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FAMILY EXPERIENCES
Harrison (5months)
My second baby boy was a big challenge with respect to his sleeping habits, especially at night. By 5 months, I had nearly lost the will to
live with him waking up almost hourly from 1 - 2am onwards each night. I had read many recommendations from other mums who had utilised Sharne Dolich to help them to get their bubs to sleep and finally decided to reach out for some help. Having already had one daughter, this felt a bit bizarre as you believe you should be able to manage because you have already been through it once before but I now understand how different each child can be!
Needless to say, with the gentle and caring guidance from Sharne and afew tweaks to his routine, we had Harrison sleeping better in the day and right through the night within a few days. He is the happiest baby on the block now (and I am a well rested and ecstatic mum!).
Thanks so much Sharne - you are a legend!
Jo
HONG KONG
(Online Consultation)
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Barnaby (4.5months)
They say you can't put a price on a good night's sleep & boy is that the case when you are a mum for the first time! Thanks to Sharne and her wonderful program, we now have a happy sleeping baby - we can't thank you enough!!
Bec
JINDALEE, QLD
(In home consultation)
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Ethan (9 Months)
I first heard about Sharne from another mum on a Facebook group. Her situation sounded so much like mine that I thought, I Must get Sharne to help me out! I was desperate - I had tried everything from my little one's birth to sleep. For nine months, I hadn't had one night of uninterrupted sleep and neither did he. He never napped well. I was getting up on average five times a night to haul myself to his room to nurse him back to sleep. I tried every method - from modified cry it out to cry it out (and feeling horribly guilty!!) to music to pram etc. Nothing worked. Sharne's methods assured me that no psychological harm would be caused, she was Always on-hand at nap and sleep times giving instructions, advice and ceaseless patience in answering all my questions. On the 14th day of the sleep training program, little one finally slept a full night 7.30pm to 6.30am without waking and yelling to be nursed!!! Life is so much better now with adequate sleep for the whole family! Best thing is even with the odd hiccup in his routine and panic mode sets in, Sharne has been amazing and wonderfully kind to answer questions still. She has been such a blessing and a Godsend to my family and I will always be grateful to her!
Crystal
HONG KONG
(Online Consultation)
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Tara (13months)
I approached Sharne as a last resort attempt to get my lo to sleep better and I have to say it was one of the best decisions I made. I'd been trying to keep to a routine for daytime and nighttime sleeps since my lo was tiny but she just didn't want to sleep through the night even at 13 months. However, I had to go back to working full time and needed to get normality back to my nighttime sleep.
Sharne was great. Although I was based in Canada I got full support from Sharne along the way via instant messenger. She was on call for when I was putting my lo down and would check in with me first thing in the morning to see how it had gone. The techniques we used were what I was comfortable with, which meant no cry in out of me. Having access to Sharne as I was putting my lo down meant that I had a supportive mentor to talk through all the steps and work out what was working and what wasn't. Also, having Sharne there meant I forced myself to do things differently and it encouraged me to let go of some of the habits I had developed.
Although my lo still occasionally wakes up, I went from being up 5 or 6 times a night to being up once, and sometimes not at all. Thank you so much Sharne-I certainly wouldn't have got here as quick as I did without you!
Sati
CANADA
(Online Consultation)
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Alyssa (2.5yrs)
We found Sharne to be a wonderful help when our toddler started to play up at night time. The consultation was easily arranged via skype, it was a good as being in the same room. We were immediately put at ease by Sharne who systematically went through our problems and offered thoughtful, creative ideas and solutions, many of which we hadn't thought of. Proving her expertise, we had almost immediate success with our daughter and after three nights the night wakings were a distant memory. Sharne continued to follow up on our daughter's progress and I wouldn't hestiate to recommend her. Best money we've spent in a long while !
Katie
HONG KONG
(Skype Consultation)
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Avery (9 months)
Life Changing!
With my husband away for six months and me continuing to breastfeed, it was easy fall into the habit of co-sleeping and feeding my daughter to sleep when she woke, a minimum of ten times a night (approx every 40mins to 1.5hrs).
As my daughter got older, she grew out of feeding to sleep during the day...I was spending many hours trying to feed, rock, drive her to sleep only to get 40mins out of her. Then of course, she was wanting 3 to four sleeps a day, making simple tasks very difficult.
I had tried a few different techniques including controlled crying and the ‘camp out’ method but between my extreme need for sleep and ‘mothers guilt’ I found it hard, caved and brought my DD back to bed with me.
But with the impending homecoming of Daddy and my dreaded return to work something needed to change!
I found Blissful Bubbies on one of my late night online ‘hunts for help’ and have never looked back!
During our time working with Sharne, we encountered an extreme case of bad luck...both my daughter and I became sick. Then, the dreaded teething!! It was a very rough two weeks. I thought my daughter would surprise Sharne with her will power and defiance and for a few days there I think she surprised us both.
With all the challenges we faced Sharne was extremely helpful and supportive, quick to answer any questions I may have had, and full of advice. With two days to go, my not so baby girl, fell magically into her new routine, went to bed without a peep and slept through the night for the very first time in her life, at ten months of age.
Life in our house these days is very different, much more relaxed, rested and HAPPY!!
Thankyou Sharne and Blissful Bubbies
Jessica
Carins, QLD
(Online Consultation)
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Jax (13.5 weeks)
Before we started seeing Sharne we couldn’t work out why Jax would happily settle himself for every sleep except his last one. After 3 weeks with Sharne Jax was settling himself to sleep every sleep.
What I really liked about Sharne’s service was her fantastic and ongoing support. I never felt alone and really appreciated her determination in working out Jax’ issue. I felt like she really cared, especially because she would follow up a few times after the fact. I would have no hesitation in recommending Sharne.
Nicole
HONG KONG
(Online consultation)
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Luca (13months)
After trying every technique known to humankind with our gorgeous but non-sleeping toddler, we came across the very lovely Sharne and are thrilled we did. We had endured over a year of very wakeful nights and cat-napping days and it was very much getting us down. Sharne worked with us to find a routine that would work with the needs of all of our family - us, our preschooler and of course our toddler too! Her tailored and personal approach have meant the world to us. What we appreciated most was Sharne's constant support throughout the process of teaching our son to sleep better. I have no hesitation at all in recommending you work with Sharne to assist your little one to sleep more blissfully.
Cat
Adeladie
(Online Consultation)
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Max (4months)
Sharne, what a lifesaver! You have managed to turn my youngest son's sleeping habits around in a matter of days with your wisdom and advice and magically (and most importantly to me) with no tears or crying it out from my little one, you just knew what he needed and when. Max went from a repetitive nap and night waker to a sound sleeper almost instantly - you saved my sanity and he truly is now a blissful baby. Why I waited to turn to Sharne for 4 months, I shall never know.
Harriet
HONG KONG
(Skype Consultation)
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Zac (21months) & Luca (5.5months)
Sharne has been a huge help with both my boys and I am so grateful for her help. She guided me through getting my 22 month old to self settle (we used to have to lie with him for day and night sleeps for up to 1.5 hours!) and eliminate night wakings. I now can’t remember the last time he woke in the night! It was a challenge but well worth it and despite all communication being online, she has such intuition and knows how gentle / tough to be with the little one (and me at times!)….
We also worked with my 4.5 month old to introduce a sleep routine even at this young age… Getting him to self settle and sleep through the night with teething, illness and sensitivity to certain first foods has taken some time but again her guidance and support was a huge help. I can’t imagine how I would have returned to work if I still had two bad sleepers!
Sharne is so patient, understanding and flexible and makes sure that routines work for you and your family. She genuinely cares and has been a huge support even after the 2 weeks official consultation period ended for both boys. She is there every step of the way and I cannot thank her enough for her help.
Cheryl
Singapore
(Online Consultations)
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Miles (12months)
To Sharne,
A huge thank you from us for all your help with sleep training Miles (at 12 mths old).
Miles has never been a good sleeper. The best way to describe this is that I remember a mum once saying to me the only reason she went to mother and baby groups was because no matter how bad your problem is someone always has a worse problem than you (!) Well, then imagine going to the sleep topic at your mother and baby group and finding that your baby is the worst sleeper. That was us.
At four months old Miles was still waking every 45-60 mins. We had some help at this point from another sleep consultant and Miles reduced his wakings to 3-4 times at night, which at that point felt a huge step. Then we had a setback and at ten months and after a spell in hospital Miles was back to waking every 60 mins. We repeated the method that had worked before but that only got us back to 3-4 wakings a night and really inconsistent sleep patterns, one night he would wake once the next night five times and then three times the night after. We decided that method wasn’t working for us and then we found Sharne.
After 2 weeks with Sharne we managed to remove a prop that Miles used to sleep and get him self-settling for all sleeps. He also slept through the night and transitioned to one day nap with very little bother.
What I really liked about the help we got from Sharne was that (i) it wasn’t a onesize fits all approach (ii) it doesn’t consider there is only one solution to the wakings it considers EVERYTHING (iii) Sharne has a huge background of professional experience meaning that she really knows what she is talking about (iv) the approach is NOT crying it out which is something I really couldn’t get happy with doing and (iv) IT WORKS!
Unfortunately for us Miles got sick just after he slept through and we threw an overseas trip into the mix for good measure meaning he is now back to waking once sometimes twice in the night. However, I am confident that with the skills Sharne taught us we can get back to sleeping through the night. Also Miles still self settles himself at sleep times and he even gets excited to be put into his sleeping bag to go to sleep!
Another really nice thing is that Sharne often checks in to see how we are doing.
If you think how far we have come since 4 months this is a huge step for us and Sharne was a really important part of that. Anyone who has had sleep problems with their babies/children know how it impacts all parts of your life and it is so nice for us to see the huge improvements Miles has made.
I have already recommended Sharne to three friends and I really hope that they take the opportunity to work with her and fix their problems too. It’s been a really positive experience for us.
Adele, Paul and Miles Turner
Update 20th March 2013: Sharne’s magic worked and Miles has slept through for the last three weeks and is taking a reasonable length nap at lunchtime. Sharne is a superstar in our house!
Adele Turner
HONG KONG
(Online consultation)
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Lucia (17 months)
Sharne has been a godsend!
My little one hasn't been a good sleeper since 9 months old. Coupled with moving from UK (different time zone) to HK and then we were away in Spain for 2 weeks, my little one was waking up through the night and not having consistent nap times despite my efforts in keeping a strict routine.Through Sharne's sleep training, she has successfully weaned my lo of her dummy (which she heavily relied on since birth) and now she has learnt to settle herself to sleep during daytime and through the night. Simply amazing! Through her coaching, I was able to sleep train my little one myself with Sharne's guidance, and learnt to be more confident for a first time mum. In addition to sleep training, Sharne has been really helpful in giving advice regarding feeding and behavior issues. Even after the sleep training, she still checks in to see how my little one is doing. Am so grateful to have known her as my sleep trainer and also as a friend who helps me along the way.
Thank you!
Tyra Lim
HONG KONG
(Online consultation)
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Hunter (8 months)
From day 1 our beautiful boy Hunter was never a great sleeper and we never had an established routine. Unfortunately, Hunter was required to have a number of operations within the first 7 months and every time we attempted to establish a routine there always seemed to be a disruption. Going from specialist appointment to specialist appointment, I always felt blessed that Hunter was a ‘transportable’ baby.
Bad habits set in and we did not think anything of feeding or rocking Hunter to sleep. Hunter’s day sleeps began to occur less frequently and as Hunter was still able to sleep for long blocks at night countless people told me “I should be happy with that”. During the days Hunter’s cat naps became shorter and shorter (15-20 intervals) and before we knew what had happened it was a massive drama getting Hunter to sleep during the day and the only way this was managed was through cuddles, long walks around the park or drives in the car. Hunter would not go to sleep in his cot unless we were prepared for long periods of crying (from both him and mum!).
We were concerned early on with Hunter’s ability to self-settle coinciding with our concerns that Hunter may also be suffering from silent reflux. It became increasingly difficult for us to get answers from health professionals as we often found these to be contradictory and patronizing. After regular appointments with Hunter’s amazing osteopath we were set on the right path and linked in with a naturopath.
By this stage Hunter’s bad sleep habits were entrenched and we had two failed visits to our local sleep settling school where on the last occasion (when Hunter was 6 months) they told us that he was ‘to far gone’ and we were home within 90 minutes.
Living in a country area, we had always discussed the idea of getting someone to come into our home but we were never able to find anyone locally enough to help us. Our biggest concern was that Hunter was unable to acknowledge when he was tired and even after all the signs were there: rubbing of the eyes, tears and grizzling, as soon as he was put down he would start crying. By 8 months, following Hunter’s normal night routine we put Hunter to bed and he started to cry. My husband and I both agreed how upsetting it was to hear him go to sleep like this and agreed that this time we really needed to find help. I mentioned that I seen information about Blissful Babies on Facebook and after 1 email (happily) the rest is history!
Both my husband and I were sceptical, as we had experienced such disappointment and negativity in the past from health professionals. Sharne started working with us 2 days later and had our little man sleeping like a champion within 4 days. Despite a few hic cups during the 2 week period of support (mainly teething) Hunter was able to acknowledge when he was tired and most importantly was able to settle without tears. There was no controlled crying, just an abundance of love and reassurance.
Not only did Sharne help us help Hunter, she gave us an irresistibly happy baby who now only cries when he is telling us he wants to go to bed! Hunter loves his new routine and wakes content and refreshed every day. It’s a joy to know and understand Hunter’s cries and now our biggest battle can be keeping Hunter awake.
Sharne lived through our journey with us and supported us every step of the way; often going above and beyond. Words truly cannot describe how lucky we were to find her and we are thankful each and every time Hunter happily goes to sleep.
Our lives are literally changed for the better and we cannot thank Sharne enough. We hope she is able to do the same for many more families.
Thank you x
Joanne and Corey Worthington
ALBURY, NSW
(Online package)
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Coen (10.5months)
We would highly recommend Blissful Bubbies! Sharne was amazing. We cannot thank her enough!
Our first son was a dream! He slept through from 3 weeks and was good at napping during the day also. 12 years later we had another boy, Coen. He had terrible reflux problems and allergies. He was on Losec which seemed to help with his discomfort and vomitting. We could not lay him down without him screaming in pain. So we would spend hourswalking him around, cradling and rocking him to soothe him. The longest he ever slept was 3 hours at a time. At night when he was 4 months we started putting him in bed with us when he would wake at about 10pm, otherwise we could be up for hours trying to get him back to sleep. Being close to mummy and daddy seemed to help him go back tosleep. Although, we were not keen on the idea, we didn't know what else to do. It was either try to get Coen back to sleep and get no sleep ourselves or let him sleep in our bed and at least we'd get a few more hours. We got to the point where none of us were sleeping very well and we needed to get the baby out of our bed and into his own cot.
I had a friend who had taken their son to a sleep clinic where her and her son lived there for 5 nights with other parents and kids. It sounded horrible, not my cup of tea at all! Also I didn't have a week to spare. Plus I was concerned about being in a different environment. We really needed someone to come to our house. Also I wanted my husband to be involved and learn with me. He's the type of person wholearns whilst doing, so I knew I would have trouble explaining everything to him, as he doesn't really listen very well to me anyway! I had some other recommendations from a friend or a friend. But I looked on their websites and for one it was not very professional looking, nor did it specify any qualifications of these women. Nothing about babies with reflux or allergies either. I didn't feel comfortable giving them a go because a friend of a friend swears by this woman. Their website did not fill me with confidence either.
We chose Sharne because I felt I could trust her. She is an old friend from school. But I had not seen her since year 8, 20 years ago! I did not even know what she had done since completing school. But her qualifications and experience were extremely reassuring and I knew she was a really genuine, understanding and trustworthy person. Whatreally sealed the deal for me was her experience with her own boys, as they have struggled with reflux and allergies. I felt it was really important that Sharne had experienced this first hand. I feel people have no understanding of the difficulties associated with reflux and allergies and how much they can affect babies unless they have experience. I definitely had no idea until we had Coen!
We only had Sharne at our house for 3 hours. She showed us the technique for putting Coen to bed, and taught us to understand his different cries, which helped enormously and she gave us a routine specifically for Coen. We really benefited from having Sharne come to our house. Our only regret is that we didn't get her over sooner! It's the best money we've ever spent! The continued online support for the 2 weeks after her visit was extremely helpful. It just helped clarify some things that I wasn't sure we were doing right, amoung other things. She helped us through every sleep and I never felt stressed or uncomfortable about any thing throughout the two week process.
This may sound over the top, but Sharne has truly changed our lives! Any parent in the same situation as us would understand what a huge difference a good night's sleep can make. Something that we had not experienced in 11 months! Coen has not been in our bed since Sharne's visit! He has learnt to sleep longer than 2-3 hours at a time. He is now sleeping between 11.5-12 hours at night, and resettling himself. We no longer have to get up 4-6 times a night! A nice change is that we have time to eat dinner together with our 12 year old, without one of us having to walk around or hold Coen while the other one eats. We no longer have to walk around for hours to calm him down and to get him to sleep. His reflux has improved also, which is a bonus! He's off his Losec and is a much happier bub! We are all much happier!
Sharne is an absolute angel! We could not have done this without her expertise and support! We will forever be grateful. Now the prospect of another baby is not so daunting!
We wish you all the best for your new business and we will keep recommending you to anyone who will listen! xox
Yana Ford
WOOLOOWIN, QLD
(In home consultation)
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Charlie (17months)
Our first child literally slept like a baby from 3 months of age, but Charlie, # 2 was the complete opposite from birth!
Charlie was 17months old when we made contact with Sharne & we haven't looked back! I can't believe my husband & I debated for so long about getting someone out to help us! The best $$ we have ever spent!
Sharne firstly helped us get Charlie's diet right as he had some IBS symptoms. So we first got that on track & learnt SO much about food chemicals & nastys that exist in our everyday fruit & veg! So that was one major turning point!
4 weeks later Sharne came back & we literally nailed sleeping in about 2 days flat! Sharne spoke Charlie's language & suddenly we had a toddler who was sleeping beautifully during the day AND night! Most days I had to wake him from his day naps to do the school pick up! Unbelievable!
We couldn't believe how available Sharne was to us after she had left our home. Weeks of daily follow ups & answering our queries ever so efficiently. We never once felt like we were left to struggle through a moment on our own.
We can't thank Sharne enough for getting all of our lives back on track!
Kellie & David Gemmell
MOOROOKA QLD
(In home Complex Case Consultation)
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Reese (4.5months)
When Reese was 4.5 months old a routine was nonexistent! The day pretty much went like this – awake an hour, asleep an hour, awake an hour, asleep an hour. Then at night time if we got a 3 hour stretch of sleep that was a miracle. As you could imagine I was at breaking point, so tired and so over not being able to plan anything or leave the house in a planned and easy way. To make it worse Reese was not able to self settle and I needed to nurse and rock her to sleep which meant I NEVER got a break! I came across Blissful Bubbies on a mum’s Facebook page. I checked out the service that Sharne offered and honestly I thought we were beyond help and that self settling, sleeping through the night and a routine just wasn’t possible. But I was at the point where I had to do something and pretty much had nothing to lose because things couldn’t get any worse! What made me decided to go with Blissful Bubbies was that the consulting is done over Facebook chat! Im on Facebook all the time anyway (since I was stuck at home with a baby) so it just seemed extremely convenient.From the first contact I had with Sharne she made me feel as though I could trust her, so i literally went into the program with the mindset that I would just do whatever was recommended and just see what happens. From the first day at 8am when we first woke up to the evening at the end of the 2 week program Sharne was 100% available to chat and guide us through each day. As mind blowing as it was, guess who self settled and slept for 2 12 hours for her first nap!!!! With the support, advice, and guidance from Sharne over the next 2 weeks life completely changed for us. Within a couple of days Reese was able to self settle for every sleep, sleep through the night and had a structured routine of two 2-2.5hr sleeps during the day. Blissful Bubbies offers something that is truly priceless. Sharne is so supportive and easy to talk to. In addition to the settling service she was there to offer emotional support and some great parenting advice.If your situation sounds anything like mine I cannot recommend Blissful Bubbies more!
Louise Grant
CAROLINE SPRINGS, VIC
(Online Consultation)
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Tia Jade (4months)
Being a second baby I learnt from number one not to feed to sleep so from the beginning taught Tia that she was to eat, play, sleep and that meant to self-settle. From 2 weeks old Tia was sleeping 7-8 hours a night waking to feed and going back to sleep till 7-7.30am. Because I had my older daughter I tried to develop my own routine for Tia for the first 5 weeks so that I could have the two girls sleeping at the same time. But it was not really working so at 5 weeks I went to save our sleep and started the routine for a 5 week old baby. By 8 weeks old Tia was sleeping beautifully during the day self-settling majority of her sleeps and once she was asleep at night was sleeping for a good 7-8 hours then feeding for 20-30 minutes and going back down. But I say “once she got to sleep”. Every night we would work to get her into bed at 6.30-7pm as per the book and night after night we would still have her up at 8, 9 or even 10pm. It was then that she was diagnosed with reflux. This answered so many of our questions. The reflux was worst at night that being the hardest time to get her to sleep. We saw a baby nurse, two doctors and a pediatrician and Tia was put onto a number of medications which we did see help as her vomiting decreased and she was able to lie on her tummy and back to play but the 7pm self-settling at bedtime just did not happen. The only way that we could get her to sleep at 7pm was if I was to stay with her and pat her back softly until she was asleep and then leave her. Some night she would stay asleep and other nights she would only last one sleep cycle and be awake again 40 minutes later for us to start all over again. As we helped her more and more at 7pm, she started to protest longer and harder during the day until eventually she was no longer self-settling any of her sleeps. In her eyes, she was getting help at bedtime and had become afraid of doing it alone during the day and felt she needed help for all those sleeps too. I think between 8 weeks old and 16 weeks old she might have self-settled at 7pm for a period of about 10 days but then back to needing help. By 16 weeks not only was Tia no longer self-settling any sleep, she had started to have 2 hours awake time during the night. It was after a run of 5 nights in a row that I found Sharne Dolich and questioned what she had to offer and if she could help us. What attracted me to Sharne was her experience with reflux babies as both her sons suffered reflux. I had looked up a number of different people and read a number of testimonials and everyone had great reviews but Sharne was the one that had the experience that suited our family best.
Sharne came to our house and met myself and Tia. She spend 3 hours with us where she showed me another way to wrap Tia ready for bed and she went through Tia’s bedding and the number of tog / thickness of blankets she needed, plus we talked about Tia’s routine and how it needed to be altered to suit her and also my diet as a breastfeeding mother and how adjusting that may / may not help with Tia’s reflux. Once Sharne had left it was not even 30 minutes later she was online talking to me offering suggestions and advice on the rest of the day. From that minute I knew she was going to be the best person to help us to settle Tia into a good routine.
Sharne then spent the next 3 weeks working closely with me every day at every sleep to get Tia to settle and stay asleep for every sleep. She taught me a few different methods on settling Tia as she was a hard nut to crack given she had already been taught to self-settle from day dot. In week two she caught a cold from her older sister and that knocked her around a bit and interfered with the routine Sharne had developed. But I kept with it and we got back on track. By the end of week 3 Tia was self-settling every day sleep but still not at 7pm. So I asked Sharne to keep helping me for a 4th week but I managed all the days on my own and just reported to Sharne what had happened each sleep. I wanted to know that I was able to manage once I no longer had Sharne to help me. Four days into the 4th week Tia started to settle at 7pm. But after we changed our approach to teaching her. From that day on she has settled every sleep 100%. Two nights before I was due to end my time with Sharne, Tia was back to sleeping through the night (with a dream feed) and she has continued to do so every night since.
Sharne, we want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the help, support, dedication and commitment you gave to our family. You have been a blessing to us. Personally you have taught me so much about my daughter and allowed me to fall deeper in love with her. With your guidance and knowledge I have really gotten to know her every cry and most importantly you have helped us to make Tia happy. She always smiles and is now laughing all the time.
I wish you every success in your business moving forward Sharne. I know you can help so many more families just like us and I only hope that people take the time to look you up and give you a go.
You are truly amazing. Thank you x
Aliesha Bell
PACIFIC PINES, QLD
(In Home Consultation)
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Mackenzie (15 months)
Mackenzie has never been a great sleeper and at 15 months was still up 2-3 times a night. Most times being fed back to sleep but sometimes not wanting to go back down in her cot, waking up the second we lay her down, which led to her either ending up wide awake or having to put her in our bed which meant no sleep for me. She had also never self settled in her cot. She had always been fed or rocked to sleep. Mackenzie would have 1, sometimes 2 sleeps a day. Sometimes she then wouldn't go to bed until late at night, each day was different which often made it stressful and frustrating.
We had spoken to Health Nurses and I even had a phone consultation with a sleep school, none of which helped at all. Neither my Husband or I like the idea of controlled crying which seemed to be most people's answers. A friend had recently had Sharne's help and she had amazing results so when I was able to speak to Sharne we were hopeful but not wanting to get too excited as it seemed too good to be true. Well Sharne was amazing, she asked lots of questions, wrote out a routine for us (which we'd never had) and most importantly she was there for us. I didn't think we could feel so supported with her living so far away and doing it all online. The first night there was tears from all of us and Sharne was there to reassure us it was all normal and how best to approach everything. The second night Mackenzie woke and it took 2 hours and 45 minutes to get her back to sleep. I'll never forget Sharne messaging in the morning to ask how it went and while we felt like the night was a fail, she was SO happy that we'd done it without picking Mackenzie up or feeding her, she said we'd won and overcome a huge hurdle. That was a turning point for us and everything just got better from there. Mackenzie now sleeps between 2 and 2 1/2 hours every day and 12 hours overnight, self settling for both these sleeps. One big thing we noticed is how happy she wakes. She now wakes chatting to herself and will happily lay in her cot babbling away until we go in. She used to wake crying, but not anymore. My husband and I feel like different people, we have the nights to ourselves and everything just seems better not being so sleep deprived. Mackenzie was always a happy baby but since sleeping so much better she is so much more settled, her eating improved and she is rarely grumpy. It's so nice knowing when her sleep will be and working around that, rather than always wondering if she's tired and looking for the signs.
Thank you Sharne, from the absolute bottom of our hearts for your support and understanding and caring and friendship. You really have changed our lives for the better and made this family happier than we thought possible. You are an angel and I'm so glad there are people like you in this world.
Amanda Yeoman xxx
BENDIGO, VIC
(Online Package)
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Josh (14 months)
At 14mths, Josh was still waking 2-4 times a night and only having 1 day nap of 45mins.
I knew I had to do something so when Sharne offered to help us - I was over the moon.
I have never been one to let my children "cry it out" and Sharne listened to all my concerns. She took my busy schedule (Josh has a big brother and sister) and tailored a great routine for us to follow. At first, both my husband and I were a little sceptical but in 9 days .. JUST 9 days .. Josh is sleeping through the night (6.30pm - 6.30 am) and having a 2hr day nap. If you had asked me last week if I thought this was possible - I would have laughed.
I CANNOT believe it. It seemed so easy but when it got tough, Sharne was always there with an encouraging word or just a listening ear.
I now wonder why I waited so long.
Sharne, you have given me back my life and made me feel like a new woman & Josh is now happier baby and so much content.
You went way above and beyond ANY expectations that I had, and I thank you for that.
You are an incredibly special lady.
Kirsten (Mum to L (5), A (3) and Josh (14mths)
Kirsten
HONG KONG
(Online Package)
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Tyler (5 months)
At the time, I was at my wits end with the sleep patterns (or lack thereof) of our baby. Our beautiful baby boy had trouble staying asleep since birth, and after 5 very long months of sleep deprivation & hours of tears, we finally decided something needed to be done and we needed help.
Our baby boy was only napping for only 30-40 minutes at a time through the day & waking numerous times through the night. After a feed then a short nap, he would be wide awake, I would get him up to play but then it wasn’t long before he would be tired again. At the time I was probably mistaking his cries for tiredness as being hungry. After his short nap I would then try to feed him again but he would only drink a small amount, fall asleep at the breast, then he would have another nap & I would try to feed him again when he woke. This was not allowing my breastmilk supply enough time to replenish, as a result – now looking back, he probably was not getting what he needed or the hind milk to keep him satisfied nor was he getting enough sleep. It was a terrible vicious circle that no doubt many first time mums experience and think that, what they are experiencing is normal and it will eventually get better by itself.
With Sharnes wonderful help we realised that our baby was waking after his short sleep cycle and could not resettle himself. What we were going through was not a good experience for my husband and I or our baby, nor was it something that was going to change in a hurry, if anything it probably would have gotten worse.
Sharne gave us a method that worked for our family, and encouraged us to stay on course. Anytime we needed her help throughout the process, she was always right there. She caringly taught me and in turn our baby how to resettle after those short naps and coached me to push out his feeds.
I was extremely reluctant at the time the time to do what I thought would be “controlled crying” and thought that my baby (and I) would be traumatised by it.
In hindsight he was probably more affected by the fact that he was having small broken sleeps and poor feeds. He cried so often simply because he was tired and hungry. Sharne’s approach to teaching my baby to settle was much gentler than I thought it would be and made it much easier to put into practice.
Knowing that Sharne had a lot of experience as a pediatric nurse and in particular with babies with sleep problems, plus the fact that I knew she had her own personal experience as a very caring mother of two babies herself, I was confident to trust Sharne and try what she had to suggest, at the time I also had nothing to lose.
After what felt like an eternity at the time, it was only in two shorts weeks, we were on track with a routine, a more content bub and an even more content mummy! After the first day we made huge progress and I could finally see a light at the end of the tunnel. There were days that felt like weeks & I wanted to give up, but Sharne supported me through it to keep trying.
I now have a two year old boy who is a little sleep machine. He sleeps from 7pm – 7/7:30 am & still has a nap through the day which lasts anywhere from 1-3 hours.
We have since been blessed with another beautiful baby boy who is just 3 months old. He sleeps up to 2 hours at a time through the day and from 5/6pm to around 7/7:30am (I dream feed him around 10pm then he wakes for a feed anywhere between 3:30am-5am) I now know what cues and signals to look out for and in return I am so very grateful to have such a totally happy and content baby.
Sharne, thank you so much for your amazing, invaluable, guidance and support. You helped me get through a very difficult period in my life. Looking back I have but one regret, that I didn’t contact you sooner.
Tammy Sparkes
SUNSHINE COAST, QLD
(Online help)
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Holly (16 weeks) & (Abbey 9 weeks)
Not long after the birth of our first daughter, sleep for our little family was non existent. I was introduced to Sharne and was told that she was a qualified pediatric nurse and that she would be able to guide and help me through sleep clinic. We had tried everything, so I jumped at the opportunity, I was willing to give anything a go.
After meeting Sharne, I found her to be empathetic and supportive to all our needs and gave me the tools to get our new bundle of joy to sleep. I couldn’t believe that only after 2 days our daughter’s sleeping patterns were finally in a routine. Nineteen months later our second daughter was born and again we ended up with a horrid sleep, so again I called on Sharne. With her beautiful nature and vast knowledge Sharne was able to identify that our baby had silent reflux. Sharne showed us how to deal with this and referred us on to a pediatrician for medication. Even with this, Sharne helped us and again within three days we were finally in a routine.
Still to this day both my girls are excellent sleepers and I can’t thank Sharne enough for that.
Trish
GOLD COAST, QLD
(In home help)