Family Stories

“We went through a 4-month sleep regression, which was really, really bad. Charlotte was waking up every 20 to 30 minutes. I would settle her in arms, but as soon as I put her down, she would wake back up again. It was just constant, so then we started co-sleeping. We then self-referred to QEC.

I think just the support that the clinicians gave me, and the encouragement, teaching me how to know her different cries, that was the best and the most useful. Just that positivity and knowing she wasn’t crying because she was in a bad state, but she was telling me she didn’t want to be there. So, we learnt together her different cries, what they meant, how she could deal with that and how I could deal with that as well, which was great. The support that the clinicians gave was incredible.

We are so thankful for the program and how it helped us, just the support that the nurses give you is amazing. It’s not just about the child sleeping, it's about the emotional support that they give, which is really nice.

2-hour naps now, it’s great! I don’t know what to do with myself, it’s really, really good. I also like that we can refer ourselves back if we do have any other issues as well.”

“I just feel like QEC was an absolute lifesaver for us. We came into it, and especially me, I was stressed, I was sleep deprived, I had really, really low self-esteem, bordering on depression. 

The stay that I had at QEC was amazing for Ava in terms of getting her a routine set up, but it was also such a good break for me. There was nothing else to do there, so I didn’t have to worry about cooking, cleaning, trying to organise stuff or work. Getting Ava's routine set up and my having a bit of a break, it was just amazing.

I felt like we just reset. We were able to reset and just sort of start fresh. All four of us, me, my husband and both of my daughters, we are all just happier, and it’s all down to QEC."

“We sent a referral into QEC because we were not sleeping in this household. Henry was 6 ½ months old at the time, we were waking several times over night. His day sleeps weren’t good, we were sort of at wit’s end. Even though I was quite excited and overwhelmed about coming in, I was also quite sceptical, 'How are they going to fix this. This is sort of unfixable at this point'. As soon as I came into QEC, the weight came off my chest. I’m one of those people that needs to be shown, I need that face-to-face, that really helped me.

Everyone was amazing, all of the women that worked beside me and Henry were awesome, I can't thank them enough. Just knowing that someone was there with me to help and having them alongside me. There was that personal touch with everything. Everyone was understanding and not judgement. 

When I was leaving, I could not believe that after 2 nights, 3 days not even, how much he had changed. We’ve had a really good run afterwards; he was sleeping amazingly. We had good day sleeps, amazing nights, a couple times he had slept through and that had never, ever happened before. We have slightly regressed, but that is just him learning lots of new things and his mind is busy, busy, busy at the moment. I’ll definitely reach out if we need more support.”

“I was at my 3-month Maternal Child Health Nurse check-up and I was just mentioning Elijah's sleep patterns and what we were struggling with, and the nurses suggested that I contact QEC. We did that and we were lucky enough to be able to attend the Day Stay program.

I really loved having a person with me one-on-one in the room, especially with the re-settling, it is quite daunting and nerve-racking to see your baby cry, or just trying to get him settled back to sleep. It was really reassuring having someone next to me, in the room with me, helping me go through those steps and that process. Letting me know it’s ok and explaining the type of cries and how he could be expressing himself. Making me a bit more confident in my re-settling techniques.

During the program Elijah was happy, he was pretty good and very easy to settle and when he woke up, he had a good play on the matts. I think he had a good experience too.

We had a really positive experience, and I took a lot away from it.”

“I’m not Australian, so I didn’t know about the QEC facilities. We have twins, the two girls, that came very early, very premature. I was struggling with a few aspects, and I didn't have any support.

My main goal was around sleep training. They were ok during the night. During the day, they were shocking, I would put them in the pram and walk like crazy around my neighbourhood. I was very frustrated and extremely tired.

I found it very helpful how everyone was so knowledgeable. Each nurse helped me gain more and more knowledge. Everyone was so friendly, and really wanted me to achieve my goal. The twins enjoyed their time at QEC, we tried different ways of playing. At home, I always played the same way, sang the same songs and played with the same toys. I learned different ways to play in the PlayRoom.

Everyone should know about the facilities and how helpful it can be for a new parent. Not everyone knows about QEC. Other people should know about the benefits and how they can be supported."

“I had been to a couple of different sleep schools, so I was keen to give QEC a try. I also heard that you could self-refer, that was really good and less waiting time that way. 

We were just battling, Ethan's been a pretty rough sleeper since the get go. 

During the residential program, everyone was very knowledgeable and considerate, and also confident which helped me gain my own confidence. That was part of the problem, I didn’t feel like anything was going to work, and I was also really exhausted. It was hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But having someone there beside me, to sort of coach me, was super useful for me.

I loved the PlayRoom, that was a great space. All of the staff that were in there were great. It was also a great opportunity for all of the parents to gather and have a chat together. The resources in there were amazing and loved by all the kids."