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 regulators and optimise their sleep pattern. It’s an effective alternative that sits between sleep training and ‘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 LO 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 (and sometimes years) – are blown away with the improvements they’re able to get when they apply the knowledge and tools I share.
So, I want you to know, there is a light! There’s a really good possibility that – with what I teach in my 5 Day Baby Sleep Mini-Course and/or my Baby Sleep Revolution™ program – you CAN help your very 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 quite a common one!
If you’ve already made changes to try to increase sleep pressure but your LO is still very wakeful at night, the nights are inconsistent, or the nights improved 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 LO 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 (often 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.
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, have a look at my 5 Day Baby Sleep Mini-Course.
2) Low sleep pressure is causing the wakefulness, but the changes you’ve made haven’t been enough to get a consistent reduction in wakefulness.
This is the most likely reason, especially if you’ve ruled out separation stress/anxiety and your healthcare professional doesn’t have any concerns.
And it’s why I developed the Baby Sleep Revolution™ program. Because I was finding that many parents were not able to get a consistent improvement in sleep just by making general changes to help sleep pressure build over the day (e.g. waking at the same time, busy stimulating days, and just waiting until baby is tired enough to fall asleep easily rather than forcing sleep at set times).
The Baby Sleep Revolution™ program – while based on the general principles of sleep science – is different in that it involves following a specific step-by-step process to find the optimal sleep pattern that enables your LO to sleep for decent stretches at night, consistently.
A lot of parents join the program after unsuccessfully following a more general approach aimed at building sleep pressure and they find that with the Baby Sleep Revolution™ program they’re able to get a really great improvement in their little one’s sleep, and have restful and predictable nights going forward.
My 5 Day Baby Sleep Mini-Course is more of a general sleep education course so if you’re already across the latest sleep science and evidence on biologically normal infant sleep, but you’re still struggling with wakefulness then my flagship program Baby Sleep Revolution™ is your best bet.
No, I don’t. It’s a conscious decision I’ve made for a couple of very good reasons.
The main reason is because I’ve found 1:1 consultations are not the most effective way to help parents overcome excessive night wakefulness.
The process I teach in the Baby Sleep Revolution™ program usually takes somewhere between 2-6 weeks to complete, sometimes longer if there’s quite a bit of fine-tuning required or if the process must be paused due to illness.
It’s important for parents to be able to ask questions or request help/guidance at any point during the process. When I first developed the program, I actually offered 1:1 consultations, but found that most parents needed further help or guidance and would get stuck or go off-track while waiting for their next consultation. Many also needed a lot of consultations during the process.
For this reason, I made the decision to structure the program in the way that gives parents the best possible likelihood of getting a great improvement. The program combines comprehensive video-based content and guidance, and membership in our private Baby Sleep Revolution™ community where you can access support and guidance from like-minded parents who’ve been through the program themselves, AND access guidance from me and my team as well.
The other reason I don’t offer 1:1 consultations is because I want to help as many parents as possible get to a place where sleep is no longer stressful, and the nights are restful and predictable. Having struggled with a wakeful baby myself, I know how debilitating severe sleep deprivation can be and I want as many parents as possible to have the opportunity to access help and guidance, rather than only being able to help a few families at a time.
It really comes down to what you’re struggling with.
I’ve actually written a blog article answering this exact question here (because I get this question a lot!).
But in a nutshell…
If your little one is very wakeful and the sleep deprivation is making it really hard to function properly, the Baby Sleep Revolution™ program is probably your best option.
This is because its primary aim is to help you get to a place where the nights are manageable and predictable, where your little one is sleeping for decent stretches and resettling quickly. You can find all the details – including a video – on exactly how the program works over on the program page.
If the nights are manageable (you’re coping okay), but you’re feeling really stressed or confused about sleep or you’re worried about future wakefulness, then my 5 Day Baby Sleep Mini-Course is probably all you need! It will arm you with the latest evidence-based information on sleep and wakefulness, and you’ll also get my top tips and tricks for improving sleep and wakefulness now, and in the future.
If you’re still feeling unsure, I’d recommend checking out the Baby Sleep Revolution™ FAQ section at the bottom of the program page. I’ve covered a lot of the common questions parents have when they’re feeling unsure about whether the program is likely to help in their situation. If you’re still uncertain, you’re welcome to get in contact with me here and I’m happy to give you my honest thoughts on whether it’s a good fit / likely to help you.
Yes. If your LO was born prior to 37 weeks gestation, please use their adjusted/corrected age.
I don’t offer any discounts on the Baby Sleep Revolution™ program.
From time to time there may be offers on some of 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!) because that’s where you’ll hear about 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 (a 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 my guides, mini-course or program on behalf of someone else you can do so by purchasing it in their name / and using their email address on the order form. If you do this, it’s best to let them know before you place the order as their access will start immediately.
Not yet, but I plan to have transcripts available in the second half of 2022.
Not yet. I am planning to update them with captions in the second half of 2022.
The 5 Day Baby Sleep Mini-Course and the Baby Sleep Revolution™ program are hosted on the Kajabi platform, which is accessible via your browser or via the Kajabi app. At this stage, there isn’t a specific audio-only option, but it’s possible to play the videos and just choose to listen to the audio.
I’m an evidence-based baby and toddler sleep educator. So, I help parents better understand the science of sleep and empower them with knowledge and tools to help them naturally minimise wakefulness and optimise their little one’s sleep pattern.
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 – research studies, articles, books, etc.
I made the decision to become a baby and toddler sleep educator after struggling with a very 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. I am not a healthcare professional, so if you have any concerns about your little one’s health or development, make sure you investigate with a qualified healthcare professional as a first step.
Still got questions?
If you have a specific question about my program, mini-course, 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 be aware: I don’t answer general/personal sleep questions via email or private message. I do run regular Q&A sessions over on Instagram though, so be sure to follow and ask me there!