Sarah’s Support
Newborns
Sarah advises families about normal infant behaviour with regards to feeding, sleeping and development. She coaches parents about what to expect in the early days with a new baby, how to cope with sleep deprivation, how to recognise a baby’s tired cues and how to make sure parents are following safe sleep guidelines. Sarah has plenty of tips to optimise sleep at this stage, how to introduce age appropriate bedtime routines and how to start healthy sleep habits as a family.
Babies over 6 months old
Sarah has a wealth of knowledge about the sleep architecture of babies and how this changes over the first year of life. She supports families to navigate sleep challenges which are so common with babies at this age including, frequent night waking, unpredictable/short naps, feeding to sleep and needing parental support to get to sleep. Sarah coaches families to find sleep strategies they can rely on but which also work for the family dynamic. She can provide plenty of information about how sleep may be impacted by developmental progressions, teething, illness, separation anxiety and much more! Sarah can also help to prepare parents for returning to work.
Toddlers
Sarah understands that sleep can still be a challenge as children move into toddlerhood. Whether it’s support to move a child into their own bedroom, help to reduce night feeds or ideas about how to drop naps, Sarah has plenty of experience in a range of toddler sleep problems. Sarah coaches families to set gentle boundaries around sleep and can help to create calmer bedtimes. Sarah is aware that bad dreams, potty training, starting childcare and ‘being afraid of the dark’ are big milestones to work through at this age too and has a variety of tricks up her sleeve to share with tired parents.
Older children
Sarah can support families with older children, up to the age of 12 years. Whether it be difficulty managing different bedtimes for different siblings, childhood anxiety that is causing night wakings or a change like starting school or moving house that has disturbed sleep, Sarah can coach a family through these difficult times and has plenty of suggestions that have proven to be successful when it comes to a better night’s sleep.
Sarah also has experience of working with neurodiverse children and understands the challenges they face with regards to getting a full night’s sleep. Sarah uses Picture Exchange Communication Systems (PECS) when working with children with communication difficulties.
Sarah has a wealth of knowledge about childhood parasomnias; whether your child is sleep walking, bedwetting, experiencing night terrors or has rhythmic movement disorder, Sarah can work with your family to improve your night times.
“My holistic approach involves looking at all aspects of your child’s day and how this will impact on their night time behaviour. I will take the time to ask you about your child’s start in this world, their eating / feeding habits, their general health and development, their temperament and how all of these things are impacting on family life.”
— Sarah McCabe, Infant Sleep Coach