WHO IS MANDY HOSE?
Mandy has a Diploma in Children’s Services and twenty five years experience working with babies and young children in both childcare centres and early parenting support roles. She is now available to help families learn the skills they need to better care for their babies, young kids and their sanity.
She’s an expert at teaching parents/carers about newborns, babies, toddlers, pre schoolers and school kids all the tips and tricks around age appropriate sleep and settling. Mandy has the knowledge to help newborns – 12 year olds.
WHO DOES SHE HELP?
Newborns - 4 Months
A confidence boost to know that what you are doing is enough. Some basic teachings around settling up the sleep space, doing some settling where appropriate and focussing on getting to know your precious new baby/babies
4 - 6 Months
The sleep progression. Beginning some age appropriate routine and if you are wanting some independent sleeping, then Mandy can teach you a safe way to do so. Starting to link the daytime sleeps.
6 - 8 Months
Gorgeous bigger babies, enjoying food, resettling overnight without feeds, linking day sleeps, starting to move.
9-12 Months
Mandy’s favourite age! Bigger babies, who can feel a bit more predictable. Increasing solid foods and linking those all important two days sleeps. Beginning to sleep through the night without feeds
12 - 16 Months
Junior toddlers, we will talk food, the beginnings of toddler behaviour, cutting from two to 1 sleep, and what to do when they are standing in the cot and the dreaded 5am wakings.
Toddlers
The Terrific Two’s. Cutting down to one sleep in the daytime, food and how much they need, behaviour guidance, when to make the move to the big bed.
Pre-schoolers
The time of Many Happy Returns, or keeping them close by at an age when they need lots of support around sleep, understanding developmental changes and what that means for feeling scared.
School Kids
Refusing to go to bed, feeling scared, anxious, overtired, can’t fall asleep, needing parents to stay close, worrying. What to do with our big kids, and especially that big developmental shift around 8 years old and bedtime.
Children with Disabilities or Additional Needs
Mandy’s favourite families. How to teach our kids that have already been through enough. What is appropriate for a children that has serious health needs, how to manage our feelings as parents around settling when we may have experienced trauma around our precious children and their diagnosis. This service is eligible for self-managed and plan-managed NDIS.
Twins/Triplets
Mandy has lived this. How to make change that considers the individual, but also understands the impact of the collective. How to teach one and not the other, do we teach at the same time? What about the siblings?
Premature babies
The most darlings of all. How to teach babies that have spent time in NICU/SCN and kindly work with a family that has experienced this introduction to parenting?
HER PHILOSOPHY
Mandy works on the philosophy of ” I pride myself on understanding age appropriate development and the delicate art of listening and observing babies and toddlers, mixed with some basic sleep and settling routines. Teaching parents the delicate art of listening and watching and then kindly teaching, is something of which I am very proud.
The technique I use is called Responsive Settling. This means responding as often as our babies/children need, with some scaffolding around bedtimes that suits the children’s age. We are kindly teaching and responding to them.
THE BACK STORY
In 2000, Mandy began working at QEC Early Parenting Centre. She helped struggling families learn sleep, settling and communication skills in the Day Stay and 5-Day Residential Program. She also undertook a Parenting Assessment and Skills Development role, which involved assessing the skills and protective capacity of parents reported to Child Protection. Mandy also worked in a successful home visiting and playgroup program for isolated new migrant mums from Afghan and Sudanese backgrounds. At QEC, Mandy honed her skills in helping families get through the tough times in a warm, supportive and judgment-free style.
In 2005, Mandy’s life changed forever after giving birth to twin girls at only 31 weeks gestation. The twins spent a combined two months in both Neonatal Intensive Care and the Special Care Nursery. This unexpected early birth sent shockwaves through Mandy, her husband Darren and their extended family and friends. Mandy spent many fretful, anxious nights at home separated from her babies. When the girls were finally ready to come home, Mandy was already exhausted, traumatised and incredibly stressed.
When the twins were ten months old, one was diagnosed with Right Hemiplegia Cerebral Palsy. Mandy was plunged straight into a deep, unrelenting sadness and grief for her innocent baby, brain damaged through no fault of her own.
When the twins were 2 and a half years old, her other twin was eventually diagnosed with Left Hemiplegia Cerebral Palsy. Although her condition was far milder, Mandy became sad and anxious yet again. Despite everything, she kept on going managing two demanding toddlers and countless medical appointments, while also trying her best to maintain all her relationships.
Eventually, Mandy sought out counselling and was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She continued with counselling for over two years, which she says ‘saved her life’. Mandy soon felt strong enough to give birth to another baby, this time a straightforward singleton arriving full-term – healthy and strong. This sweet little bub ‘mended her heart’ and gave Mandy the ability to love all babies again.
MANDY TODAY
After getting the twins successfully off to school… and the baby through her first two years unscathed… Mandy decided to venture back into the workforce again. After spending time working in an exclusive children’s furniture and toyshop, she decided the time was right to get back into what she knew so well…but this time with her own business.
With the support of her family and friends, Mandy Hose…She Knows was born. As an Early Childhood Consultant, Mandy is available to help all families learn the skills they need to get through the tough times. Mandy in particular specialises in supporting families managing premature and multiple births as well as special -needs children. Mandy believes ‘our families are never black and white, they are all shades of grey’.
Mandy brings to you an incredible wealth of personal and professional experience with baby and young children wrangling! She is a wonderful ally to have by your side through your own parenting journey. Indeed…she knows!!
Thank you Mandy! Our beautiful 22 month old daughter has been a shocking sleeper since birth and we were at our wits end. There is so much competing advice out there about toddler sleep and as first time parents, we felt way out of our depth. Talking to Mandy was such a turning point. She was respectful, really listened and gave us advice that aligned with our values as parents. Now, we feel like we have a solid plan and as a family, we are all back on the same page when it comes to managing sleep. Our daughter is now settling herself in bed beautifully and staying in bed for much longer overnight, a huge relief for everyone! My only regret is that we didn’t book in a chat with Mandy 12 months ago!
Thank you Mandy for your warmth, your generosity and your helping hand along this journey of ours. The enthusiasm you have for your job and helping families is palpable and you really make a difference. Thanks for doing what you do and I am so happy to highly recommend you! 🙂
I have had two zooms with the wonderful Mandy Hose, who really knows her stuff. We have used her once when my daughter was 6 months old and now at 3.5 as she is no longer in a cot and sleep had again gone out the window. Both times Mandy has really just “gotten” me and met me where I’m at. She is open and warm and king. She really listens. She is also completely professional and clearly has so much experience and wisdom. Both times she has given me really good tips for the stage of life I am in to make things seem a little easier or lighter. not sleepy related but just life related.
She didn’t have to do this but it really made me feel like she cares holistically about her clients and their family’s wellbeing.
The fact that our beautiful fourth child is a pea shoot made me seek out Mandy specifically as I knew she would understand the complexity involved when problem solving for pea shoots. Though I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend her to any and all families. I just recently recommended her to my friend with baby twins. I think Mandy has the gift of connecting with people no matter their circumstances.
Thank you Mandy!! I had not slept longer than 2 hours in many months, thanks to my darling but booby-loving boy. Now he sleeps calmly in his cot all night, Daddy is able to help out more, and Mummy has some personal space. We are enjoying each other’s company so much more and are all more rested. Thank you!
Mandy Hose genuinely changed our family dynamic, after our twins (11 months adjusted) went from feeding up to 3 times per night to sleeping soundly with a dreamfeed. We were prepared for a traumatic and distressing sleep training regimen, but instead saw positive changes in only a short time. Most of all Mandy was understanding of our situation as a family, with twins who were prem and still very small for their age. She worked with us to develop a plan which reflected our babies needs and our values as their parents. Very happy customers here!
With so many books out there and different opinions it was so valuable and refreshing having you Mandy give wise advice and encouragement that was tailored to our six week old. We’ve learnt to read his cues and understand him so much better and feel more confident with him. He’s now well rested and thanking you if he could as are we! We would highly recommend to any new parents! Mandy Hose really does know!
We have 9 month old twins that where still feeding during the night and waking multiple times not being able to settle, which then resulted them coming into bed with us. One and a half weeks later our twins are not feeding during the night, sleeping through for the first time (of course not always), haven’t come into bed with us and also sleeping longer during the day. Mandy gave me the extra tools and confidence I needed to get my babies to sleep better. I feel like a new woman and wish I spoke to her months ago….!!!!
Thanks Mandy! We are loving the “new normal”! I was worried that sleep training would be traumatic for both bub and mum but this was far from it. I felt able to help her learn to self settle but still able to provide love and reassurance when she needed it. I didn’t realise quite how much the sleep thing had changed our lives. Bub is now happy and gone from being grizzly and needing to be carried or cuddled in the evening to happily playing. She can fall asleep on her own quite quickly without fuss. I now have way more time – have caught up on a whole lot of those “will get to jobs”. I hadn’t even realised how much time it was taking up. Sleeping through the night!!! At the end of the day I still have energy to play. Thanks Mandy from bub and parents!! It’s still early days but feels so good.