Testimonials
While everyone else debates about parents' rules and expectations, Sarah Petrie speaks for - and seemingly THROUGH - the children all this debate is supposed to be about. Her understanding of a young child's actual experience of life is uncanny, and her ability to connect all the disparate "challenges" -- eating, sleeping, walking, to name a few -- is invaluable. She has been a literal life changer for the families with whom she's worked. With Sarah, this new life can really BE a new life, instead of a compendium of our own prejudices and habits, or a legacy of our parents' mistakes. What seems eccentric reveals itself as the commonest of sense in Sarah's work, and it's sense for which I'm extraordinarily grateful. I'm grateful to have had Sarah in my home -- and I kind of want her on my movie sets.
-Joss Whedon - January 2011
Being a New Yorker who moved to LA 10 years ago, I was a bit skeptical when my wife Caitlin first told me she thought we should hire a "sleep and behavioral expert" for our 5 month old daughter Catherine. I thought it was another Hollywood excess in the vein of country club kennels for LA's beloved pets. However, I immediately became a believer in Sarah Petrie. I was amazed as to how quickly Sarah's system worked. I now call her a "baby whisperer". She really tailors her strategy to the behavior/personality of the baby as well as the family dynamic. Is it a first child or are there many siblings? Is Mom working or stay-at-home? It is definitely not a cookie-cutter approach as we have spoken to several of our friends that have used Sarah and each employed different strategies. The common thread is that it's all about empowering your baby, being consistent and authentic with your feelings and communication. Sarah develops the sleep plan and greatly helps in sticking to it.
We have continued to utilize Sarah as our girls have gone through various stages of development. Sarah is a very good person and she cares deeply about what she does. We're so happy to have Sarah on our team as both a professional and a friend as we know we can always pick up the phone whatever the issue with our kids may be. Although Sarah has a client roster of A-List celebrities, we always feel that we are important to her.
-Tom Villante, Father of Catherine - Los Angeles
Sarah Petrie has been a tremendous support to me and my family for many years now. I met Sarah when my daughter was five months old. I hadn't slept in what felt like months and I felt confused, disoriented and directionless. I told a friend my dilemma and she recommended that I call a woman who could help me with getting my daughter to sleep. "What does she do?", I asked. Her reply was, "It's hard to explain, but it works. You should call her, It will change your life!" And it did.
Sarah brought her unique skills and her innate intuition to my house for one week. She taught me how to interpret my daughters cries so I could better understand what she needed, how to build my child's independence through meal times and play, and of course, the most important thing, to sleep twelve hours a night and take naps! My entire experience of motherhood changed that week. I no longer felt out of control. I actually enjoyed being a mother much more and started to see how I would be able to go back to work. Her program gave me so much confidence as a mother that when I had my second child, I was able to implement her program completely on my own.
I recommend Sarah to a lot of parents who struggle with their children's sleep and behavior problems and they always ask me, "What does she do?" and I always say, "It's hard to explain, but you should call her. It will change your life!"
-Reese Witherspoon
Sarah Petrie is an angel sent from heaven. I was convinced my newborn had acid reflux when I called Sarah - my daughter was crying in pain for hours, not sleeping, and throwing up constantly. I had called doctors, doulas, changed my diet drastically, and was completely stumped and miserable. Sarah came over and determined immediately that I was overfeeding her, and once I stopped doing so, my daughter was a different baby. But the best part was that Sarah taught me the connection between feeding and sleeping, and how to put my newborn to sleep. In under two weeks, starting when she was 4 weeks old, my newborn was able to put herself to sleep without any swaddling, pacifier, rocking, nothing at all- I simply set her into her crib, and she either relaxes and falls asleep within minutes, or sucks her thumb and is fast asleep. No crying. It is an absolutely miracle, and a testament to how brilliant Sarah's work and method is. Now at eight weeks old, she is sleeping 7 hour chunks at night, and 4 hour chunks morning and afternoon. I am a changed woman, and our family is happy and peaceful as a result. Thank you, Sarah, for all your research and work- you truly are an angel sent from heaven!
-Nancy Mason, Mother of Jade - April 2010
Sarah and I starting working together when my son Rainer (now 18 months) was 7 months old. She came highly recommended from a friend of a friend. I contacted her because I felt at a loss when my son didn't like his crib anymore, and was waking a few times at night, up from just once, and I would nurse him and he'd go back to sleep. This was okay for a while, but eventually wore on the both of us. That's when I called Sarah. Her advice was so practical, sound and REFRESHING - different from books I'd read or information from friends. It did involve work and a lot of patience in the wee hours of the night, but within days, Rainer was sleeping through the night. Not only that, we focused on his napping and eating and it all related and came together in this very coherent and sensible and most of all KIND way. Now, my little guy likes going to sleep. He goes into his crib awake and aware that it is time for bed and he falls asleep on his own and on his own terms. Basically, just about every day or night at some point I thank my lucky stars that I got in touch with Sarah and that I committed to her plan. Thank you Sarah!
-Kristen, Mother of 18 month-old - New York - March 2010
When my son (now 3) was a baby, I read every single book on sleep. I met with the most talked about sleep experts. I did everything. Then, I heard about Sarah Petrie. First off, none of the things she worked on with us were ever mentioned in any of these books, or with these experts. But they were easy, they made sense. After all the fretting about how to help him learn to sleep, suddenly we were hearing about how to really help him, as a person. Not formulas, or charts. It changed everything for us. She turned out to be affordable, easy, fun, wonderful, loving and just so much smarter than any other book or person we encountered. I cannot say enough about Sarah, and the results we had were immediate. Moreover, I was able to use the things she taught us in different ways, not only as regards sleep. Thank you, Sarah Petrie!
-Kathe Mazur, Mother of 3 year-old Jake - Los Angeles
My experience with Sarah could not have been more stellar. My son Dylan was admitted to the NICU for jaundice after being home for just a few days. While he was in the hospital he received breast milk in a bottle and once we returned home he refused the breast and continued to want the bottle. All the "experts" I talked to told me he just didn't want to suck at the breast any more, and that I'd have to retrain him. Feeding Dylan turned into a twenty four hour job. I'd pump, put the milk in a bottle and feed him a bottle at the breast with the Supplemental Nursing System. Then I'd spend the next hour sterilizing the feeding system tubing and bottles just in time to start the whole feeding process all over again. I was exhausted and doubted my ability to continue breastfeeding. Fortunately we were referred to Sarah.Working with Sarah was an extraordinary experience. The minute she walked in, I knew I was in safe hands. In fifteen minutes, Sarah had it solved. I'm really not kidding. She sized Dylan up immediately and showed me how to let him remain in control and call the shots - something he does to this day! After two and a half weeks of hell, Dylan started nursing without a problem. No pillows, no props, no Supplemental Nursing System - Dylan was nursing! It was like Sarah just turned the light on for us. I continued nursing my son for over a year and Sarah made it all possible.
-Terri, New Mother of Dylan
Sarah helped our family so much that I can't ever thank her enough. I have a two year old and a five year old. When I contacted Sarah my son (who was four) was waking up at 4 something in the morning every day and not going back to sleep. He would come into our room and flash the lights on and off over and over. I am well versed in keeping a good schedule for kids to get their sleep and have read many books on the topic. They all speak a lot about bedtime but not much about what to do if kids wake up too early. I had spoken to two doctors, gone to a child psychiatrist, and literally was at my wits end. Then Sarah came to help us and she taught us that what happens at night is a reflection of the day and that we should help him become more independent before bed (quietly reading on his own) so that in the morning he might do the same. She also helped my two year old while she was at our house. He wasn't walking yet (and was two) and she showed me how to use getting him dressed to help him build strength in his legs. Now our five year old sleeps several hours more in the morning and our two and a half year old is running. Sarah is amazing and wonderful to work with. We spoke to her only five times on the phone and she visited our house twice and she completely changed our lives.
-Michael And Julia, 39, Waldorf Family - Santa Monica
Two years ago, when my daughter was nearly 5 months old, I couldn't get her to fall asleep unless she was tightly swaddled. Then 45 minutes later she would break out of the swaddle, her arms would be flailing and I couldn't get her back to sleep. It was a never-ending cycle. I read books on the subject and sought advice from every avenue I could think of but nothing worked... until a friend recommended Sarah. Through phone conversations and emails, she was able to assess what was happening and then guide me by using her expertise. Within 24 hours my daughter was unswaddled, by night 2 she was sleeping through the night, and by day 3 she was pacifier free. Sarah also helped me organize my daily routine, making my daytime consistent and reliable. Sarah always listened to me, guided me and empowered me on how to observe my daughter's development. By explaining her approach, she taught me how to communicate with my daughter, how to really listen and observe. She built up my confidence and gave me a method to follow. It's not about letting your baby cry; it's about listening to what your baby is trying to tell you. It's incredible, Sarah is incredible. WE LOVE SARAH PETRIE!!!
-Stacie - New York - February 2010
Sarah was instrumental in helping my husband and I raise the bright, happy and confident child we have today. Sarah is extremely intuitive, and is able to bridge the communication gap between confused, frustrated parents and inarticulate little ones. She listens, observes, and is able to navigate families through the sometimes-challenging but ultimately rewarding days and nights of parenthood. As adults, we often disregard what may be going on in a baby's brain -- focusing instead on what we need to accomplish just to get through the day. Sarah is able to 'get inside' your child's head and get to the root of whatever the problem is (and yes, it might be you but I promise she's nonjudgmental!) -- and works on helping you solve it, together. Our daughter is now six, and I still find myself consulting Sarah when we hit those inevitable bumps in the road. We are blessed to know her and think everything she brings is truly amazing.
-Deborah Kaplan- Meyer - Los Angeles, CA -1999
When we met Sarah, our twins Josh and Madison were nearly five months old and things at our house were starting to fall apart. We were swaddling, we were pacifying, we were "shushing," but none of it was really working. Sarah was a godsend. She helped me slow down and once again tune into my babies' cycles and rhythms. After three days of following Sarah's advice, it was like I was dealing with two completely different babies. Both babies were drinking from both the breast and the bottle with minimal spit up and were no longer having digestive problems. After a week of working with Sarah, both babies were sleeping 12-13 hours at night and 5-6 hours during the day. There are still the pressures of feeding, loving and caring for two babies who aren't always smiling but Sarah gave me the confidence to calmly and lovingly care for both of my babies on my own. My husband and I no longer have to sleep in shifts in separate bedrooms and I no longer need a caregiver to help me feed and soothe my babies. But best of all, I feel like I am back in rhythm with my babies needs. I feed them when they are hungry and put them to bed when they are tired.
-Hayden, Mother of Twins
Sarah came over and worked with me, and that first night my darling son, who had NEVER slept longer than 3-4 hour stretches, slept 10 hours straight. The next night he was put down WITHOUT being rocked to sleep, WITHOUT being bottle-fed to sleep and WITHOUT a pacifier, and slept for 12 hours straight.
-Shana, New Mother of 14 month-old Walker
I met Sarah when my daughter was five month old. She was a difficult baby because she was five weeks premature and she had heart surgery at 10 weeks old. At five months old, she was napping no more than 45 minutes, four times a day and waking up two times at night. She screamed whenever I put her down, so I held her constantly. Though she didn't sleep long, I had a very easy method of getting her sleep, which involved swaddling her and rocking her for five minutes. It worked every time. I wanted Sarah to help me but she refused to help me as long as my method was working for me. She told me to call her when it all fell apart, assuring me that it would. Sure enough, within a few weeks, my five-minute method turned to 25 minutes, and my daughter started to wake up every hour throughout the night and for good at 5:30. I was at wits end and was ready to "ferberize her" (let her cry herself to sleep). Sarah implored me to wait for her, telling me that doing that would be throwing my child into the deep end without teaching her how to swim. Sarah came to me the next day, assessed my daughter and spent the next few days teaching me how to observe my child's behavior in order to get her sleeping and eating cycles in order. We focused on my daughter's daytime sleep, using that as a model for the night. Within a few days, my daughter was sleeping four to five hours during the day, with a three- to four-hour consolidated nap. My days were suddenly free. After that, nighttime was a breeze.
Having Sarah in my life makes me want to have more children because I know how easy they can be, allowing me to focus my energy on completely enjoying them. She has recently spent time with me on the flow of my household. She did a session showing me how to integrate my new baby into the family schedule. I now find it very easy to bathe both kids at the same time, have them in the kitchen while I cook dinner and get everyone to sleep easily. Before that, the late afternoons and evenings were a complete struggle. Learning how to do this has been extremely valuable to my family and me. Sarah has saved my life.
-Tara, Mother of 8 year-old Alana, 4 year-old Sam, 2 year-old Delilah
Sarah Petrie has been a godsend. I originally contacted Sarah to help us with my oldest son, who was 9 months old at the time. We were having problems with his sleep schedule. He would not take more than one 45 minute nap during the day and was waking up at least once during the night. Not only did she provide me with the tools that ultimately extended his nap to 90-120 minutes, but she ended up solving our nighttime sleep problems as well. Incredibly, after her first visit, Justin slept 12 hours straight that night. Yes, Sarah is amazing as a sleep expert, but she is also so much more. She helped us with our feeding habits, she has helped us with setting reasonable boundaries and respecting his search for independence, and she also helped us better organize our house to create an environment that was more appealing to his exploration.
My second son was very close to colicky nonstop, very loud crying for hours at a time. It was a very trying time for me. I don't know what I would have done without Sarah. With her help, within weeks he was going to bed without a fuss. He is absolutely the best sleeper in the world, sleeping a solid 12 hours a night since he was 3 months old, taking two 90 minute naps each day, and then happily hanging out in his crib for 30 minutes upon waking. He is now 19 months old and happily hops on the stool to climb into his crib for bedtime on his own. Sarah is absolutely indispensable. I can't imagine having another baby without Sarah Petrie.
-Carina Walker - Sierra Madre, CA - January 2006
Early Years in Childcare
Sarah's method was not developed through academic study alone. Quite to the contrary, she cultivated her program over years of working with families, starting off as a nanny, and continuing her career as a postpartum caregiver (baby nurse), a leader of a parent baby toddler group, and a lactation educator. She was later able to integrate these experiences into the development of her own holistic approach to addressing sleep and other behavioral problems in infants and children. Sarah's special gift for understanding children was apparent even during her early work in the field. The following testimonials come from the parents whose lives she touched during that time.
My daughter was only a few days old when I called Sarah in desperation. I was having trouble breast-feeding and my daughter seemed to be losing more weight than is considered "normal". Sarah stepped in, and immediate results happened. She was very professional, yet very warm, personal and encouraging - something new mothers need in their vulnerable state. Sarah worked with me so that I could breast feed properly, as well as getting the baby on a proper schedule so that she had enough rest to utilize the feedings she received. I am happy to say that my daughter has gained a very healthy amount of weight, thanks to Sarah.
Sarah not only was able to help with the breast-feeding situation; she also helped us to understand our baby's needs. A baby's cries and body language are her communication, and Sarah was able to translate what she was telling us. I would recommend Sarah to any new or experienced parent, whether they are having lactation problems or not.
-Brenda Chapman-Lima - August 1999
Sarah was a tremendous help after my son's birth, coming to the hospital while I was recovering from a Caesarean and then continuing to advise and work with us at home for several months. Sarah is a fountain of knowledge on lactation issues and also child development. I feel like Sarah was a lifesaver during the difficult first weeks after birth and that will be a great help to any mother and child who need her services. I cannot recommend her more highly.
-Bonnie Nadell - August 1999
Sarah Petrie worked as my postpartum and infant caregiver from January 1999 to April 1999 immediately following the birth of my first child. Sarah came highly recommended to me by a friend who had used her services for the same purpose a couple years earlier. Following five months of bedrest, our son was born 7 weeks prematurely and his twin brother was stillborn. Our situation was somewhat out of the norm and Sarah helped us through a very challenging time.
Sarah is primarily an educator. She gave us advice in all areas of care, including breastfeeding, sleep issues, feeding, and infant safety. She also gave us the confidence and knowledge to continue to employ her techniques after she was gone.
-Laurie Stern - 1999
Sarah has worked with us as an advisor, teacher and life-saver since the birth of our son, Ben in March of 1999. We have found her to be a reliable and caring and a wonderful teacher. She has taught us to "speak baby" so we are able to tune in to Ben's needs, thereby averting many a crisis of tears, hunger, and over-tiredness. We are able to whole heartedly endorse Sarah's character and expertise without reservation. How often do you get to say things like that?
-Noni White and Bob Tzudiker - July 1999
Sarah worked for me as a baby nurse at nights over a period of six weeks. She did a wonderful job with my newborn Mia, helping with general chores and establishing a sensible pattern for the nights. She listened to my concerns and answered a myriad of questions, always with patience and understanding. Sarah does her work with genuine caring and great enthusiasm. It is clear that babies pick up on that; Mia is always calm in her arms. If I have another child I would definitely love her to come back and help me again.
-Chelsea Colloredo-Mansfeld - February 1998
Sarah is sincerely interested in child development. She uses techniques learned on her own to encourage independence and self-entertainment in our twin girls. We have complete trust in her and would highly recommend her to other parents.
-Seth Kivnick M.D., Father of 1 year-old twins - August 1993