Hi, I'm Rachael, your certified, experienced paediatric sleep consultant! I specialise in babies from birth to 4 years old.
I was a nanny for 20 years before my first child was born and have worked around the world from Edinburgh, Australia, Canada and New York before settling in London to start my family.
When I became a mum for the first time, I was so excited; it was my turn now! As the early weeks passed in a daze, I became extremely tired and grumpy! There was no lunch break or leaving the house at the end of the day to have a decent peaceful night’s sleep! I felt overwhelmed and slowly felt the energy drain out of me and became increasingly exhausted and some days very frustrated. Sleep deprivation touched every part of my life. I empathise with ALL parents out there...it’s hard work day AND NIGHT!
Being a parent whether it is first time round or multiple times round it can leave us feeling overwhelmed, confused and simply exhausted. As a parent of two small children myself I know this all too well.
So how did I get into paediatric sleep consulting? Well, after my babies were born, many mums were asking me for advice and I saw many different sleep ethics and patterns around me, parents struggling to get their babies to sleep soundly for naps and during the night. I had this overwhelming feeling to help them all! I became very interested and quite honestly obsessed with all things sleep! I was even prompted by a great friend saying I would be totally great at it!
I wanted to understand the science of sleep. I became passionate about sleep, not just for my family but for the families around me. This is when I trained and started my Paediatric Sleep Consultancy business.
It has been an exciting journey for me. I continue to learn and grow with it. I want to share my expertise, skills and personal and professional experience with families around me so they feel more energised and calmer each morning and ready to face the day ahead!
So What Do I Offer?
If you are looking for a solution to your sleepless nights, multiple night waking's or perhaps it is nap time refusal, whatever your sleep challenges are, I can help you out. Perhaps you are expecting a baby soon and would like to know and understand a little more what to expect from your new-borns sleep or you have a baby over the age of 5 months and are struggling with sleep then I can help you there!
I take the guessing game out of the equation for you! Sleep is my thing!! I will help, guide and advise you with a sleep plan to put into practice. I will explain how to encourage your child to gain the lifelong skill to fall asleep independently and achieve your family sleep goals with confidence and understanding! Not always a “sleep method” is needed, sometimes it is just a few tweaks here and there and sleep starts to come a lot easier to many children.
I offer different programs from helping you prepare for new born sleep to the toddler years. Each program comes with daily support and guidance from a mix of daily text, weekly calls and emails.
My newborn programs perfect if you are looking to understand and feel more confident in...
Setting up the perfect safe sleep environment
Sleep expectations in the 4th trimester
Awake windows appropriate to age and development
Nap troubleshooting
Common sleep issues and how to handle them
Soothing techniques (this is NOT sleep training)
My baby and toddler are perfect for you if you are looking to understand and learn...
The science of sleep and explain about nap timings, routines, wake windows
We will discuss food and how this can impact on sleep for the good and bad.
Different sleep training methods suited to your parenting style and your child’s temperament.
We will put a plan in place to teach independent sleep skills including a routine for day and night that works for your childs and family lifestyle.
If you would like to know more about my sleep programs please click the age group that fits your child
My 3 Top Tips On Achieving A Better Sleep
If you are struggling with sleep there are some fundamentals you can put in place today that may help you achieve a peaceful night’s sleep.
1. Ensure the bedroom is dark!
Dark triggers the magic sleep hormone Melatonin. If there is any light in the bedroom, even that small little night light in the corner will supress levels of melatonin in your child’s body and they will find it hard to fall asleep.
2. Is your baby only able to fall asleep by feeding?
They have made neural connections in their brain to learn that is how to get to sleep. This will have stemmed from as early as the new born days and that is totally normal. There is nothing wrong with this association but if you are finding it a little tough and want it to change then breaking this association will need to happen. You can change around the bedtime routine to have the feed first then the story then into bed awake.
3. Struggling with naps?
Ensuring optimal day time sleep will help with night sleep. It is worth checking in with wake windows your child is capable of at their age and stage of development.
Below is a simple graphic that explains suggested appropriate wake windows from birth to 15 months.
If you would like some more help with your child’s sleep please download this free guide to get you on your way to those peaceful nights.
I am passionate about sleep and helping families sleep peacefully so if you would like to reach out and have a chat about how I can help you achieve those peaceful nights with guidance and support along the way book in your FREE discovery call HERE today!
It’s time to say "hello" to peaceful nights.
Rachael,
Your paediatric Sleep Consultant
xo