Welcome to Baby2Sleep

I’m Nicole Ratcliffe, the founder of Baby2Sleep and mum of two beautiful and much-loved daughters.

My own journey as a new parent and the help I finally received after reaching out when my daughter was 8 months old, inspired me to train as a sleep consultant and fuelled my passion to support other families.

Throughout my life, I’ve always had clear goals and a determination to achieve them, equipping myself with the knowledge and information to succeed in whatever I tried to do. Being bullied as a teen, diagnosed with a chronic health condition in my early 20s and living hand to mouth in London for a year, I learned that even at my lowest points, I could get back up, but parenting has brought with it a whole new level of challenge.

I had a very down to earth background, being the eldest of 4 children growing up in a busy, but happy home, in a close-knit family. I was brought up with a strong work ethic and seeing my own parents facing challenges, I thought I had very realistic expectations of what parenting and family life would be like. I’d always intended to have four children and I was very confident that I was going to be a great mum, being extremely maternal, having read loads of books and attended antenatal classes.

The truth is, I wasn’t prepared at all for the reality of motherhood.

I had an idealised view. I had no idea of what to do when I didn’t have a textbook birth and ended up with an emergency C-section, when my baby wouldn’t breastfeed, when they tried to give her formula without my consent, when I developed an infection and when my baby just would…not…sleep!!

As months passed with no improvement in her sleep patterns, I became even more exhausted. To others, I pretended everything was fine, but I was struggling with extreme sleep deprivation and my mental health was suffering. I was experiencing feelings of high anxiety and rage and my marriage was at breaking point. Everything was a challenge from day one and with my daughter’s sleep, and we were still struggling well into the toddler years.

Professional help to get my daughter to sleep, counselling, multiple sleep courses and a course on how to understand the mind of a young child and to communicate with them was the combination that helped save my sanity and our marriage. Having our second daughter, Alyssia, meant having to come to terms with the hidden trauma around my birth experience with Sofia. Luckily, I had a very supportive consultant and Alyssia’s birth was incredible.

Alyssia arrived 3 days before lockdown. I imagined how it must feel for first-time mums facing the challenges that I did without the maternity support. Six days after her birth, I started a Facebook group called The ‘COVID-19 Baby’ Parents Group, a support group for new parents, with experts on hand to give information and advice.

My journey has led to me training as a baby and child sleep coach. I’ve helped countless families to navigate their way through the challenges of having a child who struggles with sleep, through my supported courses and personalised 1-1 support sessions.

I feel very strongly that new parents shouldn’t have to go through what I did, so I’ve created a course for expectant parents. It helps them prepare positively and realistically, not just for the expected, but for the unexpected too, with a toolkit for what to do and where to go for support, if they need it.