About Cayla
Hi, I'm Cayla. I help families sleep better — without sleep training, pressure, or rigid rules.
My story
My journey into the world of sleep started with my daughter.
When she was an infant, I got swept into the fear-based messaging that insists sleep training is the only responsible choice. As first-time parents who wanted to do right by our child, we pushed aside our instincts and followed every rule, schedule, and checklist we were told to.
Every part of me knew it didn’t feel right. But everyone around us kept telling us to stick with it — that once we pushed through the “hard parts,” it would all pay off.
If anything, it made my anxiety worse, made my daughter fearful of her crib, and left us confused about what to do next.
Sleep training taught me that sleep had rigid rules; that babies were supposed to sleep in one particular way; and that any struggle meant I was doing something wrong. I was exhausted, disconnected, and terrified of making another mistake.
We parted ways with sleep training, but the damage it had done stuck with me. I knew my daughter needed my support, but I offered it through the lens of sleep training’s rigid rules — from an arm’s length, and at a minimum. Needless to say, that didn’t quite work, and we were stuck in an endless cycle of trying to ‘fix’ her sleep, when nothing truly needed fixing at all.
Months later — after countless nights sleeping on the floor outside my daughter’s bedroom door (while four months pregnant, no less) — everything shifted.
A family member introduced me to the burgeoning world of responsive sleep. That shift changed everything. And it started with my son.
My son, my second-born, taught me that sleep isn't a behaviour problem — it's a whole-person experience.
He was sensitive in every way: reflux, allergies, feeding challenges, sensory overwhelm. He was what most people would describe as a ‘difficult’ baby, mostly because there were so many layers to what he was experiencing. He taught me that sleep is shaped by development, biology, temperament, feeding, and the nervous system — but not discipline.
My third child completed the picture.
He was easygoing but still not a textbook sleeper. The difference was me. I finally trusted what I knew and stopped chasing quick fixes for problems that I was told existed. That confidence is what I now help other families build.
And then came the question I hadn't expected to answer:
What next? I had lived through three completely different sleep experiences, understood responsive care in a way I hadn’t before — and I hated the job I was scheduled to return to from maternity leave.
I had been a practicum client for a friend completing her sleep coaching certification, and she had been encouraging me for months. Three challenging sleepers, she pointed out. You already have the expertise. You might as well have the credentials too.
Then COVID hit.
In the same week, my position at work was eliminated and my husband was furloughed. No income. A newborn. And for the first time, a window — terrifying and wide open. I enrolled in my certification that week. I studied twelve to fifteen hours a day. By July 2020, Sleeping Beauties was born.
I spent the next three years working exclusively in infant and child sleep. And then I went back for more. I completed my Integrative Adult Sleep Coach certification through the International Parenting and Health Institute — and opened the practice to adults who had been quietly asking all along.
And then I noticed something important:
Parents were telling me their kids were finally sleeping, yet they were not. Stress, hormones, nervous system dysregulation, and family history were affecting them just as much. Supporting adults became a natural extension of supporting whole families, because sleep struggles don’t belong to one age group. They move through generations.
And then it happened to me. Years into helping families sleep, my own nights started falling apart. Hormones, stress, a nervous system that had carried a lot — it all caught up with me. I found myself lying awake at 3am understanding, for the first time as a patient rather than a practitioner, exactly what my adult clients had been describing. That experience didn’t just expand my practice. It deepened it.
“My family and I were in the trenches of sleep deprivation and really struggling with our baby’s sleep. We were overwhelmed with the amount of information available on the internet, and we were under the impression that our options were to sleep train, or suffer. We are so grateful to have met Cayla, who quickly dispelled that myth, and helped us figure out the root causes of our baby’s sleep issues, as well as find practical solutions. Cayla empowered us to follow our own parental instincts, while offering support and guidance along the way. Thank you, Cayla, for everything you’ve done for us!”
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For tired parents
Guide to Normal Infant Sleep
For adults who can't sleep
Take the Chronotype Quiz
How I work
Responsive, realistic,
and grounded in science.
I don’t offer one-size-fits-all strategies, quick fixes, or anything that pushes you away from your instincts. Together, we build unique strategies that account for the whole picture — not just the symptoms.
- Responsive, not behaviourist
- Flexible, not rigid
- Root-cause, not surface-level
- Built with you, not handed down to you
I help you stop blaming yourself for something that was never your fault to begin with — whether you’re a parent who has been told to just push through it, or an adult who has spent years being written off as a bad sleeper. The biology looks different. The need for grounded, responsive support is exactly the same.
What I believe about sleep
Your instincts matter
They're a tool, not something to override. When something doesn't feel right, that feeling deserves to be heard.
Everyone deserves support without pressure
Guilt, shame, and quick fixes have no place in this work. Every person deserves care that respects their pace.
What works for one isn't right for another
There is no single method that fits every child, adult, or family. The whole picture always matters.
There's always a path forward
Even when you feel like you've tried everything. Feeling stuck isn't the end — it's often the beginning of the real work.
Look beneath the surface
Real progress happens when we examine what's actually going on — not when we blame the person who is struggling.
Healthy sleep comes from understanding
Not from forcing a narrow set of rules. When we understand the whole picture, sustainable change becomes possible.
Your instincts matter
They're a tool, not something to override. When something doesn't feel right, that feeling deserves to be heard.
Everyone deserves support without pressure
Guilt, shame, and quick fixes have no place in this work. Every person deserves care that respects their pace.
What works for one isn't right for another
There is no single method that fits every child, adult, or family. The whole picture always matters.
There's always a path forward
Even when you feel like you've tried everything. Feeling stuck isn't the end — it's often the beginning of the real work.
Look beneath the surface
Real progress happens when we examine what's actually going on — not when we blame the person who is struggling.
Healthy sleep comes from understanding
Not from forcing a narrow set of rules. When we understand the whole picture, sustainable change becomes possible.
“Cayla is wonderful to work with. She is compassionate, supportive, and provides creative solutions. She has a network of professionals that address things that other medical professionals often miss. I would definitely recommend working with her to support your little one’s sleep!”
— Sarah Z. · Client Review
“Cayla was the first person I felt truly comfortable contacting. She is passionate about her profession, she listens, and she doesn’t give up. I have worked with her for over five years across two children and my own sleep — and I wouldn’t go anywhere else.”
— Lindsey M. · Google Review · 5-year client
The value of a specialist approach
Sleep is never just about sleep. It's a complex intersection of biology, nervous system health, family dynamics, and the environment.
My work brings these pieces together through a specialist's lens, moving beyond standard sleep coaching to look at the weight of everything a person — child or adult — is carrying beneath the surface.
I have a BA in Psychology, and I've completed extensive training across pediatric and adult sleep, responsive parenting, feeding support, and the science of behaviour and physiology. Over the years, I've also spent significant time shadowing practitioners in clinical settings — including IBCLCs, osteopaths, and dentists — to understand how these disciplines intersect with sleep.
What truly shapes my work is the ability to zoom out: to see the red flags others often miss and help you understand why sleep feels hard in the first place. I look at development, hormones, feeding challenges, sensory needs, medical factors, emotional patterns, and your lived experience as a whole — not in isolation.
I also work closely with allied health practitioners when a child or adult needs additional support. When something falls outside my scope, I help you identify the right professionals and integrate their insights so your plan feels coordinated, holistic, and grounded in real understanding.
My approach isn't about forcing a rigid method. It's about offering evidence-informed, responsive guidance that meets you where you are — whether you're navigating infant sleep, a highly sensitive toddler, a struggling teen, or your own disrupted nights.
My training & background
BA in Psychology
Western UniversityCertified Baby-Led Sleep & Well-Being Specialist
Isla Grace SleepCertified Attached at the Heart Parent Educator
Attachment Parenting InternationalCertified Integrative Adult Sleep Coach
International Parenting & Health InstituteSpecialty education: sleep and disabilities
Isla Grace SleepHolistic Children & Teen Sleep Coach
In progress · IPHINaturopathy Practitioner
In progress · ScholisticoLactation Specialist
In progress · DNT NetworkIf this resonates —
let's talk.
Choose the path that's right for you.
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