Testimonials

In the beginning, our first child Jackson slept, well, like the proverbial baby and I thought we were very lucky to have such a 'good' child. However, as the weeks went by, we quickly realised this was just a phase and we struggled to settle Jackson, particularly during the day. He screamed his head off as soon as I put him down. Of course, I just thought he was hungry and so he spent much of the day breastfeeding - the only way I knew how to get him to settle. Well, this wasn't going to be the answer for either of us, particularly me! It was EXHAUSTING! Luckily for us, my dear friend had purchased the services of Catriona Cross (The Baby Whisperer as my friends and I now fondly call her) as a baby shower present. This dear friend gently suggested around the 2 month mark that perhaps now was a good time to call on Catriona's service and my goodness - we haven't looked back since!

From the moment Catriona arrived, I instantly warmed to her down to earth attitude and friendly nature. She immediately put us at ease and reassured us, and spending the morning chatting to her was like chatting to a friend. Great for this mum who didn't get out much! She spent 5 hours with Jackson and I and during that time we looked at establishing some guidelines and a bit of a routine which has been immensely helpful. She also showed me her settling techniques which have been absolute GOLD, failsafe and which have earned her the nickname of the 'Baby Whisperer'. Now I have the confidence to know what should be happening and when, and how to read the tired signs and get him off to bed before the waterworks begin (both his and mine!)

Personally, I can't speak highly enough of Catriona's service and happily bore the pants off anyone who will listen. She is amazing and has changed our lives. Obviously her techniques require persistance and patience, but the rewards speak for themselves. We have now, for the most part, a calm, happy and gorgeous little baby who enjoys his awake time and (generally) his bed time. If he reverts to hating his cot - which has happened, we just continue with the settling techniques and eventually he settles and life returns to normal. My friends have been absolutely amazed at how quickly Jackson will go to sleep and keep saying what a great baby we have. I just tell them its all thanks to Catriona - the 'Baby Whisperer'!"

Happy, relaxed mum,
Niqui Branchu. Albion, Brisbane.
February 2010

My bubby Connor, suffered with terrible reflux when first born, of course this was not diagnosed until he was 6 weeks old. So for the first six weeks of Connors life, in order to stop him from continually crying, I would nurse him to sleep. After Connor was diagnosed and started on the medication to control the reflux, he was in the habit of being nursed to sleep, and I couldn't get him in down any other way. Upon visiting the paedetrician and explaining the issues we were now encountering, Catriona was recommended to us, so I gave her a call and booked in for a 'Day Stay'. Catriona came to our home and we spent some time going over Connor's history and the problems we were having in getting him to sleep. Catriona was able to turn my life around in just a few hours, her advice and techniques equiped me to deal with Connors sleep management problems. Connor is now a great sleeper and is able to settle himself off to sleep on most days. Recently, we went away for a holiday, and Connor had to sleep in a portable cot, this was not to his liking at all, so again I remembered the techniques Catriona taught me and was able to get Connor to settle in the cot by the second day. I am so thankful to Catriona and highly recommend that any parent having sleep management issues with their child, do not hesitate in contacting Catriona, her advice and techinques are invaluable and you will finally get some peace of mind and more importantly some sleep for bubby and yourself.

Angela

I first contacted Catriona when our daughter, Tara, was 6 months old. Tara had always been a difficult sleeper - it was a struggle to get her to sleep and she never slept for long periods. Tara had begun to wake hourly during the night and I was exhausted. A visit from Catriona changed our lives! Over the 5 hour stay in our home, Catriona taught me techniques to improve Tara's sleeping and to develop a routine. Catriona was professional, knowledgeable, caring and a wonderful support. Her follow up telephone calls were also greatly appreciated.

When my son was born, Catriona was able to help me with his sleeping routine too. Ryan had been an easier baby than his big sister but by 8 months of age he was becoming difficult to settle to sleep. Catriona worked with me to improve his sleeping. She also gave me some tips to best manage sleeping issues when you have to deal with both a baby and a toddler.

I have been very happy with Catriona's assistance over the years. By the way - Tara (now 5) is an excellent sleeper!

Michelle

From the time he was two weeks Haden would be awake up to 6 hours at a time and this wasn't always during the day. Often my husband or I would be up half the night trying to put him to sleep. Having a two year old child as well meant we couldn't catch up on our sleep the next day either. It was a very stressful time and I was upset because I wasn't enjoying my beautiful baby.

After six weeks I couldn't take it any more and I called Catriona. Within 4 days of completing the sleep course Haden was asleep within 20 minutes and sleeping longer. He was happier in his awake times and even his feeding was quicker. We were getting at least 5 hours sleep in a row which made a world of difference. By three months of age he was consistenly sleeping from 6:30pm to 4am and we rarely had to use the techniques Catriona taught us as he was putting himself to sleep most of the time.

Now at six months we have no sleep issues - we just put him down and off he goes with next to no fuss. He is also sleeping all night (from 6:30pm to 6:00am). The techniques were so simple and gave us the confidence of having a plan to deal with his sleep issues. We know we have something concrete to go back to should the need ever arise. Thank you so much Catriona.

Michelle and Tony

I first met Catriona when my daughter was 6 months old. My daughter suffered from severe colic and the first 6 months were very difficult. When she outgrew the colic I had no idea how to get her to sleep as she had no routine. Catriona came to our home and taught me how to settle her and advised of a routine to follow. From that day on, my daughter slept twice a day and adapted to the routine immediately. It was an absolute lifesaver and wonderful to find someone who came to your own home to help in your own environment. I now have a second child, a little boy, and immediately contacted Catriona for advice and guidance. Again fantastic. I would highly recommend Catriona to anyone.

Leesa

A friend recommended Catriona to me because I was having trouble getting our 6 month old girl to sleep. Asking her for help was the best thing we ever did. She taught me settling techniques and other tips and tricks to help our daughter to go to sleep by herself without rocking or feeding (as I had relied on before). It was hard work at first, but we were amazed at how well it worked and within a week our daughter was going to sleep by herself (and staying asleep!). I was especially impressed at how Catriona delivered her wealth of knowledge in such an encouraging and non-judgmental manner. We were so happy with the assistance she gave us that we had her come out shortly after our second child was born to give us a refresher course!

Sheila

Like most parents we were at a loss when we brought our new baby home and she was struggling to settle in to a regular sleep pattern. She would often lie 'sound awake' staring at us through tired eyes, but it seemed the techniques we were using did not relax or reassure her enough for those eyes to close.

We contacted Catriona by phone while on holiday and she immediately offered some great suggestions and organised an in-home visit as soon as we returned. We found Catriona's suggestions both easy to understand and put into practice. She made us feel like we were not alone in our situation and that if we made some adjustments to our methods, sleep would soon come regularly to our baby… and it did.

Thank goodness we kept her number as our second baby followed soon (perhaps too soon) after and he was completely different, even though our tiredness was the same. By week 3 we had reached for the phone and Catriona once again visited. She helped us to get to know our baby better, by observing him in his home environment over a number of hours. She helped us to understand what he was asking for. All this made sense, and it was great to see what she was teaching us was working right in front of our eyes. I still often contact Catriona now with a page full of questions. She is now part of my parenting repertoire, in fact probably the best part as I have no problems recommending her to all my friends who ring me at there wits end asking me how I got them to eat, drink and best of all sleep!

Vanessa and James