Welcome to The Happy Baby Clinic
Our approach
We know how difficult it is to care for an unsettled baby. We have a team of professionals ready to help you along your journey. We offer personalised sleep programs to suit you and your family, as well as thorough medical care, psychology and dietician appointments. After an initial assessment, we provide you with practical advice, an age-appropriate routine, and any medical investigations and management that may be required to help settle your baby and improve their sleep.
We’re here to help.
Our specialist GPs can help with issues such as
frequent night waking
catnapping
difficulty settling
maternal / parental exhaustion
adjustment to parenting
reflux
colic
cow’s milk protein or soy allergy
irritability
six week checks (for mother & baby)
mental health care plans
referrals for pathology, radiology, or to specialist, as needed
While we don’t offer immunisations at the The Happy Baby Clinic, we do encourage you to see your regular GP to have your baby immunised.
What we offer
Dietician appointments
Our specialist paediatric dietician, Bianca Sowerby, has over 20 years experience and is available to help you with a range of nutrition-related conditions, including food allergies such as cows milk protein allergy, faltering growth, fussy eating, nutritional adequacy, feeding difficulties, starting solids, malabsorption, micronutrient deficiencies, constipation, obesity, coeliac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and general healthy eating.
First appointments are usually one hour. A medicare rebate is available with a GP Chronic Condition Management Plan.
GP Consultations
Your first appointment will be approximately one hour. Your GP will perform a thorough assessment, including a medical examination, to determine the underlying cause of your baby’s sleep difficulties. You will then discuss a management plan and/or sleep program to suit your family, including any tests, medical management or referrals that may be necessary.
Follow-up appointments are usually 30 minutes, to discuss your progress and any ongoing issues that need addressing.
Psychology appointments
Our perinatal psychologist, Rachel Chiodo, has a passion for the infancy & early preschool periods in family life. She has over 25 years of experience in private practice, over 20 years as a consulting psychologist at early parenting centres, as well as having completed extra training in perinatal psychology, trauma and environmental studies. Her clients appreciate her warmth, kindness and practical approach.
Rachel’s appointments are 50 minutes in length, and medicare rebates are available with a mental health care plan.
Fees
Appointments may be in person, or telehealth. We would prefer to see you in the clinic for your first appointment if possible.
For telehealth appointments, medicare rebates may be lower than listed - please call us to discuss further if needed.
Referrals are not required to see our GPs, but please bring your medicare details and Child Record Health book.
-
60 mins - Out of pocket $149.75. Total $365.20 (medicare rebate $215.45).
75 mins - Out of pocket $179.75. Total $395.20 (medicare rebate $215.45).
90 mins - Out of pocket $198.40. Total $493.40 (medicare rebate $295.00).
-
30 mins - Out of pocket $73.30. Total $205.45 (medicare rebate $132.15).
45 mins - Out of pocket $106.10. Total $280.30 (medicare rebate $174.20).
-
First appointment - 60 mins - $200
Review appointments - 30 mins - $110
A medicare rebate may be available with a GP chronic condition management plan (GPCCMP)
-
50 mins - $220 (medicare rebate available with mental health care plan)
Our children learn how to be self-compassionate by watching us. - Brene Brown
Your Questions, Answered
-
Please bring your medicare card, green child health book, any supplies you need for your baby during the hour appointment, and of course, your baby!
-
No, a referral is not required to see our GPs, although a letter from another health professional, if you have one, is always welcome.
When seeing our psychologist or dietician, you may be eligible for a medicare rebate if you have a care plan - please ask our lovely staff for more information.
-
The first appointment with your GP will be approximately one hour. Your GP will perform a thorough assessment, including a medical examination of your baby(ies), before discussing the issues underlying your baby’s sleep. Using shared decision making, your GP will then recommend any necessary medical investigations, treatment and/or a sleep program to settle your baby and improve their sleep.
-
Subsequent appointments are approximately 30 mins. We will usually see you again one week after your first appointment and then as often as you need, but this will vary between patients. We cover topics such as how to manage illness and holidays, when to change awake windows, and any troubleshooting that arises.
-
The cry it out method is an outdated method of leaving a baby to cry without comfort for potentially hours on end - we don’t recommend this. We use a range of different techniques depending on the individual baby’s needs and family’s preferences.
-
As GPs, it means a lot to us to use a caring, evidence-based approach to infant sleep. We only see patients one-on-one rather than publishing general programs online, so that we can identify the exact issues (medical, behavioural or otherwise) that need to be changed in order to achieve some much needed sleep.
-
We see babies from the late stages of pregnancy all the way through to childhood. Please call or email us if you would like to discuss how our GPs, psychologists and dietican can help you.
Resources
Swaddling
Our specialist GP, Dr Elizabeth Maher, demonstrates her favourite method of swaddling (to use for sleeps from birth until around 4 months, or when showing signs of rolling)
Cry vs Grizzle
Our directors Dr Julie McClellan and Dr Elizabeth Maher discuss how to identify a cry or a grizzle in your baby.
Media
See Dr Julie McClellan and Dr Elizabeth Maher on the morning show Studio 10, aired on Channel 10
Contact Us
Questions?
Let us know and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Clinic Hours
Monday 9.30am - 4.30pm
Tuesday 9.30am - 2.30pm
Wednesday 9.30am - 2.30pm
Thursday 9.30am - 4.30pm
Friday, Saturday, Sunday - closed