Testimonials
Real Life Success Stories from our Parents
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The birth went the best it could have gone given the circumstances but it was far from what we were hoping for. He was a vacuum delivery in the end. I was in labour for 27 hours. We thought it was all going well when we arrived at the birth suite at 2pm and then my waters broke around 3:30pm and I started to feel the urge to push around 4:30pm. We thought he was nearly here but I did the birth breathing for an hour in the water then after a check he hadn't moved down. After waiting a little longer to see if that would help I was then pushing/breathing down for another 2 hours straight. He still hadn't moved down and no one could figure out why. They brought the doctors in and eventually after an ultrasound figured out he was posterior and trying to come out with his chin up so he was stuck. It was looking like an emergency c section but we decided to try the vacuum first and after 5 pulls and huge pushes he finally arrived at 10pm. He needed a little bit of resus and had a low apgar score but was fine after a couple of minutes. Even though it wasn't the ideal hypnobirth everything we learnt helped us so much throughout. Even when things went wrong I felt calm and much more able to comprehend everything because of what we had learned. The midwife said the breathing had made a huge difference especially at the end because I was able to quickly catch my breath between pushes and really give it everything to get him out as naturally as possible. We still did it without gas or pain relief. Axel is three months now and has been super alert since the second he arrived! He's a very hungry boy and has definitely not been a sleepy newborn. I have him on a good routine now though and he sleeps through the night already 7pm to 7am with his dreamfeed. He's so smiley and a real chatterbox. I have attached a couple of photos. Thank you for everything you taught us! (A big thank you to Nicole and Steve for sharing their birth story. Baby Axel had a birth position of a deflexed head. Even in special circumstances the right education and care providers are essential in a positive birth experience for a mother and baby)
Amanda literally saved our sanity!!!!! For MONTHS we had dealt with constant night-waking, inconsistent napping, difficulty putting our little Ava down for naps/sleep, and with only Mum being able to put Ava down for naps/sleep. She had also started refusing to let Daddy put her to sleep. We were exhausted and frustrated and with Ava approaching 12 months of age, we thought there had to be something we can do about it! We were of the belief that sleep training only involved leaving babies to try and we didn't feel comfortable with that for us - so we thought we were stuck in this sleep-deprived state until Ava grew out of this 'phase'! THEN AMANDA CAME ALONG! She was wonderful! Ava adored her! She was extremely knowledgeable, understanding, non-judgmental and compassionate. I felt very comfortable discussing everything with her. She gave us a very clear sleep package that was easy to follow and understand and was easy to contact every step in the way if we had questions. She tailored the package in accordance with Ava's developmental needs and her personality rather than a textbook "one-size fits all" approach. Most importantly - she took into account my parenting style and what I felt comfortable with. Literally within ONE WEEK Ava was sleeping through the night! Within 2 weeks we got to the point where we could put her down for her morning nap and bedtime and walk out and Ava would happily go to sleep. Ava's afternoon nap was always the tough one to conquer and within 3 weeks she was easily going down for that one too! Our lives are completely changed - we have a rested, happy little girl! As parents, we are relaxed at night, reconnected as a couple, and most of all SLEEPING! I could shout Groovy Baby's name from the rooftops! I have already recommended Amanda to many of my friends and will keep on doing this because I am still in awe at the success we have had with Ava! Thank you again Amanda! WE LOVE YOU!
This course of baby massage completely meet my expectations. I now have a awesome new activity to do with Murray. Amanda was so engaging, and her knowledge extends way beyond just massage!
Amanda's baby massage course was excellent and very fun! Through it I have developed a closer relationship and bond. Amanda had such a calm nature and advice was brilliant!
Our second HypnoBirthing bub has arrived! A dear little thing, that will give her big brother a run for his money when she grows up a little hehehehe. I thoroughly recommend using hypnobirthing; the techniques are easy to use and natural birth without medication is a wonderfully empowering experience. Amanda is wonderfully easy to talk to as well.
I loved the Hypnobirthing classes. They were very informative and done in a relaxed atmosphere that allowed for good discussion. Amanda provided great support both during the course and after its completion. She also was very supportive and provided assistance when I was told that I had to be induced. The breathing and relaxation techniques were very helpful during labour and can easily be applied to everyday situations. Our baby was very calm and relaxed when she was born and has remained that way. She sleeps and eats well and smiles often. I look forward to using this method again next time, but would opt to use it as part of a water birth if possible.
I contacted Amanda as I was feeding Lily to sleep, but she was becoming very difficult to get to sleep and was having increasingly numbers of frequent wakings in the night. Amanda was very empathetic and supportive in all situations, as well as providing lots of detailed information. She was also very positive, which helped a lot when I was feeling overwhelmed. I no longer feed Lily to sleep, and we don't have to co-sleep anymore. I have a lot more confidence in dealing with Lily's behaviour and I have a much better understanding of methods that can be used to gradually achieve better sleep (with love!). Also, I don't lose my temper as much as I used to when trying to get Lily to go to sleep. She has a routine at bedtimes which she likes. She is happier to be in her cot than ever before. She is getting more sleep which improves her behaviour. I loved the phone support as I was often overwhelmed or upset and Amanda could sympathise and offer useful advice on how to tackle the problem. Amanda was always gentle and supportive which i liked. The individualised approach was also fantastic.
Our baby massage course with Amanda completely met my expectations. The bonding experience was the best. Amanda's knowledge and personal interaction was her strength.
Our main goal was to have as natural birth as possible so we decided to bring Amanda and hypnobirthing into our plan. We learnt so much about natural birth and labour in general. Even though due to complications I ended up being induced very early into the labour. However, thanks to Amanda's lessons all I was concentrating on was not having a c-section and because of hypnobirthing lessons and Amanda's guidance we were successful. I was home in 1 and half days to be with my baby. I was very calm in the few days before the labour and Rhys didn't cry at all when he was born. Even if you aren't able to succeed in having no intervention I would recommend any pregnant woman to use a hypnobirthing practitioner (especially Amanda). Hypnobirthing also really helps you to be a calm mother over for the baby's life. Every time someone meets our boy they always say he is one of the happiest babies they have ever met and I do truly believe this has a lot to do with what we learnt through Amanda.
Very informative and helpful! Amanda is so lovely and provides a non judgemental, warming environment. I attended a sleep work shop and it outweighed my expectations. Thank you Amanda! Looking forward to using your other services in the future.
“We were experiencing major bed-time resistance and waking multiple times during the night with our toddler. Life was getting hard! That’s until Amanda came into our lives. Amanda made some adjustments to our daughter’s environment and routine/cues. Amanda was so knowledgeable and I loved her caring approach. Our daughter is now going to sleep without resistance and sleeps through the night. We can’t thank Amanda enough”
Evie Grace was born on Tuesday Oct 1 at 7:07pm (nine days past her due date) weighing 8 pound 7 and 52 cm. She is just adorable and has both her Daddy and I completely wrapped around her very little finger. I was booked to be induced the following day but thankfully I went into labour naturally and my waters broke at 2pm. Five hours later (I don't know if you remember but I had picked 4 as my magic number of labouring hours so we were pretty close!) Evie was born into the water and placed on my chest. It was the most intense experience of my life but I have no doubt the hypnobirthing techniques enabled me to deliver Evie without drugs the way we wanted. Pete was amazing, he did soft touch massage the whole time and kept reminding me to put my tongue behind my teeth. I could only remember two of my affirmations but they helped me to stay calm. The whole experience was amazing and Evie's heart rate hardly changed throughout the entire labour. We are home now and settling into our new life as a family. She is a very calm baby and has been no trouble at all, breast feeding like a charm and sleeping well. Thank you for teaching us the skills to deliver our bubba the way we wanted. I cannot thank you enough!
I thought I would give an update on our progress with a sleep consultant for Charlie and Casey! We had our situation assessed 1 month and two weeks ago, Charlie and Casey now settle on a good night within 25 mins, there is little defiance or anxiety from them now once we say goodnight. This process use to take us an hour or so with a lot of crying and defiance from the boys. We have perfected our bedtime routine which the boys respond well to and enjoy, they pick up on the sleep cues and know the routine. 2 nights ago for the first time in a very long time I left the room while they were trying to settle as they were playing quietly from their beds there was no protesting or crying they just called out in about 15 mins for me to return and then fell asleep with that 10 mins. This is a huge step for us as I have been in the room on a chair right up close to them sometimes most times holding their hand. My chair is now at the back of the room and they no longer need that touch to get off to sleep. I use to be the only one that could settle them otherwise there would be screaming jumping out of bed and running out of the room, their daddy Danny can now settle them and when we have a Bsbysitter it's an easy transition everyone sticks to the routine and everyone including the twins knows what to expect. We still have some progress to meet like leaving the room altogether and the boys not relying on this to settle but we're getting there and there is hope and tools in place to make it happen. My husband and I are also on the same page with sleep settling now which makes our life more relaxed also. On top of all this the boys are usually only waking once or twice a night and it is common that one of them sleeps through the night. This is a huge improvement for us. Watch this space and hopefully I'm bragging soon about how my twins are the best sleepers! Lol If your thinking about a sleep consultant do it... don't wait it's worth it twin parents need the support and help I guarantee it will provide positive changes to your evenings and mornings. Thankyou Amanda Bude for your positive support, influence and patience with us in understanding Charlie and Casey's sleep patterns.
Hi Amanda, thank you for all your help. I loved your gentle, calm and flexible approach. It’s not what I expected in that when I had heard about other sleep consultants, the routine sounded very prescriptive and rigid. Your philosophy was very much in line with what we wanted and the results so far, have been great. As I email, we have a sleeping baby!
Amanda was instrumental in helping me diagnose and settle my reflux bub. He has a regular routine now and is a very happy baby. Highly recommend!
I loved group baby massage classes! I feel I have gained techniques to connect with Cyla even further. I feel I can read her better and her cues for asking for massage. Amanda has a calm, friendly and welcoming demeanor, and clearly explains everything!
We loved Amanda’s gentle approach to sleep settling. She helped us gain extensive insight into the hows and why’s of our babies sleeping. With practical and calming tips we were able to successfully extend nap times! Thank you Amanda!
Baby massage classes made our relationship rock! Excellent in all aspects and loved the baby massage oil!
Both my husband and I loved doing Amanda's course. Not only did it give me the focus and believe that I could have have a natural birth, it allowed my husband to be actively involved and understand the birthing experience prior to going through it. This was something that was very important to the two of us. We appreciated that the course was spread out over 5 weeks with homework in between, this allowed us to study the material between classes and ask Amanda any questions that we had. I feel by practicing the material with my husband and alone this was why I was able to have a natural and clam birth. And as a result a very calm, relaxed and content baby.
Thank you Amanda! I'm so grateful for your support with nightweaning, weaning and transitioning from co sleeping to own room! Your wholistic approach helped me to be as gentle as possible which was really important to me. Thank you thank you Xxx
I contacted Amanda because Tristan would only sleep being worn, short naps and lots and lots of work to settle for sleep! Her experience with her own kids and clients with reflux was a fantastic help. So much knowledge and helpful tips! She provided great support through regular email contact. Through her assessment Amanda referred us onto a lactation consultant who discovered Tristan had tongue and lip tie, we have since had it treated and we have a new baby boy as a result. Amanda"s wealth of knowledge and tips on sleep rhythms, reflux needs, breastfeeding nutrition, breastfeeding supply, paediatrics referrals has made life so much easier for us. We have felt affirmed in our decisions and wisely guided when we were unsure. Tristan is much more settled and a more willing sleeper! We have much less screaming and he is so content. 🙂
Where do I start Amanda?! Our girls slept through the night thanks to your advice and guidance. Our girls were also more settled, independent and happy thanks to you! Words can't express how grateful we are for your guidance in our first year it was such a blessing!!!
Hi Amanda, My husband Aaron and I attended your Hypnobirthing classes in March. We have welcomed our handsome little man into the world on Saturday the 6th of May at 1:26pm. It was the beautiful birth I visualised and worked so hard for. I just wanted to thank you and share our birth story (because we all love a positive birth story) On Friday evening I lost part of my mucous plug and knew our little one was preparing to meet us. He was wriggling around like a crazy kid inside me and I just knew he was on his way. I went to bed at about 9pm and, as I had done every night I listened to my Rainbow Relaxation. At approximately 12:30am I started to feel some tightening in my lower abdomen. I once again put on my Rainbow Relaxation and just stayed in bed breathing through the surges and resting where I could. At 4:00am I needed to use the bathroom and noticed I had lost the rest of my mucous plug. This really was it 🙂 I woke Aaron and asked him to time my surges. We lay in bed and I would squeeze his hand when I felt a surge starting. My surges were about 5 minutes apart and lasting 30 seconds. Aaron suggested we both get more rest. I put my birthing affirmations on and continued to lie in bed and breathe through the surges. The sun started to peek through the blinds and I knew it was time to get out of bed. At 6am I got out of bed and put my aromatherapy on, started playing Steve Halpern and packed the rest of my bag. I looked out the window and it was a gloomy morning with the sun peeking through the clouds. In front of me was a massive rainbow. I had the biggest smile on my face and turned to Aaron and said "We are going to meet our baby today" I was so excited, not scared at all. While Aaron sat and had breakfast he timed the surges. They were 2-4 minutes apart and lasting about 30 seconds. I phoned my midwife and told her what was happening. She told me this was just the very early start of labour and could go on for 2-3 days. My heart sunk a little as the sensation I was getting from the surges was quite intense. I hung up and continued to pace the room and bounce on the ball. After about 10 minutes I went to the bathroom and saw fresh blood. I once again phoned the midwife and spoke to another midwife and explained everything. He advised me to go to hospital just to see what was happening with bub and I. So we grabbed our bags and made our way to the hospital. Thinking nothing of it we left our bags in the car and waddled over to the birth centre. On arrival, Frankie listened to baby's heart beat and gave the ok. She explained we needed to examine me to see where the bleeding was coming from and maybe go down the path of inducing me. This almost broke me. I quickly suppressed that fear and remembered a lovely video I had watched of an induced hypnobirth. I could do this if it came to it. Frankie examined me and quickly popped her head up in amazement... she said "you're 8cm dilated! You are certainly not acting like a woman in labour" She called my midwife and began running the bath. I jumped in the shower, dimmed the lights and got Aaron to run to the car and get our music and bags. The next four and a half hours were all a beautiful blur. I had no concept of time. My focus was relaxing and breathing through every surge like I had been practicing for the last 6 months. Aaron was by my side the whole time reminding me to relax my jaw and breathe. I danced in the shower and floated in the bath, walked around the room and focused on bringing our baby to us. I asked my midwife to assess me. He informed me I was 10cm dilated and my waters had not yet broken. I requested that he break my waters for me. After this I jumped back in the shower and started to feel the occasional urge to push. This was the part of birth that I was most nervous about. I wasn't sure if I would know what to do. I just listened to my body and felt the urge to change to the J breath. It was amazing. After some time I decided to get back in the bath. I was on all fours in the bath and birthed our beautiful baby boy! I am told it was about half an hour of pushing and he was with us. He came out bright eyed and alert. The moment he looked for me when he heard my voice was by far the greatest moment in my life. I love, love, love talking about my birth story. I am actually excited to do it all again. It was hard work, but it wasn't scary or even ridiculously painful. It was beautiful and empowering. I put a lot of time into preparing for my baby's birthing day and I am so blessed it became the beautiful birth I visualised every day. My midwife was blown away by the birth of Edward. He was proud to be a part of our beautiful day and provided me with plenty of praise for the way in which I birthed Edward. I was quick to accept that praise. I was discharged 4 hours post birth... being able to wake up in our home as a family that first morning was truly amazing. Breakfast in bed with my two boys that morning will never be forgotten I really do wish I could go back and relive every moment of Edwards birth. It was so special. Thank you, Amanda. Xx
Hi Amanda -- Yes our son Woodrow arrived March 6th. I got my beautiful home water birth! Thank you so much for helping us along our way, and your suggestion of releases in the pool with our daughter was very powerful! He is so CALM!!!!!!!!!!
We contacted Amanda when my little boy was only couple of weeks old. I must say I didn’t implement her tactics from the start as I didn’t believe the process. But when I did follow her guidelines I was amazed to see my little boy settle and fall asleep on his own in a matter of days. There was no more rocking or motion sleeping!! A few months down the track and the results are still amazing!
I loved our baby massage classes. Doing baby massage classes with Amanda, has shown me a way to connect with my bub on a deeper level. Amanda has a very calming nature 🙂
Hi Amanda, Kioni Reilly was born Monday 8th October. She has beautiful long legs. I had a quick labour, 7 hours in total, a water birth and back home 6 hours later! <3
Doing a baby massage course gave me a new goal to aim for. To spend more time with my bub and to spend that time incorporating massage. I learnt lots of different strokes!
Scarlett out of the blue started having separation anxiety when going to bed, was scared that a cat was in her room and would not be alone or sleep in her bed in her room. We loved working with Amanda's calm nature and individualized approach. She took the time to listen to our situation and analyze it individually. She made me feel confident that I wasn't going to be forced to let my child scream her way through her sleep problem. She helped me understand why it was happening and devised a plan that I was comfortable with. Scarlett is back in her room, confidently goes to bed without a fuss and sleeps through the night. The separation anxiety is gone and she will happily play in her room on her own again. Very happy!
I loved our baby massage! I have learnt to calm my baby down by massage instead of simple holding. Amanda has such a calm nature and understanding of each baby's strengths 🙂
Groovy Babies founder Amanda Bude is one of Australia’s most highly qualified baby & child specialist specialising in baby & child sleep, HypnoBirthing® The Mongan Method, infant massage, attachment parenting and a range of holistic parenting strategies.
