Our families success stories

September 12, 2018

9 month Tola woke throughout the night – she had a sucking to sleep association?

The sleep problem: frequent night waking

Before working with Millpond, Gilly and her family were extremely sleep deprived and finding everyday life really hard work. Read below Gilly’s story in her own words and then Juliet’s tips on how she helped improve sleep for the whole family.

The success story:

Tola, our 5 month old, was waking every 30 minutes all night and we were all exhausted. A friend recommended Millpond Sleep Clinic.

The service was quick and easy including receiving our sleep plan on the same day so we could start straight away. Our sleep therapist, Juliet’s suggestions made a huge difference and on the first night Tola slept for 4 hours in a row. We were able to build up to a routine that continued to improve both Tola’s day and night sleep.

Now at 9 months, Tola has her naps in the cot, self-settles to sleep, knows her routines, and is nearly sleeping through the night.

The impact on our whole family has been huge. I now have time with my older daughter while Tola naps in the cot (instead of only in the sling). My husband and I can spend our evenings together again and actually have time to talk rather than just trying to get as much sleep as possible. Tola is happy and energetic during the day.

The phone calls and emails with Juliet kept me on the right track and her suggestions always made a big impact straight away. It has definitely changed our lives. Thank you.

Sleep Tips:

Try to avoid your baby falling asleep sucking at bedtime

Sucking to sleep at bedtime can become a sleep association. For example, if your child falls to sleep sucking at bedtime then they may come to rely on a suck to get them back to sleep when they come into light sleep throughout the night.

For Tola we changed the order of her bedtime routine. She had her milk downstairs in a quiet room before starting her bedtime routine. Then instead of sucking to sleep at bedtime she was cuddled to sleep and within a few nights she had settled into the new routine.

Spacing of night feeds

If your child wakes very frequently through the night it may not always be because they are hungry.

Initially we spaced Tola’s feeds so they were about 3 hours apart: if she woke in between her feeds she was cuddled back to sleep. This was a gentle way of encouraging self settling and helped to change the habit of Tola sucking to sleep not only at bedtime but also during the night.

June 15, 2017

Sharon and Brendan’s 2 children had sleep problems

Sharon and Brendan had little time for themselves. The whole family was tired and grumpy and their 8 year old’s school work was affected.

Their two children, 3 ½ year old Thomas and 8 year old Jessica, both had sleep problems. Thomas has special needs and does not like change and Jessica’s sleep had been an issue since her brother was born. Jessica screamed in the night, often waking her brother who she shares a room with, until she was allowed into mum’s bed.

Here is their story….

Before our consultation our children’s sleep patterns were up and down. Our 8 year old daughter fell asleep in our bed and wouldn’t fall asleep on her own. Our son fell asleep on his own but kept waking during the night. We were all exhausted.

After our consultation with Millpond, our daughter sleeps in her own bed. We’ve established a routine for her which now sees her sleeping in her bed. We’re still working on getting her to self settle but bedtimes are no longer a chore.

Our son has additional needs; he could fall asleep quickly but found it hard to sleep through the night without waking.

We now have an established pattern which sees him asleep within 10 minutes and 60% of the time he sleeps through the night. We are doing the gradual retreat method which has worked really well.

The programme Juliet devised worked really well and we were offered further support as we had to take a break because I became ill. The advice given was so beneficial and we’ve seen a huge improvement in our children’s sleep patterns.

There is nothing I would change. We thought the service was superb!

December 5, 2016

7 month old Hebe was waking 4 times a night

Our whole family were suffering the impact of sleep deprivation

Abbi’s little girl Hebe was 7 months old and waking on average 4 times a night. The lack of sleep was affecting her whole family making home and work life harder than ever. Abbi tells us her story.

” I had a totally chance conversation with a woman who recommended Millpond, otherwise, who knows how long things would have gone on – I dread to think

Just wanted to say a massive thank you for your help with Hebe’s sleeping. I’m sure it comes as no surprise to you that we now have a baby who sleeps through the night 7 pm-7 am! Amazing!

How we solved Hebe’s sleep problem

Actually, it was incredibly easy. Having thought I’d leave it until the weekend after our first consultation, as I was sitting outside her room in the middle of the night – again – I just decided to set my alarm for 06.30 and start the next day, despite her being at nursery. We got up at 06.30 and I typed out my instructions for nursery furiously before we went. Hebe’s key worker just looked at me with slightly cross eyes when I explained it all to her, but she duly went off with the schedule and I went off to work.

When I picked her up at 5.30 pm, I was amazed (as was her key worker!) to find she had slept, exactly according to the schedule, albeit with the dummy. So that evening, I did the bedtime routine as you set out and put her down without the dummy. There was 9 minutes of protest (but only so much that I went in twice) and in fact, even that night, she only woke at 4 am and then 5.30 – that was a start!

It then just got better and better and within about 3 days she was sleeping 7 pm-5.30 am, grumbling a bit and then sleeping until 6.30 am. She then went until 6.30 and I was going in then to get her up then anyway. The last three mornings I have let her sleep until 7 am and she has kept the same routine through the day. All the dummies are in the bin! I can be out and about too, as she happily goes to sleep if I lie the buggy flat, give her teddy and put a blanket over to make it dark.

Obviously we are over the moon. I’m certainly less fuzzy and more focused and I’m sure my son and husband would say, less grumpy! She is definitely happier too and I’m really enjoying the fact that when she is awake, she is a delight all the time!

I’m so glad we did something about it and didn’t let it drag on, as I know many many people do. Many thanks you provide an utterly brilliant service! “

November 23, 2016

All the sleep advice on Google was just not working for Rose; her baby was still waking every 2 hours.

Rose was exhausted searching the internet for help on her son’s sleep problem; she felt she had tried everything to help her 7 month old son, Ben sleep better. He had regressed from waking twice a night at 3 months to waking every 2 hours at least as a 6 month old.

What if it’s not just a sleep problem?

Rose felt she had read everything about sleep and tried several different sleep training techniques with Ben as described in books and on reputable internet sites with no success whatsoever. The sleep deprivation was having a huge impact upon family life and Rose couldn’t find a way to make it better, “we were losing confidence in being able to deal with Ben at night” and she started to worry that it might not just be a sleep problem.

I need to speak to a health professional

Rose felt that she needed to find a sleep consultant with a medical background who would have the experience to tackle Ben’s frequent waking issue. “The website suggested that techniques used by Millpond were the most up to date and evidence based, and that Millpond trained NHS staff, so we would be getting help from reputable, highly qualified people”.

Underlying medical issue identified

Rose started working on her consultant’s plan for Ben and she found her approach supportive and gentle; but most importantly she was able to assure Rose and tell her that Ben’s problem was not just behavioural, but medical. “Juliet was able to point us to where to get help and was very flexible about the timetable, to allow us to seek some medical help before continuing with the sleep training consultations”.

Ben started to sleep through

Rose is now delighted that Ben’s night waking has improved, and he has even slept through for several nights. Ben still has to see various consultants to get his tummy and skin issues under control, but Rose feels, “we feel more confident about identifying what he needs if he wakes at night and we know there is an end in sight”.

November 7, 2016

Clare’s daughter woke 10 times a night and had never slept through!

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How I changed my daughters sleep problem

Clare’s family life was being affected by her daughter’s constant night waking…..read her story to see how she changed things around!

My daughter had never slept through the night; sometimes we could be disturbed up to 10 times. I used to dread bedtime knowing I would be woken up very soon after going to bed and then rarely get more than 2 hours sleep at a time. The nights were extremely stressful. She would cry out for me unless I shared the bed with her and even then she would be very restless all night. She was grumpy through the day and our work and home life suffered greatly. I was exhausted and depressed and unfortunately had no help from my GP.

After some investigations we discovered she had some breathing problems which a nasal steroid quickly corrected. She continued to wake frequently which is when I consulted Millpond Sleep Clinic. They were amazing and I finally felt like someone was listening to me. They gave me achievable tasks to do over 3 nights which Katie responded to very well. A combination of things helped her feel confident in staying in her room on her own and after 3 weeks we got a full night’s sleep. Six weeks later she now sleeps from 7:30pm to 6:30am at least 5 nights per week. She is now a happy little girl who is a pleasure to be with. She runs around the house singing and laughing rather than being grumpy. I can concentrate again at work and feel so much happier.

September 18, 2016

From waking seven times a night to sleeping through in 3 weeks!

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Archie now sleeps through the night

Archie was just over six months old when exhausted parents Helen and Benny realised that their son had a sleep problem and that it was not going to go away on it’s own.“He was waking up to seven times per night and needed help falling asleep every time. His daytime naps were also irregular. We had read several books and tried making changes to his sleep associations, all without success,” says Helen honestly.

The couple contacted Millpond after a recommendation from their health visitor. After their initial consultation with Millpond’s Mandy Gurney they were given a clear program that was tailored to Archie’s specific sleep problems.

“We started to see results after about a week. The second week in the program he was waking up a couple of times per night and after the third week he started sleeping through the night. We couldn’t have done it without Millpond,” says Helen.

We are so glad that Helen and Benny took action by contacting Millpond as soon as they realised their son had a sleep problem and that it was sorted completely after just three weeks.

June 16, 2016

I needed help with my toddler’s sleep – Anna’s Story

I needed help with my toddler’s sleep, I was struggling to cope at work on 3-4 hours sleep a night.

Before using Millpond we were absolutely exhausted. My toddler Sam (18 months) was waking up 3 – 4 times most nights and often staying awake for more than an hour. Bedtimes were becoming very stressful and we were exhausted. Both of us work full time and it was extremely difficult to concentrate at work with often having only 3 or 4 hours sleep. The weekends involved sleeping in shifts to catch up, which meant no time as a family, which was really tough as that is the only time we get to spend with my two teenage stepsons. Sam was tired and grumpy a lot of the time, so even when we were all awake together he was often crying or overtired.

Getting advice from my sleep therapist

I felt that Juliet, our Millpond sleep consultant, took the time to listen to us and understand our situation and how we wanted to handle things. I didn’t feel that we were being forced to take actions we weren’t comfortable with. It all seemed to work quite naturally. I also liked the follow up calls and the fact that Juliet adapted the sleep plan a little as we went along to take into account our feedback.

No more bedtime battles

After a month following the tailored sleep plan, Sam now sleeps from 7 pm through to 5.30 am almost every night. Bedtimes are now a pleasure rather than a battle and we have loads more energy for work and enjoying the weekends together as a family. Sam is much happier and really enjoying the new routine. His nursery nurse at nursery says he is like a different child, having much more fun and joining in games and songs with the other children.

No cry sleep solution

What is really amazing is that we have done all this with very little crying. I had resisted sleep training in the past as I thought it would just involve leaving him to cry. Juliet’s method was very gentle and Sam cries and gets upset a lot less now than he did before we started this. I just wish we’d done it sooner!

May 21, 2016

Baby Sébastien was taking a long time to go to sleep

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Sebastien was taking a long time to go to sleep

Véronique & James realised their son, Sébastien, had a sleep problem when it began to take increasingly longer periods of time to get him to sleep.

“We had created so many sleep associations, a bottle of milk last thing at night and/or multiple times at night, cuddling him and/or putting him in our bed until he fell asleep. He’d wake numerous times at night, needing resettling,” explains Véronique.

This situation led to the couple having very little time for themselves; Sébastien would wake badly rested, while they were shattered, cranky and concerned.

They chose to contact Millpond after seeing founder Mandy speaking on one of the sleep DVD’s in the Essential Baby Care Guide. Their sleep advisor, Jackie, guided them through a programme of gradual retreat, which included the elimination of each sleep association to slowly wean Sébastien off each association.

“Since working with Millpond Sébastien consistently sleeps for 11 hours straight. He also takes 1 hour 45 minute to 2 hours daytime naps. We’ve been putting him into his cot after a story, walking out of his darkened room and he now self settles within 20 minutes,” explains Véronique. “Sébastien gets himself back to sleep in the wee hours which is great news not only for us but we know it’s an important skill for him now and in the future – we are delighted”, she continues.

We are so glad the whole family are now getting the sleep they need and deserve.

March 7, 2016

Natasha tells her story of how her son’s sleep problem was turned around!

Family life for Natasha and her son had become so affected by lack of sleep. The whole family was incredibly tired and unable to function properly. Millpond had been recommended her by a good friend who had used the service recently, so Natasha contacted us for help.

“Joseph had always been a fantastic sleeper so when he started to not sleep well, we were all surprised. Family life became incredibly tough. We were all so tired and totally confused as to what the problem might be and how to fix it. I knew I needed to seek the support of a professional so my friend recommended the Millpond programme.

It was the best decision I made!

Very quickly Joseph responded to all the techniques and within 3 nights his sleep was so much better. Before the end of the programme he was sleeping perfectly again. We are so thankful to Mandy for helping us through such a challenging time.”

October 12, 2015

19 month old Yusuf was waking frequently in the night

As a GP, Vanessa is a busy working mum trying to cope with a career and parenting a lively toddler. Vanessa was woken repeatedly during the night by her 19 month son. She had no time to herself in the evening as Yusuf needed cuddling to sleep and she was exhausted through endless sleep deprived nights. Now expecting her second baby, Vanessa was struggling to manage and knew she had to take action…….

Toddler asleep new 2015

“I was exhausted and finding it difficult to cope juggling being a working mum before coming to Millpond. I just want to say a huge thank you to Mandy. Your wealth of knowledge and solutions made me feel I was in safe hands and helped me have total confidence that what you were saying was the right thing to be doing.

It was so helpful to have a structure to work too and filling in the diary really helped see how bad things were initially and how dramatically they improved so quickly.

I am a GP and would recommend this to any sleep deprived parents who are struggling that I see. You cannot put a price on sleep. Bedtime now takes less than 20 minutes and I can then get on with my evening.

I know I will have a full nights sleep every night. We are expecting a new baby soon and feel so much more relaxed knowing I won’t have two children up at night and that there is a place I can go if we run into problems.

Thank you so much. I only wish I hadn’t waited 19 months.”