Better sleep starts with
understanding why it's difficult in the first place
A baby waking every two hours and a toddler taking an hour to fall asleep can both seem like problems with sleep itself. But the same pattern can point me in different directions depending on what else I’m seeing.
Why Your Child's Sleep
Isn't Just About Sleep
Frequent overnight waking, short naps and long bedtimes tell me there is a sleep problem. They do not necessarily tell me what is causing it. The useful information is often in what is happening around the sleep.
Feeding and Sleep
A baby waking regularly overnight may need help returning to sleep because of the way they currently settle. But if they are taking small feeds during the day and waking genuinely hungry overnight, feeding may also be contributing to the pattern. The waking can look the same, but what I recommend may be quite different.
Sleep Pressure
A child taking a long time to fall asleep may not be ready for sleep yet. Another child can take just as long because they have stayed awake beyond the point where settling comes easily. The bedtime looks similar. What I would change about the day may be quite different.
Development and Sleep
A baby who suddenly starts waking more often may be going through a period of rapid motor development and practising new skills between sleep cycles. Another baby waking just as often may have a pattern that was already established before the developmental change began. The waking looks similar, but whether the change is new, what else has changed and what the baby was doing beforehand would affect whether I recommend changing anything or giving the development time to settle.
The sleep pattern tells me what is happening. The details around it help me understand what matters and what, if anything, I would change.
Why families choose
Baby Sleep Collective
The details that change my recommendation are often the ones that seem small on their own. A change in how a baby is feeding, when a nap started shortening, what happens in the hour before bedtime, or whether the waking is genuinely new can change how I interpret the rest of the pattern.
Knowing which details matter, which do not, and what to prioritise comes from years of assessing children and recognising how these patterns fit together. Two children can look almost identical on paper, but one answer can take my recommendation in a completely different direction.
The value for the parent is knowing that the recommendation has been narrowed down for a reason. She can focus on the changes I consider important, understand why I am prioritising them, and leave the rest alone.
Sleep Clarity call
Know what I would do next
Before we meet, you’ll complete a short intake form about your child and their current sleep so I can come to the call with the context I need. During our 45-minute Google Meet, I’ll ask further questions, make sense of the patterns in what you’ve shared and talk you through what I think matters.
What you leave with
After the call, I’ll send you a written Sleep Clarity Report that captures my initial assessment, the priorities I would address first, any immediate recommendations that are appropriate, and what I recommend you do next.
You’ll know where I think your attention is best placed and whether further support would be useful. If I recommend an ongoing package, I’ll tell you which one and why. If I think you can move forward without one, or something should be assessed by another health professional first, I’ll tell you that too.
A Sleep Clarity Call does not include the comprehensive Family Sleep Strategy, detailed schedules or implementation support included in ongoing packages. Those come later if I recommend that level of support.
45 minute Google Meet · $150
If you continue into a virtual support package, the full $150 is credited towards the package price.
ongoing virtual support
If more support is needed,
we keep going
If I recommend ongoing support after your Sleep Clarity Call, the next stage gives me the information and time to develop a complete Family Sleep Strategy for your child, then work with you as you put it into practice.
The package I recommend depends on your child’s age and what support is appropriate. You do not need to choose this before we speak.
birth to 3 months
Newborn Sleep Shaping
$595 AUD
For the first three months, when feeding, sleep needs and settling can change quickly. We work through what your baby needs now, then review what happens as you put the strategy into practice so I can help you respond to those changes without starting from scratch each time.
4 - 24 months
Baby Sleep Support
$650 AUD
For babies who need more than the initial recommendations from a Sleep Clarity Call. I develop a complete Family Sleep Strategy, then stay involved while you implement it, reviewing how your baby responds and adjusting recommendations where needed rather than leaving you to interpret the plan on your own.
2 - 4 years
Toddler sleep & behaviour
$750 AUD
At this age, sleep is often closely connected with behaviour, boundaries, nap transitions and changing sleep needs. We work on those pieces together, then use the implementation period to see how your child responds in real life and adjust the recommendations as new information emerges.
Your $150 Sleep Clarity Call is credited towards the virtual support package I recommend.
PREMIUM IN-HOME SUPPORT
Some things are easier to work through when I’m there
For newborns and babies sleeping in a cot · From $1,095 · Yamba & surrounds
Premium In-Home Support allows me to assess your baby’s sleep, develop your Family Sleep Strategy and then work through the recommendations with you in your own home.
Being there means I can see the sleep environment and how your baby responds as we put the strategy into practice. Where it is useful, I can demonstrate what I’m asking you to do first, particularly with hands-on settling for a newborn. You then have the opportunity to practise while I observe, explain what I’m seeing and guide you through any adjustments. With an older baby, we may move straight into you implementing the recommended settling approach with me coaching beside you.
Premium In-Home Support has its own application pathway, so you do not need to book a Sleep Clarity Call first.
meet elly
A little about me
I came to this work after struggling with sleep with my first baby. For a long time, I was focused on the sleep itself. What eventually changed things was realising that feeding was contributing, and once we addressed that, her sleep improved too.
That experience led me to start helping friends with their children’s sleep and eventually to train as a Certified Infant and Child Sleep Consultant. I launched Baby Sleep Collective in 2021 and have been working professionally with families ever since, supporting babies and young children from the newborn stage through to the toddler years.
common questions
A few things you may be wondering
I’ve tried sleep training before. Will this just be another settling approach?
No. What you have tried before is useful information, including what changed, what did not and where things became difficult. I may recommend changes to settling, but only where I think they are relevant to what is happening with your child.
What if you think feeding, health or something else needs attention?
I’ll explain what I’m noticing and what I think the appropriate next step is. If something sits outside my scope of practice or warrants further assessment, I’ll recommend that you speak with your GP or another relevant health professional. Sometimes sleep support can continue alongside that process, and sometimes it makes sense to investigate further first.
Do I need to know which support package I need before I book?
No. For virtual support, you start with a Sleep Clarity Call and I’ll recommend the appropriate next step afterwards. That may be an ongoing package, initial recommendations you can implement yourself, or another course of action. Premium In-Home Support has a separate direct application pathway for families in Yamba and surrounds.
What’s the difference between the Sleep Clarity Call and ongoing support?
The Sleep Clarity Call gives you my initial assessment, priorities, appropriate immediate recommendations and recommended next step in a written Sleep Clarity Report. Ongoing support includes the more comprehensive intake and assessment needed to develop your Family Sleep Strategy, along with guidance and adjustments as you implement it.
What happens if things don’t go to plan once we start making changes?
That is what the implementation period is for. I review how your child is responding, answer questions as they arise and adjust the recommendations where needed. The strategy can be refined as we learn more from your child’s response.
You don't have to work this out on your own.
Book a Sleep Clarity Call and let me work through it with you. You’ll leave knowing what I think matters, what I recommend next and why.
Baby Sleep Collective
An evidence-informed infant and child sleep consultancy supporting families in Australia and internationally.
Based in Yamba, NSW.
Connect
For general enquiries or questions about working together.
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