Our little boy, W, is coming up to 11 months old. We did have him going to bed between 7-8pm and sleeping through some nights. But recently it has fallen apart and W is standing up in his cot wailing for up to 2 hours this past week. He has been teething and has some hay fever. However, we have probably been too soft with timings, cuddles and letting him into our bed because we’re tired…

“We just want to say a big, big thank you to our sleep nanny Mel for her help with W’s sleeping. She was meticulous going through all the details of his diet, routine and sleep habits (or is that our sleep habits?!) and gave us a really solid plan to follow. We re-jigged feeding and bottle times on her advice, bit our lips (and paced back and forth following her comforting method) for four nights and then on the fifth he slept through!
He has also continued to pretty much sleep through throughout our recent holiday with about 6 changes of bed and some pretty bad teething bouts. Mel was also a lot of fun to talk to over the phone, taking it in turns with both me and my partner Simon to chat roles. Her advice and knowledge is down to earth, empathetic and practical. We could count on one hand the number of nights W had slept through in his first 10 months. Tonight we put a happy, zonked out little boy to bed who we hope will bounce awake ideally about 7.30am! We will be very happy to recommend you further. Best wishes Rebecca M” (Rebecca from London)

After 15 weeks of being first-time parents – my husband and I decided we needed some help in getting our baby daughter’s life (and ours) into more of a routine. D had mostly been fed on demand, carried in a sling and rocked or fed to sleep. While this felt right while she was a newborn, it was apparent that as the weeks went by and with no set routine or nap times, she always seemed grumpy and unsettled and had no idea how to get herself off to sleep. Every day seemed like an uphill struggle and we truly believed we had a really ‘difficult’ baby. Having read all the conflicting advice about bringing up babies in various books and from friends and family, we felt confused and unsure of what to do next. So we contacted Mel for some advice.

Mel stayed with us for 2 nights and in that short time worked absolute wonders. She taught us how to get D to sleep by herself (a revelation!) and put together a realistic daily routine that allows D proper nap and feed times (but without the strict timetable that so many books seem to advocate). I’m amazed at how easy it has been to adjust to and it has made such a huge difference to our everyday life. And as an added bonus, by the second night, D was sleeping through from 7pm to 7am.

I can honestly say that by the second time I put D in her cot while she was awake – she grumbled for about 30 seconds and then went to sleep. And now she goes to sleep by herself every time without any problems – just 3 days later. She is so much happier and more contented – and as a result so are we (or maybe it’s the other way round…!).

Mel is warm, friendly and supportive, and within minutes of her being in our home she felt like part of the family. She gave us so much invaluable advice and guidance in such a short time – and we will never look back. (Mrs E T from Watford)

I can honestly say that the phone call with Mel from Sleep Nannies was like having a very heavy load lifted off my shoulders. Her words that ‘you are not the only parents out there with this problem’ may sound like common sense, but when you’re suffering from nightly torture it is actually very comforting to know that you’re not the only person going through it! In addition, she had very useful advice on both diet and, more particularly in our case, about getting a bit tougher with our lovely but manipulative and non-sleeping 22 month old.

We have, indeed, got tougher and – a miracle this – it’s working. L isn’t exactly going through the night yet, but she is going back to sleep within 10 minutes of waking up, whereas before it was not uncommon for us to be up with her for 3 and a half hours at a stretch. I cannot thank Mel enough for her time and expertise. Be assured, if we ever have any more children and they too prove difficult, we will not be leaving it nearly so long before drafting in our Mel’s expertise.

Best wishes, Gaby (Gaby H from London)

Our baby wakes around 4am every morning and won’t settle back to sleep.

“I was very happy with the telephone service I received from you and impressed with the very quick response. I found Mel easy to talk to and I felt confident that the advice she was offering would work for me. She was also happy to listen to my point of view too rather than giving me a standard solution to my problems. I particularly appreciated the fact that I was able to have a couple of follow up calls with her; it was great to get some encouragement and to check that I was on the right path. I would have no hesitation in recommending Mel or Sleep Nannies to any of my friends” (Mrs K.S.J. from Berkshire)

D has had colic, which has subsided, but a stomach virus and a bad cold followed and so she is not sleeping during the night. She is waking up to 5 times a night and taking a long time to settle. Her milk intake is unpredictable and she has just started taking a little baby rice, which we suspect has also thrown her.

Hi there. Result! She slept through till 6.10am She woke at 5 to have a poo!. Chatted and then went back to sleep. I stayed silent and probably wouldn’t have woken but was already awake wondering what was going on! ! I know she can do it!

Thank you so so much. We’ll keep you posted” (Caroline from London)

Our 11 month old son has never slept through the night – overcoming this would be our ideal goal. Currently he not only awakes on multiple occasions but can be awake for up to 2 hours during the night. His current routine is, Bed at 7pm normally with no fuss. He will sleep without stirring until between 10.30-11.30pm when he will awake, at this point we normally feed him (has been breast fed but for the last 2 weeks we have been giving formula where he has taken anything from 4-8oz). More often than not he will settle back to sleep at this time. He will then wake at some other point in the night (used to be fed) but even before we dropped this feed he was starting to not settle to sleep and has been left to cry in the past for up to 2 hours. He will be quiet if you remain in the room (not necessarily touching him) as soon as you try to leave no matter how sly you are being in making your escape he starts crying. He will sleep in the day between 1 and 2 hours, a shorter snooze in the morning followed by a slightly longer one in the afternoon (normally after 1pm). It can sometimes take some time to get him to sleep during the day. When he has slept well at night he tends to be a much happier little boy which we would like him to be all the time!

“I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Mel to anyone and everyone who has a child with sleeping problems. I was amazed at how quickly and sympathetically she was able to understand and help our situation. After having read all the books, I never felt comfortable or confident enough to implement the regimens laid out. Mel however helped us put something in place that was easy to follow and did not involve any distressing tactics. The changes were so quick it was as if someone had waved a magic wand. Within 3 nights our son, bar a 30 second stirring, had not only slept through the night for the first time in almost 12 months but also without a dummy which we had used since birth. Although as expected with any young child we have some nights which aren’t quite as smooth as others, we are thankful that we can finally say that these are in the minority and we are beginning to catch up on the much needed sleep we have so much missed over the last year. Thank you” (Natasha from Hampshire)