What Does A Baby Sleep Consultant Do? & Frequently Asked Questions

Free resources: Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy, Newborn sleep, Awake times + routine

8/9 Coolibah Drive, Greenwood Western Australia 6024, Australia

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Oral function + airway | Root cause sleep + reflux | Family-led sleep

Frequently Asked Questions

What are my methods when it comes to sleep?

I get asked this all the time, I think because parents are wary (rightly so) of being tricked into a sleep approach that they’re not comfortable with… being sold a ‘gentle’ approach that turns out to be anything but (but by that point its too late).

This is how I work:

It starts with a holistic sleep assessment to look at everything to do with sleep itself, but lots of other things like feeding, oral function, breathing, nutrition.

This helps me identify barriers to sleep. I’ll then address what I can, and refer on to trusted providers for areas outside of my scope.

Then moving onto the actual sleep part.

1. Education – to help you develop an understanding of what is normal and achievable. With my sleep package option, you are provided with resources which grow with your child, equipping you with knowledge on things like nap drops, changing sleep needs, sleep science etc.

2. Identifying your goals. Sleep should be family led and work towards a sleep situation that works for your family. Want to continue to bedshare (safely) but want to reduce night feeds – lets do it. Need to stop madly rocking your little one to sleep because you back is dying – lets figure it out. Prefer to go with the flow for naps – totally fine with me.

3. Breaking down and addressing your goals. A big one parents are often worried about is when they want to change how they settle their little one, but don’t want to cry it out. The good news is you absolutely don’t have to. We can work together to come up with a strategy that utilises coregulation and responsiveness all the way that feels right for you

4. Support. Sleep package options come with follow up calls and text support to help you work through hiccups, modify strategies when they’re not working and guide you on where to next.

My background and qualifications

First and foremost, I’m an Occupational Therapist, which means I have been working as part of a multidisciplinary team in healthcare, listening, goal setting, problem solving and clinical reasoning (not recipe following) for 18 years.

Infant and early childhood sleep is so complex, that being an OT is simply not enough to support sleep in a truly holistic way. The extra string to my bows, which make my approach to sleep truly unique are study and qualification in sleep quality, paediatric feeding and orofacial myofunctional therapy and infant reflux.

What I mean when I say my approach to sleep is beyond a behavioural approach

A behavioural model of sleep assumes that the behaviour is the problem, in that if you fix the behaviour, the problem goes away. For example, this perspective considers that rocking your baby to sleep is the reason they have difficulty with sleep (the ‘problem’), so if you change the behaviour (teach self settling) you fix the ‘problem’.

I look at things a totally different way.

I see sleep difficulties as a symptom of an underlying problem, not the problem itself. I take a step back and look at things much more holistically, to look at what is presenting as a sleep problem. This is where my knowledge and skills in infant reflux, myofunctional therapy and paediatric feeding come in to play. Issues with oral function, breathing, feeding, pain (the list goes on!) can present as sleep issues. In order to create long lasting improvements in sleep, we need to address

any underlying issues in this area.

An example is when baby is latching poorly to the breast or bottle. You simply cannot improve sleep if this is not identified and addressed. In this instance baby may be swallowing air, feeding inefficiently and tiring quickly (leading to frequent feeding), be in pain, vomiting or demonstrate a whole range of other symptoms that may not be obvious to someone not trained in oral function and paediatric feeding. With even a short list of some of the consequences of poor latch, you can see that improving sleep in this instance is not realistic until the latch improves. Simply trying to change the behaviour (like the rocking) is not going to address the reason sleep is a struggle in the first place.

What about behavioural components and sleep hygiene?

There are certainly sleep hygiene and behavioural components to sleep, which can support improvement in sleep whilst addressing underlying issues, or once these things have been addressed. But they are not the whole picture in the majority of cases.

I can absolutely support change in these areas, with respect to what else in going on for your child. It will always be done in a respectful, gentle way. Our little ones are simply not cognitively equipped to be able to regulate for themselves. They need us, as loving caregivers, to teach them over time how to regulate, by doing it for them repeatedly. If you want to change how your little one is settled to sleep (it’s completely OK if you don’t!), when we work together, we will come up with a tailored settling strategy which considers where you are now and where you want to be. We will get there utilising coregulation along the way. You’ll never be asked to leave your little one to cry.

What if I dont want to change everything?

It’s your family, your goals, your plan.

If you are happy with components of sleep, such as where your baby sleeps or how they are settled to sleep, there is no need to change them. If you want to change these things, we can absolutely come up with a plan to get there, once again, in a respectful, gentle way which utilises coregulation.

I don’t live in Perth, can you still help me?

Yes, absolutely. I offer zoom consultations worldwide which come with the same follow up support as in home consultations.