooth transition into their own beds. If this is what you have decided, I have many supportive techniques to positively effect these changes as peacefully as possible.

The packages I provide are not overnight services where I take over the bedtime routine and respond during the night. I believe it is those members of the family who have the closest bond/attachment to the child who are the right people to support and effect changes which might initially be met with uncertainty. Through a carefully considered and personalised plan alongside the right support, I will give you the confidence and skills you need to address the sleep issues you are facing.

I chose to become a child sleep consultant to support families in achieving the sleep they need. I have worked hard to establish loving, independent and really effective sleep routines in each of my own children and we have embraced the benefits of this. Children who sleep well, cope better with the demands of each day, with reduced levels of frustration and behavioural outbursts. They learn and thrive in the day and consolidate their learning within restorative sleep at nap and bedtime.

My sleep training techniques work with families who consistently apply them because they are committed to seeing a change. My techniques are personalised to the family unit as a whole and I recognise the differences in nature and personality of the child. I do not apply a 'one size fits all' approach. Where a method hasn’t worked, it is owing to family choice/dynamic, timing or underlying medical issues.

I am committed to supporting you through your personalised sleep solution and helping you to achieve success.

When booking your sleep package, I request a refundable (see T&Cs) £50 deposit to secure your consultation date. The outstanding sum is then paid in full on the day of our consultation. Payment plans are available and can be discussed over the telephone before booking our consultation date. A £50 deposit is always required.

Each consultation and sleep plan is very carefully personalised to the family and child and so it is not possible to share a consultation.

If you would like to share a sleep workshop, I am able to visit an agreed location and tailor the focus around the age of the children. We will then have ample opportunity to discuss and troubleshoot specific sleep problems and practice a range of techniques that you could use. You will not receive an individual sleep plan. You will not receive any follow up support unless you book and pay for the 'add ons' outlined in my 'Packages' area.

If you choose a full sleep package, you will receive up to 10 hours of my time. I will review and assess the information you send me prior to our meeting and begin to look closely at patterns. We will spend 2 hours in our face to face consultation, I prepare the sleep plan and give the tailored support you need with follow up calls and unlimited email access. The value for money you receive is more than simply my outlay of time. The highest value is in the results which are tangible for all. The skills you learn enable everyone to gain the rest and energy needed to embrace the demands of a new day. Most importantly, a child learning the skill of sleep, learns a skill for life. They achieve age appropriate independence and benefit infinitely from gaining the essential sleep they need to thrive, grow and learn. This, I think is priceless.

It's very easy to label a baby/child a 'bad sleeper' and accept their lack of sleep. Whilst children may have a comparably low sleep need to others of the same age and demonstrate reasonably good coping strategies within this, it's extremely important for your child's well being and health they are able to get the sleep they need. In fact, children who are over tired and functioning on less sleep than needed will take up to six times as long to settle to sleep and wake more regularly at night. Accepting short naps, late bed times, regular night waking and early rising will make for a very tired child (and parent!) and perpetuate the problem.

All babies/children have different personalities and temperaments and may react to my techniques in different ways. I aim to gather as much information from you about your child from our consultation and will ask what methods/strategies you have tried before. If one method is heavily resisted and we need to tweak it/change it, we will. At every step of the way, I offer my full support and we will keep your child and their unique personality at the heart of the solution.

I have an extensive background in working with children and hold a current DBS check.

I qualified and worked for ten years as a primary school teacher prior to having children and then continued to tutor school aged children privately for a number of years. Becoming a mother is perhaps my biggest qualification! I know what many of my clients are going through, I understand the challenges and demands on families and know what lack of sleep feels like!

In addressing the sleep challenges of my own children, I remained motivated by the importance and benefits of sleep. My goal was to fill my children with confidence, for them to know I would always offer comfort and be 100% responsive to their needs yet to teach them the skill of independent sleep. My success in establishing good routines and healthy sleep habits in my own children led to friends asking for advice and my offering help.

I successfully completed with distinction training with the 'Home Affairs Academy' in 'Sleep Training for babies, children and young people.' As your sleep consultant, I am covered with public liability and professional indemnity assurance. I am obliged to remain abreast of government guidance in regards to safe sleep and will include this in my advice. My techniques and practices are gentle, supportive and in line with current research.