Sleep problems solved

[Ireland]

I decided to shell out for a sleep consultant and having seen her recommended on here I went for Nicola Watson from Child Sleep Solutions. Best money I ever spent! Having had no sleep for months and months I was at the end of my tether and really couldn't see a way out! I wanted to be really gentle and wouldn't leave my DD to cry alone (though she did protest rather a lot!). I got a lovely gentle approach from Nicola and the support was incredible. She is now sleeping 12 hours every night and naps are almost there too. I on the otherhand am finding it harder to get back to sleeping but I'm certainly not complaining! I just wanted to post (she hasn't asked me to do this) because I suffered for so long and really wish I had got help sooner. I know not everyone agrees with sleep training but it has worked for me and transformed our family life!

[CocoC]

That's great news Ireland! How old is your daughter? Getting more sleep makes such a difference! I have a 15 week old and have been working with a maternity nurse/ sleep consultant recently to structure feeds, naps and night sleep. We're not there yet and my daughter is obviously still very small but I'm hoping the days of night feeds every 1.5 hours are behind me....!

[Ireland]

Hi CocoC, the non sleeping daughter is 17 months and I have a 5 month old too who ironically sleeps better than his sister! Now that my daughter is sleeping so well we have applied similar principles to his sleep and he is sleeping through now too which is just amazing! I hope you get there very soon too CocoC, it's hard to do but being woken every 1.5 hours thoughout the night is just not sustainable! Good luck.

[doctorsaz]

That is amazing. Would you be able to send me her contact details and give me an idea of how much it cost/how many sessions you had with her? Did she come to your house or was it advice via telephone?

Thanks.

Sarah

[Ireland]

Hi Sarah,

Her website is www.childsleepsolutions.co.uk and I paid ?199. I did a Skype consultation with her but you can pay extra for her to come to your house. This was the long consultation where we decided what we would do and then she wrote it all up with details of exactly what to do at each stage. We then could email or call her when we needed as we put things into practise so we could always ask any questions we had.

She does do cheaper deals too with just a one off consultation or a seminar.

It was worth every penny, I can't believe we left it so long to get things sorted!

Good luck in whatever you decide.

[Stay@homedad]

We used her too! It saved our sanity and our marriage! Never looked back! I'm glad all went well for you too Ireland, she's a miracle worker!

[lounge lizard]

We used her for both of our sons, the first at 15 months, the second at 6 months. Results were very impressive both times, would not hesitate to recommend

[CarterC]

I just wanted to thank you so much for posting this. We used Nicola at Child Sleep Solutions after seeing this and it has transformed our lives. We had already used another sleep consultant and were not really happy with what she suggested but we did it anyway and it was a disaster so we were really dubious about the whole thing but were so desperate for some sleep after reading these posts we thought we would give it a try. Thank goodness we did! The difference is nothing short of a miracle, not only am I a much nicer person to be around but I feel I am getting to know my real children now too; now they are not tired they are just different kids and life is so much more fun! I have never posted on here before but I thought I should bite the bullet and thank you for taking the time to post when you did.

[Ireland]

Hi CarterC! I'm so pleased the post helped, she is great isn't she? A few friends have used her on my recommendation too and all have been happy, she clearly has the magic touch. So nice to feel confident about sleep now! Long may it last :)

[monniemae]

Would she be someone to speak to re a transfer from co-sleeping to own room/cot? We have a baby who refuses to sleep unless next to mum with boob in mouth... A very, very strong-willed baby, prone to hysterical screaming/sobbing at the mere mention of changing her sleep arrangements...

Can't really afford ?200 but might be up for trying the cheaper one-off chat at ?75 if anyone can reassure me it'll be worth it! (of course it will be worth it but am really just looking for encouragement from people who overcame similar)

[Strawbs]

What age children does she work with? Thanks

[EmilyPie]

Monniemae I think it would be worth it. We used her with my then 7mo who would only fall asleep on the nipple and then would only stay asleep on my cheat with me sitting upright, and even then he still woke every 1-2 hours. We had just the chat and it written up into a plan for us, no ongoing support, which was ?100. It was really hard, and you need to be confident that you have the willpower/stamina etc to implement whatever approach you go for consistently. Ours now sleeps from about 7-5.30 in his owncot without waking, which has been life changing. We still need to sort naps and early wakings, which are in the plan, but even so it is SO much better. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

[Christine Neillands]

This thread has really warmed my heart - mums helping each other to solve a truly tiresome problem. My children are all grown up now but that doesn't stop them from needing a good nights sleep. It is such a worthwhile thing to be able self sooth and comfort ourselves into sleep. If any of you mums could do with a bit of tlc you are most welcome to download my free 20 minute soothing hypnosis recording to help with your nerves. You'll find it on my bounce back hypnosis website. It's great for me to hear about this lady so that I can recommend her to my HypnoBirthing mums post delivery.

Thank You!

[Gooders79]

Monniemae we had exactly the same with our 6 mo, he was waking every 40 mins when I finally cracked and took advice from Nic again (having used her very successfully for our older son when he was 15mo). We implemented a plan at 7mo and he was sleeping 7-7 within a week, in his own cot, broke the suck to sleep, co sleeping we had established. Within a fortnight he was napping consistently for good length naps in his cot too, changed our lives....

[Ireland]

Hi Monniemae, it really would be worth it! A couple of my friends used the one off package and their little ones are sleeping through every night. Worth every penny. I think she does seminars too though I have not been to one. She certainly knows her stuff! From what she said the whole feeding to sleep issue is pretty common (no surprises there!!) so I bet she'll be able to help.

Strawbs, her website says up to 6 or 7 years I think.

Hope you get things sorted soon ladies, it will be tough but worth it to feel well rested again.

[Lindsey<3]

I used her 2 years ago and was amazing im pregnant with my 2nd now and was just reading through the print outs again from her. Best money spent believe me xx

[Hail]

Another thank you for this post! Changed my life, my daughter is a different child and I actually have patience! Worth every penny and all the hard work. Thanks for posting Ireland.