Founded in 2005, Baby Matters is the leading provider of maternity services in Scotland and the UK, offering care and consultancy from a small team of highly qualified, caring practitioners.
The Baby Matters team consists of dedicated, professional maternity nurses, all with extensive experience of providing maternity nurse services across the UK and around the world
Baby Matters was born from the recognition that every new parent needs support at some time.
Perhaps your newborn is having trouble feeding, perhaps your toddler keeps you up in the night, or perhaps you just feel isolated with no extended family nearby. Baby Matters’ informal, friendly approach will put you at ease and within days your whole family will feel the benefit of engaging a Baby Matters expert.
The Baby Matters team are all qualified paediatric first aiders, hold PVG disclosures and have Public Liability insurance. References and CVs are available on request.
ABOUT
OUR MISSION IS TO TAKE THE WORRY OUT OF PARENTING AND EMPOWER YOU TO CARE FOR YOUR BABY WITH CONFIDENCE
Sarah Murphy
Maternity Nurse and Paediatric Sleep Expert
I began my career training as a Paediatric Nurse from 2002-2005 at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh. My training gave me a wealth of knowledge and experience in many clinical areas including: A&E, Medical Paediatrics, Speciality Surgery (short stay and long stay), Neurology, Burns, and Neonatal / Special Baby Care, to list a few.
Upon graduation, I undertook further study and training and embarked on a career as a maternity nurse, travelling extensively working with newborns in London, Paris, New York, Dubai and Qatar. During this time, I embraced the opportunity to continue my education and advance my knowledge and skills working alongside speech and language therapists, special feeding therapists, and physical therapists. I also trained as a Birth Doula at the prestigious Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital In New York City.
In 2013 I made the decision to return to Edinburgh and began my journey as Director of Baby Matters. Over the last 8 years Baby Matters has evolved into something I could only have dreamt of. I am so proud of the positive impact it has had on the hundreds of families who have had their lives improved from our help, support and encouragement. At the heart of Baby Matters is my core belief that every baby matters, every child matters and every family matters. There is no "one-size fits all" at Baby Matters, but rather a personalised and bespoke support package for each and every child and family that I see.
Baby Matters, and so do you!
I have 2 very energetic little boys of my own who keep me very busy and constantly learning. I'm passionate about empowering parents to make informed choices, and most importantly, helping parents to enjoy their parenting experience!
SERVICES
Being a new parent can often feel like a minefield. There is so much conflicting advice, and everyone you meet seems to think they have the answers. We are knowledgable, experienced professionals and we will give you practical advice that actually works!
Breast Feeding Consultation
Breast feeding can be the best, but also the most challenging part of being a new mother. If you are experiencing difficulty with any aspect of feeding - we are here to help. We have supported countless families at every stage of their breastfeeding journey.
From issues with latch on day one, to how best to wean off feeding at the end of your journey (and everything in between).
Baby Matters are pro feeding in whatever way works best for you and your baby, and we are here to help and support you to achieve that. What you won't find from us, is any pressure or judgement. Your baby - your choice.
£350
Breast To Bottle Consultation
Breast fed babies often develop a preference for feeding only from the breast, and refuse to accept a bottle. If you are having difficulty introducing a bottle to your baby, or wish to stop breastfeeding completely we can help you introduce a bottle to your little one.
Your Baby Matters consultant will come to your home and over 2/3 feeds will will teach our baby how to drink from a bottle.
We have a 100% success rate in getting babies to accept a bottle where they previously have refused.
£525
*This service is only available to babies under 7 months of age.
Night Nurse / Maternity Nurse
Working with us for one night, several weeks, or even months allows for the opportunity to recuperate following the arrival of your baby. As well as a chance to recover, we also want you to have the opportunity to learn from our collective 30 plus years of extensive expert experience in caring for newborns. We will support and guide you through the early challenges of caring for a newborn, empowering you to care for your baby with confidence. Starting out with healthy habits from the very beginning will ensure your baby transitions easily through the many developmental changes in those early months and you can enjoy your time as a new parent - without the worry or exhaustion!
From £25ph
*Additional charges apply for multiples
Newborn Package
This package is perfect for anyone looking for a little bit of respite, support and care from an experienced Maternity Nurse in the early weeks and months after their baby is born. It's a chance to recover, and an opportunity to learn from the experts.
We believe parents deserve (and need) ongoing support to navigate the many changes that a new baby goes through in the first 3 months of being in the world. Having someone on hand who knows the answers will make life simpler and easier for you, and will ensure you get off to the best start possible with your baby.
Most importantly, engaging this support is a gift to yourself. The gift of reassurance and security at your most vulnerable time. I want you to enjoy this time together as a new family, without any stress or worry.
- A zoom consultation to discuss feeding, sleep, winding, nappies, settling, and any other newborn related topics within the first 2 weeks after birth.
- 5 nights of in person support to be taken within the first 12 weeks.
- Schedules and support notes to guide you through the many changes in routine your baby requires from 6 weeks to 3 years.
- Unlimited whatsapp communication for 12 weeks from birth.
£2,050
Sleep Shaping Consultation
(12 weeks to 4 months)
We are huge advocates of starting out on the right footing, setting healthy habits around sleep from the very beginning.
Baby won’t nap during the day? Baby will only nap on you? You cannot get your baby settled in their own bed in the evening? Baby wakes frequently during the night and despite being fed / comforted – they just will not sleep!?
Our Sleep Shaping consultation is perfect for these kinds of scenarios. We are not promising to have your baby sleeping through the night, however, by implementing gentle techniques and setting manageable goals to improve aspects of your baby’s sleep we can shape your 24 hour routine meaning significantly more rest for everyone.
£350
Bespoke Consultation Service
Whether you need a bit of guidance with:
- the management of reflux / allergies
- colic
- weaning
- fussy eating
- toilet training
- preparing for a second baby
- toddler tantrums
During a 1:1 consultation your baby / child and family's individual needs are discussed in extensive detail. Based on my experience of caring for hundreds of babies and children for over 20 years, I will provide a tailored plan that meets the needs of your baby, and your family.
As you begin to implement the suggested changes, I am on hand via whatsapp to support you, and answer any questions or concerns you may have. There is no such thing as a silly question and you will have ample opportunity within your 7-10 days of aftercare and wrap up call to ask anything that comes to mind.
£375
Sleep Thief
Do you have a sleep thief who is cute as buttons by day, but by night is stealing everyone's precious and necessary sleep? Hop over to our sister site www.sleepmatters247.co.uk for more info on how we can help.
Beyond Birth Workshop Series
Be Ready to Parent
Group workshop to be taken during pregnancy or within the first 2 weeks of your newborns life. A completely unique, hands on class covering:
How to bring your newborn home from the hospital safely, what to expect in the early days (what's normal and what's not), how dads can play a prominent role and help support the new mum, cord care, nappy changing, top & tail, bathing, winding techniques, settling techniques, swaddling, making up your baby's bed & safe sleeping, how to get started implementing a gentle routine, early intro into setting up for success with sleep, products we recommend & so much more! Routines included through to 14months+.
This class is very practical in nature and requires a lot of participation.
£79 per couple
Available privately, please enquire for more information.
Boobs, Bottles or Both?
Whether you know you want to breastfeed, fancy giving it a go, are interested in combination feeding, or know already you only want to use bottles - this is the workshop for you! We cover all aspects of feeding including how to prepare for breastfeeding during pregnancy, common problems that arise in the early days of feeding and how to ensure they don't bring your feeding journey to an early stop, and how to make up a bottle and feed and wind your baby confidently. What do you need to feed your baby? What are the best products available & so much more!
£79 per couple
Sleep Matters
Group Sleep Workshop to be taken during pregnancy or within the first 12 weeks after birth. Bringing 20 years of experience supporting families with sleep, we are here to share with you the best-kept secrets of sleep.
Why sleep is so important? What's normal? Expectations v realities in relation to newborn sleep. Circadian rhythms, Sleep Cycles, and a bit of the science of sleep. Common sleep myths dispelled. Safe sleeping. How to ensure your environment is conducive to good sleep. How to start off with good sleep habits and what to do if things get off track. Settling techniques & so much more!
£79 per couple
Blog
Advice and tips on all things baby and parent related
May 13, 2020 · WeaningDeciding when to wean your baby is something that is a completely individual decision and although NHS guidelines advise weaning from 6 months, we tend to advise taking a holistic overview of when your baby may be ready / need to start weaning. The World Health Organisation suggests weaning from...- Contact Us
Please leave your child's name and date of birth in the comments below, with a brief description of how we can help you. Please include any medical conditions.
Baby Matters helped me throughout my journey as a first time mom. No question was left unanswered. From Breastfeeding, sleep, weaning, allergy advice, to bottle feeding, and so much more.. Ella sleeps through the night and follows a routine which is something I would have never achieved on my own. Will not hesitate to use again if baby #2 comes along. Thank you!
My partner and can not thank Baby Matters enough. The girls have been instrumental in getting us back on track when sleepless nights began to be our new normal.
They also helped us with recognising symptoms for CMPA with in the first few weeks which meant a happy baby within weeks rather than months.
Very professional and approachable with all our concerns in bringing up two wee boys. We can’t speak highly enough about these girls and would recommend them to anyone.Sarah and Sarah are fantastic and I would recommend them to anyone struggling with sleep issues or any other baby and toddler matters. They helped us overcome sleep problems/habits and a toilet training issue and their advice and support made such a difference to our family.
Working with baby matters has been up there with one of my top decisions!! Having heard of lots of new mums really struggling with babies and seeing first hand how hard it could be I was wondering what I could do to make the first few weeks with a new baby as calm as possible and to make as smooth a transition as possible into life with a baby! Having Sarah come in in those first few days and then beyond was priceless. Sarah is a complete professional - an expert in all things baby with a wealth of experience - but also with young children herself she understands what new mums are going through and works with you to help you and your baby settle in in a way that suits both of you and, importantly, allows you both to enjoy it! Sarah guided us to help put good habits in place from day one with regards feeding, sleeping and playing. Managing a new baby after birth can be physically and emotionally challenging at times and with baby matters you feel supported 24/7 with texts and calls to check you are doing ok. In fact they never really leave and there are so many ways to continue to benefit form their advice and guidance as your baby grows! Impartial, expert, tailored advice and support - cannot recommend highly enough.
Baby Matters has made such a huge difference to my family! Sarah Murphy came to help us after our baby was born (our first). He was really tough to settle but Sarah spotted that he had an undiagnosed cow’s milk protein allergy. She gave us lots of really helpful advice, from how to get him formally diagnosed to how to keep his discomfort to a minimum. His allergies had made it hard for him to settle for naps or at night but she worked through it all with us and, when he was well again, helped us to teach him to self-settle, both at night and during the day. The process was very gentle and she made sure I was comfortable with it every step of the way. She also helped us during a nursing strike, despite being on holiday in the USA at the time! Sarah was so reassuring and kind to two very exhausted parents, and she gave us the confidence to know we would get there in the end. Our baby now reliably sleeps 12 hours a night, plus two naps during the day, and we’ve had to start setting an alarm clock to make sure we all get up in the morning… I definitely recommend getting in touch!
Thank you so much Sarah Carpenter, for once again helping us out in a really difficult sleep deprived time! Sarah worked her magic with our 6 month old Molly and helped get her from waking every 2 hours during the night to feed to now sleeping through most nights ! She has also helped incredibly with our day time routine and Molly now takes a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon which if you told me a few weeks ago I wouldn’t have believed. Sarah’s gentle, kind, and confident manner was so comforting for both baby, and for me as a worried mum! She is the real life baby whisperer. This is the second baby we have used BM with and I would highly recommend - it is the best money you will spend. Thank you again x
We credit Sarah Murphy with transforming our parenting experience in these first 6 months with Robyn, helping us deal with naps and bedtimes with confidence. Resolving waking after one sleep cycle and achieving a routine that means Robyn sleeps consistently through the night. Thank you SO much for your support.
We were recommended to baby matters by friends and as first time parents contacting them was the best decision we could have made. Sarah Carpenter came out for an initial consultation when our baby was three weeks old and the advice provided then and over the last few months has been invaluable, it has been a great comfort to have the additional expert support when required. The tailored routines have been simple to follow and provided a structure to our day, which is appreciated by both baby and mum and dad. We appreciate all of the help and would advise anyone to get in touch.
Sarah Murphy came to our rescue via a good friend who could see we so chronically sleep deprived & exhausted that we needed an experts help!
Within a few minutes of just talking to Sarah on the phone she instantly gave me a few reasons why our 4 month old wouldn’t sleep for more than 2 hours at night or nap for more than 20 mins. Her knowledge of babies was so impressive and extensive you could talk to her all day (poor thing had a job getting me off the phone!) She was able to diagnose a few problems my son had without ever meeting him (we live in Ireland).Once we tackled those issues then she was the most amazing help sleep training him, we couldn’t have done it without her. Sarah was beyond supportive and so patient with me. She was always at the end of the phone day & night despite me driving her crazy!
In just a few days of sleep training he was napping twice a day for at least an hour each time sometimes 2 hours (we nearly didn’t know what to do with all this extra time!) and when we put him down at night he now sleeps for 12 hours most nights. She taught us so many valuable skills that help us when we go off schedule or he is teething/unwell that we are so grateful for.He is such a different baby, so much happier and content and we don’t know ourselves getting our sleep back. My only regret is not knowing Sarah sooner. I wish someone had told me when I had him if you’re having sleep issues go see an expert don’t listen to all the unwanted advice you get!
Best advise and best girls to work with! We slowly got into some bad habits with our 2 year old who wouldn’t go to sleep unless we were beside the cot, sometimes took 10 mins, other times up to an hour. This also happened during the night. I was going completely insane! Sarah Carpenter helped us by implementing some really simple and easy yet incredibly effective measures which meant we solved this in ONE night!! Took some perseverance and we’ve got to ensure we stick to our routine but it is really really worth it. Happier boy and happier parents!
SIMPLY AMAZING!! Highly recommended. We contacted Baby Matters when our second child was 9/10 weeks old in order to help me overnight so that I could deal with our two year old toddler throughout the day without feeling shattered. My husbands work is demanding and my family live 200 miles away. We had used other maternity services but they could not accommodate our needs, needless to say Baby Matters from the start were helpful and we initially booked them for 8 weeks. All the staff were very professional yet approachable especially Sarah Murphy (Aka the baby whisperer) They came in and identified quickly that my child suffered silent reflux, and established a daily and night time routine (something I hadn’t considered as I initially thought they would just do the night time feeds). Their knowledge, advice and guidance has been invaluable and needless to say my baby now sleeps 6pm - 6am undisturbed. One happy mummy and I only wish I had used them with my first child. Highly recommended.
Thank you so much Sarah Murphy! We were having so much trouble getting Archie to take a bottle, he had taken on really early on but then had decided he wasn't up for it. He was exclusively breast fed but by the time he was six months we really wanted to get him onto combination feeding. Every time we tried he would just scream and cry and eventually we would have to give up. Sarah said she could help but to be honest I didn't think there was much chance he would take one. It took less than 10 minutes! Now, a week later, he's still taking a bottle every time with no worries. Thanks again, highly recommended!
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