Sleep Clinic

Babies, Toddlers & Pre-schoolers

As featured in

 

Visiting our Sleep Clinic

No matter where you live, you can see award winning paediatric sleep experts, Dr Fallon Cook (PhD, Sleep Practitioner) and Dr Laura Conway (PhD, Sleep Practitioner), from the comfort of your couch. Sleep and settling problems are easily assessed and managed via video call - in fact, we see excellent results whether we see you in person or online! Based in Melbourne? You have the option to see Dr Laura in her Hawthorn East clinic if you prefer.

 

Sleep clinic appointments include

  • Detailed assessment of your child’s sleep and regular monitoring of their progress.

  • Discussion of comprehensive, practical steps, to improve your child’s sleep, tailored to their unique needs.

  • A detailed sleep and settling action plan.

 

Why work with Dr Fallon & Dr Laura?

  • Sleep is our primary focus. Dr Fallon and Dr Laura are both PhD qualified experts in infant and toddler sleep and settling, and have additional expertise in mental health and child development. You can’t get more qualified than that.

  • Dr Fallon has completed specialised training at institutes including Harvard Medical School, and holds honorary titles with the University of Melbourne at the Royal Children’s Hospital.

  • Dr Laura has completed specialised training at institutes including Kings College London, and holds honorary titles with the University of Melbourne at the Royal Children’s Hospital.

  • Dr Fallon and Dr Laura are also sleep scientists and have published many papers in leading paediatric journals.

  • Dr Fallon and Dr Laura have both received numerous awards recognising their dedication to supporting parents of infants with sleep difficulties, and for their child development research.

  • They provide expert review for the Raising Children Network and have featured in international news and various top ranking parenting podcasts.

  • But perhaps most important, they’re both mothers and have real, lived experience of what you are going through. They understand and they know how to help.

 

How we work

We typically see families for a 50 minute initial appointment, followed by a 50 minute review appointment two/three weeks later. Following this, you can book a standard 25 minute appointment any time you need to. Initial and review appointments include a detailed sleep plan you can share with your child’s health care team.

 

Frequently asked questions

  • If you have a baby aged 0-12 months or a toddler aged 1-3 years (inclusive) then we highly recommend joining our Sombelle Paediatric Sleep Clinic Programs so you can get started straight away.

    Developed by Dr Fallon and Dr Laura, Sombelle guides you through everything we cover during sleep clinic appointments (and more!), with video lessons, downloadable resources, and all the effective, flexible strategies we use to help families in our clinics.

    PLUS a Sombelle membership is usually the quickest way to get one-on-one support with Dr Fallon or Dr Laura. Sombelle members can book one-on-one coaching calls for an additional fee ($145). The wait time on coaching calls is usually 1-2 weeks, whereas for clinic appointments it’s typically 4-12 weeks.

    Learn more: https://sombelle.infantsleep.com.au/

  • There is no sleep difficulty we haven’t seen.

    We have assisted sleep consultants, GPs, Paediatricians, Sleep Physicians and Early Parenting Centres with thousands of their most challenging cases.

    In our sleep clinic we help resolve complex and tricky sleep problems– sleep problems that may have been unresolved by other approaches or more generic baby or toddler sleep advice.

    We also carry out cutting edge paediatric sleep research through our affiliations with the University of Melbourne’s Department of Paediatrics at the Royal Children’s Hospital, and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.

    And we are members of international panel of world leading paediatric sleep specialists who we consult with on challenging cases – giving you the best possible chance of success

    We have helped thousands of families achieve better sleep.

    We care. Protecting parent and infant mental health and wellbeing is core to everything we do.

  • Dr Fallon & Dr Laura can identify specific sleep and settling difficulties and help you resolve them.

    They will work with you to:

    • Tailor precise timing for your child’s wake up time, nap time/s and bedtime, if needed. This is usually helpful for babies and toddlers who have very unpredictable or inconsistent days and nights, or children who have circadian rhythm disruptions.

    • Discuss evidence-based settling approaches that are likely to fit your baby’s unique sleep needs and their temperament. This allows you to select an approach that feels like the best fit for you and your child. All of our approaches are gentle, effective, and designed to protect and nurture infant mental health.

    • Establish a clear path towards better sleep for your baby, toddler, or pre-schooler.

  • Every sleep plan we write is gentle. Infant and parent mental health is at the heart of what we do.

    We are trained in all evidence based approaches for improving sleep - this means that the approaches we use are not only effective, but they’ve also been shown to be safe. If you want to move slowly and gently, that’s ok! We can move at a pace that feels right for you.

    It’s important that you feel comfortable with your child’s sleep plan. That’s why we talk through various options with you, that we feel will work well for your child, and then we let you decide which option feels right for you.

    We do not hand out the same sleep plan to every family, and we will never force you to implement an approach you don’t agree with. In fact, we’ve never written the same sleep plan twice.

    Your child is an individual who needs individualised sleep care. That’s what we do.

  • There is a lot to cover during your initial appointment, but we will make sure there is time for you to share your concerns and ask questions.

    We care deeply about every new family we meet. Our aim is to make sure you feel understood, supported and empowered.

    We will carry out a thorough assessment of your child’s sleep, settling, and behaviour.

    This includes your child’s:

    • Sleep pattern and circadian rhythm

    • Unique sleep needs

    • Sleep pressure

    • Settling preferences

    • Medical history and potential medical causes for sleep difficulties

    • Feeding patterns

    • Temperament, mood, and activity, and whether separation anxiety is impacting their sleep

  • You will leave your initial appointment with everything you need to start improving your child’s sleep!

    • Detailed steps to improve your child’s sleep.

    • A time booked in for your review appointment.

    • Confidence! Parents often tell us that their first appointment was life changing - they love learning about why their child has developed sleep difficulties, and what their child needs to heal their sleep. After months of feeling uncertain about sleep, you’ll finally feel empowered, confident, and ready to implement your sleep plan.

    • The best part? You’ll leave knowing that you have a trusted sleep expert at your fingertips, who knows your child’s sleep. No more guesswork!

  • After making your booking, you will receive an email confirming the date and time of your appointment.

    If you are having an appointment via video call your email will also contain a Zoom link that you can click when it’s time to start your appointment. Download Zoom for free ahead of time, so you’re ready for your appointment. Everything we do during an in-person appointment can be easily carried out via video call. If we need to demonstrate how to settle your baby, then we will position our camera so you can see us do it with our clinic doll. If you’d like to show us your set-up then take us for a video tour! Telehealth couldn’t be more perfect for tired parents - just click the secure link, and away we go. Pyjamas, slippers, and pets all welcome.

    If you are seeing Dr Laura in her Melbourne clinic, be sure to arrive five minutes prior to your appointment. Our clinic is pram friendly. Nappy change facilities are provided. We have toys and activities for babies, toddlers, and older children too. Our Melbourne clinic is located at:

    439 Riversdale Road, Hawthorn East, Victoria, 3123

    On street parking is available.

    Please see our Contact page to view a map.

 

Testimonials

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Our 20 month old son would wake 8-12 times a night. Laura offered gentle methods, specially tailored to our son’s sleep needs. Our well-rested and happier child has been sleeping soundly for several months now.

- Steph

Better sleep in three days

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Within 3 days of following Dr Fallon's tailored plan our baby was sleeping and self settling for 9 hours overnight in her cot. Prior to this, she had been waking every 1-2 hours.

- Alexandra

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Our baby was waking up to 4 times at night. The only way to get her to sleep was to rock her. Dr Laura devised a plan and now, our baby consistently sleeps without waking up. The gain in quality of life for everyone was worth the cost.

- Marc

Toddler goes to bed on own and sleeps all night

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’m so glad I found Dr Fallon. Apart from her knowledge and professionalism, she is very calm and attentive. My 22 month old toddler is now going to bed on her own and doesn’t wake until the morning.

- Julie

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I contacted Laura after a friend of mine recommended her. It was the best thing I did to improve my daughters sleep. I highly recommend contacting them for your babies sleep needs. Such a wonderful and caring person to work with.

- Ashlen

Baby sleeps the night through

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My baby has gone from waking up every single hour and heavily relying on feeding + rocking to sleep, to now being able to self settle and sleep through the whole night!

- Stephanie

 

Need immediate support?

Our Sombelle Online Sleep Clinic programs contain the best advice, support, and video lessons direct from our sleep clinics. Developed by Dr Fallon and Dr Laura, you can get started right now! Sombelle members can also book coaching calls with Dr Fallon or Dr Laura and the wait time on these (1-2 weeks) is usually much shorter than the wait time for an initial appointment in our sleep clinic (4-12 weeks).