Sleep Coaching

What is sleep coaching? The world of infant and child sleep can be a daunting place for new parents. Many families find they are struggling with sleepless nights and feel confused by all the information that is out there. Pursuing reputable studies in this field was crucial for me to provide support that families can trust, grounded in current knowledge and not just outdated views or personal opinions.

I chose a course that resonates with my values and beliefs, one that emphasizes the importance of respecting, nurturing, and celebrating our young ones as the remarkable individuals they are. The Holistic Sleep Coaching Programme with BabyEm, developed and led by Lyndsey Hookway provided all this and more. Lyndsey’s background includes paediatric nursing, public health nursing, IBCLC, international speaker and author. I knew from years of following all of Lyndsey’s work in the fields of lactation and infant sleep (and owning all her books!), that her values and beliefs around supporting new families were perfectly aligned with my own.

Holistic sleep coaching offers insights into the reasons behind your child’s sleep patterns. It equips you with understanding of sleep biology and developmental milestones, along with strategies to enhance sleep in a way that prioritizes attachment and responsiveness. This approach supports the entire family by evaluating your present sleep circumstances and acknowledging your expertise regarding your child.

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How is sleep coaching different to sleep training?

How our babies sleep is a hot topic right from the day they are born. From the well-meaning family members, to the cashier at the supermarket, everyone seems to want to know how the baby is sleeping. “Is s/he a good baby?” being a common question that new parents get asked by all and sundry.

This question really translates to – how are they sleeping?

The reality is, young babies are not meant to sleep through the night. Their tiny stomachs and rapid rate of growth mean that they are supposed to wake frequently to feed, especially in the first three months – the all-important “fourth trimester”. What about once they reach three months, or even three years? Those are magic milestones where they will sleep, right? Unfortunately, their sleep biology is just not on the same page as our societal expectations.

Sleep is a developmental process, and much like other developmental processes, babies will all do this in their own time.

Does this mean that as parents we just have to suffer months or years of disturbed nights?

No! This is where holistic sleep coaching can help!

My personal experiences with the depths of sleep deprivation

Please know, I have been where you are, I can wholeheartedly empathise with your exhaustion! At the age of ten months, our eldest son was waking every forty minutes every night. My husband was working away from home four nights a week, which left me struggling with almost zero sleep. I desperately needed some help, but the only solution that was presented to me by the one health professional that I could get in contact with, was to leave him to cry in order to “teach him how to self-settle”. They also told me that it was my fault that he was waking so frequently because I had fed him to sleep and been too responsive whenever he woke. As a severely sleep-deprived new mum, I did not have the capacity to question this, so I went along with it, going against all my maternal instincts. Between our eldest and middle child, I learnt that there are other, gentler ways to support our children’s sleep development. Learning this was empowering, but also broke my heart to know that I had left my eldest to cry alone unnecessarily. Something that I find hard to think about even to this day.

This is why I have trained rigorously in sleep coaching. I want to use my decades of midwifery and lactation experience, along with this internationally recognised sleep coaching training, to support you and your family. I am here to provide nurturing and individualised support that empowers you to know that you don’t have to choose between just suffering the sleep deprivation or leaving your little one to cry alone.

We cannot make a baby or child sleep, but we can provide the right circumstances, opportunities, environment and support to help optimise this developmental process.

What’s included in the sleep coaching process

• Gentle and responsive strategies to support your little one with their sleep development
• Family centred care, taking into account the needs of your family unit as a whole
• Evidence on normal infant behaviour and sleep biology to empower you to continue being experts in your little one
• Information about ‘safe infant sleep’
• Age-appropriate information and guidance that is also developmentally appropriate 
• Fostering of secure attachments, connection and calm
• Ongoing support included with sleep packages to help you adapt and adjust with your little one. Sleep development is not a linear process, so this ongoing support can be vital
• Individualised approach that you feel suits your family and your child the best  

Holistic sleep coaching is not right for you –

• If you are looking for a guarantee that your little one will start sleeping through the night before they are biologically capable  
• If you are looking for a quick result, without taking into account your child’s temperament and unique needs   

Pricing information

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