Sleep and Unsettled Baby Support

Fussing, crying, trouble falling asleep, and night waking are a normal part of infancy. Conflicting advice, however, can make things feel harder which leaves parents uncertain and overwhelmed.

I offer personalized guidance to help you understand what's driving your baby or toddler's sleep and settling challenges, and what you can realistically do about it. We'll take a wholistic view, including health, feeding, and sensory-motor needs. From there, we will build an approach together that respects infant biology and your values.

A sleep support consultation is a good fit if:

• Your baby or toddler is waking frequently, or for long periods at night

• You struggle with short naps

• You feel your baby or toddler fights naps or bedtime

• Your baby or toddler used to sleep well, and now sleep feels like a struggle

• You feel trapped at home trying to make sleep better

• Behavioural sleep training approaches don’t feel right for you, or you have tried them and they haven’t worked

• You feel exhausted and overwhelmed by the sleep situation with your baby or toddler and feel lost on how to make things more manageable (a.ka. a sleep crisis)

This virtual consultation offers an evidence-based alternative to sleep-training for little ones 0-2 years plus.

If your baby is often fussy or difficult to settle

Some families come not with a sleep problem specifically, but with a baby who cries more than feels normal, or whose crying and fussiness hasn't yet been explained. Families seeking unsettled baby support may be concerned about things like:

• Baby suffering from trapped gas or tummy pains

• Difficulty settling to sleep, or staying asleep

• Baby will only settle if he or she is held

• Baby is fussy at the breast or bottle

• Colic

A consultation for an unsettled baby follows a similar format to a sleep consultation and takes a broad view across five domains: sleep, feeding, infant wellbeing, parent wellbeing, and sensory-motor needs. Understanding what may be driving the unsettled behaviour, rather than focusing on one possible cause in isolation, is often where things can start to shift.

This is also a space where your own wellbeing matters. If you’re struggling to cope with the crying and fussing, this is a legitimate reason to seek support, regardless of whether anything is "wrong."

This support is complementary to, and does not replace, medical advice.

My approach is informed by the research and frameworks of the NDC Institute/Possums Co. as I work to complete my NDC accreditation.

Conducted via virtual or home-visit within Ottawa, or virtual anywhere in Canada.

Initial appointments are approximately 90 minutes and cost $210.

Follow-up appointments are approximately 60 minutes and cost from $140 + $70 per half hour there after.