Being a parent is wonderful and rewarding and beautiful… but it can also sometimes be a downright sh!tshow. I had a conversation this morning with a client about the fact that all she hears about from her friends are the babies who sleep well. The parents who seemed like they had it all figured out […]
Did you know that wake window and nap charts are based on anecdotal reports from parents, averaged out to create “guidelines”? Routine and schedule charts are positioned as the gold standard, which leaves many parents (whose babies inevitably don’t fit the box) feeling like they are doing something wrong. 𝗜’𝗺 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 – […]
We are constantly bombarded with all of the things we are doing wrong as parents. The mom guilt, in particular, is so much louder than any support for parents to trust their instincts. “Your baby must sleep alone, no matter what”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀“Swaddle your baby, and if they don’t like it, just keep trying”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀“Breastfeed, and if it’s […]
This is such a common concern from new parents, especially if you’ve done any reading from sleep trainers who believe that pacifiers and nursing are “sleep crutches”. 📢NEWSFLASH 📢 They are 𝐧𝐨𝐭 crutches, and there is a reason that your baby feels comforted by that sucking. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Babies are born with 6 primitive reflexes that are […]
Here is yet another myth perpetuated by the sleep training industry:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀To put it simply, this is entirely false.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀If it were true, babies would only ever be able to go to sleep with one person. In one environment. […]
We live in a world where we try our best to control everything that goes on around us. Schedules, deadlines, and performance drive so much of our western society. Being very type A myself, I totally get the comfort in the predictability of a controlled environment. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀But if there is anything that parenthood has taught […]
“You need to let your baby learn to self soothe.” “If your baby throws up, clean up the mess but don’t make eye contact.”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀“If you help your baby too much, she will never learn to be independent.”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀“Cuddling your baby will create a crutch.”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Now replace “your baby” with “your grandmother”, and we’ll see if the statements […]
“𝐒𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩.”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Ever heard this saying? It’s super popular among sleep trainers, who are constantly pushing the notion that all sleep troubles can be solved by getting your child to sleep more, because surely – they are overtired. And for many kids, this 𝘪𝘴 true. Some kids are definitely higher sleep needs children, not just […]
“Give it time.”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀“She just needs to get used to it.”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀“It’s so hard, but it will get easier the longer you do it.”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀“Give it at least two weeks or else you will confuse the baby.”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀𝐂𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 ‘𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐞𝐫’. If leaving your child to cry is going against every fibre of your instincts, 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 […]
Nurturing your baby does not create bad habits. Full Stop. Nurturing your baby, responding to their needs, and allowing them to rest in your care creates dependency. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Dependency teaches your child that they can rely on you; that it is safe to grow, to make mistakes, and to learn from those mistakes without any repercussions […]
