Read what good things people have to say about us. If you have a testimonial as well, please use the form on the right hand side. We would love to hear from you.
“Just a quick text to say thank you so much for referring Ros to me today. She was wonderful, caring, compassionate and professional.
I’m so lucky to have found Mothercraft for Babies and will definitely be using your services again in the future. I’ll also have no hesitation in recommending you to friends and family as needed.
I also wish you and your family a wonderful Christmas and safe and happy new year.”
“Cooper had very rarely slept longer than 5hours at night before waking and was difficult to resettle back to sleep. When Cooper was 19 months I realised I needed some help as we were sleeping in the spare bed together but he was still waking regularly and not sleeping well or through the night.
We were referred to Beth by our paediatrician and I thought I would have needed someone to come to the house to help and support me with getting Cooper back to sleeping in his cot. At that time there was no night nurses available to do that and I didn’t want to wait so decided to take Beth up on the phone consultations. That night after the first phone consultation, I put Beth’s advice and action plan in to place. I wasn’t sure I had the strength or perseverance to do it but I surprised myself even though the first night was the most challenging. The second night when Cooper woke he was a breeze to resettle back to sleep in his cot.
Thank you so much Beth for your guidance, knowledge, advice and belief in me that I has able to do it and stick to it. I would recommend Beth and her services to anyone that is having difficulties with their baby’s sleep.”
“I called Beth at Mothercraft for Babies on the recommendation of my GP. Georgie was almost 10 months old and I was still breastfeeding her twice most nights and breastfeeding to sleep at bed time. I was exhausted, emotional and had a very painful blister on my nipple. We needed to get things on track before starting back at work in 6 weeks.
With Beth’s advice and assistance we reduced day time breast feeds from 4 per day to 2, increased her intake of suitable solids, separated feeding from sleeping at bed time and reduced overnight feeds to 1 then 0. It wasn’t easy but much more straight forward than I expected.
5 nights after I first spoke with Beth Georgie slept through from 7.15pm to 6.30am, she did the same the following night! Georgie is now settling in her cot with only mattress tapping and voice reassurance. The improvement has been unbelievable.
Beth was wonderful with Georgie and worked with us to make sure we were comfortable with her recommendations. I expected there would be a lot of crying but it turned out that wasn’t required.
Beth has a wealth of knowledge and expertise on baby feeding, sleeping and behaviour.
Thank you so much Beth! I’m feeling much more confident with Georgie’s feeding and sleeping. I’m also comfortable about sending her off to daycare knowing that she will eat a large variety of foods and can settle in her cot for naps. I would recommend Beth and Mothercraft for babies with no reservations.”
“Jasmine slept for a 7.5 hour block last night and it might have been longer but I couldn’t wait as I was engorged. Afterwards, she slept for another 2.5 hours. This is far and beyond a record for us.
Since Jackie spent the night with is, we’ve settled Jasmine in her cot for every sleep day and night. No carrying to sleep. No breastfeeding to sleep. She certainly protests but nothing like that first night with Jackie where we would have given in eventually had we not had Jackie’s supportive presence.
I’m so grateful to her for the way she helped us and made me more confident and I am sure Jasmine is getting better quality sleep too as she just had a 1.5 hour nap after a few days of 30-40 min cat naps.
I just wanted to say thank you.
Jackie, you are amazing, capable, friendly and confident, and accommodating. If you hadn’t showed us it COULD be done, we’d still be crossing our fingers that Jasmine could be sneaked into her cot and not waking up and then have our hearts sink as the monitor crackled back on with a crying baby.
And thank you, Beth for fitting us in as quickly as possible and being so understanding over the phone.”
“I contacted Mothercraft for Babies to assist me with my 2 year old son who would only sleep in his stroller. He would refuse any other way of sleeping, both in the cot or a bed. He would constantly wake up every 2 hours and never get a straight night’s sleep.
Beth sent Sonia out to us for a 3 hour session to show us a gentle and calm approach to changing our son’s sleeping habits. Simply by putting the cot mattress on the floor beside our bed (where he was used to sleeping in his stroller) and patting his bottom proved to be a huge success. Our son was hesitant at first as this was not his normal routine but by me being relaxed and comfortable about this approach made him comfortable too.
I previously used another baby Sleep Consultants company who wanted me to use the controlled crying method which immensely upset my son and myself. It was a horrible experience of settling and would definitely not recommend it.
Thank you to Sonia from Mothercraft for Babies for showing us a gentle and positive approach to changing our son’s sleeping habits. We are now getting more sleep and feel happier that our son is finally sleeping comfortably and settling faster. We have never looked back!”
“In a moment of absolute desperation I was referred to Beth as she was recommended by my Midwife. I had already seen multiple GP’s, lactation consultants & a paediatrician as my baby cried/screamed for hours every day! Everyone told me his behaviour was normal & that I was just a nervous first time mum.
As soon as Beth saw my son she suspected silent reflux & recommended different sleeping solutions & treatment options. My baby is now happy & content & I have my sanity back! I’m forever grateful for Beth. She was extremely professional & empathetic.
I also appreciated that Beth checked in on me multiple times after her visit! I would highly recommend Beth’s service.”
“With our families living overseas and little local support ; my husband and I called on Beth in our first fortnight home with our new baby. She taught us so many valuable skills as new parents in the comfort of our own home which we found invaluable. She was so approachable and reassuring with her advice which gave me so much confidence to carry on without her. At 3 months when we felt like we needed her again – we were given a plan tailored for us and she was in touch quickly to make sure we had adapted to the changes smoothly. I would recommend her services to any new family and would not hesitate to call on her again if we ever need.”
“I was recommended Mothercraft by my lactation consultant. As a bit of background, our little baby had 2 major operations before 4 months of age and each time he returned from the hospital his sleep was significantly affected. In addition, we could never get him to sleep for the night before about 10pm or later (and we always thought we had a night owl!) and we struggled to get him to sleep much during the day.
After speaking with Beth and a home visit by Ros, we were given some much needed advice and strategies and exactly a week later baby was going to sleep for the night at 7pm and completing at least 2 solid naps during the day. Baby seems much more settled during the day and as insignificant as it sounds, for the first time in over 4 months my hubby and I can have dinner and wind down together without an unsettled baby in the mix which has made evenings much more pleasant!
I can not recommend Beth and Ros and their team more highly enough.Beth’s quick response initially, dispatching Ros swiftly and follow up (and contact-ability) from both you and Ros…. Now just need baby to “sleep through the night” – when he is ready!
Thanks again.”
“Thank you again… And again!
In the morning and in the night, thank you!
The little miss is 6 months old tomorrow and she sleeps like a dream. Getting you and the team involved so early (9wks old) honestly changed our life! Thank you again.”
“A huge thank you for sending Kathy today to help us with Harry. We’ve had a horrible week of sickness and teething and we really needed some expert help. Kathy was thoughtful, respectful, knowledgeable and caring in her approach. She instilled in me the confidence I needed and Harry slept well and ate for the first time in a week. I was so grateful for her assistance over 6 hours. Harry ate his dinner, had his bottle and self settled to sleep tonight. We are over the moon. Here he is having his dinner tonight. My sincere thanks for Kathy’s help and for arranging her to come so quickly. I’ll definitely be recommending your services. Thank you.”
“I found the Mothercraft for Babies service really helpful as I learnt tips to settle my baby in the early days and how to introduce solids around 6 months. Your nurse Sharon was so warm and friendly. We loved having her in our home and she was very knowledgeable. It was a bit stressful for us as new parents but Sharon simplified things and made it fun (helped us relax). We had so many questions and Sharon was able to answer all of them and made us feel comfortable.”
“Beth, I wanted to say a HUGE thank you for providing Allison as my Mothercraft nurse.
She helped my son Harry and I immensely when we were going through a tough time around the 5 week mark. It seems Harry had a mild case of reflux which Allison was able to diagnose immediately by asking some specific questions. I thought his symptoms were “normal” for a baby his age, but it seems they weren’t and that we could help him.
Allison helped me with strategies for helping Harry cope with his reflux, she introduced the feed/play/sleep routine and showed me how to settle Harry in my arms. For me, this was the biggest help as the only way I’d been able to settle Harry to sleep up until that time was by breastfeeding him. To have other ways of helping him off to sleep was a massive relief and it also meant that I could share this ‘job’ with my partner. And most importantly, this strategy worked.
More recently, I asked Allison to come back to help Harry to self settle, now that he’s just over 3 months old. We are on day 3 now and Harry has been amazing and is self settling like a champ. Last night he slept 11 hours straight without needing a feed! Of course I would never have known what to do if it wasn’t for Allison’s help. Truly, she is a wonderful Mothercraft nurse and human being.
Apart from being an expert in this area, Allison has a beautiful and caring style, she teaches so well and is just a great person to be around.
I cannot thank you both enough for your coaching, support and understanding; you’ve helped a new mum like me feel more confident in myself and you’ve helped me to enjoy time with my baby as well – which is absolutely priceless.
I will be recommending you, Allison and Mothercraft for Babies to anyone that asks where to get help!”
“Our family referred to Beth for parenting advice and support when our children were babies and toddlers and good sleep routines became more challenging. They are school age now, and we are so very proud of them, but I couldnt recommend Beth and her nursing team more highly as they gave us such a wonderful start and caring support to our parenting. We refer Mothercraft for Babies to many of our friends with the utmost confidence, keep up the good work!”
“I just wanted to let you know how well Roman has been progressing since your visit a few months ago.
He is now 6 months old and is sleeping 7pm to 6am and is having 2 long day sleeps (and sometimes a power nap in the afternoon). I rarely need to help him to sleep so all the shushing and patting has paid off!!! I have got the wrapping down to one arm out and I alternate this every sleep but the next struggle will be both arms out. Roman loves to wriggle and crawl around the cot-he has so much energy. I am slightly afraid that when he has both his arms he will stop sleeping so well.
He also loves his solids. We are feeding him 3 meals a day as well as an afternoon snack. He will eat about a cup of meat and veggies and then have yoghurt with some fruit for lunch and dinner. He loves everything we feed him and rarely complains- only when we are too slow with the spoonfuls!!!
Your help has made such a difference. You are definitely in the right job, you are an amazing asset to all mothers out there!!! My sister-in-law was also having difficulties with her baby and I passed on the details of Beth Barclay and Mothercraft for Babies and she found the company just as wonderful.
Thank you so much and keep up the good work.”
“I just wanted to send you a quick note to say how amazing your Mothercraft nurse Jo was: completely professional, knowledgable, compassionate and attentive. She really put me at ease and most importantly her input has worked wonders- our nearly 6 month old baby who was waking hourly and not sleeping during the day is now sleeping 12-13 hours at night (up for 1 feed only), and goes down for 2-3 day sleeps with very little fuss. We, who were at our wits end, are now content. It is amazing the difference Jo has made to our lives by spending just 2 nights with us.
Thank you to you and Jo!”
“I just wanted to say a huge heartfelt thank you for all that Beth and Allison have done for us. Once I made the decision to get someone in to help me with my little 11 week old refluxer I knew after speaking to Beth for the first time I had made the right decision. Not only did she somehow sense my desperation to make some changes but she just took the rains and completely organised everything so fast to get Allison to us for some urgent assistance. I contacted Beth on Tuesday, by Wednesday night I had a booking with Allison for that coming Saturday, it was just amazing!
Allison was the help that arrived at our doorstep and she had only been inside for 2 minutes and we were already talking business about how to implement changes and how to best deal with such a chronic reflux baby. Not only did she come to use with her own personal experience with reflux babies but she came to use with years of industry knowledge. We almost saw instant results in the sense that our baby slept properly in his cot for the first time! The settling techniques she gave us were just perfect and she explained everything so great. Honestly Allison was such a great support to us through a rough time.
I feel 100% better today knowing I am walking into the future with the tools I need. Thanks to you both very much.”
“Thanks Beth for the recent phone consult . It’s Very reassuring to know you are always at the end of the phone to help guide us through Jack’s evolving stages. Great to have you answer all my questions and offer strategies and “tweaking” his routine and nutrition to improve sleep patterns – it has definitely helped and given me confidence to know we are on the right path. Thanks for being a fantastic support for our family and gorgeous Jack who has just turned one.” 🙂
“Jackie did an absolutely amazing job in the 5 hours she spent with 11 x mth old Darcy and I earlier this month. Using the techniques that Jackie taught, from that first night onwards Darcy’s sleeping completely changed for the better. We have had nights where Darcy has slept 12 hours straight without making a sound. At worst he will wake once or twice and we can hear him in his room resettling himself and are able to judge his vocalisations much better now and resist the urge to barge straight in and overstimulate him in our attempts to put him to sleep. My husband Joe and I are still pinching ourselves that we have a baby that no longer takes hours to settle and resettle through the night and are feeling optimistic that we can better manage both a 12 month old and a newborn in just a few short weeks.
We are so very grateful that our Paediatrician put us in touch with Mothercraft for Babies. I have spoken to Jackie on the phone in a follow up call last week and filled her in but please pass on our thanks to her once again”.
“I just wanted to thank you for organising to send your nurse Jen to me today. Baby Emma and I got so much out of it and really appreciated everything we have learnt. Early days but feeling better equipped, thank you.”
“I just wanted to let you know that Jackie was amazing! Since Friday Sebastian has been having longer naps! I am so grateful to Jackie for her help – she is just such a kind, warm and lovely lady too! I can’t thank her enough!
I’m so glad that I came across your company it has made a world of difference to me, I’ll definitely be recommending others to you!
Thank you.”
“We would certainly recommend Beth to anyone struggling to cope with the challenges of a new addition to a family. Our 6 week old (and our first baby) wouldn’t settle during the day. Beth not only provided us with indispensable help in coping during those challenging weeks but she also educated us on practical and sensible ways to best care for our daughter. She provided us with common sense advice and gave us the solutions and tools that worked for us and our lifestyle. Beth is very passionate about her work and she has a lovely way with children. She is reliable and trustworthy and we felt she really became a de facto member of our family for the weeks that she was helping us. We now feel confident that we are equipped with the knowledge to best look after our daughter and, importantly, we have a much happier baby who enjoys sleeping!”
“From the outset my baby was never a great sleeper, and by around the 4.5 month mark we were absolutely exhausted and his sleep seemed to get even worse. After a series of nights where he was waking virtually every hour, we called Beth for some nursing support. Jackie was absolutely instrumental in turning things around. Initially she spent two nights with us. On the first night she observed our feeding and bed time routine and spent a couple of hours answering my (many!) questions, and then she let us sleep – the first night of sleep I’d had since he was born. We woke up to a happy baby and a very comprehensive set of answers to my questions, plus an age appropriate routine which we followed that day. I should note that the routine was a guide, and did not involve waking bub from any naps. I believe in following a gentle approach with regards to settling and sleep, and was very happy with how Jackie supported this. That night, bub slept through the night (a miracle!) and on the following nights the number of wake-ups dramatically reduced. Since then, Jackie has made a couple more daytime visits, each time we have seen a huge difference. She has consistently provided age appropriate advice on sleep, settling (her tips were amazing since my baby refuses the dummy and initially would only feed to sleep), suggested routines and the transition onto solids. There were so many changes going on between 4 and 7 months and she helped me manage those with confidence.
Bub is now 8 months old and he now regularly sleeps through the night, has two decent naps a day and loves his solids. Like all babies, we still have our bad days but I can say that most of the time he is now a brilliant self-settler – I can generally pop him in the cot and give him a kiss, and he will fall asleep (or better yet, giggle himself to sleep). There is no way we could have achieved this without Jackie. To us, she is worth her weight in gold!”
“April was an absolute godsend, she worked so hard while with us and was a huge help and source of advice for Jono and I. She fitted in to our home and all that was happening at the farm beautifully. April will be a great person for you to send out to new mothers. I felt so lucky to have her stay for so long and know that it has made such a big difference to Digby’s first weeks in the world. Thank you for all of your help in arranging and finding April for us.”
Annalise and Digby, Boorowa, September 2014
“I found Beth when I was utterly exhausted and searching for some much needed guidance with my beautiful 3 month old son. He had bad reflux and although now medicated my husband and I were taking it in turns to sit with him during night as upright was the only way he had gotten used to sleeping comfortably. Getting him to sleep in the cot was a massive hurdle as he hadn’t been able to sleep in the bassinet.
Beth spent the day with us and was full of practical suggestions helping us work out a routine mindful of his reflux issues and some breast feeding issues I had. I was frightened of that first night – what if the changes didn’t work. Beth kept in touch via the phone so I didn’t feel alone and guided us through. The changes are slowly working and the difference in 2 weeks is incredible. Yes it has been hard work and consistency is the key but I couldn’t have foreseen the difference. We are all so much happier. My husband and I are now back in the same bed for the first time since bubba was born. I can’t recommend Beth highly enough. Thanks for helping us get back on track and some normality!”
“Beth, I just wanted to say how amazing you were with my son Joel. When I contacted you, I was at a loss at how to transition my 6 month old son from being tightly wrapped to being in a sleeping bag. He was starting to roll and I knew that being wrapped was no longer safe, but he refused to sleep with his arms out. And he had been diagnosed and medicated with severe reflux 2 x months prior so we still had some feeding issues.Thanks to your amazing advice Joel now sleeps through the night and is a much happier baby. You also gave us the confidence to eliminate the use of the dummy as a sleep cue which had contributed to him waking up several times overnight. My husband Andrew and I can’t thank you enough. We really appreciate all your concern and follow up and would recommend you to any family for excellent, practical baby advice.”
“Firstly, Kathy is such a wonderful person! She’s so caring, empathetic and a wonderful listener. Great person to have on your Mothercraft team. She and I were definitely on the same page.
Secondly, we have definitely seen an improvement, majority of the nights have been hard though…up quite a few times. I know it will be a slow process, and I know it will improve. Kathy also made me see that my stress levels needed to be addressed (meditation, shifting my thinking on sleep, etc), and as soon as I did, Roman and I both were more relaxed and happier! (I know, it’s a no-brainer, but my brain wasn’t thinking)… It has been easier to be a mum since I met up with the lovely Kathy.”
We are very glad we called you for your help.
“Hi Beth, I’m so glad I contacted you! Jen’s help with settling my 5 month old and assisting with my toddler’s sleeping patterns has already gained great results. Since leaving Tuesday (now Friday) my toddler is in her own bed at 6:30pm and sleeping. My 5 month old went to bed at 6:30pm and didn’t wake for another feed until 4:30am this morning where as she previously was not getting past the 45minute first sleep cycle during the day and at night. Jen has contacted me regularly since to see how I’m coping and how the girls are going. This to me show’s Jen’s caring nature of just wanting to help my family get back to calmness and sleep filled nights. Highly recommended!”
“My 12 week old decided at 6 weeks old that he no longer wanted to sleep in his bassinet. He only wanted to sleep on me. So I was walking around the house, with him in my arms, getting him off to sleep. I would then attempt to put him in his bed, for him to either wake up straight away or only sleep for 20 mins. Being a heavy baby this was not ideal. I also have a three year old and a very active boy, so I was desperate for help.
I contacted Beth and she arranged to come to my home the following week. She spent the day with us, and suggested a different way of wrapping him, settling him and moving his cot away from the pictures on the walls that were distracting him. She helped address his “snacking ” every couple of hours and helped spread his feeds out during the day to allow for better sleep periods. The most helpful thing though was giving me confidence not to give up. It could take some time to get him to sleep the first couple of days, but the main thing was that he was actually going to sleep in his cot, not my arms.
It has been a week since Beth has been and the morning sleeps are so much easier now. I am wrapping him, putting the dummy in, and can see him drifting off before I have moved him to the centre of the cot. If he isn’t fully asleep, he will do a couple of little cries and put himself to sleep. Such a huge improvement!!! Night time sleep still takes a while, but it is still better than before. We can’t thank you enough, our family is so grateful to you and so is my back!”
“Our 2 month old baby would never sleep more than 30 minutes at a time during the day and putting him to nap was an absolute nightmare. He would drink only half of his bottle and sleep and would wake up again and not go down and we would feed him again thinking he is hungry. For his 30 minutes sleep I would take an hour and half to put him down and it was really frustrating me.
We tried every method to put him to sleep but nothing seemed to work. I was getting desperate for some help as it was really affecting me and my family.
I researched Google and reassured by the Mothercraft for Babies website, I made that desperate call. Beth called me back and said she would arrange for somebody to come over to my place, she was kind enough to accept my request of it to be arranged on a weekend. That same Saturday Margaret came in to help, she observed what our son did and told us that the problem was that he was not drinking enough and so his naps were short. She helped us put him in a routine as well and now our baby sleeps for at least an hour and half after each feed.
I can’t thank Margaret enough, she was lovely and guided us wonderfully. I would recommend Mothercraft for babies to anyone in future. Thank you Beth and Margaret.”
“Our 4 month old girl had never been a good day sleeper, only ever sleeping for a single sleep cycle and becoming more and more difficult to settle. In addition to this she suffers from reflux and doesn’t like lying flat – this together with her having a cold at 3 months had us sleeping her in her capsule so she was more upright. We knew it was time to get her into her cot and that we needed some help getting her to sleep more easily.
I can’t thank Beth enough for her support and coaching – we now not only have happier parents but also a much happier baby as she is getting enough sleep!
The first step was getting our daughter into her cot – she was initially so distressed about it that Beth suggested we take a softly softly approach and settle her in our arms before putting her down. We went through some very difficult nights and I was still finding it difficult to get her to settle. Beth stayed in contact with me throughout & we decided it would be best to get her back for a return visit with a night nurse to follow as back up for reinforcement.
I couldn’t believe how quickly our little girl learned to settle herself after that second visit. We had a big protest the first time around but on the second day it took me 5 minutes to settle her in her cot and she managed to resettle herself into a second cycle.
We now have a baby who settles herself for the night as well as for some day sleeps and manages to sleep up to 2.5h for a single day sleep. She sometimes still needs some support to settle and resettle for her day sleeps but we are definitely heading towards her being able to do it by herself.
Initially I only considered the positive difference this would make to my husband and I but I am amazed at how much happier our little girl is (and she’s always been relatively happy). She is such a joy now that she is no longer tired most of the time and we are having lots of fun with her.
Having seen firsthand the difference this has made to our lives, I am so glad I decided to get help and can’t thank Beth enough for the coaching and support she provided.”
“I simply cannot thank mothercraft for babies enough. I made the desperate phone call for help when my second child was 3 months old. I really couldn’t believe that I was having so much trouble with my second born. People tell you it’s much easier. I had read all the books out there from front to back and had tried routines, different formulas , every anti colic remedy known to man and several settling techniques but I still was going crazy.
My son Ryan would just scream and scream and then when he did go to sleep he would wake up after only 40 minutes. I couldn’t take it anymore as I was also trying to look after my very active 3 year old at the same time. I had heard of sleep school and was encouraged to go by community health nurse but the nearest sleep school was a 5hr drive one way and I had no one to look after my 3 year old. I searched the internet and found Beth and asked if someone could possibly come to me. Within hours this was arranged and I was sent Linda (she willingly travelled 4 hours to my farm).
Linda stayed in my home for 2 days and 2 nights. She was amazing – she knew so much and showed me how to settle my baby after one sleep cycle and also customised a routine to suit our family. As a result I have a happy little boy who can self-settle and now actually sleeps. I also feel so much more confident and am enjoying motherhood. It has helped our family immensely and I honestly cannot recommend them enough.”
“Thank you for your time on Tuesday, it really helped me feel more confident that I am on the right track with Grace. The telephone consultation was just what I needed to reassure me that I needed to make a few small changes to Grace’s routine in order to achieve better sleep patterns for her with less resistance. I am focusing more on when Grace is actually tired now and how long she has been awake for, rather than sticking to more rigid timings. So far, she has not fought me on her day sleeps at all which is a great step in the right direction. We are still fighting a little at night, Tuesday night it was for an hour, but I did not have to get her out of the cot and she did not escalate, which is a win in my book and last night it was only 40 minutes and again no escalation and rocking. We are all feeling more relaxed and confident and less sleep deprived!”
“Thank you so, so much for sending Kathy to us.
I feel as though I can finally enjoy being a mother now. I’ve been so anxious since Claire was born, I hardly realised how bad I was until I woke up on the morning after Kathy had been and for the first time, I didn’t dread getting out of bed to face the day. We got off to such a bad start in hospital after a difficult time, it’s only now that I feel like myself again (at least mentally!).”
“We contacted Beth at Mothercraft for Babies who recognised immediately that our issue was stemming from feeding and as a result our daughter was not only taking a long time to settle but would wake after just 20 minutes. Beth spent a day with us, here in the comfort of our own home, teaching us settling techniques and helping us gain confidence to parent our daughter in a way we were comfortable with.
We found Beth to be most professional and approachable. We are now feeling much more confident and with following the techniques learned, we now have a much more settled daughter.”
“Getting our 6month old daughter to sleep during the day had become a nightmare. With Margaret’s calmness and reassuring demeanour she guided us into a flexible routine that has resulted in 3 sleeps a day for our daughter! We were not made to feel as though we were parenting badly at all, Margaret praised what we had done so far and armed us with the skills to settle a baby who needed some structure and didn’t much like nap time. My husband and I are now so much more relaxed about things and now even have time for each other. Can’t recommended Mothercraft Nurses enough!”
“My husband and I have two young children and both work full-time. Our 20-month-old daughter has never been a ‘good’ sleeper, only sleeping sometimes for 20 or 30 minutes during the day and waking up to 7 or 8 times during the night. I thought it was a phase and convinced myself she would grow out of it. It finally became too much for us, affecting our relationship as well.
Margaret was wonderful in helping us regain our stability and feel ‘normal’ again. She helped us put both of our children in a solid routine for both day and night sleeps and within days our daughter was learning to self-settle. We hardly have to get out of bed throughout the night anymore, which makes it easier to also get up for work. I only wish I had called earlier.”
“Beth came to restore sanity in our lives when my first child was 8 months old. It made such a difference to our entire household, which this time round with number two, booking Beth was one of the first things we did as part of getting ready for the new baby. And it has been a totally different newborn experience. Beth’s calm and sensible advice has been invaluable especially with respect to settling, gentle routine guidance and breastfeeding. Her experience and instincts are spot on but she is always willing to listen to my concerns, and adapt things to suit our family situation. I am much more confident and am enjoying being a mother of two immensely; thank you Beth!”
“I’m so pleased I contacted Beth and only disappointed I didn’t trust my instincts and call her earlier. Our little girl had tried on every bad habit in the book for her day time sleeps; rock in the pram, feed to sleep, rock in the arms etc… I was exhausted and getting down on myself for not being able to put all the advice in the books (and I’d read them all) into practice. Sometimes however, you just need someone to show you how it’s done. I watched Beth achieve what we were hoping for within the time of our consultation and that gave me confidence and renewed energy to be able to do it myself. The results were immediate. Beth also provided great advice on breast feeding, swaddling and dressing the baby among other things. It was such a pleasure to have her warm, calm, knowledgeable and confident presence in my home for the day. She was also a saviour in the following days, providing me with feedback and guidance as I needed it. What a difference a day makes :)”
“We contacted Beth for settling techniques for our 20 month old daughter who has never been a “good” sleeper. We discovered at 15 months she had sleep apnoea, but were told by specialists that after her tonsil and adenoids operation (at 18 months) her sleeping issues would resolve itself. But still our toddler would only sleep for 45 mins during the day and wake up multiple times during the night where in the end we would always bring her into our bed. I recently found out I was pregnant and wanted to put an end to this disruptive sleep for the benefit of our family as we all needed more sleep (including the parents).
My GP referred me to Mothercraft for Babies after I confessed I needed help and a specific plan for our unique situation. Beth came to my house for 4 hours during the day and I discovered our situation wasn’t so unique… she was a happy thriving little darling who just needed a bit of routine tweaking and her parents (us) needed a bit of renewed confidence and direction to start establishing more boundaries for the benefit of our family. The advice we received was so simple and logical and easy to apply.
On day 1 our daughter feel asleep unassisted for the first time in a long time. It was also the first night we didn’t bring her into our bed. Day 1 took her 40 mins to go to sleep by herself. On day 2, she fell asleep after only 1 minute of protesting and slept through the night only stirring once but remained in her cot all night. On day 3, she again feel asleep by herself after only 1 minute… I get the feeling that tonight and from here on we will have the same good news to share, as she has learnt how to self-settle again.
Our entire family is so grateful to Beth for equipping us with confidence to be “firm but calm” with our toddler to get improved behaviour and sleep for her own benefit.”
“Beth came to visit when our son was 3 weeks old and we were struggling to find our groove. All I can say is that she was a godsend! Beth gave us advice and practical help that was tailored to our son’s temperament and needs, and with it gave us confidence. All 3 of us are better off from our time spent with Beth and we feel armed to deal with the tough days as well as the good, and if we can’t we’ll certainly be reaching out to Beth again! Thanks!”
“We are so thankful that Beth from Mothercraft For Babies came into our home when our baby girl was 9 weeks old. Polly was unsettled during the day and as first time parents we were at our wits’ end. We had received an overload of contradictive information from varying sources and we were unsure if it was reflux, colic or routine. Beth gave us fantastic advice and wonderful settling techniques which Polly responded to well. We were ecstatic that our baby girl was sleeping and settling in no time at all. Polly is a much happier baby with very happy parents thanks to Beth, the miracle worker. My husband and I have been able to sit down and enjoy dinner with each other for the first time since Polly was born. As first time parents, Beth has given us greater confidence which we will be forever thankful for.”
“My baby girl was born with diagnosed colic and reflux and a very loud cry! Although I had help from friends and family I just simply was not coping. Our pediatrician recommended that I call Beth Barclay who has had a lot of success with distressed mothers. I asked Beth to spend a whole day with us to let me know where it was all falling apart, which she did. I did not realise that a lot of my second hand info was actually not correct. Loaded with the new info and techniques that Beth showed me I continued to struggle for a further week but stuck to the plan. Beth had contacted me on a daily basis just to check in on me which always put me at ease! A week later after a little tweaking to the day time routine I now have a very happy 7month old. Not only can I plan my day now as we are finally in a routine, my daughter actually sleeps through the night and my husband & I have some of our life back!
Cant thank you enough Beth, I have literally recommended you to anyone I know with a baby, about to have a baby, knows someone with a baby!”
“Beth spent three full days and nights with us when we came home from hospital after our first baby was born, followed by two half days. We found out about Beth through happy coincidence, and I am so glad that we did and took the plunge and hired her. Like most new parents, we were in desperate need of sleep after we came home from hospital and we were able to have 3 full nights’ sleep with Beth there. Due to her warm and caring nature and obvious experience with newborns, we felt immediately at ease leaving our precious baby in her care while we slept through the night. Beth also answered all our questions and taught us some fundamental and important things about feeding our baby, sterilising bottles, burping and a myriad of other things that new parents need to know. As it turned out, our family members were unable to be with us during that first week out of hospital. But even if they were, having Beth there for the first week would have still been great, as she was able to look after him through the night, which is something we would not have felt comfortable expecting family to do. I highly recommend hiring Beth to other new parents as a very nice thing to do for yourself, your partner/family and your baby.”
“Beth visited me and my 5 month old Elias when I was at breaking point 🙁 I had a very hard time trying to get him to sleep during the days and when I did it was at a maximum of 30 to 40 mins! I now have a baby who has 3 long peaceful sleeps by himself and is in bed by 7 rather than his usual 11:30 bed time! Beth taught me so much in such a short time. Everything suddenly started making sense to me and I now know what to do and I have the confidence and knowledge to follow it through! Beth is an angel and I only wish I had found her earlier! I would happily welcome her back into my home!”
“Beth came to us when our son was 2 weeks old. This was perfect timing, as we had been fending for ourselves for a week and were in desperate need of an instruction manual to go with our little angel. Beth proved to be just that, providing very practical and useful advice on a range of issues including settling, establishing improved sleep patterns, bathing, breast feeding and general post natal care. While Beth’s role was primarily a teaching one, she also offered some much needed respite, caring for our son while his mother stole a few hours of precious sleep. In short, the sense of rhythm that Beth managed to establish at such an early stage in our son’s life has been instrumental in creating a more structured and durable routine which has delivered many benefits for our baby and his parents.”
“I contacted Beth at Mothercraft For Babies when my son Dash was around 8 weeks.
For the first 6 weeks of his life, he had been an incredible sleeper, and we had established a flexible ‘eat-activity-sleep’ routine without too much stress. I honestly thought I had it cracked. Then, at 7 weeks, he started catnapping during the day, and my happy, contented little boy turned into a grouchy, unhappy baby. Where he had previously slept for 2 hours at a time during the day, and woken up with a smile on his face, he started sleeping for 30-45 minutes and then waking up miserable, obviously still tired but resistant to going back to sleep. My ‘E-A-S’ routine went out of the window as his sleeps were so short and feed times were horribly out of whack. He was still a fantastic night sleeper, but the days became really hard work, and it was upsetting to see our little boy grizzly and unhappy for most of the time (other than the first hour of the day!).
I found Beth via her website and gave her a call. She obviously had heard this story before, because she knew exactly what I was saying. We made an appointment for her to spend the day with us the following week.
From the moment Beth walked through the door, she put me at ease. She has a lovely warm manner and obviously knows and loves babies. Of course, Dash had gone to sleep beautifully just before she arrived, but true to form, woke up at 45 minutes crying. Beth took the lead and showed me some techniques to gently reassure and soothe him back to sleep. Dash protested for an hour and a half the first time, but by the third sleep of the day was settling to sleep within minutes of being put to bed. By Day 2, he was sleeping for an hour and a half at a time (with about 15 minutes of resettling effort half way through). By Day 3, the change was miraculous.
Within 4 weeks, Dash was consistently sleeping for 2 long sleeps a day, plus a catnap in the late afternoon, and was back to my beautiful, happy go lucky boy. Not only did Beth’s techniques help him to get to sleep, but they also provided a gentle way to teach him how to settle himself. These days, I put him in his sleeping bag, give him a cuddle and a kiss, put him in his bed, say ‘night night’, and leave the room – and he goes to sleep by himself. No ‘control crying’, no ‘tough love’, just hands on, loving techniques that teach a baby how to sleep. What could be better?
Thank you so much Beth, you’ve made such a difference in all of our lives.”
“The ‘Baby Whisperer’ is what Beth Barclay is known as in our household.
Beth came into our family’s life when my baby girl was around 8 weeks old. I was struggling with getting my baby into a manageable sleep and feed routine.
The day after Beth’s first visit, my little girl was sleeping peacefully and we had the beginnings of a great routine sorted.
Beth saved my sanity (and sleep) as well as my husbands and the result is a very very happy, content, and thriving baby.
I also asked Beth to visit and provide hands on advice when my little one was four and a half months and beginning to change in her sleep and feeding needs. Again, Beth’s sound advice meant the transition was a very easy for my little one, as well as my husband and myself.
Beth took all the guesswork out of new motherhood and provided great advice in a calm and caring manner, full of common sense. She gave me confidence in being confident, calm, and capable mother and I am very grateful to her for that.
I have no doubt I will be contacting Beth again for advice as my baby moves into the different stages of development.”
“Beth assisted my husband and I in July 2011, following the birth of our first baby, Zahli. We were grateful for Beth’s guidance and balanced views when bringing home and caring for a newborn. Beth has a great understanding of the needs of a baby (and a mother) and her calm nature made us feel completely at ease when entrusting her with our precious daughter. Beth assisted us again when Zahli was twelve weeks old and helped implement a sleeping and feeding routine, which was a complete success. Zahli responded immediately to Beth’s techniques and continues to be a very contented baby. Zahli was always happy and relaxed when she was in Beth’s care and it was a pleasure having Beth in our home.”
“Beth arrived at my home to a screaming baby and tearful mother and left with silence and smiles! With so much conflicting advice for new mums I felt that I had no idea how to care for my new baby. Beth’s calm and understanding approach helped us to develop a flexible daily routine leaving both baby and mum calmer and happier. Beth’s experience and confidence with babies is immediately clear and the skills that Beth has taught me gives me confidence to face the parenting challenges of the future. And if not, I’ll certainly be calling again!”
“Beth restored my sanity. Combining a baby that would not sleep longer than 30 minutes in the day with a very active 2 year old and a hearty dose of sleep deprivation, I felt like I had entered a very long dark tunnel. From the moment she stepped through our front door with her reassuring smile, Beth restored calm to my home. Her experience with challenging babies was displayed when she stepped in and put my baby to sleep within minutes of her arrival. She provided a sympathetic ear to my problems and challenges and helped us to get back on track with a simple routine that returned structure to our day. Beth’s hands on, confident and soothing approach with my baby solved the catnapping quickly and with far less fuss than I had anticipated. In addition, Beth had an instant rapport with my toddler which enabled us to work as a team together, dealing with both children in the home while solving my baby’s catnapping at the same time. Beth fitted into our home so well it felt like she was an extra member of our family and I was extremely sorry to see her go!”
