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I heard about the fantastic “sleep fairy” Amanda through a friend of mine so I was excited to work with her in helping my daughter age 6 to sleep through the night.
Before working with Amanda, Willa was taking forever to go to sleep at night and with lots of drama and tears. I also have an 8 year old and a 1 year old so this was very challenging as she would often keep up/wake up the others with a lot of her antics! She would also wake up at some point in the night and come into our bed, refusing to go in her own, and would take a long time to get back to sleep which was disruptive for the whole family.
After my initial in-person consultation with Amanda, she suggested implementing a 20 minute ‘special time’ with Willa before bed-time so she would have some quality time with just Mummy right before bed and didn’t have to share me with her two brothers! Willa also had regular Skype calls with Amanda which she loved. We put in place a bedtime chair which started at the bed and gradually retreated out of the door and across the hall over the course of two weeks. There was a special jar made (all under Amanda’s guidance) that Willa got to fill with pasta for each night she slept in her bed and then a special outing arranged for just me and her after she’d completed a week.
The journey to sleep wasn’t always an easy one – there was many a night in the first two weeks when Amanda was coaching me through WhatsApp as Willa hurled things around the room, yelling at the top of her voice, trying to run downstairs or make her bed on the floor in protest! But with Amanda’s help I felt calm and could guide Willa back to bed in a loving way. Amanda’s whole approach is loving and respectful to the child, involving them in the whole process and looking at everything that is going on in their world, not just the sleep.
Within two weeks Willa was going to sleep much more quickly and without any fuss, and sleeping through the night.
Amanda was always there to Skype or WhatsApp whenever I or Willa needed her, often going above and beyond the call of duty. I really couldn’t recommend her more highly.
