More Than Sleep
Meet Emma O’Callaghan
Founder of Baby Sleep Expert, mum of three, former midwife and nurse - and someone who has spent more than 20 years working with babies, children and families.
When my own girls were little, I quickly discovered that knowing about babies professionally and actually being responsible for one 24 hours a day were two very different things.
I was lucky to have some very practical, common-sense guidance from an older cousin.
But there were still so many gaps in what I knew.
I remember worrying about feeding and whether my baby was gaining enough weight. I remember second-guessing myself and trying to work out whose advice to listen to.
And with my partner working long hours, some of those days at home with a baby felt very long and lonely.
What I really wanted was someone knowledgeable beside me who could cut through all the conflicting advice, understand my baby and help me feel confident about what to do next.
So I did what I’ve always tended to do when I don’t understand something: I started looking for answers.
I read. I researched. I asked questions. I wanted to understand not just what worked, but why.
I certainly didn’t figure it all out back then. In fact, with everything I know now, there is so much I would do differently.
But that’s part of why I understand so clearly what I want to give parents today.
After decades of working with babies, children and families - and years of learning about sleep, development, attachment and neurodevelopment - I’ve become the person I would have wanted beside me all those years ago.
Today, I help parents move from second-guessing themselves to feeling clear, capable and confident.
This is what’s happening. This is why. You’re okay. Your baby’s okay. Here’s what we’re going to do next.
That’s become a huge part of how I work today.
Because sleep is rarely just about sleep
Getting a baby sleeping well isn’t simply a matter of handing a parent a schedule and telling them what to do. There are many pieces to the puzzle.
When I’m working with a family, I’m reading the baby, but I’m also reading the parent - noticing their confidence, their fears and where they’re getting stuck. I’m considering their baby’s temperament and developmental needs alongside feeding, attachment, sleep biology, routines and environment.
I see what’s really going on beneath the surface, understand the nuances, and make something complicated feel clear, manageable and achievable - both technically and emotionally.
Science matters to me. So does connection.
I’m endlessly curious by nature and always want to understand the why behind things. That curiosity has taken me from midwifery and reproductive nursing to becoming an Infant and Child Sleep Consultant, with advanced training in the Biology of Attachment and Neurodevelopment with Dr. Aimie Apigian.
Over the years, my understanding of sleep has become much bigger than sleep itself.
I’m deeply interested in how development, attachment and emotional regulation intersect with sleep - and why good sleep and a strong, connected relationship with your baby can absolutely coexist.
I also believe that when parents are well-rested, supported and confident, the whole family benefits.
Your wellbeing matters. Your sleep matters. Your relationship matters. Helping your baby sleep well can lift an enormous mental and emotional load from family life.
I’m here to bring the knowledge and experience, but you know your baby better than anyone.
I’ll meet you where you are - and I’ll bring you with me.
And when something feels hard, I’ll be there to help you work through it, rather than leaving you guessing and alone.
Because ultimately, I don’t want you to finish working with me thinking, Emma knew exactly what to do.
I want you thinking:
I know my baby. I understand what they need. And I know what to do.
And, of course, I want you all getting a really good night’s sleep too.
Let me help you with the puzzle of sleep.
Trying to piece together the puzzle of your baby's sleep can feel confusing and overwhelming, especially when you don't have all the right pieces or understand how they fit together.
everyone is different
unique
Emma believes that every baby, child, and family is unique, and has developed a holistic approach to sleep that reflects this.
She works in close partnership with you, taking the time to truly understand your family, your child, and your specific sleep challenges. From there she creates a clear, achievable plan and guides you step by step as your baby's sleep becomes settled, easy, and second nature.s
easy
Many parents are surprised by how simple and manageable the process feels.
One of the most common things Emma hears is, 'I only wish I'd done this sooner.'
all styles
Emma works with families of all shapes and structures, creating a warm and non judgemental space where you can feel understood and supported every step of the way.
Emma's aim is to see babies thriving and parents feeling confident, rested and able to enjoy parenting again.
Highly Trained. Deeply Experienced.
- Certified Infant and Child Sleep Consultant
- Registered Nurse
- Registered Midwife
- Graduate Diploma in Reproductive Medicine
- Advanced training in Attachment and Neurodevelopment (Dr Aimie Apigian)
- Certified Infant and Child Sleep Consultant
- Registered Nurse
- Registered Midwife
- Graduate Diploma in Reproductive Medicine
- Advanced training in Attachment and Neurodevelopment (Dr Aimie Apigian)
This depth of training, combined with Emma's experience working with hundreds of families, means your baby's sleep is supported with a level of care and understanding that goes far beyond traditional sleep teaching approaches - with consistently strong, proven results.
Stories From Parents Who've Been There
Emma helped my baby go from not sleeping more than 2 hours at any time to sleeping through the night and napping in the day - more than I could have hoped for! She is understanding, knowledgable, kind and easy to talk to. She made me feel so comfortable and confident enough to deal with various scenarios which came up by providing me with tools to use each day. I would highly recommend her.
I'm so grateful to have meet Emma but also to have taken the courage to follow my instincts. My 5 mth old has been a good sleeper at night, and would do block of 6hours by 2months! However, she always struggle with day time nap.Still I thought I was so lucky! Some naps were 20mins after doing some ninja move to manage to put her down. She was snack-feeding all day and I had to start giving her formula (I was so upset) as my body couldn't follow the every 45mins feed from 6am to 7pm.
I was literally drained! She became really grumpy, cry a lot, wouldn't handle anything but being carried or fed. But OH THE CHANGE after two days! Now after a month since Emma helped she sleeps for 3naps and one of them is two hours! She sleeps from 6.30pm to 7am, and she is back on breast milk only! She is a delight and I enjoy every seconds she is awake.She smiles, laughs, and has so much energy all the time. If I have any advice: don't wait. It is so worth it! It is ok to recognise we need help sometimes! Thank you Emma! thank you from the bottom of my heart!
As a first time mum, sometimes what you need is someone who has been where you’ve been and tell you exactly what you need to do to to fix your sleep problems! Emma will listen, understand and guide you through some of the toughest sleep phases of motherhood. My Ethan was 5 months old when Emma helped my family out of an entire month of his sleep regression within pretty much a week. Ethan has learnt to self settle and resettle through his naps and nights without the dummy. We went from feeding 4-5 times a night down to just one and I don’t even need to swaddle him anymore. I can't thank you enough! Highly highly recommended!
* Not all heroes wear capes!!! ** Emma, you are my hero!! You saved me when I were in a state of utter exhaustion and despair. Your encouragement, reassurance and expert advice transformed my life from anxiety-filled days and tearful, sleepless nights to calm, predictable days and drowsy (but happy), relaxed nights. Thank you so, so much for you support through what was the toughest part of my life 💚 Sebastian and I are so much happier now. Also, you're just a legend of a person 😁👍🏼 xoxo
Emma was amazing to work with! She helped us with our 5mo while also providing support for our toddler.
She took the time to understand our family's routine and created a tailored approach that felt realistic and easy to follow. The daily check ins were invaluable, helping us make gradual changes so nothing ever felt overwhelming. They also gave us the reassurance and support when things didn't go to plan (as they often do!).
We're so grateful for Emma's guidance and would highly recommend her to any family needing support with their little one's sleep.
Thank you Emma 🤍
Emma was amazing!! Our little boy was 5 months and waking every hour throughout the night, and only having cat naps throughout the day. He was unable to resettle himself without being picked up and rocked to sleep with a dummy. Emma gave us easy to follow techniques and a new nap schedule and within days we saw amazing changes he was like a new little boy! He is now able to sleep easily without a dummy and sleeps through the night only waking once for a feed. His day naps are so much easier there is no crying, he is straight to sleep on his own. Emma was a fantastic support and very easy to talk to, we are so grateful for her help! Thanks Emma!!
Emma is amazing, very passionate, kind and thoroughly professional. We found Emma when our 14 month old had very strong sleep associations and sleep regressions. Emma gave us lot of support and guidance and within 3 nights our girl started sleeping through the night. Bed time become less stressful. Now our girl has fallen into routine and is a changed baby. Cannot thank and recommend Emma enough! Only regret we have is we could have got her sooner!
We engaged with Emma, following a friend’s recommendation after 3 months of very broken sleep with our 8 month old. I was exhausted when I finally reached out to Emma.
Emma tailored the program to suit our ‘gentle’ parenting style, which allowed my partner and I to build on our confidence over a few nights, whilst allowing Lachlan to learn to settle on his own.
I was doubtful prior to starting the program, having read and following so many ‘sleep guides’, however after only 3 nights of ‘training’ we were all getting a better nights rest!
We can’t thank Emma enough for her encouragement and commitment, we have learnt so much and her program really does work!
Finding Emma has seriously changed my life! After not sleeping for 18 months, coupled with the exhaustion of first trimester pregnancy, I desperately needed sleep! And Emma got me and my little one out of numerous bad habits that had grown out of trying to make things easier. Elka is now able to sleep easily and no longer needs me, or a bottle to do so. We are now all sleeping (and eating) better and I am beyond thrilled! And I feel I have new skills to use when we face difficulty in the future. Thank you so much Emma!
Emma you have transformed our lives!! We can not thank you enough for helping us teach Hamish how to be the most perfect little person. After 3.5 years of sleep deprivation from our daughter we were determined not to make that mistake again...and we are so pleased we reached out.
Your experience, your genuine intent to help and your considerate words complement your professional abilities as a sleep consultant. We trusted you immediately when we understood your strong science and medical background. Everything you taught us was backed by research and tried and tested.
You have changed not only Hamish’s sleep habits (and ours!), you brought back our happy, playful, content little man we lost when he lost his interest in sleep. Thank you....you really are an angel.
"If you are thinking about getting help from Emma…JUST DO IT! Our gorgeous son, Magnus, had been a pretty good sleeper from very early on. At around the four month mark we noticed some changes in his sleep habits (the dreaded four month sleep regression!) so contacted Emma to help us support Magnus through the regression by teaching him to self settle. We also wanted to transition him into his own room and bring his bedtime forward (we hadn’t been able to succesfully settle Magnus down for the night until around 9pm!). We were blown away by how quickly and seamlessly Emma was able to help us achieve our goals. Her methods and routines were tailored to suit our family and she worked with us to ensure that we had the confidence and skills we needed to be able to help Magnus become a great sleeper! Within a few days of working with Emma, Magnus was self settling, sleeping in his own room and happily in bed for the night by 7pm. We couldn’t recommend Emma highly enough! Rhianna and John”
Here I was with baby number 2, and history began repeating itself. Stella would catnap and snack all day long. There was no predictability to my day and I was stressed and exhausted. Emma was amazing! She helped me settle Stella into a very workable routine. It was a miracle for me! Baby is much happier, and mummy is so much more relaxed and enjoying life. Emma was gentle and kind and very quickly observed what would work for my daughter. She continues to be a great support to us.
I approached Emma when our son was eight months old and had been waking up every 1.5-2 hours for over four months. I had done all the 'right' things and read all the books, had a schedule, age appropriate awake and nap/ bed times etc... but the overnights were consistently a blur of sleep deprived madness with frequent wake ups. I am not a person who asks for help easily... but I am glad I followed my instinct on this one, and contacted Emma for help. Emma was so personable, gentle and kind and took the time to get to know us and our situation. The best part of working with Emma was that she followed up with and supported us for two straight weeks. We are now all having peaceful nights. Our son is also napping like a dream baby and we can really make the most of his awake time now as he is so full of energy... and maybe even a bit more cheeky, if that's possible! Thanks Emma :)
I thought at one year of age a babies sleep must surely be improving, right? Wrong. I was trying to settle him all night and on the bad nights he was literally waking every 15 mins! It was disastrous! I turned to the internet but was completely overwhelmed by the mixed messaging and the information overload. I tried a lot of things but nothing worked and my body physically hurt it was so tired. A friend of mine referred me to Emma, and that referral was life changing. We started noticing improvement within two days! “Emma worked with us and he started sleeping through the night within a week. It was a complete transformation. Not only is Ollie sleeping better but his eating has improved, too. If you had told me six months ago that this was possible, I would have laughed. I had almost accepted that my baby was a terrible sleeper and that was all. We couldn’t be more thankful or more grateful. Emma has changed our lives.”
I cannot possibly say enough good things about Emma and her incredible services. She is a magic worker, and I am not exaggerating when I say she saved our lives! For 12 long months, we were all sleep deprived, grumpy and stressed to a point of complete misery. We were stuck and had no idea how to get out of the horrible cycle of no sleep and rocking all night with our first born. I really believed he was unfixable! But Emma, somehow, managed to get him to sleep through the entire night well within ONE WEEK of her program and support! I just wish we had found her sooner!
Emma is amazing! Thanks to her we now have twin 2.5yr old boys that go to bed themselves without a drama & sleep all night long! This is a big change - we used to battle with bed times & night waking, which was leaving everyone tired & miserable. Now everyone wakes up recharged after a great nights sleep! Straight away I felt very comfortable working remotely with Emma on the phone & she quickly got to understand our boys & what techniques were going to work. Her advice gave us the confidence to implement some key changes & after just the first two nights we were already seeing massive improvements. My only regret is not getting Emma sooner!
The Help You Need Is Here
As each family’s sleep situation is unique, I need to understand a bit more about what you're struggling with. Please give as much information as you are able so I can best understand your needs.
The Help You Need Is Here
As each family’s sleep situation is unique, I need to understand a bit more about what you're struggling with. Please give as much information as you are able so I can best understand your needs. Follow Baby Sleep Expert on social media for tips and good news stories.