Newsletter signup
SUCCESS STORIES
Our daughter slept through the night from 6 weeks to 3 months of age - after that things slowly
went downhill and by 9 months she was waking every half hour to an hour. I was so sleep deprived
and at my wits end. I'd read all the books and either was not prepared to follow their direction (to let her cry alone) or found the advice overwhelming with too many options and not sure where to start/how much to change at once. I thought I would just have to deal with it until she (hopefully) grew out of it on her own. Then I found Tracie...
In one session Tracie listened to our story including our successes and struggles with sleep. She asked us where we wanted to be, how we wanted to sleep (we have a side-car arrangement and wanted to keep our daughter in our room with us), what we needed to function again, and how quickly or slowly we wanted to get results. She then tailored a sleep plan to fit us. I was not willing to let my daughter cry alone in her cot and I was thankful to hear that there were other options. The relief was instant, even though change took a little longer. Suddenly I felt at least that we were getting somewhere and, in the time frame Tracie predicted, we got the results we were looking for. More than that, we have the confidence and the skills to implement other changes when the time comes. Now when there's an off week due to a cold or teething, I know it won't take long to get us back on track. I strongly recommend Tracie for any family dealing with sleep issues. She allowed us to continue to be the parents we want to be and to love and support our daughter the way that is best for us.
When we experienced "sleep issues" with our son Finn, we did not want to leave him to "cry it out". Not only did it seem completely unnatural to leave my son to cry by himself in his room, but I had also read recent research outlining the detrimental effect of doing so. We were so fortunate to happen across Tracie and her services. She taught me and my husband much. She helped us to identify what the issues with Finn were and coached us through very simple and easy methods to help him overcome them. Although warned it may take weeks, it took days and made a dramatic difference to our quality of life...Aside from helping us with Finn's sleep (and teaching us about how babies' sleep and develop, how to read babies' signs and cues, nutrition and much more), the most refreshing thing was to finally talk to a professional who advocated positive parenting; someone who understood the way in which we wanted to raise our child and affirmed it for us as well. It was such a relief! Now Finn's bed is his haven - it is not a place of traumatic memories, but of good ones. It is his safe place. It is the place he asks to go to when he has hurt himself, is sick or just wants a cuddle. There is never a struggle to get him to his room and for months now he will happily walk there by himself at the end of a busy day. It makes me so proud. Thank you Tracie for helping us achieve this.
I met Tracie Martin in response to my plea for help. She had offered her assistance about 3 months prior to actually meeting her and I kept her contact details just in case I needed some professional assistance. As a mother of three children under the age of 2, sleep deprivation was not a foreign concept. My third child, a newborn, at time was and still is a great little sleeper. My 2 year old twins, however, were a completely different story altogether. As they are individuals they both have different sleep habits, as is to be expected. As time progressed and the sleep habits of the twins started to seriously impact the whole family it was time to seek help outside the many reference books, grandmas, other mothers and television shows. This is how I met Tracie Martin who very generously offered her support, time, insights and advice.
When I started with Tracie neither of the twins were sleeping through the night and nights were a constant battlefield. One of the twins took over an hour and a half to settle and was up every hour waking the whole family night and night for months. To start to help us, Tracie gathered all the necessary history and got to know the children informally at the park before embarking on this challenge, she has been amazing. Daily contact throughout was essential to keep me on track, provide support and education, monitor how my child and the family were responding to the new sleep strategies and also for her help with the progress. Tracie consistently provided sound advice that was often supported with well-researched evidence. As a mother herself she was empathetic to my needs as well as my children's. Her approach to our problems was always calm, firm and very reassuring. She provided plenty of positive reinforcement especially when the times were tough and I wanted to quit. Tracie always recognised the diversity of the family and how each individual was being affected, and offered advice for each scenario.
As a direct result of the analysis and coaching of Tracie, my family's sleep patterns have improved to a level that my husband and I had simply been unable to reach despite researching and applying endless "text book" approaches. I strongly recommend Tracie to you.
Cathryn, Mother of three children.
When I first received advice from Tracie my son was 6 months old and waking constantly through the night. I began working with Tracie almost on a daily basis to assist me with my son's sleeping habits. Tracie has a wonderful gentle approach that is still practical for working and stay at home mothers. Her methods always take into account not only the stage of development of an infant but also their psychological needs. As my son is now 9 ½ months old she has advocated changing his sleep pattern in small stages which is not only gentle for my son, but allows me small regular ‘successes' so I can see the light at the end of the tunnel so to speak.
I have great respect for Tracie. Her advice on infant sleep and behaviour is obviously well researched and thought out. She seems to approach all babies as individuals and advises accordingly as well as taking into account the situation of the parents. However Tracie always has the needs of the infant foremost in mind and her methods are wonderfully supportive of babies' psychological growth and development and always encourages the bond of trust between parent and child. Her methods give the best of attachment orientated pareting whilst respecting a parent's need for rest too. The best part is of course that her advice and methods have and do indeed work, I have had great success working with her and I know others do as well. I do not hesitate to wholeheartedly recommend Tracie for any role working with Mothers and their children to solve their sleep or behavior issues.
Tallie.
After months of multiple night wakings with my 8 month old, I began to research possible "solutions". As a new mum, I had read many, many books on helping teach my child to sleep, and had tried so hard to do all the "right things" that the books told me would ensure my son would soon be sleeping through the night. So I was bewildered when our 1 night waking became 2, and then 3, and then 4.....
Once again, I turned to the books and the "experts" in my endeavour to get an idea of how to fix our sleepless nights. I became disillusioned and despondent though as I found that continually the solutions being suggested conflicted with my natural maternal instincts. I am still amazed by the enormous pressure put on parents to turn their back on their babies and leave them to cry alone, scared and confused. Fortunately, a mutual friend helped me to get in contact with Tracie. Tracie helped me to find a solution which did not involve leaving my child to cry. Instead, Tracie encouraged me to foster my instinctive nurturing impulses. Tracie taught me that my experiences were not unusual, nor were they permanent and helped me find a plan to meet my baby's and my own needs.
So now my son and I are putting that plan into action and Tracie has been there every step of the way with understanding, compassion and warmth. Thank you for guiding me through the confusion of baby sleep, helping me to understand my son better and working towards a good night's rest.
Jo.
Over the last year or so, I have had the opportunity to utilise information provided by Tracie. Without exception I have found that her methods have made a difference to the way I parent and the "issues" I have been faced with & I know this is the case for others she has helped. When I presented Tracie with my baby/toddler related problems, she didn't hand out a "one fit all" suggestion as I have found many sleep & baby experts seem to do. She looked at many areas of my child's life to see all possible reasons for the sleep probems or baby/toddler issue. Once Tracie gathered this information she was able to address the reasons for the problem, rather than just fixing the problem. To draw an analogy I felt she was like a builder who rectified the reason for the cracked walls, rather than just putting patches over them. The upshot of this was I found she is able to ascertain a strategy that is unique for the baby/toddler and parents that works first to remove the cause and as a result fix the issues.
Her loving and compassionate nature and willingness to help others is what first drew me to ask for her assistance. The fact her knowledge and advice takes into account the babies/toddlers developing emotional needs is also something I see as important. Tracie has shown me the links between how I react to my children (my attachment to them) and how that influences more than one area of their lives, sleep, social skills etc. This has made me look at my children's needs in new ways and has meant that when I am faced with a ‘new problem' I look at causes rather than a solution. An example of this is my 6 month old was sleeping well at night, then suddenly started waking and wanting to feed. Because of the skills Tracie helped me learn, I was able to work out he was being distracted during the day feeds by my 2 year old and so by adjusting our day routine we resolved the problem.
Tracie has helped me be the parent I want to be. She has helped me learn skills to enjoy being a parent more that I could have imagined and made me realise parenthood is a journey not a destination and it is more about helping our children learn rather than "teaching them".
Kate, Mum to two boys.
From the very earliest of weeks, my son proved to be a particularly unsettled and discontent baby. He cried and screamed for the majority of the day, quiet only during his feeds and when he would finally sleep from sheer exhaustion. My baby could on days be awake from 6.00am to 6.00pm and clearly, in addition to being over stimulated he did not actually know HOW to get to sleep on his own. His anxiety, upset and lack of sleep, caused me to become so run down that I because quite unwell. My husband and I took advice from Plunket nurses, GPs, Obstetricians, Pediatricians, and Osteopaths on how to calm him down. We were advised that he did in fact have reflux and colic, which could be somewhat addressed, but we would need to persevere with the sleep issue.
One of my biggest issues with pre-natal care, is the lack of post-natal advice! I found ante-natal classes put too much emphasis on how to breast feed and what to expect at the birth, a process which takes up only a few hours (or days). Very little information was provided on how to actually "mother" your baby. In particular, what is a baby's routine? How long should they sleep for? What are the techniques for helping difficult babies get to sleep...?
Tracie began working with us from when Ben was only 9 weeks old. He is now just over 3 months and although we have one or two more steps left to go in our programme, I can hardly believe he is the same baby. She put a great deal of time in assuring me that there is light at the end of the tunnel and that my baby could sleep! I soon came to understand that in my case, sleep deprivation for both mother and baby, was at the root of both my ability to bond with and care effectively for my baby, and my baby's ability to calmly develop and grow. Tracie was able to closely monitor Ben's behavioural and sleep patterns and advise me of various techniques to try until we had established a sleep programme made up of methods that suited MY baby. Tracie's main focus was to teach Ben HOW to go to sleep.
Tracie has an extremely calm and personable manner, which I found invaluable when I had high anxiety levels in those early weeks. She kept up very regular contact, checking to see how our day had gone, and making refinements to methods as required. She has an excellent understanding of the various theories and practices for "making" babies sleep (such as the UN advocated ‘cry it out' method), and for those in "helping" babies to sleep, and their subsequent effects on the developing baby and child. I found this to also be of assistance, in providing my own husband with rationale in why NOT to allow our baby to cry for long periods of time, something that in the early days, he wanted us to try. With perseverance and the sleep programme designed for my baby by Tracie, I can now put him to bed and be assured that with a little help from me, he is content and able to fall off to sleep! I would recommend Tracie and her methods in a heartbeat, for any mother experiencing difficulties with a sleepless baby.
Donna.
Tracie, this is the best money I have spent in my whole life.
Sarah.
I wanted to thank you personally for the help that you have offered to our family. The difference to all of us is huge and really can't thank you enough. Sophie is now sleeping for 2 hours + through the middle of the day and is now sleeping through the night. If anyone had told me a few months ago that this would be the way it would be now, I'd have thought they were nuts! It is just like a dream to have time during the day AND uninterrupted sleep at night! I will most definitely recommend you highly to anyone I think may benefit from your wonderful, gentle approach.
Kirsten and Steve.
Tracie, thanks for your help, it has made a huge difference to our life. My friends are all going to be calling.
Joy.
We first had contact with Tracie when our darling daughter was almost 10 months old. We had got to the point of total exhaustion, and were struggling to just get through each day. My poor husband had been banished to the spare room, so he could get some sleep before work the next day, and I was existing on about 3 hours total sleep a night. With a 3-year old toddler requiring my attention, life was fast becoming a nightmare! When Caitlin was born she was the perfect sleeper and this was the case for 7 weeks, then things went horribly wrong. She decided that 20-40min stretches of sleep were enough for during the day and she would also wake every 20-40mins at night. I fast dreaded the hours of darkness and spent more time in her room than our bed.
Tracie entered our lived when we were at the point of not knowing where to turn next. People would ask me how Caitlin was sleeping, and I would reply ‘fine' as felt her not sleeping was a reflection on us as being ‘bad parents'. I had also got sick of people telling me to ‘leave her to cry', as this was just not an option for me! Tracie listened to our story and then helped us set in place a strategy to overcome our sleep problems. Everything she was saying made so much sense, but we couldn't figure it out alone in our sleep-deprived state. She told me the first few nights were going to be difficult.. and she wasn't wrong!!! In fact I started to wonder if what Tracie was saying was actually going to work!
After a period of time we began to have a MUCH happier family! I can't imagine where we would be today if it had not been for Tracie, she gave us hope in a desperate situation and allowed us to finally enjoy our daughter and sister again. Tracie, we will never be able to truly express how much your expertise has meant to us. You are a remarkable lady, who we feel fortunate to have had work with us.
Leanne, Bill, Alex and Caitlin.
It is with pleasure that we provide this reference for Tracie Martin, after all she saved our sanity, but most importantly she helped my husband and I resolve our babies' sleep issues without compromising the caring and nurturing environment we had lovingly created. I contacted Tracie via email. In summary this what we wrote...
Our nine month old baby girl has not been a good sleeper since she was six weeks old when she developed severe colic. We sought help at the Plunket Family Centre on two occasions with no satisfactory results. When she was three months old I had a prolapsed disc in my neck which led to breast feeding to sleep. From seven months old she could no longer be moved from the breast to the cot without hysterical fits of crying, choking and poohing her nappy (even if I stayed in the room!). For the past month, it has been common for this ritual to be repeated up to 10 times and last anywhere up to three hours before we successfully get her into the cot asleep, and then we have at least one night waking where the whole process starts over.
Tracie helped us tackle one issue at a time, allowing our daughter to go at a slow pace, while continuing to respond sensitively to her needs, both physically and emotionally. This was not a one size fits all approach, nor was the solution set in concrete. The action plan was tailored specifically to our sleep issues and our little girl's temperament, and as we reported on progress daily, it was tweaked accordingly. This coupled with Tracie's in-depth understanding of attachment theory, I believe is her winning formula. After working with Tracie for two and half months, we now have a child who generally sleeps 11-12 hours through the night, only waking occasionally, and who falls asleep on her own in the evening. This was accomplished without our little girl feeling abandoned or traumatized in any way.
We can't thank Tracie enough for empowering us to make the parenting decisions we instinctively knew were right for our family, despite all the contradictory information we had been bombarded with (i.e. that controlled crying was our only option), from professionals such as GP's and Plunket. The end result is a happier and well rested child, and parents who are enjoying every moment of her journey. It also proves that ‘tough love' is unnecessary, as you can achieve desired outcomes in a more sensitive way if you are willing to invest the time and energy.
Sarah and Ian.
For most of the time, Sophie was the most happy, contented and chilled baby parents could ask for but by the time she was 8 months old, we were exhausted. She was sleeping an hour at the most in the daytime (and not all at once) and was waking upwards of five times every night. We had read every "help your baby sleep better: book we could find in the library and we were feeling pretty desperate. We knew there must have been something more appealing than simply accepting this exhausting lack of sleep and less abhorrent than using the dreaded controlled crying method, but we just didn't know what it was.
That was until someone told us about Tracie Martin. She sounded like just what we needed so we instantly looked her up and got in contact with her. During our first conversation I felt so comfortable and supported. For the first time in 8 months, I felt like maybe I wasn't doomed to a lifetime of sleep deprivation after all (extreme I know but at times in my sleep deprived, irrational state I really thought I was!!). Tracie was so thorough and offered us practical and gentle techniques to encourage Sophie to sleep. We started to notice improvements really quickly and it was all so easy. The constant support that Tracie offered resulted in a pretty painless process for everyone involved. There was no crying (controlled or otherwise), no guilt and no feelings of failure.
Not even three months down the track and Sophie now sleeps consistently well during the day and we are currently up to night number 11 of uninterrupted sleep! It is truly miraculous. There are truly no words that can express the gratitude that we have for Tracie. Our family life has been changed immeasurably and we couldn't recommend her more highly!
Sophie's Mum and Dad.
We got in touch with Tracie when we were at our wits end with lack of sleep. Chrissy was 16mths old and was all over the place. We had been through two months of being up at least 5 times a night, for at least an hour at a time and we were over it. We were 'cry it outers' with our son, and it worked for him, but our daughter is a total opposite kettle of fish. She could scream!! Nothing worked consistently. After seeing the results of Tracie's work, I wouldn't feel the need to use 'cry it out' again. We saw drastic improvement in the first two days and within a week she was sleeping through.
My husband is a bit of a fence sitter on these things, but even he couldn't deny the changes we saw in her sleeping and how much easier she was to settle when she did wake. The other great thing is its painfree for everyone! No screaming and crying (from baby or parents) and it really helped us to have a plan, we coped so much better. The daily contact with Tracie was also fantastic, whether reassuring us or setting the next step, we felt and feel totally supported. And if we slip up, no problem, lets sort out why and go from there.
We are still progressing....we still have the odd night where we are up and down, but its mainly now due to medical issues, once we have them under control she goes back to sleeping through. She is far far easier to settle though. The nights of rocking in her chair for hours are far behind us.
We can't thank Tracie enough for her help and support and would thoroughly recommend this site and her to anyone who wants help with sleep, and wants to do it in a calm and loving way.
"Your advice from the outset to rebuild our daughters trust was important. As a temporary measure Tracie enabled us to sleep with her in her room etc without feeling guilty and this has saved us all a lot of heartache ( if not backache!) and we wouldn't be where we are today, with our daughter now going to bed peacefully, independently and happily each night and sleeping through, if it wasn't for that so thank you once again. "
Many Many thanks
Bernadette & Mark
U.K.
"Restoring a new parent's sanity is no small feat. Tracie managed not only this great task, but did so with a supportive, guiding hand which saw our restless, wakeful baby settle into a calm, consistent routine. It took time, but when we got there it remained constant and we have the peace of mind that we did it in the most gentle way possible. She now sleeps an amazing 12 hours a night and looking back I realise how far we've come and what a different person I am now that I have my sleep back myself!"
SM
My son, now 10mths old, was never good sleeper. Before I contacted Tracie, he had slept through the night maybe 10 times and would have two 30-45 minute naps during the day. On his worst night, he was waking up nearly every 45 minutes. On the 5th night of implementing Tracie’s plan, he slept through the night and hasn’t looked back. 10 days into it, his morning sleeps were consistently 2hrs and he usually also had a 1hr afternoon nap. I wonder how my poor boy managed to stay so happy in his days of very little sleep. My little non-sleeper has turned into a sleep-a-holic in less than 2 weeks. Now, if he doesn’t sleep through the night, I know he must be really unwell. Thanks so much Tracie for your help! You have saved our sanity without the pain of having to deal with any crying.
Rachael
Just wanted to say a huge thank you for the help you have given us over the last 6-7 weeks. There has been a huge change in our daughter's behaviour which we wouldn’t have been able to achieve on our own – which has made a huge difference to all of our lives. Looking forward to continuing the work with our daughter over the next weeks and months.
N & R
We were so sleep-deprived when we contacted Tracie. Our 3 year old was waking 1 - 3 times every night with nightmares, and our one year old was up 3 - 8 times every night. We had tried many things, and read many books, but were at a loss as to what to do. With Tracie's compassionate support and wisdom, we are well on the road to recovery! My 3 year old son's nightmares stopped the night of our first session with Tracie, and he now loves going to bed and sleeps soundly. He is a much happier boy. Last night was the night we have been waiting for - they both slept all night! Tracie's methods are gentle but they work. A wonderful thing to discover. We are extremely glad that we chose to work with Tracie - it has been a huge turning-point and a big relief.
LK
My eight month old son, Lewis, was never a sound sleeper, preferring to nap only 30 minutes at a time during the day and sleeping fitfully at night. Needless to say I read many books and listened to all the well intended advice that my friends and family offered however, such information simply made me more distressed as I found it conflicted with my instincts as a mother.
My husband and I are advocates for the continuum concept and attachment parenting so our son was with us constantly and slept in a side car arrangement next to our bed. We both felt that responding to our son’s crying was the most natural and positive way to be as parents. We also considered that the methods prescribed by many did not take into consideration the different dynamics of each family. Indeed, our family commuted between different homes and my husband was often away due to work and other family commitments.
Many of my friends had success with using the “cry it out method” or supervised settling techniques favoured by many specialists. I even tried the supervised settling technique on my son after being told that it really would not affect him emotionally. I found I simply could not let him cry for more than three minutes and after many attempts I decided to resume my previous habits of responding immediately to him and letting him settle using the breast. As soon as I made this decision, I felt I was doing the right thing for Lew and resigned myself to 2-3 years of sleepless nights.
After a teary session with my dear plunket nurse, I was directed to Tracie’s website and was overjoyed to find someone who advocates for attachment parenting and who offers gentle and responsive methods in teaching your baby to sleep. Finally I had found someone who listens to the parents and formulates a plan that considers the different family dynamics and the emotional wellbeing of both baby and parents.
When consulting with Tracie, I decided that I wanted to take our time and teach our son how to sleep very slowly. Tracie was incredibly patient, empathetic and reassuring with Lew and I, often allowing us several days before making another small change in our routine. Lew started making obvious improvements by not needing the breast at every awakening and slowly sleeping longer periods.
Lew continues to sleep in our room but wakes infrequently during the night. The changes recommended by Tracie have been invaluable and I cannot thank her enough for listening to our cares and formulating a plan that allows parents to use and trust their instincts. Tracie has also provided me with skills that I can continue to use throughout my son’s life; indeed her expertise extends well beyond sleep solutions and I am sure I will be consulting with Tracie every now and again as our little boy grows.