Susannah was recommended to me by a friend, I knew from my friend’s experience that I was going to be in good hands from the beginning. This already was great reassurance. Firstly Susannah listened, she heard what was causing us stress and making me particularly anxious, she heard my true concerns for the development/ growth of my newborn.
We had some significant feeding issues. F was a very sleepy newborn and barely putting on any weight. His growth was dropping. We firstly started with routines, this helped with breastfeeding and increasing my rest times between feeds (as the anxiety and illness was taking its toll on my body).
Having Susannah write a step by step routine regarding feeding and settling that was tailored to my baby and myself was amazing. We received a lot of “advice” from others, which simply added to my anxiety. Hearing it from Susannah, in the comfort of our home, knowing our child and seeing first hand the concerns/issues we were facing, was what we needed. Susannah gave advice that actually worked. It gave me confidence as F started gaining weight, which is really what all new mums need. Before seeing Susannah my baby was only gaining a few grams per day, after following her advice he was gaining 40-45 grams per day…all on breastmilk, no tops ups...he was taking off, he was starting to thrive!
As a first time mum, with health issues of my own, Susannah’s presence and guidance was priceless. When F was 4 months old I had to have my gallbladder removed. Unfortunately our family weren't able to provide as much physical help as we had hoped. Susannah flew in to help post surgery. She would settle the baby, prepare dinner, fold clothes, she even made my lunch…she was a godsend.
As F grew Susannah continued to update our flexible routines to match his growth. I loved these written routines; I felt like I had a secret weapon, I felt confident in a time where everything was new. Susannah came into our lives when we needed help the most. She was our Mary Poppins. We will be forever grateful for her expertise and warm personality. She taught us so much. xoxo
Alex, Maylands
Going into my first pregnancy I knew I needed some extra expert help as I knew once our Bub was born I wouldn’t be getting any practical help from family. From first speaking with Susannah I felt her approach was practical, educated and informed but at the same time caring, honest and realistic. I felt at ease and comfortable that I had found someone who could give me baby advice that wasn’t reading a script (hello CYH nurse) or completely out of date. Ie. why isn’t baby sleeping on their stomach said family members.
If Susannah can't help directly, she knows all the right people, like the physio she got me in touch with when mastitis hit. Those physio visits kept me breastfeeding until the mastitis cleared and subsequent advice from Susannah kept me breastfeeding by giving me a variety of tools that helped manage my massive oversupply issue.
Overall Susannah has given me the support and advice I needed in what has been a very trying time both pre and post birth. I honestly believe that without Susannah’s help I would have struggled to continue breastfeeding, getting my baby to nap in the day time and more importantly would have struggled to manage and stay on top of my post natal anxiety. I would and have recommended Susannah to friends. The help, support and advice is invaluable in a time where you have to learn so much to keep this little baby alive and happy, oh and learning while in a sleep deprived state.
Miranda, from the hills
Susannah helped me with my first baby Audrey and was indispensable during quite a difficult time. We had a preemie baby with terrible reflux and we had no familial support due to moving from Sydney to Adelaide with Audrey when she was just 6 weeks old. Susannah was wonderful with Audrey and I felt completely comfortable to leave Audrey in her care, which is never easy for a first time mum! She was also a wealth of knowledge and I learnt so much from her about development, settling and feeding techniques. She goes above and beyond, responding to texts and phone calls after hours, and helping out at home with things like cooking and laundry. Susannah was a pleasure to have in my home, as well as being a huge help with Audrey, she was also great company to enjoy a cup of tea and a chat! I will definitely use her again with baby number 2!
Claire G, Malvern
Claire G, Malvern
Susannah has helped us so much it's hard to convey in words. She is exceptional at what she does and has a gift of tuning into how you are feeling and responding with incredible insight. I couldn't be more grateful for all she has done for us and feel it was a privilege to have benefitted from her wisdom especially in the early days of having a newborn. Right from the very start after our baby was born Susannah gave me invaluable phone and text message support as I was dealing with a very challenging birth experience and resulting physical and emotional distress. Susannah debriefed our birth experience which was exactly what I needed for emotional release and also helped me understand the events of our hospital care. With our rocky start her then ongoing support with breast feeding, baby settling and her wealth of baby and health knowledge helped more than ever. For anyone having a baby I can't recommend Susannah more and suggest getting in touch with her in pregnancy if possible for maximum benefit.
E's Mummy, Parkside
Susannah helped us by developing a sleeping and feeding routine that works for us. They were well planned according to our schedules and were a great resource for my husband and mother on days where baby K was in their care. The ongoing phone calls helped identify changes and addressed concerns. I would recommend her services to any new Mum navigating their way through all of the information available on sleeping and feeding, as having a customised approach really takes into consideration your baby's needs. Thank you Susannah.
EKay and Baby K of Rose Park
I highly recommend Susannah from Adelaide Hills Postnatal Support to anyone who needs help at home with their baby. As a new mum with a young baby, I've come across all of the regular stumbling blocks. Susannah has helped me with routines, settling, breastfeeding, feeding solids, as well as answering my millions of questions and helping me out around the house. I was doing a bit of work from home at the time, and was able to work on my computer in another room while Susannah looked after my baby boy and did some housework. I don't have any grandmas around to help me, so I really looked forward to Susannah coming over a few hours each week to give me a hand. I also like that Susannah gives advice based on scientific research, and has read far more articles and books than I currently have time to do myself. I would definitely give Susannah a call if you are feeling a bit overwhelmed at home with a new baby (or a few children!) and need some support. So thanks again for everything Susannah and I'll no doubt ask you back again at some stage when my little man throws me another curve ball... :)
Jody, Greenhill
I can’t recommend Susannah highly enough! I sought a Doula service before my second child was born, as I wanted some domestic help and some assistance establishing breastfeeding… and wow did I get a whole lot more than this! Susannah really is what she says, honest, kind & friendly - her wealth of knowledge on a huge range of issues really did astound me!
After expressing for my first baby for five long months and bottle feeding, I knew I needed help to establish breastfeeding second time around - there was no way I could express full time with a three year old and a newborn! Susannah set out to gather as much information about my first experience, suspecting that I had suffered from oversupply with my first child and hadn’t had the right support and advice early enough to understand how to manage it. Well, my second baby is now nine months old and we are still breastfeeding (even with two teeth!), something I didn’t think I could achieve.
Susannah helped me with settling, warning me about upcoming growth spurts, development milestones “wonder weeks” which was golden when you are struggling with an unsettled baby in the middle of the night! We also worked on a plan for feeding/expressing for my return to work, which made the transition so much smoother. It’s impossible to completely prepare for a brand new baby, but knowing that Susannah was only a phone call or email away in the wee hours was priceless!
Katie (Mum to boys, twice!)
Katie (Mum to boys, twice!)
I have used Susannah’s services over several years at different points in my son’s development and highly recommend her to all the Mums I meet! We first met when my son was three weeks old and she helped me with the usual newborn issues and questions, things were going well and we went our separate ways. Just as my son was starting solids, he unfortunately developed gastro and this meant that he became fearful of eating, this led to all sorts of problems with food and then had a knock on effect with sleep.
I finally asked for Susannah’s opinion when he was 15 months old and I hadn’t had any success with what any other professionals were advising me. I wish I had called her back sooner because she straightaway knew who to refer to and we began solving the problem together. Susannah then helped me to begin to improve the sleep problems that had resulted from the lack of eating solid food.
The great thing with Susannah is that even when I have been too tired to always stick with what is working, she just carries on supporting me to do things in my own time and own way and doesn’t judge. If I am too tired to make changes then she helps me round the house and it’s just like having a friend come over. She even helped me move house and de-clutter! She’s bubbly and full of positive energy when I’m feeling deflated. My son loves having her around and she’s also relates really well to my husband. Susannah has helped me with weaning from the breast during toddlerhood, toddler behaviour management tips and so many other things.
Rhian, Lobethal
Having my first baby I felt anxious and overwhelmed. I looked to baby books and apps for guidance but this only heightened my anxiety as my baby didn't 'fit' the text.
Susannah provided me with personalised support tailored to me and my baby. She gave me guidance as to what my baby's needs were and how to read his cues and signs. She created a gentle routine which focused on awake windows and taught me invaluable tools to help with settling.
She is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to anything baby related. Her continued support has helped me feel more relaxed and confident as a Mum.
Monique, H's Mum
I’ve been working on a book about baby feeding & sleep on and off for the last nine years which is yet to be published, but I have been testing out my book on willing guinea pigs over the years and here are a couple of reviews of the book:
Susannah's advice was invaluable to me when I was trying to figure out how to cope with a newborn baby. She doesn't pretend to have all the answers or a secret recipe for success, but lays out the basic options for any given issue e.g. sleep patterns, feeding, weaning.
Where she is expressing her own opinion she is clear about it. The aspect I liked most about her approach is that she is incredibly non-judgmental - which is a breath of fresh air when it comes to baby raising recommendations! She is supportive and kind whilst also offering real advice - a shoulder cry on is good, but someone who goes a step further and offers some solutions when you feel lost and alone with a crying infant is even better!
Yes we have been friends for many years, so I must be biased on some level, but plenty of friends who are mums have offered comment about child rearing since I joined this particular 'club', and none have been as non-judgmental, helpful or just down-right funny as Susannah!
-- Emily, Newcastle, UK
When my first child was born I had only a hazy idea of what motherhood would be like. He was born after a very long labour and I began motherhood already exhausted and struggling to cope with a complicated and overtired baby who wouldn't breastfeed properly or sleep for very long. Susannah had already asked me to trial her book and the minute I read the first chapter I was hooked. From that point, I found Susannah's book and individual advice indispensable. As well as the book, which I referred to constantly, Susannah and I regularly communicated about Leo. It is thanks to Susannah that even at my most tired and frustrated I persevered with breastfeeding for well beyond the six months (actually I have now breastfed for 3.5 years in total so far!).
Susannah and I have been close friends for many years. Despite now living on different continents, she supported me on the phone through my arduous labour first labour, suggesting positions to make it easier and correctly assessing from the way I sounded that he was badly positioned. Two and a half years later when my daughter was born very quickly at home, it was again Susannah who supported me through early labour and predicted the birth would be fast (the midwife only just made it in time!). She also eased my shock by talking through the birth with me afterwards. This was of course the next best thing to having Susannah at my side, which would have been my ideal scenario!
-- Beth, London, UK