Being a parent is wonderful and rewarding and beautifulโฆ but it can also sometimes be a downright sh!tshow.
Being a parent is wonderful and rewarding and beautifulโฆ 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 […]
Wake windows and nap charts
Did you know that wake window and nap charts are based on anecdotal reports from parents, averaged out to create โguidelinesโ? Routine and schedule charts are positioned as the gold standard, which leaves many parents (whose babies inevitably donโt fit the box) feeling like they are doing something wrong. ๐โ๐บ ๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น ๐๐ผ๐ – […]
Mom Guilt vs Mom Gut

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”โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ “Swaddle your baby, and if they don’t like it, just keep trying”โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ “Breastfeed, and if it’s […]
Why babies want to nurse or use a pacifier all the time

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”. ๐ขNEWSFLASH ๐ข They are ๐ง๐จ๐ญ crutches, and there is a reason that your baby feels comforted by that sucking. โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ Babies are born with 6 primitive reflexes that are […]
Another sleep training myth

Here is yet another myth perpetuated by the sleep training industry:โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฃ๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ข๐ด๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข ๐ค๐ฆ๐ณ๐ต๐ข๐ช๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ข๐บ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ฐ๐ค๐ช๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ.โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ To put it simply, this is entirely false.โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ If it were true, babies would only ever be able to go to sleep with one person. In one environment. […]
Forcing babies to sleep

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. โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ But if there is anything that parenthood has taught […]
Self Soothing

“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.”โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ “If you help your baby too much, she will never learn to be independent.”โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ “Cuddling your baby will create a crutch.”โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ Now replace “your baby” with “your grandmother”, and we’ll see if the statements […]
“Sleep begets sleep”

“๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ฅ๐๐๐ฉ.”โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ 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 ๐ช๐ด true. Some kids are definitely higher sleep needs children, not just […]
Cry it out won’t get any easier

“Give it time.”โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ “She just needs to get used to it.”โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ “It’s so hard, but it will get easier the longer you do it.”โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ “Give it at least two weeks or else you will confuse the baby.”โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ญ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐๐ฌ๐ง’๐ญ ‘๐ ๐๐ญ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ซ’. If leaving your child to cry is going against every fibre of your instincts, ๐๐จ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ […]
Dependence is the key to fostering independence

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. โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ โ 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 […]