Sleep Consultation Case Studies

Georgina's boys were 8 months old when we started working together.
They took a long time to settle to sleep (apx 1h every time), which included rocking, walking, patting, and at times doing all this in a dark bathroom to try and block all other stimulation.

This was becoming physically challenging, as the boys were getting bigger and heavier.

The process was tedious, and Georgina was dreading settling, as she never knew how long it's going to take, and how much crying would be involved.

Dad was due to go on a 2-week work trip, and mum was getting worried ans anxious, thinking how can she possibly do this on her own?

We worked on adjusting the boys' naps' duration and timing, looked into how much milk and solids to offer and when, and how to introduce a gentle self-settling method that will allow both parents to settle the boys on their own, in their own pace.

We worked with a gentle, in-the-room settling method, so both parents can feel confident and comfortable phasing out physical, hands-on support, and replacing it with emotional support.

After our 2-week sleep porgramme, the boys were sleeping through the night, settling on their own pretty quickly, and both parents felt incredibly confident settling them on their own.

The anxiety around bedtime was gone, and the whole family can now rest well during the day, and the night!

This can be your reality too!

All it took was consistency, encouragement, and a sleep plan that suited the parents and the babies.

Elisabete's newborn girls were used to settling in the arms, and transferring to their cots more often than not ended up with them waking up.

Cat napping was the most they could do in their cot, and sometimes not even that.

Mum was accumulating fatigue, and so did the girls. As dad was at work during the day, Elisabete had to find a way to do this on her own, and help all three get the rest they needed.

Although they were only 3 months old, there was still a lot we could do to help them get more sleep during the day, and settle more independently.

We worked on a newborns’ sleep plan that focused on:

1. the girls’ age (age-appropriate wake window).

2. optimizing sleep environment.

3. observing feeding windows

4. effective settling and re-settling strategies

This sleep plan helped the girls begin to settle in their cots rather than in the arms, and learn how to link sleep cycles. We slowly phased their cat naps out.

Transferring to the cot and settling in their day beds became more successful too. This meant Elisabete could tandem settle, and get the girls on a similar schedule more easily.

Following the sleep plan meant Elisabete could plan the day’s errands and rhythm without having to be bound to the house all day, and have a more predictable schedule for their wake and sleep times.

Sam's 14m old twin boys were waking up way too early... this meant that their morning nap was happening too early in the day, and the afternoon nap was not very successful. All this contributed to a rough evening, and night wakes...

While they were settling at daycare, we had less control on the boys’ sleep during the day, working on their bedtime and night sleep meant they will have better naps at home, and at daycare.

We chose to work with less hands-on approach for the morning wake-ups, and optimise their sleep environment. The parents chose an out-of-the-room settling approach to help the boys learn to self-settle. Within a few days the boys were getting up later, and they made it to their morning nap less tired, and were easier to settle.

Sam observed the boys’ bedtime, and implemented the settling method during night wakes too.

All this helped the boys consolidate their night sleep and start the day at a decent time, fresh and well-rested.

Within 1 week, Sam and the entire family were getting a good night’s sleep, and the boys’ naps fell into place.

Katherine and Colin's twins were 2.5yo when beginning the sleep training programme. They were sharing a room, with one twin in a big bed (since they were climbing out of the cot) while the other still in a cot (yet starting to climb out too).

They struggled settling to sleep at bedtime, and came into their parents' bed every night. The parents wanted to work on bedtime routine, and help their children stay in bed all night.

We moved the climbing twin into a big bed and established better bedtime practices to help with smoother and faster bedtime settling. Given their age and sleep needs, we also addressed the duration of the nap to help with better night’s sleep.

Katherine and Colin opted for a gentle settling approach, and after a short trial and error, they chose to use an in-the-room method.

While trips out of the room at bedtime took a bit longer to eliminate completely, within 2 weeks the twins were sleeping in their beds all night, and bedtime was much smoother and pleasant.

Benjamin was not convinced sleep training works. But with 1yo twins who weren't sleeping well, and 2 older children under 5, he agreed to give it a go.

The twins were starting the day at 4am, taking a while to settle during the day and night, and naps were largely a hit and miss.

At night, he and his wife will divide and conquer as each will try and settle one twin, which took close to an hour... They often ended up splitting, with one parent sleeping with each twin in separate rooms.

It also meant the older children did not have mum and dad with them at bedtime…

During a 3-week period, we worked with a gentle settling technique to help the twins settle in their cots rather than in the arms, and addressed age-appropriate wake windows.

We optimised the times and duration of their naps to their age, and slowly, a wonderful routine emerged.

The twins now sleep amazingly through the night in their own room (6:30pm-6:30am), bedtime is much faster and easier, naps are a breeze and mum and dad can attend to their older children for quality time before bed too.

Bijal's twin toddlers took a loooong time to settle to sleep. Naps were really hard to achieve and bedtime could take over 2 hours, with each parent trying to settle one twin.

The boys relied on rocking, walking, holding, and drinking bottles to settle to sleep, and night's sleep was very fragmented.

Seeing these parents needed a quick yet gentle solution, we chose an in-the-room plan, which can take as long as the parents, and the boys, needed to adjust to the changes.

Mum was adamant to be consistent, realising this would ensure results, even if slowly, and allow her boys to finally get the sleep they needed.

One twin responded really well, while the other was anxious about the changes, and responded quite strongly to the process. This is very common for toddlers when they start a sleep plan at this age, as we needed to address months of sleep habits.

Mum was gentle yet consistent, and with changes to their diet during the day, we slowly dropped their night bottles, and their night’s sleep started to take shape.

With a good night's sleep came later morning starts (instead of 5am), and the boys had more energy and a better mood during the day. Nap was starting to take shape as the boys began to trust the process more and more, and they were less overtired. This meant settling was faster, and bedtime was taking only 20-30min.

Within 2 weeks of gentle sleep training, the boys learned to self-settle in their cots and sleep through the night!

Mum was feeling a lot more confident and competent during bedtime on her own, and successful nap during the day meant she got a much-needed break too!

Heidi told me she was a 100% attachment parent when we started working together. Her little one was 6 months old, he was being rocked or fed to sleep, but it was taking a l...o...n...g time to settle him, and he wasn't able to sleep for much longer than 20-30min.

Fatigue was accumulating fast. For him, and his mamma.

Acknowledging Heidi's parenting style and goals, we worked with a gentle and soft technique, while catering to her and her son's needs.

After two weeks of working with his wake windows, biological sleep windows and age-appropriate settling methods, Heidi was able to settle her boy in the cot, and he learned to sleep longer and better.

Sleep deprivation subsided significantly, and Heidi was feeling more confident supporting her son's sleep during the day, and the night.

Jessica’s twin boys were ready to learn how to self-settle, but dad was apprehensive about the process.

The boys were struggling to settle well for naps, and consolidating sleep cycles was a hit and miss.

With bedtime taking longer and longer, naps being a hot mess and too early morning wake-ups, he wanted to try, but was scared of letting his boys cry.

The parents wanted a fail-proof plan that can help them understand their babies’ sleep needs, and feel confident supporting their self-settling process with ease and a peace of mind.

They were used to hands-on settling, but this was taking longer and longer. Very common for babies at this age, as hand-on settling becomes too stimulating.

We talked about effective settling and re-settling methods, and parents wanted to work with an out-of-the-room strategy.

It took less than two weeks, and the boys were settling faster and easier each day. The morning wake-ups were our last hiccup to tackle, and we achieved that by the end of two weeks, once the 3rd nap was adjusted.

With a quick bedtime, solid naps and appropriate wake-up time, the parents, and their boys, were getting the sleep they needed, and deserve.