About Us

The Little Ones™ Story

We are Amanda and Nicky. Mothers, lifelong friends and founders of Little Ones.

We first met as teenagers at high school in Auckland, New Zealand; Amanda loved the Spice Girls, and Nicky's school skirt was way too short. After leaving school, life took us in different directions for a while - Amanda pursued a career in the medical field, while Nicky studied education and developmental psychology. We both traveled, worked, and achieved success in our chosen professions, while staying connected and keeping an eye on each other's progress through life. Some years later, as we started families of our own, our paths naturally crossed again. With newborns in tow, our close friendship reignited around the shared challenges of parenthood.

Over time, through raising our older children (Nicky has three, Amanda has two), we had each navigated almost every possible baby sleep scenario. We had researched, trialed, and refined different routines. We'd supported friends, family, and fellow parents along the way, building up a wealth of practical knowledge. By the time our youngest babies arrived ("the little ones" - within 6 weeks of each other), our combined experience was extensive - ranging from reflux and colic to pacifiers and allergies, from babies who wouldn’t settle to babies who slept too much.

Naturally, our conversations turned into a 24/7 exchange of ideas, tips, and problem-solving and we wondered if this information would be valuable to other mothers too...

The idea for Little Ones was born.

From Idea to Reality

Having both used private sleep consultants, we knew the strengths and the gaps in the baby sleep industry. We believed families everywhere deserved access to affordable, reliable, and instant resources that would continue to be relevant as babies grew and changed.

With Amanda’s medical background and Nicky’s expertise in education and child development, we discovered we had a unique skill set. Together, we spent months researching, writing, and refining what became the first Sleeping and Feeding Guides. Soon after, we added Settling and Self-Settling methods, bundling it all up and creating comprehensive Sleep Programs that were available as PDF downloads.

Building a Community

As our methods gained popularity, and to our great surprise, Little Ones expanded beyond New Zealand to families in Australia, the UK, the USA, and around the world. Alongside our programs, we developed a series of white noise tracks, Perfect Sounds for Baby Sleep, now available on iTunes, Google Play, and Spotify.

Before long, the growth of our community also meant growing our team. Today, Little Ones has multiple certified sleep consultants working alongside families, offering guidance and compassion to thousands of parents every day. 

Evolution

As demand grew, it became clear that the PDF programs needed to evolve. Parents wanted something more dynamic, something they could carry with them and use in real time. So we took the leap and transformed our sleep guides into the very first baby sleep app on the market.

The Little Ones Baby Sleep App has since brought our methods to life in a whole new way.

It delivers age-based, customized schedules in our innovative 'Sleep o Rhythm' (the Little Ones sleep algorithm), feeding and sleep guidance and advice, settling and self-settling techniques, comprehensive troubleshooting, sleep/feed/diaper tracker and analysis and so much more, all instantly accessible at a parent’s fingertips.

Unlike static PDFs, the app adapts as babies grow, providing relevant developmental updates and age-appropriate guidance. We also built in troubleshooting tips for common challenges, notifications and reminders, and access to our supportive 'Village' community (which houses our Sleep Consultants) - all in one place.

The app was designed to feel like a sleep manual or a consultant in your pocket, offering reassurance and practical tools whenever parents needed them, day or night. It has since become an indispensable resource for families worldwide, simplifying the journey through baby sleep and making expert guidance both affordable and accessible.

Recognition and Growth

Little Ones is endorsed by Dr Kate Johnson (Ph.D. Sleep Physiology, Harvard Medical School and SRI). The company is also an accredited member of the International Association of Child Sleep Consultants, with the team trained in sleep neurology, behavior, and age-appropriate settling methods. Amanda and Nicky have completed training with Dr Harvey Karp (Happiest Baby on the Block) and regularly attend international pediatric sleep conferences to ensure our methods remain current and evidence-based. For a full list of our references click here.

Where We Are Today

To date, Little Ones has helped more than 800,000 families worldwide. Despite our growth, our mission has stayed the same: to empower parents with confidence, provide tools that work, and ultimately help everyone get more sleep.

We are proud to say we are just two mums from New Zealand. No venture capital company, no big backing; we're not in it to line pockets of rich businessmen.

And our story is still being written - because parenthood never stands still, and neither do we.