We didn't anticipate how attached James would become to sleeping in our bed after we brought him in when he had a fever and virus at 16 months. He had always slept in his own cot, in his own room until he got sick.

He obviously liked it a lot more in with mummy and daddy. He would wake up early and scream until we brought him in. I couldn't settle him. The crying was intense. It was just awful. The early waking kept on getting earlier and earlier until it was at about midnight that he would wake and literally scream for us. It was terrible. Just so we could get some sleep we kept bringing him in even though neither of us wanted him in our bed.

We went on an overseas holiday when James was 20 months old and by the time we got back it was like James was allergic to his cot. I couldn't get him in there for day sleeps and one of us would have to go to our bed with him to get him to sleep at night. The method that tresillian gave us only made the problem worse. We would leave James crying and come and go from the room for an hour and then stay with him until he slept. He was hysterical.

When I called Karen, I was a desperate, tired and very emotional woman. She came to our house, assessed James and gave me a set of guidelines to follow with a new bedtime routine. She also provided a new daytime routine, which was quite similar to what we already had in place. I knew I had my work cut out for me. But as I was just pregnant with my second child, I knew I had to fix this problem now. James has responded brilliantly to his new routine. I'm not saying that what we had to do was easy...it wasn't, but after 6 weeks of sticking to the program I have a different kid on my hands. He sleeps in his own cot from 1pm until about 3pm for his day sleep and then from 7.30 until 6 am most nights. Getting him to sleep is still a bit of work but he is doing it! I couldn't be more proud.

Karen gave me the advice and confidence I needed to take control of our co-sleeping nightmare. She has a wealth of knowledge about babies and toddlers. She has a natural ability to pick their personalities and know what they need.

James is a happier little boy... well slept and developing beautifully. He has a wonderfully kind and generous nature and our relationship has just blossomed. I can't thank Karen enough. She has helped bring harmony back into our house.

M & J, Earlwood, NSW