Testimonials

So just to give you a little background to our story, before I had Serafino I was taught (and accepted) to feed my baby whenever he wanted and that sometimes he wouldn't even need to burp. And to also feed him to sleep was acceptable. I was excited to practice these things as I thought it would really bring me close to my baby.

Once baby was born, I immediately jumped into these things. I fed him whenever he seemed bother...! (In hindsight, it makes me sick to my stomach that I did this!). I jumped from breast to breast without any routine. I had some nipple soreness that would make me cringe when feeding, and also engorgements. I had the fever 3 different times within 2 weeks because of it. I felt like most of the days and most of the nights I was breastfeeding. I obviously wasn't winding him much either because I just thought to do it a couple of times and that’s it. And sometimes when he fell asleep, I would leave him to sleep.

At some point it just became very apparent to me that he had reflux. My poor baby... He was vomiting so much and would smell acidic. I searched and searched from a natural way to help him but wasn't finding anything that either I agreed with or that worked. One day I just thought to hashtag Reflux on Instagram just to see what would come up. I was curious to see what others that have a baby with reflux say about it. This is how I came across your book. I read a little of what you have posted and I was sold. It was exactly what I was looking for.

This being said, I have read your book and have made adjustments with Serafino. He is more calm, sleeps so much better and for longer, and I feel that deep connection with him that I so desired. It’s truly beautiful.

Hannah

"My son Ray developed issues from around six weeks old. It began as reflux, then constipation, sleep issues, reluctance to feed, and many hours of crying. He also began refusing a bottle of expressed breast milk, despite happily accepting it before. He was clingy, startled easily, and would constantly thrash and wiggle. Like many mothers I believed cluster feeding and crying during "witching hour" was normal and I was encouraged to feed on demand and feed to sleep. 

I spoke to doctors, an osteopath, a lactation consultant, a sleep consultant, and many sympathetic Plunket nurses. No one could explain what was wrong with Ray. Some said it was his temperament and that he was a difficult baby. But to me, he didn't seem difficult, he seemed highly distressed.  

Google finally lead me to Philippa's book and I quickly read it while I stayed up with Ray one night. Immediately I knew this was the answer to everything. I began following the methods outlined in the book and saw a big change in Ray. I then booked phone consultations with Philippa, who provided valuable personalised advice to ensure I was following the method correctly and achieving the very best result for Ray. 

Within one week Ray was napping longer in his cot and waking less in the night. His constipation resolved and he had regular bowel movements. The crying, wiggling and thrashing stopped. He began to smile, coo and chat more. When it came time to feed, he was calm and smiling, something I hadn't seen in months. Most surprising of all was that after months of refusing a bottle, suddenly he accepted it again - much to my relief, as he will require bottle feeding when I return to work. Ray is now a calm, happy "easy" baby. 

I'm shocked and saddened that what Philippa taught me is not common knowledge amongst mothers or the medical community. I feel that me and Ray spent the first few months of his life sleepless, uncomfortable and in tears (as was I) when we should have been enjoying that special bonding time. If I had known when he was born what I know now, things would have been so much easier for us both. 

I'll be making sure every new mum I know learns about baby cues, and Philippa's book will be my must-have baby shower gift for friends. No mother and baby should have to suffer through months of "colic" needlessly. Now that I know there is a real solution I want to shout it from the rooftops for every mother to hear. Philippa has cracked the code when it comes to babies!" 

Kayla

Philippa! 
Your book has saved me! 
I'm day two into your recommended feeding and sleep guide with my three month old baby girl. Today her feeding was incredible! And my fast flow issues are already taking a turn (even while my breasts are still regulating to the new feeding patterns). 

Seriously, every midwife needs to give their clients a copy of your book and we need everyone to be re-educated about newborns with the help of your fantastic and spot on advice. Either that or it needs to become a government initiative to educate according to your findings! 

With our first baby (now 3) as new parents we were told by our midwife (whom we loved and trusted dearly) that newborns didn't need much burping and to feed whenever she needed it. 

With both babies (up until two days ago) their 'cues' became more confusing to me as time went on and I couldn't understand why I was struggling to read either baby properly. First time around, at 5 months I ended up spiraling into a stage of post-natal depression, feeling the exact way you described in your book - sleep deprived, stressed and having a baby with Digestive Overload. Except I had not heard of this term, or your way of nurture and care for babies at all. In fact, I followed a Facebook personality called the Milk Meg who's message was along the lines of 'if in doubt, give them boob'. I can now see I was not necessarily 'depressed' but feeling the effects snowball from sleep deprivation and external stressors as well as having an 'unpredictable' baby who actually was struggling with a very full and overloaded stomach. Poor thing. 

Second time around, things started to go downhill again and I found myself asking the same questions you asked in your book: if my baby is tired, why is she not sleeping? Why is she giving me tired cues but not going to sleep. Why is she giving me hunger cues but not feeding well.  After  all the late night googling online with words such as 'baby crying after feeds, baby spewing and spilling a lot, baby very windy 3 months old etc,' I finally mentioned my struggles to the doctor during a vaccinations appointment. She immediately handed me a script for omeprazole and said it sounded like mild reflux. I thought to myself, that was way too quick for her to assess and offer the prescription but I was immensely grateful for the help and supposed solution. That night I googled omeprazole and read how it's basically a temporary fix for symptoms but not fixing the actual cause, and then a quote from your book came up, so I clicked onto your website. Here I am two days later writing you this email :) 

Please, please, please can your message and advice get put out to all mums new and multiple times around. This has completely changed my life. I already feel so confident feeding my baby girl and winding her (and wow it's a LOT). My fiancé is already very excited to be able to help more. Up until now I haven't let her out of my sight because I've been concerned she always needed feeding, or that I was the only one who could understand her (when actually I was guessing what she needed by checking the clock and making large assumptions). 

I will be buying this book for my second midwife to loan to her clients (she is very open minded and explained to me in the early weeks that colic is more about immature digestive systems than a label). And after reading your book, I am relieved. I am confident my baby doesn't have 'reflux' but indeed was suffering from a massive amount of Digestive Overload due to me frantically feeding to soothe her. We were classic 3rd stage every day, 2nd stage was a 'good' day for us. Hiccups were also constant. I also thought she wasn't interested in the pacifier as she always spat it out, which i now know from your book was because she was always uncomfortable and windy. 

From the bottom of my heart- Thank you thank you thank you. 

Jane

I am not normally one to gush. I am very reserved and have read every baby book on the market. I only wish I had had this information weeks ago, actually before my beautiful baby girl was born (she is now 3 months old). 

To say this book has changed our world, is actually quite accurate. I feel much more connected to my baby because I can understand her better. I always knew that she was trying to communicate something to me, but I didn’t know what she was trying to say. I also didn’t know how to help her. I felt so stressed and powerless, like I wasn’t meeting her needs. I felt drained from the unsettled nights and the constant waking’s. She was always wriggling when I put her down for a sleep and the smallest noise would rouse her. I read this ebook at 10pm one night after another traumatic unsettled evening where she eventually fell asleep from exhaustion ( argh my heart aches when I think about it)  and after I read this book I felt like the lights had been switched on. It all suddenly made sense and everything that I had observed with her fell into place. From that night on, things in our house started to change. I could feel the stress lift and she become a much more content baby. She slept better, I slept better, bath time was no longer a screaming episode, car rides have calmed down (not 100% but much better). 

I have recommended this book to all my girlfriends; one in particular was about to start medication for her little boy and is now only using the information from this book. If you have an unsettled baby you must buy this book.

Lauren

‘Your book and our consultation has blessed me beyond measure. I hope that your book will find it's way into all new mother's hands, before they have their precious baby so they don't reach the crisis point that we have reached with all of our babies.'

Jodie

Your book has given me so much more knowledge about how to read my baby's cues. She is 4 months old, 3 months corrected as she was born a month early. I have never been given any information about the significance of winding and was told that cluster feeding was normal. Everything I read in your book was exactly our baby. I knew something wasn't right but every time I was told the behaviours were normal. I still wasn't 100% convinced that it was. Then I saw one of my friends shared your website on Facebook and I immediately started reading. The relief that swept over me was immense. I told my husband this could be the answer to our problems and I purchased your book straight a way.

The change in our little girl was instant, the look on her face was like "Yes Mummy you got it!" (I also felt guilty that for so long mummy was getting it wrong) and the biggest thing of all, we all got a better night sleep and her day sleeps are much better. I am a person that is highly anxious and I like the fact that I am at times when I worry the most about my girl, it helped us to find an answer to something I knew didn't sit right with me. We now follow the 4 hourly Biological Daily Pattern and it works for her and us as a family. I would like to say thank you so much for the work that you do, it really helped us through a tough time.

Piki Hoskins

The BabyCues book made complete sense. I have been very diligent about not over feeding and burping. He is a happy easy going baby and is also my 5th breast fed baby. I can see all the mistakes I made with the others. I was over feeding them creating the cycle of digestion overload. All the signs were there, I had no clue. Thank you for the work you have done!

Shannon Tudbury-Gaines

BabyCues provides a vital missing resource for new parents to understand the feeding cues and digestive system of their newborn.  Philippa pulls on her clinical experience and the latest research to provide this essential guide for new parents. I wish I'd read this book before having children!!  Thanks Phillipa for making this information so readily available.

Ben Warren

Thank you doesn't begin to convey my deep gratitude for your research and knowledge. Since buying your book I feel we are headed in the right direction thanks to you. I appreciate you more than words can describe. My heart goes out to parents that don't have the salvation of your book to guide them. I so frequently hear about newborns in our area that have acid reflux. How sad for the babies who are suffering unnecessarily. We are out and about thanks to the advice in your book! No more sitting at home with a screaming babe. Thank you for your life changing help.

Michelle

Philippa was introduced to us at nearly breaking point with a very unsettled/colicky baby. Both through her book and in-house consultations, we learnt many techniques and information to help us settle Charlotte and understand what was happening for her that was making her so upset. We now are able to easily settle Charlotte when she is upset thanks to Philippa's help and she is much better. Philippa is extremely kind, caring and helpful and we'd highly recommend her!

Jessica and Jeremy

Thank you Philippa, your words are gold for me. Things are much better with only six feeds a day, a good amount of gaps in between feeding, no gassy food and new positions for gas elimination. She is even on a routine all of a sudden of two naps a day and is put in bed by 8pm, waking at 7am. She is loving sweet potato to. Reflux is gone, trapped wind is gone. Thank you for being a light to us all.'

Eda

We are very grateful for all your help that we got from you Philippa! Without you we never would have figured out how to resolve our son's issues. We have stuff to deal with but not it's just normal issues that you are going to have with a baby. Thank you!

Vera and Jim

My first born had colic and it was really hard watching her in pain, screaming for hours. When my second child started screaming I thought I wouldn't be able to handle a similar experience again. A friend had given me ‘The Natural Parent' magazine where I read Philippa's article about wind cues. I read her book immediately and contacted her for more help. Whereas others, including my midwife and Plunket, were dismissive of my concerns with comments like 'babies cry' and 'he'll grow out of it in about 3 months', Philippa listened and carefully assessed my baby to help me figure out what was going on. 
 
While I didn't do all her methods, it was a huge help to understand that the crying was generally about retained wind and to know how to release burps helped enormously.  More than that, Philippa's patience and willingness to help me through the difficult few weeks in many areas was a real support. I am a strong believer in attuning to your baby, listening to and understanding their communication. Philippa's methods helped me see the goodness and beauty in my son, which was otherwise difficult to see when he was constantly screaming. I would like this information to be more widely available as it was an important missing link for me. Thank you Philippa.

Mary

Our pregnancy was quite an emotional journey. Our firstborn daughter was born sleeping, so we were filled with fear every step of this pregnancy. Having given birth before I felt somewhat prepared for the process, as I grasped any possibility of hope. Our birth this time round went relatively smoothly, although delivery a month early via emergency c-section wasn't quite how I had envisioned my birth plan. 

We felt we were quite supported and educated throughout the pregnancy but wow! We didn't realize how isolated, lost and unprepared we were for life with a new born. The emotional ride of having a baby after a loss was intense in itself, but that was soon compounded with a baby who wouldn't feed or sleep and who was constantly inconsolable. We felt completely incapable and incompetent to care for our little girl.

As we later discovered, after numerous trips to the hospital, that the tongue tie release she had done at 3 days old still wasn't enabling her to effectively feed. So we continued to struggle with feeding, her taking on excessive amounts of air, myself in pain trying to breastfeed and her screaming in what we thought was hunger every 45 minutes, while constantly being told breast was best as we waited weeks for our appointment to see a specialist about her tongue. 

At breaking point, a pregnant friend shared a book she had been given. BabyCues!! We bought the e-book that night and read it front to back over the following 24 hours, desperate to find something that might help. And instantly Philippa's Natures Wind Sequence (NWS) made sense and gave us small windows of peace.  

I cannot describe how grateful we are for discovering Philippa and the world of difference our email and skype sessions made. Philippa was the biggest comfort we needed, more than we knew. She walked through the steps and tools for the NWS, offered support at any time, helped us transition to bottle feeding, enabled us to positively bond with our princess and most importantly empowered us as parents, and reassured us that we could and were doing our best. 

As we look back on our journey I can honestly say I don't know if we would be where we are today if it wasn't for Philippa's help and genuine care. I feel there is an incredible gap in postnatal care in our society, and the work Philippa does needs to be more widely recognized and acknowledged. 

Our little girl has since had her tongue and lip ties released, and is thriving at life. She has gone from the 5th percentile to the 75th percentile for weight! She is now such a chilled, happy, easy going girl and we are truly enjoying our journey. Thankful doesn't even begin to describe how grateful we are for you Philippa and all your support! 

Raewyn and Paul

Thank you so much Philippa, you have been our daughters saviour. Blair and I are feeling empowered by your support and advise. We are finally seeing our beautiful girl show her true character. It has been a rough few weeks but so worth while.

Zara and Blair

The information related completely to us and it was easy to understand because it focused on naturally reading Rocco’s cues. Over the next few weeks Rocco’s well-being continued to improve. Rocco is now eight months old and through guidance from BabyCues, we have worked out ways to releave his reflux. BabyCues offered hope at a time when we felt helpless. It gave practical solutions which actually worked and did not involve medicating or compromising our beliefs. I recommend the BabyCues book and services to every parent, teacher and medical professional that I talk to. Although I know each child is different, I think the information it delivers can give comfort, explanation and advice to those trying desperately to understand why their child is suffering.

Choiwee

I just want to say you're amazing and I'm really enjoying your book. I've just started reading your eBook and I can't thank you enough! Your book is incredible, I can't believe how wrong we get taught even from who we think is the best. My little man is eight weeks today and is the most relaxed little man. We haven't had many issues with him but from reading your book I now know the causes of what is going on. I'm blown away how easy motherhood could be if only we were taught this stuff right from day one. I'm aware of the changes I need to make with him, I only wish I brought your book earlier but so glad I have it now. Thank you again. I will be advising Mums that your book is a must, I know I'll be recommending you. I feel like your knowledge is a must for every new mother/already mothers! I so want your name to spread and for every mother to experience correct advice and the simple things to make their life's so much more relaxed with their babies. I hear of so many stories that could be avoided. If only they knew!'

Greta Drummond

Our boy is bringing up his wind really easily and often on his own now.  He is so much happier, gives lots of smiles and is a real little chatter box.  He is sleeping really well and in his bassinet even!  He is like a different baby.  We can't thank you enough for your help.  For the first time I am actually enjoying being a mum.  All the best with the book.  I am definitely getting it when it comes out.

Michelle Smith

This is my second child, and on following through on the methods that Philippa delivers and seeing the results, I believe my first child wouldn’t have had to suffer like he did if Plunket and my midwife had known these techniques.

Megan Cole

My boy is a wee legend with his sleep now. Still not in a set routine but sleeping well. Most nights he sleeps between 11pm and 7am, not waking up for a feed at all. I wake up a few times to replace the pacifier but it's nothing. I credit the winding for this change - days he is windy (when someone else looks after him for most of the day) are different and he is less settled. Same goes for day time sleeps. Thank you Philippa and all the best.

Elena

It is difficult to put into words the relief and gratitude I feel to be finally getting things under control. Thank you so much for doing what you are doing and for being so awesome at it! It is so wonderful that you are there for people like us when nobody else can be bothered to help. Keep up the fabulous work!

Jacquie Conroy

Everything is going wonderfully here. Romeo is sleeping very well now. Two long day sleeps and mostly one night wake up which is so so nice. His wind is no longer causing him any grief and we have introduced dairy into his diet without any probs. We are very grateful that he is so settled.

Hannah Eason

You have been wonderful thank you so, so much. It's so wonderful you have this gift of helping parents and sick bubs Philippa. Keep up your amazing work xx

Claire

Thank you ever so much for all the support you've offered over the past half year. You've been an amazing sounding board for me. I really can't thank you enough for your advice when I've asked and just being someone who understands and that I could vent to.  Big hugs from one happy mother!

Fiona Modderman

Now we recognize what's bugging our girl and have the tools to sort her out. On the whole it's been a big improvement so a big thank you! We'll be recommending your services for sure.

Warren

Philippa and I had different beliefs on how to progress our twin boys. My ideas came from my older boys and hers, obviously from her phenomenal experience with twins. However, Philippa stepped back and I tried it my way but did not get great results so I allowed Philippa to teach me her way and what a remarkable change! After two weeks I was urging Philippa to get her book on digestion to the publishers. Our boys were on a workable routine that focused on winding and they became happy calm and comfortable. As a mother, if there is one thing that I need to say to all parents that read this, this is it. Philippa has some different ways to progress babies and at first you may be sceptical, as I was, but the best decision I made for my boys was to trust in her experience.

Dominique and Uean Gorry

I had tried so many avenues which haven't been successful and was getting desperate. I am so pleased to have discovered you. Thanks so much for your advice, wisdom,your passion and perseverance.

Anonymous

We can’t thank you enough for your help and your wisdom. Your service is very unique and I have absolutely no doubt that you are going to be very famous because of your knowledge, one day soon (lucky we got in early).

Kate and Stu

We were dubious about whether you could really help us over the internet Philippa, but after following your recommendations, which wasn't easy at times, our daughter is remarkably better.  Her reflux is greatly minimised and she is now feeding really well.  We cannot thank you enough.  Best wishes.

Susan and Blake

Learning about wind and the winding techniques has given me, not only the skills and confidence, but a greater understanding of how to help my baby sleep and be more content. The winding sequence and winding signs now seem so obvious and they help me to recognise what my baby needs or what she is communicating. I feel empowered and I know that I have a much happier baby. Philippa's advice, knowledge and support have really helped my husband and I. As new parents, we have found her experience and tips really beneficial. Thanks so much.

Lisa Kearns

Having had a very colicky first baby, we where both dreading having our next one so, when I saw Philippa’s article in the Parents Centre newsletter I took advantage of her great knowledge of windy babies, and learnt some absolutely invaluable techniques that have made life with our baby boy a cruise, and all natural which is very important to me. I think every new parent would benefit from a session with Philippa as soon as baby is born, to gain some great skills to help eliminate the colic issue before it evolves.

Vicky and Mark Bone

Philippa was an absolute godsend when she arrived at our house to help with our twins. We found her to be marvellous in making those early stressful days manageable and parenting a pleasure. Philippa exudes confidence in her knowledge and has the asset of being able to hand that onto parents while being warm and affectionate with babies. Philippa is very talented in her profession.

Kimberly and Robert Hamilton

We found Philippa's expertise invaluable. She was full of useful and helpfully suggestions while being extremely sensitive to our wishes. Her way with children is absolutely fantastic. We willingly recommend Philippa to any parent and remain eternally grateful to her.

Andy and Jill Lawton-Smith

I devoured your BabyCues ebook and started making changes immediately Philippa. I had intended to put Edie onto 3.5 hour pattern, as I wasn’t sure how she would go, but the first night she happily slept right through! So we went on to the 4-hour pattern right from the get-go.  She seems much more comfortable, occasionally getting uncomfortable with wind but nowhere near as often. 

I was a bit concerned that Edie would become dehydrated, especially on the really hot days, without feeding ‘on demand’ (which I now realise isn’t actually demand) but she seems fine. I think she had 2^nd Degree Digestive Overload, maybe bordering on level 3 but I am pretty sure we have knocked that on the head.  

She is a much happier, a more comfortable baby and sleeps well now. The pattern is great because I am able to match up Edie’s and Augie’s sleep time (both at 12pm) which means I have about an hour and a half to have a sleep too. The pattern has also allowed Edie to switch her sleeping patterns over to being longer during the night and shorter during the day when beforehand it was the other way around, and I was happy she was sleeping but I was wishing it was when I could sleep as well! 

I have a friend whose baby has been diagnosed with reflux, colic etc (her second child, her first was much the same) and she is at her wits end so when the hard copy of your book arrives I will give it to her to read because I think it will really help. 

Thank you again for checking in, but most of all, thank you for writing the book. I wish I had known about it when Augie was a baby, I think it would have saved us a lot of stress and discomfort. I’m so grateful that there is such grounded, sensible information out there and I will be telling all the new mums in my life about it! I think it should be compulsory reading for all new parents.

Hayley - Mum of two

BabyCues book is a beautifully written practical guide on how to cope with a desperately unsettled baby. As a GP I am increasingly distressed by the excessive prescribing of medications for our precious babies and the complete lack of support or decent advice for the unlucky parents dealing with their screaming children. As a mother of a child diagnosed with "reflux" I just wish I had had Philippa's great advice to hand. Her "back to basic" nurturing techniques would have made my life and my daughter's first few months a lot more enjoyable instead of the hellish time I recollect. I particularly liked the emphasis on the size of babies stomach and the implications of persistent over feeding and I am delighted to find a medicine free way of managing the over diagnosis of "reflux".  I believe that this book will help other parents to avoid the nightmare and instead discover a nurturing way to manage their baby's problems.

Dr Mangan