Having a new baby that refuses to sleep is one of those unimaginable nightmares that you wouldn’t wish upon your worst enemies.

That is unless you’re one of the poor souls who has one of those babies, and the nightmare is your reality.

For mum Emma Gibbs it was just that, with her son Joel refusing to sleep for more than an hour at a time.

Appearing on The Project, Gibbs told the panel that “things got really bad”.

“It was to a point where Joel wasn’t sleeping for more than an hour day and night. Every night it was waking up on the hour, pretty much every hour, sometimes 40 minutes.”

Mum Emma Gibbs took to The Project to share her experiences with sleep schools for babies. Source: Channel 10.

And if you're reading this and thinking that sounds utterly excruciating, Gibbs confirms that it was.

"It got to about five months where we were getting really desperate for help. I remember it was my birthday last year and it had been another terrible night and I just sat on his bedroom floor and cried."

Finally at their breaking point, Gibbs and her partner took themselves to sleep school, an experience she also described as "very tough."

Gibbs' son Joel was sleeping for an hour on average. Source: Channel 10.

"There was a lot of tears from both of us," she admitted patiently, adding "we're very lucky that the public system we have is so incredible. The midwives and the nurses there were unbelievable.

"One of the midwives who'd been there for 15 years said that Joel was the loudest boy that she'd ever heard," the mum confessed, which was met with sympathetic chuckles from fellow panelist parents.

Let's not forget, it was only recently that co-host Carrie Bickmore shared her young daughter's penchant for waking up at 5am.

Helliar shared that his son Aiden attended sleep school as a baby. Source: Channel 10.

"I guess there's a reason why they use sleep deprivation as a form of torture," Gibbs said with a laugh.

Despite the tears and steep learning curve, Gibbs says that the process was hugely successful and paramount in turning their young family's life around.

Having learned that there's now waiting lists for sleep schools, Fifi Box asked Gibbs what her thoughts were.

Alls well that ends well. Joel and mum Emma both now sleep well. Source: Channel 10.

"It's taking it a bit too far. So, the services are there, but it's for people who really need it."

The young mum going on to say that she was "really shocked" hearing about the months-long waiting lists that were being clogged up with expecting parents not yet sure of their baby's sleeping abilities.

As for other parents out there not getting through the night, Gibbs recommends speaking to your GP, midwife and maternal health nurse to get to the bottom of it and get you and baby back into bed.