This approach is for you if you don’t want to do sleep training (intensive singular focus on independence with sleep) and don’t want to ‘wait it out’ or go with the flow.
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The focus is empowering you to ditch the limiting, one-size-fits-all approaches, the undue stress, the confusion and the misinformation that either lacks any evidence or flies in the face of evidence.
The goal is to empower you with evidence-based knowledge and nurturing support to thrive with more calm, clarity and confidence to understand and support sleep in ways that make sense for your family.
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The foundation of the approach is that rested children and families come in all shapes and sizes and that there is no ‘one right way’ when it comes to sleep (except when it comes to safety). I help you find your right way for your unique child, your family and your situation.
HOLISTIC
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The powerful lens of understanding and considering all the many influences on sleep and how they interconnect for the whole view of your child’s sleep.
NO ONE WAY
Rested children and families come in all shapes and sizes. There is no one right thing for every little one, situation or family.
GENTLE
& RESPONSIVE
KNOWLEDGE
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Respecting and responding to everyone's temperament, needs, wants, responses to change, unique sleep needs and everything that makes you all unique.
Evidence-based knowledge aligned to biological and developmental norms brings clarity empowering you to ditch myths, shut out 'noise' and understand and support sleep with confidence.
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NURTURE
Beneath every interaction with you and your family lies the foundation of nurture for everyone's mental and physical health with the motto of 'always love'. Great calm can come from being heard, validated and understood and being cared for and guided with compassion and respect.
Let me wrap my arms around you as you wrap your arms around your family's sleep.
Book a free Hello Chat to talk through options!
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How does this all come together?
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Holistic Assessment
We begin here. The benefit of a holistic approach is that aside from looking deeply at your child's current sleep situation and sleep history, we will also review and take into account temperament of all involved, sensory profile, development, feeding, allergies, intolerances, health issues, trauma, family history, pregnancy, birth, infant mental health, parental mental health, family dynamics,family logistics, support for family, life experiences, extended family dynamics, parenting styles and anything that makes every child,family and situation unique.
Biological & Emotional Pathway
Typically we will begin with this pathway (although every situation is unique).
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We will ensure that everything about your child's sleep is in line with their biological and emotional needs based on everything that arises in the Holistic Assessment. We will create optimal opportunities for your child's and family's sleep.
You might be coming to me with a clear set of goals for your child with independence with sleep but like many families I support, you may find the initial approach we take to support sleep from a Biological & Emotional Pathway makes such a difference that you don't even need to change anything with how they fall asleep. ​​
Or if we do then go down the Behavioural Pathway, what may have felt like a Level 10 challenge may feel greatly reduced making it much easier.
Or it means you are then taking next steps with a great level of knowledge and a greater sense of your own calm,
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Behavioural Pathway
Some families do want to make changes to how their child is falling asleep. While we can accept that being supported to sleep is biologically and developmentally normal, we can't ignore the large bodies of work that show that for some children, becoming accustomed to falling asleep with less or no supported can make great improvements for sleep. For others, this makes little to no improvement to sleep and for others it can worsen their sleep. It's simply not a black and white 'formula' for sleep.
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I also support families who want to make small changes such as reducing the length of rocking to sleep or contact napping or having more flexible options rather than just one way.
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I will support you to find a way, steps and pace that is responsive and respectful to your unique child and family. Every child is unique and some might be okay to adapt to changes in a few days, others may need weeks and some just are not ready for these changes yet. There are no set sleep plans or cookie-cutter approaches here.
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Nurture & Mind Space
Supporting your journey as a parent is woven into every aspect of what we will do together. One of the greatest sleep interventions is honestly plain old kindness. Parents share with me how immensely reassuring and comforting it's been to have someone who will walk this way shoulder-to-shoulder. for link
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What this isn't....
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Not sleep training
This is not a Sleep Training approach and you can see the way this approach is different to sleep training HERE
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Not 'Wait it Out'
Nor is this an approach where I'm going to tell you to just wait it out and that sleep will simply improve over time. While the research does show that even if you do nothing, sleep will improve at some point if there are no underlying factors, there are many wonderful ways we can support sleep.
The 'Wait it Out' approach often comes with a message that there is also one right way for all babies, children and families. While this approach may work beautifully for many families, this approach can be equally limiting and one-size-fits-all. LINK TO TERMS
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