"Our baby girl Cate started off as an ok sleeper, and we got through her first year with a lot of bad habits: late bedtimes, letting her fall asleep in our arms while taking a bottle, and a middle of the night feeding every night. But, at 17 months old after some travel, her sleep patterns went from bad to worse. She started staying up til all hours, refusing to fall asleep except in our arms, and making herself sick with crying when we tried any sleep training on our own. Our whole family was in dire straits and terribly sleep deprived when we contacted Susie. We thought our situation was hopeless!
Susie spent time with me, my husband, and Cate to understand our specific issues and tailored a comprehensive plan to fit all of our needs. She created a gentle but firm approach that we were able to implement ourselves. Within just a few days, Cate was falling asleep on her own with minimal crying and sleeping through the night! We now have a sleep program we can count on, and the anxiety around bedtime is gone. I can tell Cate likes the new routine more too; she knows what to expect and is getting more rest as a result.
Susie is a supportive coach and was very responsive to all of our questions; easy to reach by phone or text. It is clear that she is passionate about her work and genuinely cares about the babies and family she works with. Our whole family is sleeping better and is much happier as a result of having met Susie!" Jessica S. - mom of Cate (17mos)
"When I called Susie, we really didn’t know what to do. My husband and I both work full time, and our 1.5 year old son Brooks had been consistently waking up at 4:30am for over a month. Of course that left him exhausted and ready to take his first nap at 8am. Needless to say, we were very tired, and none of the books and articles online seemed to help. Every website would say “let him play in his crib until it’s time to wake up,” but Brooks would scream and cry.
Susie suggested a complete sleep overhaul - we started with changing his naps, and his nighttime sleeping habits soon changed as well. Susie was patient and lighthearted about the whole process - having children herself, she knew what we were going through and listened to all our issues in a very open and approachable way. She gave us a detailed sleep plan that we were SO happy to institute - after reading general articles and books to tell us to do things that were frankly impossible for us, we finally had something specific that we could follow. It was easy to check in with her daily over email, text and phone. I have to admit, sometimes she felt like my therapist as much as our sleep consultant.
With a good night sleep, Ian and I are happier with each other, happier with Brooks and more productive at work. Most importantly, Brooks is happier too, and we all have an actual plan rather than crossing our fingers and hoping for the best.
When I told my mom we were paying for a sleep consultant she thought i was crazy (apparently these didn’t exist in Philadelphia in the 80’s) but it felt like the best $$ we’ve ever spent! I would recommend Susie to anyone who feels lost with their child’s sleep". Lauren S. - mom of Brooks (1.5yrs old)
"HLS has been a gamechanger! We are blessed with a healthy, beautiful baby who was not a good sleeper. We were doing all the things we read about for good sleep hygiene from white noise to blackout curtains. Alas, our little guy was stuck with the dreaded early morning waking problem, even two months after we sleep-trained on our own. We night owls were doomed to a 4:30 wake-up call. Enter Healthy Little Sleepers! Susie came in with a tailored plan that really accounted for our lives and our baby. She got our not-napper napping and got him sleeping until 7am. The custom guide she created gave us a realistic structure and helpful tips. More than that, she gave us hope with her sensitive, responsive approach and made us feel like good parents". Lucy R. - mom of Henrik (6mos)
"I contacted Susie after recommendations from friends, and I - and my husband! - are so grateful for the interactions! The feedback we received has helped our youngest transition her sleeping patterns to ensure adequate nap and nighttime sleep. I can't thank Susie enough for her gentle, caring, and pragmatic approach. Putting our 2-year old to sleep is now seamless without the anxiety of not knowing how she will respond. Thank you so much!" Michelle S. - mom of Victoria (2yrs) and Carter (4yrs)
"Before we met Susie, we were spending hours every evening rocking our little guy to sleep. We were sleep deprived, frustrated, lost, and needed help. When we met with Susie everything changed for the better. She created an individualized schedule and structure that worked great and we saw results on night 1! Susie was readily available to answer our questions during the process. She would provide additional suggestions and encouragement along the way, so we knew we were on the right track." Michelle D. - mom of Noah (4mos)
"We can't believe Vivian sleeps through the night 11-12hours (7pm-7am)... She is doing really well with her naps too, so we couldn't be happier! ... We can't thank you enough for guiding us and holding our hand during the initial CIO days. We are so appreciative! I'm sure we will be bugging you soon for help tweaking her schedule and general advice as she grows." Lauren D. - mom of Vivian (4mos)
"As a dad that works 60-70 hour weeks, we needed some help figuring out the best way to get our daughter to sleep better and longer. Susie's strategies worked amazingly with our daughter, and we saw results right away. Our daughter started sleeping 8 hours a night at 6 weeks and 12 hours at 2 months. Without Susie's help I feel we would have been at a loss trying a bunch of strategies that would have been stressful for us and for our daughter." Jay K. - dad of Bayla (newborn)
"Three months in my husband and I were more sleep deprived than we'd been our whole life! Our bundle of joy, Ava, was keeping us up...sometimes sleeping, sometimes not...either way we needed help. Enter Susie Menkes. And THANK GOD! What a freakin' life saver.
In one session, seriously thats all it took, we had Ava on a schedule and about 3-4 weeks later she was sleeping through the night, and we haven't looked back. We were able to schedule a date night for us each week and started to get our life back.
Working with Susie was the best thing we have done for our sleep, our sanity, and honestly for our daughter. She is a calm, independent, and happy baby. We saw a signifiant shift in her when the sleeping methods allowed her to emotionally self soothe. It continues to be amazing to watch. We are incredibly grateful for Susie's expertise in addition to her incredible heart and gentle energy. This lady is a genius and a life saver!!!" Nick P. - papa of Ava (4 mos)
"Third times a charm because of the help of Susie. At 6-months old, Alex went from sleeping in my bed and nursing all night long to sleeping from 6:00pm-6:30am in his crib. He sleeps better than my older two boys (10- and 5-years old). Thank you so much for helping us and making our home so happy." Leah K. - mom of Alex (6 mos)