The Gentle Sleep Specialist

The Gentle Sleep Specialist Sleep Consultant, Paed Nurse, Mother, 15 yrs exp. O.G Baby and Toddler sleep programs, 1-1 ✨🫶
(531)

Hi, chances are you are on my page because yourself or someone close to you is struggling with infant/toddler sleep. It is one of the biggest issues parents face and one of the first questions we ask one another "how are they sleeping?"
Yet we are given such little, if any information on the facts surrounding sleep and the best practices to ensure sleep times are a positive experience. I am a mot

her of a wonderful little girl and not so long ago was also in a position of despair and sleep deprivation. This all turned around for me when I reached out and got the information and tools I needed to establish positive routine and equip my daughter to sleep well. I am a paediatric nurse so healthy and safe sleeping are at the forefront of my practice. I understand where you are at and urge you to take the necessary steps to put happy back into your home and relationships.

02/06/2026

If your baby’s sleep has suddenly become unsettled around 8 months of age, you’re certainly not alone.

Around this age, many little ones are becoming more mobile. They may be crawling, pulling to stand, cruising around furniture or desperately trying to master these new skills. they may also be going through some separation anxiety and have big cognitive leaps.

So what can we do to support sleep during this stage?
Around this age, awake times will generally sit around 2.5 hours, however there is plenty of variation. Some babies may comfortably manage 2 hours to 2 hours 15 minutes, especially before nap one, while others can stay happily awake for 3 hours. Both can fall within normal limits.

Most little ones are still having 3 naps per day. However, between 8 and 9 months, many babies begin to play around with the transition from 3 naps to 2 naps.

If your little one is comfortably managing 3 hours awake time with ease, then moving towards 2 naps may be a viable option.

Whenever a little one regresses in sleep, we want to make sure they are building enough sleep pressure throughout their awake periods.

During awake time, are they wide awake, engaged, playing, moving, exploring and genuinely ready for sleep when sleep time arrives?

If they are having super lengthy feeds, multiple feed offerings, or becoming drowsy during feeds, this can sometimes reduce sleep pressure and make settling more difficult.

From there, I would focus on the self-settling piece.

If you have been playing a significant role in helping your little one get to sleep whether that’s rocking, feeding, dummy replacement, patting, bouncing or other methods what you will often find is that sleep becomes either chaotic or consistently inconsistent.

Giving your babe the ability to go down wide awake in their sleep space and fall asleep independently is often one of the biggest factors in seeing the end of frequent wakes and catnaps.

Lastly, if you feel like you’ve gone from one regression to the next, or you’re concerned this stage is beginning to create longer-term habits that aren’t serving your family, I wouldn’t wait longer than two weeks before reaching out for support.

I didn’t know if I could do it. How could I be successful when I’ve always been doubted. How could I be successful when ...
31/05/2026

I didn’t know if I could do it. How could I be successful when I’ve always been doubted. How could I be successful when I was too worried to have things in case I lost them. How could I be successful when I’m not conventional. How could I be successful when my brain feels like it runs differently to others? You know the real organised type. Turns out it was exactly what gave me every ability I needed at each time.

28/05/2026

Anyone else baffled!!!???? Why does society not get louder about the actual things SIGNIFICANTLY impacting children’s lives??

20/05/2026

You see it right, the reply on the Mums groups. You hear it, the throw away comment said with such ease.
Co sleeping is “natural” they say. Like breastfeeding right? Does it always work? Not always…..

Not only does it dismiss where a mother is truly at, but it makes the solution seem so simple… like she just hadn’t thought of it. Like there’s something wrong with her. Like the expectation she had for sleep, wellbeing, or survival somehow was “too much” to ask for.

Today alone, I spoke to four women who said things like:

“I’m broken.”
“I don’t recognise myself anymore.”
“My mental health is in pieces.”
“I physically and mentally cannot keep going.”
“I genuinely don’t know how to survive this.”

And yet somehow the answer from the sidelines is often just… co-sleep

Many little ones are still stuck in deeply habitual waking patterns even when co sleeping.

I see toddlers waking every 1–2 hours at 18 months, 2 years old, needing feeds all night long.
Little ones lying right beside mum but still crying to be stood up and rocked 2 hourly.
Three and four-year-olds needing bum pats or constant parental intervention multiple times a night. Mothers who can’t sleep because they are hyper vigilant all night long.

Proximity alone is not always the answer.

And can we please stop pretending that a mother desperately trying to escape survival mode has somehow failed because connection wasn’t enough?

There is nothing natural about a mother feeling regret. Desperate to escape the life she once dreamt of.
When you see it support it with love. Mamas are literally wanting to die out there 😭

17/05/2026

What’s your little one’s default nap time?

It’s exhausting hey! I can tell you it has very little with what you do when they wake up!

Want a resolve? Comment catnap1 and I will send you the link to our FREE catnapping solution video.

♥️

13/05/2026

You thought the baby stage was the hard part.
The feeds, the settling, the multiple wake ups. You told yourself once he was older it would be easier. Once he could talk, once he understood, once he wasn’t a baby anymore bedtime would just work.
And then he turned two. And bedtime became something else entirely.
Now it’s the negotiating. The sitting on the edge of the bed long past the point you planned to be there. The sneaking out, holding your breath, the wondering how long bedtime will take, dreaming of a night to just do you.

And then you finally get your evening — what’s left of it — and instead of enjoying it you sit there running through what you should have done differently.

Why it’s still like this. Whether it’s always going to be like this. The guilt of frustration and snappiness.

It doesn’t have to be.

When you understand what’s actually driving the pushback, everything changes.

👉 Watch my free Toddler Bedtime Masterclass. In 15 minutes I’ll walk you through exactly why bedtime has become the battle it has — and the practical steps you can put in place tonight.

Drop TODDLER1 in the comments and I’ll send you the link directly.

When I was younger I played mums and babies, I’ve realised it saved me in so many ways. The home I created In my room.Th...
11/05/2026

When I was younger I played mums and babies, I’ve realised it saved me in so many ways. The home I created In my room.

Then I became a mum and it saved me all over again.

Until the end of time, no greater role, no greater privilege, no greater honour then to me MOTHER 🫶

07/05/2026

A lot of talk about regulating sleep consulting. There is for sure a place for an over arching body but here’s what I have experienced.
Like EVERY profession there are some that don’t have it, they don’t have the training they need or enough of it, they don’t stick to guidelines, they don’t continue to learn, they don’t “get” babies and children and sometimes they are also lead by their client’s choices which we have little control over.

There are also many sleep consultants out there doing incredible work within families. Saving so many little ones lives, saving parents, saving sleep and sanity.

I’ve worked with countless families who have been on the brink and on the brink of some really really intrusive thoughts from extreme sleep deprivation and in turn ppp and ppd. I’ve worked with beautiful parents who are driving around so sleep deprived in the middle of the night absolutely desperate, so many families who have resorted to incredibly dangerous sleep settings. Mothers who felt they can’t be here anymore. So many parents who felt divorce is the only option, BECAUSE SLEEP IS THE SOURCE. and without it we lose so much of what we are, what we dreamt of and what we stand for.

I’ve picked up medical issues, I’ve reported when a child is being harmed, I’ve nearly quit a number of times because it’s heavy work at times and it’s rarely recognised. I’ve cried and I’ve rejoiced.
But I always come back to my truth and that is my families, my why. The incredible outcomes, the partnerships saved. The baby’s and toddler’s lives transformed, the mothers returning to their true selves, the baby’s saved, the phone calls and texts that tell me a family has sleep and joy.

I will forever stick up for the need for sleep consultants, I do believe training must be comprehensive which is why I created the academy. There will always be a few in every profession but I have so much respect for the actual work of changing sleep patterns that are derailing entire family units with support and response ♥️

05/05/2026

What works for your family? Who’s struggling? ❤️

Address

10 Sleep Lane
Perth, WA
6164

Telephone

0404987982

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Gentle Sleep Specialist posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to The Gentle Sleep Specialist:

Shortcuts

Share

Category