Got a question
About me or my services?
I’ve pulled together all of the common questions parents ask me here!
No. Absolutely not. I am DEFINITELY NOT a sleep trainer in disguise.
I define sleep training as any method that requires you to either not respond to your little one’s signals at night, delay your response, or not respond appropriately (e.g. patting them if they’d prefer to be rocked, or fed).
There are many different sleep training methods (known in the science world as ‘extinction’ or ‘graduated extinction’). They all aim to sever the connection a baby’s brain makes between signalling for help and getting a response. So – if sleep training is ‘successful’ – the research shows the baby still wakes as often, they’ve just learned to stop signalling to their parent(s) / caregiver(s) when they wake at night1.
What I teach is completely different. My focus is on helping you understand how sleep works (the physiology of sleep), get across the latest evidence (research) on sleep and wakefulness, and learn how best to support your little one’s natural sleep regulation system and optimise their sleep pattern. It’s an effective alternative to sleep training or ‘waiting it out’.
I will always encourage and support you to respond to your little one at night quickly and in whatever way works best. Feeding/nursing to sleep and (safe) bedsharing – or whatever settling method/s and safe sleep environment/s you and your little one prefer – are absolutely fine!
- Kempler, L., Sharpe, L., Miller, C. B., Bartlett, D. J., (2016). Do psychosocial sleep interventions improve infant sleep or maternal mood in the postnatal period? A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 29, pp. 15-22. DOI: 10.1016/j.smrv.2015.08.002
So many parents feel the exact same way when they first come across me (so I get this question a lot!).
If you’re anything like them, you’ve probably been living in hope that there might still be a solution out there but feeling like it may be an impossible dream given the long list of things you’ve already tried.
But what I do IS different. The information and guidance I provide is evidence-based and supported by research. So many parents – many who’ve been struggling with a LOT of wakefulness for months (sometimes years) – are blown away with the improvements they’re able to get when they apply the knowledge and tools I share.
So, please know – there is a light! There’s a really good possibility that you CAN help your wakeful little one sleep better (and feel well-rested yourself) without having to sleep train.
It takes on average 17 years for a body of research to flow through to those at the coalface. So while it’s slowly changing, there’s still a long way to go when it comes to evidence-based solutions that are responsive and gentle, and take into account your little one’s temperament and unique needs.
In the meantime, parents continue to be bombarded with a lot of misinformation that causes stress and confusion, and in many cases can actually cause sleep problems.
But slowly things are changing for the better!
This is a great question. And also a common one!
If you’ve already made some changes to try to increase sleep pressure but your LO is still wakeful, the nights are inconsistent, or you saw some improvements for a short period but then the wakefulness returned…
Either:
1) Low sleep pressure isn’t the cause of the wakefulness.
If this is the case, then the most likely causes are separation stress/anxiety or a health-related cause.
Separation stress/anxiety may be the cause if you find your little one sleeps soundly when near or next to you, but is wakeful when they sleep on their own. Please note, it’s also common for little ones with low sleep pressure to only sleep if held (e.g. on your chest). If you’re LO is still wakeful when they sleep next to you (safely bedsharing), then low sleep pressure is more likely to be the cause, assuming health related causes have been ruled out.
If you haven’t already investigated possible health-related causes with a healthcare professional, it’s important to do so, even if just to rule them out.
If you’d like more help to troubleshoot the likely cause/s of your little one’s wakefulness, this article may help.
2) Low sleep pressure is causing the wakefulness, but the things you’ve tried so far haven’t been enough to have consistently restful nights.
This is actually quite a common situation I see!
If you’ve ruled out separation stress/anxiety and you and your child’s healthcare professional don’t have any concerns, then this is the most likely reason for the wakefulness.
And it’s why I created the Baby Sleep Revolution™ program. Because I was finding that many parents were not able to get a consistent improvement in sleep by making general changes to help sleep pressure build over the day (e.g. getting up around the same time, keeping an eye on nap timings/lengths and waiting until baby is tired enough to fall asleep easily).
Every baby and toddler is different. While some only need a little bit of support, or a nudge here or there, others are wired differently and are more prone to wakefulness / need a more precise approach to help support the body’s natural sleep regulation system.
The Baby Sleep Revolution™ program – while based on the general principles of sleep science – is unique in that it involves following a one-of-a-kind, step-by-step process designed to help parents transition their little one into a sleep pattern where their sleep pressure is able to build to an adequate level each night, so the nights are consistently restful.
A lot of parents join Baby Sleep Revolution™ after unsuccessfully following a more general approach aimed at building sleep pressure, and they go on to get a really great improvement in their little one’s sleep, and have restful and predictable nights going forward with Baby Sleep Revolution™. So even if you feel like you’ve tried everything, it may very much be worth giving BSR a go!
Yes! I offer a handful of 1:1 sleep support sessions most weeks.
These work best alongside my Baby Sleep Unlocked course. While it’s not mandatory to complete the course before booking a session, I strongly recommend it. Because when you already have a solid understanding of the sleep science, we can focus our time on answering your questions and tailoring a specific approach for your little one. Also, many parents find that once they do the course, they don’t need a session with me after all (it really is that good!).
Find out more about my 1:1 sleep support sessions here
If your baby or toddler (5+ months) is VERY wakeful at night, my Baby Sleep Revolution program may be a better fit. It’s a one-of-a-kind program designed to help parents transition their little one out of a disrupted, wakeful sleep pattern, into a consistently restful one. It’s a self-guided program with very clear, step-by-step instructions, designed to help parents have a successful outcome without needing any 1:1 support. However, if you’d like feedback on your plan or some additional guidance during the process, you have the option of booking a one-off 1:1 session (pending availability) down the track. PLEASE NOTE: Baby Sleep Revolution isn’t for every situation. There’s a section on the program page with a video that explains how the program works and can help you decide if the program is a good fit for your specific situation.
I also have a popular blog article that can help you troubleshoot excessive night wakefulness.
Yes. If your little one was born prior to 37 weeks gestation, please use their adjusted/corrected age.
I don’t offer any regular discounts on the Baby Sleep Revolution™ program because I want to make sure parents can access it year-round whenever they need it, rather than waiting for a promotion (and dealing with sleep deprivation for any longer than they already have!). Parents in my Baby Sleep Unlocked course are able to get $30 USD off BSR – this is because there is some crossover in terms of background information (insights etc.) between the two. This offer can only be accessed from within the BSU course membership portal.
From time to time I have special offers on my other courses and resources. If you’re not already on my email list, sign up here (and get a copy of my free PDF guide while you’re at it!) so you don’t miss any offers.
At this stage I don’t, sorry!
No, I don’t have a PayPal option. All payments are processed using card payments via Stripe (leading secure card payment processor).
I don’t have a specific ‘gift’ option for my services right now (I plan to in the future though!). If you’d like to purchase a guide or program on behalf of someone else you can do so by purchasing it in their name / and using their email address at checkout. If you do this, it’s best to let them know before you place the order as their access will start immediately.
Yes, every video has a transcript, as well as Closed Captions.
Yes, every video has Closed Captions, as well as a transcript.
The Baby Sleep Revolution™ and Baby Sleep Unlocked™ programs are hosted on the Kajabi platform, which is accessible via your browser or via the Kajabi app. There isn’t a specific audio-only option, but it’s possible to play the videos and just listen to the audio.
I’m an evidence-based baby and toddler sleep educator. So I help parents better understand how sleep works (from a sleep science perspective) and empower them with knowledge and strategies to minimise wakefulness and optimise their little one’s sleep.
I’m currently completing postgraduate studies in Psychology. The information and guidance I share is based on the latest scientific learnings and research in the fields of human and infant sleep, neuroscience, and developmental psychology, and is always referenced back to the source – peer-reviewed studies, articles, books, etc.
I decided to become a baby and toddler sleep educator after struggling with a wakeful little one myself, and you can learn more about my experiences and background on my About page.
Please note: It’s important to be aware that there are some health and developmental conditions that can affect sleep. Please consider and investigate possible health or developmental causes of wakefulness with a qualified healthcare professional as a first step.
Still got questions?
If you have a specific question about my course, program, or other resources, check the solution-specific FAQs by clicking the relevant link below and scrolling down to the bottom of the page:
If your question isn’t answered there, you can send it to me via the contact page.
Please note: I don’t answer general/personal sleep questions via email, private message or the contact page. I do answer a lot of questions on the socials though – so make sure you follow me on TikTok or IG!