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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.
"Amanda's wealth of experience and knowledge was obvious when she came to help us with our babies sleeping needs. She worked with our baby giving us insights, information and demonstrated ways to help her sleep and settle well. Things continue to improve and we feel we now have tools to help us in the future"- thankyou!!
Julia, mum of Benji aged 21 months. We contacted Amanda because Benji was waking every 2 hours all night, he would only feed to sleep and was constantly waking early. As we are based in Melbourne, Victoria we used her Skype Support Package. Amanda had so much knowledge and an approach that was focused on the wellbeing of Benji, and making the transition as gentle as possible for him. She made us feel good about the changes we were making, which made the process easier for us . Benji is now sleeping all night and waking at 6am instead of 5am. He no longer needs to be fed to sleep or fed overnight. Complete night weaning gently!! We are all getting sleep so we have more energy and are less grumpy! Thankyou Amanda! 🙂
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.
Mylo’s Birth story I had started to feel some tightening on the Friday night (right on 40 weeks) which I was unsure whether it was Braxton hicks or contractions. They were mild and stayed about 10-15 minutes apart over a few hours. I told Mitch we should go to bed in case anything else happened and they just faded away overnight. Saturday morning I woke up like any other day and we had a really relaxing day at home. I did some baking, had a nap and then went for a nice long walk that afternoon. As I was eating dinner that night (40+1) I started to feel similar tightening’s that I had the night before so I didn’t think much of it. We put a movie on and the contractions were coming about every 8 or so minutes and I had decided to put the tens machine on but still felt the pain was very manageable. Throughout the movie I bounced on the fit ball and was stretching on the floor with some clary sage in the diffuser. By the end of the movie I was getting quite uncomfortable but the frequency of contractions hadn’t changed too much. I initially told mitch to have a shower and go to bed so we got some sleep however I then told him I was quickly going to call the hospital (around 9.30pm) just to chat to them. I told the hospital what had been happening as well as what had happened the night before. I’d also had a stretch and sweep the Monday and my OB had said I was sitting around 4cm dilated. Because of this and how far we lived from the hospital (about an hour) they suggested I come in. Mitch madly got the last few items packed into the car however I was keen to take my time. I had another shower and double checked we had everything we needed although I still wasn’t sure I was actually in labour and was a bit surprised how calm I was. On the drive we put on some birth affirmations and I just breathed through the contractions with the tens still on and a heatpack across my tummy. When we arrived at the hospital about 11.30pm we had the CTG put on which they left for about an hour. Contractions were still quite regular, increasing in intensity slightly but not really in frequency. The midwives had mentioned a vaginal examination but were aware of my birth preferences that I had sent in earlier and then decided that this wasn’t necessary. I could tell they had read what I sent in as they mentioned it and seemed really supportive from when I arrived. They had a feel of my tummy and still thought that bub was in a posterior position. At 12.30am the midwives had said I was definitely having consistent contractions and could go home if I wished but could also stay in the birth suite. I don't think they realised how much i could feel as I didn't make a fuss and was really calm and quiet during the contractions. I still wasn't convinced myself that i was definitely in labour or was at least preparing for a much longer labour. Mitch was keen to stay as he was tired and not keen for another drive and I am very glad we did. I lay in bed with the tens on and tried to doze on and off. At 3am I was woken with a fright of a “pop’ and an intense contractions and some fluid. Waters had broken! I buzzed the midwife and she was on a break so another midwife came in. This is where things really got intense. I took the tens machine off and got in the shower, I had pain in my back and front and couldn’t decide where the hot water felt best. I asked to go in the bath and was then told I would need another 20 minute CTG while this happened. This felt like a lifetime but I asked for heatpacks which I used front and back and the time actually passed quite quickly. I had a vaginal examination but had asked not to be told about my progress. Denise reassured me I was doing really well. The bath was ready before I knew it and this was where the most intense part of my labour happened. I remember bits and pieces of the intensity and the midwives prompting me to breathe through the contractions and Mitch gently pouring water over my back. I couldn’t talk through this part but remember hearing conversations although it was kept to a minimal and was mostly quiet in a dark suite with the salt lamp on. I remember becoming quite vocal through the contractions but I didn’t even realise that I had begun bearing down at the end of my contractions. I got a brief urge to vomit and when the midwife came back in, I remember hearing a conversation where Mitch asked Denise (midwife) if she was going to leave again (he didn’t want to be left alone with me!) and then Denise asked mitch if he knew about transition and he said no and I was thinking “are you kidding me? Did you not listen to anything Amanda taught us?!” Denise started talking to me about getting out of the bath soon (which I was not keen for!) and asked if I got out, could I get back in? Both midwives told me that they could hear me bearing down and thought I was nearly ready to have a baby so wouldn’t be able to get back in. I had a few more contractions in the water and kept telling them that I would get out after the next one! I even remember thinking that surely this was the part that you talked about where people start to make comments that they can’t do it anymore but hypnobirthing mums often don’t vocalise it. I definitely thought it but at no point did I say it. Eventually I got out and had a vaginal examination where I was told I was fully dilated! The pushing stage felt the most unnatural for me and I couldn’t quite get in a good position. I ended up on my back and even though I knew this wasn’t optimal. The OB on call came in after about an hour and it felt like she instantly offered me the vacuum because baby’s head was coming down and going back up. I remember thinking and knowing that this was perfectly normal and I looked at the monitors where she said that baby and I were both doing fine to which I responded that I would like to keep trying. The OB then offered a drip to extend my contractions as she didn’t feel they were lasting long enough for me to push. I again shook my head. I knew that sometimes your body gives you a break and really felt like this is what is was doing to allow baby to continue down the birth canal. I was able to bring baby’s head down where he crowned for quite a few more pushes. The OB had a warm compress on my perenium and this is where I was offered an episiotomy. I tried a few more times but really felt exhausted from bringing him down and then consented. It was a quick procedure and I really don’t even remember it as the next contraction baby’s head was out and the OB told me to reach down which I did and grabbed bub and pulled him onto my chest at 7.26am. Mylo was a perfect 3.2kg, 35cm HC and 52cm long. We had to be prompted by the midwives to even look whether he was a boy or girl, I was in so much shock that he was actually here! <div>Denise's shift finished at 7.30am so i didn't see her for too long after the birth. She came to see me our first night in hospital when she was back on shift, she told me that she was so privileged to have been part of my birth and that it was so amazing to see a natural birth and that she was sure he would not have turned so easily and quickly without moving around and being upright in the bath. I definitely know that doing the hypnobirthing course gave me the opportunity to have my dream birth. I knew and trusted my body and my baby and definitely know you gave me the confidence and knowledge to be able to do this.</div> Thank you so much I had such an incredible experience and love sharing my birth story with anyone who asks about it! Cassie, Mitch and Mylo x
We worked with Amanda when our first child went through tricky sleep periods and transitions and here we are again with our second! I think that says it all - we trust Amanda’s advice implicitly. She’s a miracle worker, but not only that she’s kind, generous, caring, calm and patient and we have never had an issue she hasn’t known how to resolve quickly. I am sure this won’t be the last time we are in touch with Amanda. Her packages make it so easy. Thank you so much again. You’re amazing x
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.
We contacted Amanda, as our Zoe was sleeping from 3pm till 4am her body clock was totally out. Dylan our 15 month old was breastfeeding all night, every 45 minutes and my husband and I was exhausted! Amanda has literally changed my life, this month. She is a wealth of information and in a kind, loving way she helped us so much. Within a few days of implementing Amanda's program, Zoe is sleeping like a little angel from 6:30pm till 6:30 am. Dylan is sleeping so much better from co sleeping and breastfeeding all night to sleeping in his own cot and only needing reassurance twice during the night. We have gone from complete bedsharing, to him moving into his own room, being back safely in his cot, and dropping feeds he no longer needs. Amanda also helped me wean from breastfeeding in a nurturing and safe way that met both my needs and his. I learned so much about sleep but also about crying and why babies cry. The healing benefits of crying. I am also actually sleeping at night which is nothing if not FANTASTIC! Her sleep guidance package was easy to read, and really effective. <span class="response-text other-item ta-response-item">We have reached all our sleep goals, in the time we were working with her and feel confident to continue on our own.</span> I feel that my parenting has transformed and completely recommend her services to everyone!
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!
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
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. 🙂
“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”
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!!!!!!!!!!
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.
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!
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!
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!
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.
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!
Baby massage classes made our relationship rock! Excellent in all aspects and loved the baby massage oil!
Amanda is a very nice and knowledgeable person. She had given me most precise and most helpful advice, tightening loose ends and clarifying often contradictory advice collected from different other sources. Answered a lot of questions, supported and encouraged when things seemed to not work. I regret I could not have had her over at my house as I am pretty confident she would have been able to help even better but an on-line package is definitely worth a try. For me it was very important that Amanda does not use CIO method and does not even consider it a legitimate one. She also does not judge and does not tell you what you should or should not do if she sees it works for you which makes you realise that you should not feel pressured to do something that does not work. So far, I am able to put my LO to bed without much trouble at night thanks to following Amanda's advice. We are still working on naps and night wakings but it did get easier even though not perfect yet. So do not expect a quick fix from Amanda, you still need to work but Amanda will always point you in the right direction.
Hi Amanda How are you? Just want to thank you for your time spent with us with the Hypnobirth. After 24 hours in labour I managed to have a natural, drug free birth. I managed to get into deep relaxation and the rainbow cd helped me a lot. Breathing through my surges I did not scream once, and my midwives were amazed how well I handled it. This is Mason taken at hospital about 1-2 hours old! He took my breast first day and I also had delayed cord-clamping.
Hey Amanda! We have had our second bub (using the same hypno techniques as u taught us with our first), and he is 4.5 months old. Our story is a goodie! Waters broke <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groovy.babies1/inbox/?mailbox_id=120906967987232&selected_item_id=500751882#">at 2am</a> Back to sleep <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groovy.babies1/inbox/?mailbox_id=120906967987232&selected_item_id=500751882#">until 6am</a> Surges came thick and fast, drove to hospital <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groovy.babies1/inbox/?mailbox_id=120906967987232&selected_item_id=500751882#">8.30am</a> Arrived at hospital entrance <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groovy.babies1/inbox/?mailbox_id=120906967987232&selected_item_id=500751882#">8.43am</a>, crowned in the lift, head out as I got to our room, one last push as bubby lifted me into the bed. Baby in arms <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groovy.babies1/inbox/?mailbox_id=120906967987232&selected_item_id=500751882#">8.45am !!!!!</a> It was incredible and I was so excited the whole way through!
Amanda’s knowledge is amazing. Evidence-based, gentle and logical, it was just what I needed when sleep deprived with 2 1/2 year old Noah! Wished I’d contacted her earlier. The week of support, encouragement and guidance after our phone call was very helpful too.
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
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 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 🙂
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.
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!
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 🙂
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.
