Can you help?
Have you ever thought your baby sleep challenges were beyond resolve?
Perhaps you've wondered if anyone else has dealt with the cards you've dealt with?
Everyday we hear from parents just like you, and they describe to us their story, and then they ask.....can you help?
Usually YES!
After 8 years and over 50,000 clients we're blessed to have experienced so many different cases with all of you....here are some of the more memorable cases you might be wondering about.
Pavlik harness
Pavlick harness's can either cause sleep disturbance when they are attached, or when they come off and baby has new found freedom!
"Working with Samantha when her son's harness came off, we both knew that he has a lot of movement milestones to catch up on when it came to sleep. He was 9 months and hadn't been able to roll over in his sleep, or pull up to crawl, so we had to be very patient as he needed to learn to roll over and self settle all in one consult. After 2 weeks sleep has settled down, and everyone was getting the rest they needed." ~Cara Auckland Sleep Consultant
Serious reflux
Reflux can be a serious condition which can either something your baby grows out of, or is triggered by an allergy. Your baby will be crying after feeds, pulling of the breast or bottle in pain, spilling or not (silent reflux). Medication can help but finding the right balance can be tricky and by the time all of that is sorted, often unfavorable sleep habits have settled in as a habit.
"It took me some time to even admit that she didn’t just have “normal” reflux, and to try Losec to see if we would get some improvement with feeding aversion from that.
We did find that the Losec only made things worse for Carys as she became very windy, but luckily for now we are keeping on top of it all with Gaviscon.
Getting feeding right is such a huge challenge for some Mums, and I admit now I was very hard on myself to try and get it right for Carys, so she could gain weight and be happy.
I wanted to breastfeed her for a year, and it was a hugely difficult challenge for me to overcome not feeding her breastmilk, especially when she did so well on it exclusively from a bottle." ~Sophie - Read more HERE
Sleep apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea can be caused by enlarged adenoids or tonsils, these can block your little ones air way when they sleep. This causes babies and toddlers to gasp for air and startle awake. These frequent wake ups are exhausting for both baby and mum, and can result in parents doing a lot of "what ever the heck works" to get baby back to sleep.
Hoping surgery will solve their problems, we often see surgery solve the breathing issue, but parents are left with a lot of sleep associations to correct.
Parents John and Sarah experienced obstructive sleep apnea for years before they got any help with sleep. Neve was booked into star ship at age 2 for corrective surgery and this went surprisingly well.
Home by day 2, and off pain meds by day 10. But 3 weeks down the track and Neve was still waking 2 hourly at night looking to be given bottles or held back to sleep. "These sleep associations were hangovers from her days of waking starting with breathing. Now they were a habit we needed to change," tells Karen, Auckland sleep consultant.
FPIES
This sounds like an option from the old Georgie pie days, but alas it is much more scary than that!
FPIES stands for Food Protein-Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome.
FPIES is a non-IgE mediated immune reaction in the gastrointestinal system to one or more specific foods. Often the main culprit is Dairy, a.k.a cow’s milk protein. Babies with an FPIES allergy to cows milk, won’t have the same skin reactions that IgE allergy babies do.
The first baby I helped with FPIES could only eat 5 foods at that stage, I was under strict conditions to avoid dairy before I came over, and needed to ensure I had no contact with pets that day.
Dad had left his job to look after bubs at this stage as daycare was far too dangerous!
Due to the scary violent vomiting, dehydration, and near death experiences dad was bed sharing to be near bubs all night, but her frequent wake ups were taking her toll, so they called me in for an overnight.
We took it slowly, but over 2 weeks we made huge changes and despite the serious conditions everyone was getting more sleep!
A little bit of self settling, a little bit of routine, a little bit of support and everyone sleeping!
Allergies
Having a baby with allergies, whether its cows milk protein, or nuts or eggs, the road to sleep isn't easy. Their tummies are hurting, they often suffer from low weight gain, sore skin and mum is super worried with all the symptoms.
Often sleep suffers due to pain and discomfort, but this doesn't have to the be the beginning and end of the sleep journey.
Gemma tells us....
"It wasn’t his fault and it wasn’t mine. The line between habit and pain became blurred so I continued to do what I had to do for him to get some sleep and for me to survive and do what I could to minimise his distress and screaming."
Read how we helped her here.
Heart conditions
Babies come to us with serious conditions such as heart defects, we evaluate the families situation, and work with clearance from their doctor or specialist to solve their sleep problems in the most gentle way possible.
"We decided on no cry sleep training due to Hannah’s heart condition, and mum was the most patient I have ever witnessed!
By night 4 baby Hannah slept through the night, and after 3 days of nap training after her assisted naps, is also a dream to put down for her naps."
We've also helped babies with special needs, deaf babies, toddlers recovering from cancer, and toddlers with traumatic brain injuries, we've helped foster families, and adoptive parents.
All of these experiences make us uniquely qualified to help you and your family too. You don't have to have an extraordinary situation to fit the bill, but know if your baby does fit into any of these situations, sleep wont be lost for ever!
Every family we meet is special and unique to us, and we take all of our joint experience helping all of these amazing families and use this to create sleep plans for families we know you'll be happy to use, and we know will work.
Whether you choose to work with us one on one, or try our online sleep program, we've got you covered, and we're here to help.
Can you help?
Yes!
Emma Purdue
Emma is the owner and founder of Baby Sleep Consultant, she is a certified infant and child sleep consultant, Happiest Baby on the block educator, has a Bachelor of Science, a Diploma in Education, and a certificate in infant sleep from the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne.
Emma is a mother to 3 children, and loves writing when she isn't working with tired clients and cheering on her team helping thousands of mums just like you.
Our Baby Sleep Program helps tired parents TO DEVELOP HEALTHY SLEEP HABITS BY FOCUSING ON NAPS, SETTLING AND NIGHT SLEEP.
- Empowered: Feel empowered as a Mum as you learn to understand your growing baby's needs and cues.
- Simple effective settling: Gentle, proven self settling, evidence based techniques.
- Content happy baby and parents: Better sleep creates content babies & happy parents.
- Freedom: Predictable routines and longer nights creates freedom. Solve your sleep problems for more freedom.
- Work with your babies circadian rhythm: Work with your babies biological clock for faster easier results.
- Awesome naps & nights: You'll create consistent naps and nights with our support.
Try our online sleep program, complete with FREE email support.
My baby has reflux can you help?
When your baby has reflux, feeds can be difficult and your baby can be in a lot of pain both during and after feeds. This pain can cause feeding aversions and failure to thrive. This is why true GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease) needs to be treated by a doctor. Once your baby's doctor is satisfied your baby is feeding well, and you have the right medication or formula then we can start a sleep plan and you will be successful.
My baby has colic will this help?
Colic is defined as 3 or more hours of crying per day in infants. Crying subsides in the second second trimester. If you are still experiencing colic symptoms speak to your baby's doctor about whether this could be reflux, an allergy, or over tiredness. We can help you work on better sleep with this program at the same time as your doctor investigates the pain and crying.
What if the program isn't working?
We have a dedicated help line to ensure your success. Just email our team via the details in your program and a certified, experienced and friendly sleep consultant is ready to stare you in the right direction to ensure your success!
My baby was born early, can you help?
Sleep is neurological so we always work off your babies neurological age, that is their corrected age. When you look at our sleep programs purchase the program that your babies corrected age fits into.
What if I have questions or need more help?
Our sleep programs come with private email support. You don’t have to post in any public forums or groups, just email the exclusive helpline that our team of certified sleep consultants look after and we’ll answer all your questions and help you on your way.
Can this program help with my babies night sleep?
Yes, all our online sleep programs contain night sleep plans. We will teach you how to move from multiple night feeds to 2 or 1 or none (depending on what is age appropriate and appropriate for your baby.) Don’t worry we will show you to figure this out too. If your baby is unsettled at night but not feeding, our plans will help you with consolidate night sleep and self settling when age appropriate.
My baby is cat napping can you help?
Cat napping is a very normal physiological stage that your baby goes through. At this stage (3-8 months old), cat napping can start to be a long term issue and compound into over tiredness and affect night sleep and your babies happiness. Good news, this is a great age to work on re-settling, self settling and better longer naps!
I have 3 children, can this work with my family?
I totally understand how busy life is with 2, 3 or more children! Even if you need a flexible schedule we can still work on settling regular naps (some on the go!), and better evenings and night. Flick our consultants any specific questions about your family's schedule of activities and we can help you work out what is possible nap wise.
I don't want a fixed routine, can you still help?
Yes. A fixed routine is one option, regular naps and regular awake times is another. Both are valid and you are welcome to do what works for your family. We understand you are all different and what works best for one family won't be best for another.
I'm formula feeding, can you still help?
Yes we have specific advice for formula feeding parents, and we support your decision to feed any way you choose. We even have a special video series on formula feeding and everything you need to know. Just ask our consultants about this extra if you need it.
I'm exclusively breastfeeding, can I follow your plans?
Yes! While breastfeeding babies need to feed frequently they still need quality sleep day and night. We have specific advice for breastfeeding mums and an exclusive discount on Julia Daleys breastfeeding course if you need extra help.
I'm bed sharing, can your program help me stop?
Yes. We often fall into bed sharing, we call this reactive bed sharing. Or we have simply changed our mind, and moving on from bed sharing we need some support. Our programs and consults will guide you through gentle sleep methods, which are more appropriate for most bed sharing babies who are moving towards independent sleep in the cot.
I'm feeding to sleep, can you help me stop?
Yes. Feeding to sleep is a common sleep association and one that works well for lots of newborns. Often we need to move on from feeding to sleep when it starts to cause short naps, or prolonged settling or frequent night wake ups as baby looks for their association to go back to sleep over and over again at night. We can teach you how to teach your baby to self settle and move on from feeding to sleep when the time is right.
I'm rocking to sleep, is their a solution?
Yes. These are common sleep associations, we refer to this as assisting to sleep. Let us show you ways you can develop independent sleep and settling strategies with our online sleep program, or one on one consult.
Is this program based on Cry It Out?
No. Cry it out is the common name for a sleep training method where you put baby down and don’t respond or check until they are fast asleep. There is no CIO involved in this program as we feel this should be only done under proper supervision. Instead we have included all our very gentle approaches and more mainstream techniques for you to choose from.
Is this based on Science or Art?
Both! As a scientist I (Emma) have spent over 8 years researching the science of sleep. I have educated and certified over 500 consultants around the world as sleep consultants, and have worked with thousands of clients. I love the scientific explanations of why we see the sleep patterns we see, and this science helps us to shape plans and solutions that we know will work. But there's an element of art to getting a baby to sleep, understanding the right combination of things that will work best, and this is where your instinct comes in.
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