Isabella was about to turn 4 months old and could not self settle during her daytime naps. She became a catnapper and would do a few very short 30-40 minute naps straight after a breastfeed, and as a result  I had very little time for myself.

After a family holiday away in China and then a week of dealing with a sick baby who had caught a cold once we returned, and would not sleep on her own during the day, I decided to call Deborah’s sleep clinic for some much needed advice.

I had read many books and theories about getting your baby to sleep, and letting your baby ‘cry it out’, and simply could not do this. Deborah showed me a much kinder and caring way of putting my baby in her cot awake and patting her to sleep. With the soothing sounds of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s ‘Music for Dreaming’ playing softly in the background, I was soon able to stop the patting and just sit beside Isabella’s cot while she drifted into dreamland. I now say ‘ Goodnight Mrs. Sunshine’, give her a favourite toy to cuddle and walk out of the room, knowing that in 10 minutes she will be sound asleep for sometimes up to 2 hours or longer at a time. To get to this stage took 2-3 weeks but our baby soon learnt that she could go to bed awake and settle herself and now has 2-3 good sleeps at the same times every day.

Deborah also helped me with feeding routines and I soon realized that sleeping and feeding go hand in hand.  Babies need structure and routine in their day just like adults do. They need to predict what’s going to happen next. My husband and I love the routines and just knowing what is going to happen and when.

With Deborah’s help and our perseverance we now understand our baby better and can respond to her needs.  We now have a much calmer and contented baby and two very relieved parents.

Julia Ryan, mother of Isabella, 2008