Success Stories
Here you will find examples of families I have worked with to help their children sleep better. I want you to see that going through tough periods of sleep is really common and something can always be done to improve sleep. I’ve edited names, genders and ages to protect client privacy.
Poppy 3 Years
Sleep Challenge: Poppy is an energetic, always on the go, happy toddler. She had never really “slept through the night” consistently and would routinely wake up a couple of times in the early hours. She would need lots of support to get back to sleep. Bedtime could also be difficult as her parents would need to lie in or next to her bed until she fell asleep - which could take a long time. Poppy also has an older sister so her parents were having to take it in turns to do each bedtime meaning they didn’t get much of an evening together.
Results: Poppy’s mum was concerned that any sleep methods wouldn’t work with Poppy because she was older. After completing the pre-consultation questionnaire, I was able to see what kind of temperament Poppy had and what kind of parenting style her parents had. During the consultation I was able to make suggestions for changes and methods that we could use which were: a) age appropriate b) gentle and responsive c) Poppy would love and want to get involved in. We focused on small changes and lots of connection prior to bedtime.
After a couple of weeks, bedtime was calm, quick and enjoyable. Poppy was happy in her sleep space and if she did wake in the night she could get herself back to sleep no problem. Poppy’s mum described the results as “game changing”.
Maeve 20 Months
Sleep Challenge: Maeve is a very happy toddler. She started going to nursery a few times a week a couple of months ago. She also loves her cot, often asking to get in at the end of her bedtime routine. However, she was waking in the night and requiring a lot of support to get back to sleep. She was calling out for her mum and her parents were exhausted. She was napping for a couple of hours everyday which is appropriate for her age. Maeve is advanced in all of her developmental milestones and her speech has recently come on a lot.
Results: Maeve’s mum was hesitant about using a sleep consultant as she wasn’t sure if it would be valuable at this age. We talked through the recent changes in Maeve’s routine and her developmental milestones. We concluded it was likely a combination of requiring reconnection at bedtime after being at nursery all day, lots of speech development and a nap that was slightly too long. We tackled all of these at once and within a few days Maeve was sleeping through most nights. If she did wake, she settled herself back to sleep no problem. Maeve’s mum said it was great to get help and an actionable plan that was bespoke for her daughter.
Archie 3 Months
Sleep Challenge: Archie’s parents reached out when they felt like they really couldn’t continue with sleep the way it was. He wouldn’t settle in his cot at all, which meant they were taking it in turns to sit up at night with him asleep on them, he would only be fed back to sleep even when he wasn’t hungry. Archie’s mum didn’t want to stop feeding to sleep completely but she needed another way to settle him as he was waking every hour and she wanted him to sleep in the cot so she and her partner could get some much needed sleep.
Results: As Archie is still in the newborn phase the methods we used were all related to sleep foundations. We wanted to be sure that we were giving him the best chance to optimise his sleep. We worked on a gentle routine to get the balance of his day/night sleep on track, introduced some new sleep associations so he could be settled with or without a feed and we practiced settling in the cot for his first nap and at bedtime. The follow up support was crucial here as we needed to learn his wake windows and get the routine right for his individual sleep needs. After a few days his nap routine was much better and more predictable. By week two he was having his first nap of the day in the cot and by week three he was achieving 3 hour stretches overnight in the cot in between feeds. He was even managing to get himself back to sleep if he woke in the night and didn’t need a feed. His parents were so pleased with his progress and very happy to have their evenings back and the ability to go to bed knowing they would be achieving a much more manageable amount of sleep. The combination of gentle settling methods and optimising his routine and sleep environment has helped to set Archie up to be a great sleeper!
Isabelle 7 Months
Sleep Challenge: Isabelle’s parents contacted me when they were finding it hard to put a routine together for their daughter. She was sleeping a lot during the day and waking up hourly in the night. They were co-sleeping for most of the night which they wanted to move away from as it was disrupting their sleep. Isabelle’s mum was also conscious that she was going back to work soon so she wanted to feel confident that she would be getting more sleep by then to make work and home life manageable.
Results: To begin with we focused on Isabelle’s routine. Getting her wake windows and nap times right would really cut down those night wakings. She was currently doing three naps a day which were all about an hour, sometimes longer, and they would be at various times. I suggested an age appropriate routine which we steadily tweaked over the first week to get it spot on for Isabelle’s sleep needs. We also did lots of cot practice using a gentle sleep method her parents were comfortable with. She quickly got the hang of having her morning nap in the cot and she was also settling quickly in the cot at bedtime for a few hours. Over the next couple of weeks we worked on the night wakings and even managed to move Isabelle to her own room with no fuss at all. She was very happy in her cot. At the end of the three weeks, Isabelle’s mum was really happy because the new routine meant she had structure to her day so she could fit in baby classes and other social events without compromising Isabelle’s sleep. She was also able to settle her in the cot quickly in the night after a feed. Everyone was getting more sleep - which is the goal!
Katie 6 Years
Sleep Challenge: Katie’s mum reached out because she had tried everything to tackle bedtime battles and nothing seemed to work. Katie was taking 2-3 hours to go to sleep after lights out every night. This had been going on for 18 months and appeared to be getting worse. She wanted Katie to be happy in her bedroom and to go to sleep after lights out within 30 minutes.
Results: Working on sleep at this age can be tricky because lots of habits have been formed and there are behavioural aspects which need to be resolved using methods appropriate to both the child and the parenting style. However, working on sleep can also be fun and engaging! Our focus, primarily, was to move away from bedtime being a battle and make it something both Katie and her parents would enjoy. We introduced a bedtime routine focused on reconnection and calm. We also focused on Katie’s need for independence and control and gave her a reward chart based around each section of bedtime. We used sleep meditation for kids to help Katie wind down before lights out which she loved. Additionally, as her body clock was so used to falling asleep between 10-11pm we slowly brought bedtime forward over a couple of weeks. The combination of an optimal bedtime routine, setting firm boundaries and resetting her body clock meant within three weeks Katie was settling herself to sleep within 30 minutes of bedtime. Both she and her parents did incredibly well to commit to the plan and see it through and what a difference it has made. Katie is now getting an extra 2.5 hours of sleep a night and her parents no longer dread bedtime. Amazing results!
Charlie 19 Months
Sleep Challenge: Charlie is a very chilled toddler. Happy to go with the flow. In the middle of the action at home with his older sister and at nursery with his friends. His parents contacted me because they had got into a cycle of bed-sharing with Charlie since they moved house a few months ago. He had shared a room with his sister before that and now he had his own room he struggled at bedtime (sometimes taking up to 3 hours to fall asleep) and if he woke in the night he ended up in their bed so they could all get some sleep. Their goal was to get Charlie to fall asleep independently at bedtime and if he woke in the night, get himself back to sleep.
Results: We decided to start with a review of Charlie’s routine. His lunchtime nap varied from one hour to two and a half hours. Looking at his sleep diary, I noticed that bedtime was usually more successful on the days he had a shorter nap so we decided to standardise his nap at one hour and fifteen minutes. Charlie’s mum also spoke with his nursery provider to ensure they didn’t let him sleep too long. We also introduced some reconnection activities into Charlie’s bedtime routine to help with the resistance to go to bed. Once Charlie’s routine was settled, bedtime became a breeze. We then began focusing on a gentle settling method for night wakings and setting a firm boundary around not bringing Charlie out of his bedroom. There was minimal protesting from Charlie and within a few nights he was used to staying in his own bed all night and would settle himself back to sleep no problem. Charlie’s parents were thrilled to no longer dread bedtime, have their evenings and more importantly their bed back!
Tilly 20 Months
Sleep Challenge: Tilly’s parents reached out for sleep support because they were really struggling with bedtime with Tilly. She is an affectionate and cuddly toddler who requires a lot of support and connection at bedtime and in the night. This is completely normal. However, her parents were exhausted from spending hours getting her to sleep. Tilly would then sleep in most days until 1030am because she was so tired.
Results: There were a few different habits that Tilly’s parents needed (and were happy) to change. The first was using the TV as a method to calm Tilly and get her sleep. They would put something on and she would watch it until she fell asleep. Lots of children and adults use white noise to help them sleep, it can be very helpful if you need some background noise or to drown out household noises. However, the blue light from the TV can inhibit melatonin production (the hormone that helps us fall asleep) so it was likely having an adverse affect on Tilly’s ability to fall asleep. We switched the TV for white noise. We also introduced an age appropriate routine and gradually moved her daily waking hours (which were 1030am-11pm) to 8am-8am which suited her parent’s lifestyle. Once this was in place we then began working on helping Tilly settle in her own toddler bed and stay there all night. We gradually reduced support over a couple of weeks, at Tilly’s pace, until she was falling asleep herself and if she woke in the night she would settle back to sleep by herself. Her parents were so happy to have a well rested toddler and to have their evenings back.