I’ve always been passionate about working together with babies, children and their families. I enjoy problem solving, helping families and watching them thrive. However, I didn’t fully appreciate the impact of sleep on a child and their family until I became a parent.

Dr Anji’s Story

My son struggled with sleep from the day he was born until we sleep trained him at 6 months of age. He suffered from severe reflux and cow’s milk protein allergy and was unable to lie flat on his back until he was 6 months old. The first time he ever slept in the cot (for 10 minutes) he was 3 months old and the longest stretch in the cot by 6 months of age was 2 hours. This meant he had to be HELD all night long. My husband and I would do 6 hourly night shifts each, holding him, often standing, and swapping in between and we stayed AWAKE the whole time as we were worried about the dangers of falling asleep holding him. We were exhausted, sleep deprived and at our wit’s end. Sleep training changed our lives for the better. Here’s how:

Benefits for our son:

  • He learned healthy sleep habits

  • He started to sleep through the night and wake up refreshed

  • His development improved as he wasn’t sleep deprived

  • He became calmer and less cranky during the day

  • He learned to self soothe at night which helped him during the day too

  • He developed a healthy routine and relationship with feeding and sleeping

  • He began to enjoy his bedtime routine rather than crying through it

Benefits for the parents:

  • We were finally able to sleep! And at the same time too!

  • We were less exhausted so could spend quality time with our son during the day

  • We had our evening back to eat dinner together and catch up on the day

  • We had a structured, daily routine including predictable nap times for us to have a break too

  • Our relationship with each-other improved as we had time and energy to spend quality time together

  • Our social lives were better as we weren’t always exhausted and we could finally make evening plans with friends and family

  • We were able to plan more fun activities, trips away and social gatherings with the reassurance that his sleep wasn’t going to be affected

  • We were reassured that our son had developed a healthy relationship with sleep and was thriving

Sleep training changed our lives. We felt normal and healthy again. Given the severity of my son’s sleep issues, we were convinced it wasn’t going to work and when it did we were so shocked, emotional and grateful. My son thrived off his new routine and having a consistent good night’s sleep. As a family, we haven’t looked back.

Sleep techniques are individualised. My daughter was born prematurely with cow’s milk protein allergy and reflux - similar issues to my son. We used a completely different, flexible approach with her and didn’t “train” her at all. From 3 months of age, she only woke 1-2 times at night for feeds, going straight back to sleep and she has been sleeping through the night since 6 months of age.

Sleep is not “one size fits all” for children or parents. My son learned to soothe himself to sleep independently after a bedtime routine meaning we could put him to bed, leave and our evening began. With my daughter, we can do the same as she has learned this skill but we also sometimes feed her to sleep or have some cuddles during nap time before putting her down. On good days, they both sleep through the night having learned their own sleep skills in completely different ways with the same result. During sickness/teething/changes, we respond to their needs as required which has no effect on their long term sleep habits.

This is my inspiration and motivation - I want to help other families who are struggling with their child’s sleep and reassure them that I understand what they are going through. Being a parent is hard in itself, let alone when you and your child are constantly sleep deprived and exhausted. Let me help you make things better - if I can do it then, with the right support and guidance, anyone can!