REAL STORIES
HEAR FROM MY PAST CLIENTS & THEIR SUCCESS STORIES
I'm so grateful that you listened to my story
I contacted Lisa after having a full mental breakdown, knowing I could no longer go on feeding my 10 month old son every 3 hours around the clock while also looking after an active 3 year old full-time.
I had spent the better part of a year trying to get to the bottom of his very unsettled behaviour and sleeping patterns. I just knew something wasn't right and I had explored all avenues to the detriment of my mental health.
I was completely exhausted, angry and anxious and had been diagnosed with PND/A. My concerns around tongue and lip ties were dismissed by two paediatricians. Lisa implored me to get him assessed and said the intake form I had filled out for her "screamed of tongue and lip ties".
The next week I saw a paediatric dentist who confirmed a severe upper lip tie. For the first time I felt so seen and acknowledged. We had it revised and Alby immediately began breastfeeding more effectively, he burped after feeds and fed just twice overnight.
Now at 12 months we are down to one feed a night and 6 hour stretches of sleep either side. We have even had his first sleep through!
All this without forcing him to wean feeds or sleep train him, just getting the right advice from the right person.
Thank you Lisa, I'm so grateful that you listened to my story, vindicated my intuition and provided a solution. It has completely changed the relationship I have with my son.
- Sarah, mum of Alby
Lisa helped save our little family after almost a year of persistent and debilitating sleep issues.
Before our consultation with Lisa, our youngest son Ryan, who was about 18 months at that stage, had experienced significant sleep issues for about 7 months of age. At the same time he started to have eczema and issues with his bowel movements so we took him to our GP.
He was diagnosed with dairy protein intolerance and after we removed dairy from his diet all his other symptoms improved, except for his broken sleep.
It continued to get worse and multiple times each week he would be awake for 3+ hours in the middle of the night. Nothing we did could help and it was causing a huge amount of stress and anxiety. He would be wide awake despite our best attempts until he eventually was so exhausted he would collapse back into sleep.
He also started to need more and more assistance to fall asleep for both his naps and at night.
It got so bad that we tried a sleep clinic, we saw a paediatrician and he was also prescribed melatonin. But after a consultation over video chat, Lisa created a personalised plan for our little boy that saw instant improvement from the very first night.
By following her strategy we changed his nighttime routine for the better, and brought forward dinner and bedtime; we eliminated the need for things like feeding, rocking and cuddling him to sleep; we eliminated any nighttime feeds; and we gave him the chance to learn how to self settle.
We calm him if he ever needs it but he adapted to all the changes so quickly and within days sopped expecting all the techniques we had been trying in the middle of the night.
In just one month he has slept through solidly about 14 times, and on other nights has needed minimal reassurance in the night. During this time he actually cut two new teeth and had numerous illnesses which normally would have been triggers for really disturbed sleep, but he was so much better following our new approach.
He is a happier, well rested and joyful little boy. We could not think more highly of Lisa and found her incredibly approachable, supportive and understanding. She was a delight to work with and helped us regain some much needed confidence.
Thank you so much Lisa for your non-judgemental support
I sought assistance from Lisa after spending 9 months feeding my daughter, Milla, to sleep.
I only breastfed my first child for a couple of months, and with baby number two, I was determined to persevere and have a bit more success.
Thankfully, Milla was a champ at breastfeeding. Those early months of her feeding to sleep, were not an issue, even the cluster feeding of a night time. But eventually, it got to the point that it was the only strategy I had to get her to go to sleep, during both the day and night. Sometimes these feeds would last for a very long time, because she was no longer drinking, she was sucking for comfort.
Day sleeps were often catnaps due to over-tiredness or misreading tired cues. She was sleeping quite well at night, but it just took her a long time to fall asleep and if she did wake during the night, the easiest thing was to feed her back to sleep, so as not to wake others up.
It was really starting to have an impact on my mental health and influenced my ability to do things for myself. I felt a bit trapped and like a failure, mainly because I had no sleep issues with my son, at the same age.
I was the only one able to put her to bed, which was exhausting and my husband felt bad that he was unable to help out more. Milla also refused to take a bottle.
So whenever I did do something for myself, I felt guilty of the terrible time that person might be having if they couldn’t settle her. I felt as though I had created a monster and I was unsure of the steps to take to get Milla to self-settle, without making her distraught.
I contemplated seeking help many times, but there were always excuses; teething, regressions, immunisations, illness or mainly just thinking that this is normal and as a mum I need to sacrifice my life for that of my child.
When I reached out to Lisa, I was met with someone so warm, bubbly and relatable, it made the next steps in the journey effortless. The attention to detail and thoroughness of the plan Lisa created, were major contributors to our success.
Lisa helped to tweak the sleeping environment and give Milla a sense of comfort and predictability. Proposed a daily routine to follow, whilst still allowing for the flexibility of daily life. Recommended meals that would sustain Milla’s nutritional needs. But mostly, Lisa empowered us both!
The first night, we went through the wind down routine and I put her to bed. She took around 45 minutes to fall asleep, with my reassurance at regular intervals. The next night, she only had to be reassured once. We adopted the same strategy for day sleeps, which Milla responded to immediately.
In the space of 24 hours, Milla was able to settle herself to sleep, knowing I was there if she needed. I honestly thought this process would take longer, but I believe the specificity of the plan allowed Milla to achieve this so quickly.
She has been sleeping through the night for weeks now and if she does wake, she is able to get herself back to sleep. My husband has put her to bed multiple times now as well.
A massive weight has been lifted from my shoulders and my confidence as a mum, has been reignited. Thank you so much Lisa for your non-judgemental support, you’ve given us a new lease on life!
- Kasey
Why didn't I call sooner?
"After 6 months of mucking around with day naps, bedtimes and night feeds you helped us clock up more hours of sleep from night 1. Your experience and ability to see things objectively shone through and has helped our whole family function again.
Legend! My husband says you’re a wizard.
Keep doing what you do because sleep = wellness. Our family is so grateful! But most importantly, Jack is a happy chap with full nights sleep and energy to burn!"
Sent from the sleep Gods
"I’m pretty convinced that Lisa was sent by the sleep gods!!
We’d endured 11 months of sleep deprivation with our little Frankie and it got to the point where I knew we needed help to remedy the habits and patterns we’d created.
She was waking anywhere from 2 to 5 times a night and would only accept me to comfort her, most often by feeding her back to sleep and things had started to get out of control, I was forever shouting at my 3 year old son and I’d started to doubt my ability as a mother and felt very much like I was on the edge, anxious and drained. We engaged Lisa to help guide us to getting Frankie to sleep better, longer and also more solidly as her naps were extremely sensitive to noise.
Lisa gave awesome tips and tricks to try straight away and ones that were easy to implement, on day 2 alone Frankie managed a 3 hour morning nap which goes to show how much she was sleep deprived too! Lisa also guided us every step of the way and worked with Frankie’s personality in to how best to promote more sleep.
In just over 2 weeks we’ve had 4 sleep throughs of 11 hours, she now has 2 solid day naps which don’t require rocking to sleep and whilst she’s having those my 3 year old can be his noisy, energetic self, the dogs can bark, hell, I can even put the vacuum on and she sleeps through the lot! Another wonderful change is that my husband can now put Frankie to sleep in the evenings and I get to read to my 3 year old.
We are a functioning family with many more happy smiles in this house since we took Lisa’s help. I highly recommend her if you are having troubles with your little ones sleep."
Our lives have been changed!
"I am a stay at home mum with a nearly one year old daughter. My husband works one week on and one week off. I was beyond tired and thought there was no way anyone could help us now.
Miss A would only sleep on the couch during the day after having a bottle. During the night she would sleep in our bed and still wake up 4-5 times a night until I cuddled her or sometimes fed her back to sleep. During this time she would only go to sleep on me and would not settle for my husband. I couldn’t even have a nice shower because if she woke up, she would scream until I came and got her from her dad!!
We were in a downward spiral and we were all sleep deprived. During the day A would be extremely moody as she was so tired and we found it hard to go anywhere.
So enough was enough. Sure I was skeptical about a sleep consultant but knew something had to be done! My husband although very supportive had his doubts also. So I came across Cherish Your Sleep on a Facebook Forum and thought I would give it a go…couldn’t hurt right?
As we were not in the locality to have a home visit we had phone calls and skype sessions instead. This is when our lives started to change.
Lisa goes through absolutely everything that you need to know about getting your baby to sleep! So many things that didn’t even cross my mind that contribute to a sleeping baby! Lisa gave us a fantastic sleeping plan to use and follow.
So we started….thinking it was going to be a very long drawn out process. The methods started on a Wednesday night. Thursday we had our first “sleep through” couldn’t believe it!
Day sleeps are also in her cot and she is having 3-4 hours during the day! Miss A has continued to sleep through the night and her day sleep are perfect. Let’s just say that her Dad is now a big believer in sleep consultants and letting all his mates know how good it is!
If you are wondering whether or not Cherish Your Sleep can help you….it can!!!
Contact Lisa today - we are regretting we didn’t sooner. Her knowledge and support is amazing and the regular check ins reassure you are not doing it alone. The difference a well slept baby can make in your lives is beyond amazing!"
My confidence in dealing with bedtime dramas has been restored
"Hey Lisa,
We’ve had a big few weeks of going to Broome and then my in-laws came to visit for 10 days. Few late nights and long, full days so little Miss E’s sleep was a bit all over the shop but she managed really well for the most part.
Getting back into routine now – she definitely thrives on solid routine with consistent sleep times! I’ve not quite made it out of her room, I still sit in there until she dozes off to sleep.
It doesn’t bother me to do this as (besides just being ‘there’) I don’t aid her to sleep in any way. I will definitely work to leaving the room but compared to having screaming matches or rocking her etc this is a much nicer alternative which I am happy to continue doing for a little while.
As usual, your help and guidance has totally restored my confidence in dealing with bedtime dramas – I am much calmer and patient which clearly reflects how LIttle Miss E goes to sleep!
Can never thank you enough – you are the best ” There is nothing like opening your emails and seeing this, one week after our consultation.
And I might add, we did not even discuss sleep training methods throughout the consultation but rather looking at what mum could do less of so that baby slowly started doing more."
It's really amazing to have a pro on your team
"I contacted Lisa in desperation as my then-8 month old sunk deeper and deeper into sleep regression hell! The only way we could put him to sleep was by doing a very special, highly irritating routine of bouncing on a fit ball while swaying side to side, patting his bum with one hand and repeatedly saying ‘sh sh sh shhhhhhh… sh sh sh shhhhh’. I dare you to try doing all that at once! It would take him upwards of 40 minutes to fall asleep, at which point we would ninja tip-toe out of his room, praying to avoid the creaky floorboard that was sure to wake him.
All of this was for an hour or two of night sleep, at which point he would wake crying, and we would have to go through the whole shebang again. Again and again and again. The kid woke every hour until 2am, at which point it was party time until around 4am. Hell. Absolute hell. We created some serious sleep associations so it wasn’t even his fault! We were on the verge of serious sleep training, but I thought to contact Lisa before we committed to it.
She was a God-send! We had a long, in depth Skype conversation, during which she gave us a ton of useful tips, which I implemented immediately. We blacked out his room, cranked up the AC and rugged him up nice and warm, put on the white noise and started a gentler type of sleep training. One gem of a piece of advice was to wake him up at the same time every morning – it really sets the day schedule well! – and to make sure he gets sunlight after each sleep. Walks outside did everyone a world of good.
A month on and our little dude isn’t a PERFECT sleeper but he puts himself to sleep for every single nap and night sleep! No bouncing, no swaying, no shhh-ing, just a kiss and put him into his cot.
If I never see a fit ball again, it will be too soon. He really gets it now as well – as soon as I put him in his sleep sack, he rubs his eyes and buries his face into my shoulder. Yes, there are nights he still grizzles and whines but there are also a TON of nights where he coos for a few minutes and then falls asleep. Just like that. There really is no nicer thing in the world than your kid going to sleep on his own, with minimal fussing.
Lisa still emails me every couple of days to just check in and fine-tune any issues we are going through. She answers each of my hundreds of questions promptly and is always so helpful, understanding, and encouraging. Sleep training isn’t fun for anyone, so it’s really amazing to have a pro on your team assuring you that you are doing the right thing – for your child and for your whole family"
- Una, South Korea
We can finally organise a date night
"Hi Lisa,
Just thought I’d send you a quick email letting you know how things are going. I cant believe it’s only been a month, it feels like a lifetime ago. And Alex is a DREAM!
Happily goes to sleep during the day (usually at least 1.5hrs) and night bedtime is without any fuss and sleeps through till morning! His first couple of days at day care have been great and he’s slept there as well!! Dan & I have even planned a date night this Friday because we know that we don’t need to worry about him waking up.
As for myself…I’m sleeping like a log! And it’s amazing how much difference it makes when you finally get some sleep and your not just running on auto. Especially with the older girls who are happier as well because I’m not so ‘short’ with them all the time and can spend quality time without feeling tired!
On Monday I sat my 3hr exam for one of the more difficult TAFE units I’m studying. And I wasn’t stressed which is a world of a difference from a couple of months ago. I was so distraught that I wouldn’t finish or pass because I didn’t have the energy to do the work or was feeling too exhausted that I couldn’t even think straight.
Now that I’ve finally finished it, I feel like I owe it to you to let you know that it was probably not going to happen if it wasn’t for your help and intervention. Your work may seem like you’re just helping a little baby sleep better. But it has such an amazing ripple effect on the entire family in so many different ways that you can’t even imagine. I’ve been singing your praises to anyone willing to listen!!
So again, what you’ve started is such an amazing thing and you’re helping so many families it’s wonderful. You’ve helped us immensely and I’m sure if Alex could talk he’d agree too! Thank you ever so much."
My husband finally has his wife back!
"Hi Lisa!
Thank you so much for all your help and support and patience! Ari has been sleeping so well for the last few days. He has only been waking once overnight and going back to sleep after a few minutes.
A few weeks back, when he was waking 8-10 times a night for over 3 months, I knew I needed help. I felt like a zombie and had become such an unpleasant person to be around.. hahaha
The ONLY thing on my mind, day and night, was Ari’s sleep!!
I am so glad I got in touch with you and started the process before going away on holidays! I was so nervous about going on holidays and now I am excited (leaving this Friday!! )!
You have honestly changed my life, I am so grateful to you for all your help and thank you from the bottom of my heart.
- Del and Ari
P.S. Thanks I thought it would be a lot harder than it turned out to be. He’s a good boy! Hubby is super excited too, he’s got his wife back!"
Forever grateful
"We were having problems with our 8 week old baby who would only sleep between 9-10 hours max per day. When she wasn’t sleeping she would cry no matter what we did. A friend referred me to Lisa from Cherish Your sleep and we arranged a house consultation.
Lisa came to our house and we talked, reviewed the baby’s sleeping environment and Lisa made recommendations on how to make improvements. Lisa gave us tips which seemed so simple, yet made all the difference.
Lisa kept in touch daily after our meeting and provided constant support. Within 1 week our baby improved tremendously and is now sleeping 14-16 hours a day and in her cot which she previously struggled to do during the day.
We will always be forever grateful to Lisa for her help. Lisa helped us achieve more than what we achieved in the 4 nights we had previously spent in sleep school at a private hospital."