My sleep story…
The day my husband took this picture, my firstborn daughter was 7 weeks old. And I was drowning.
Drowning in sleep deprivation, in postpartum depression and anxiety, in a sudden obsession with how my baby slept—or didn’t.
Clara didn’t sleep “like a baby.” She never had the sleepy newborn phase I’d heard about. She wouldn’t nap in the stroller, the car, the swing, the bassinet, at the breast, in my bed with me, or really anywhere except the softshell carrier. It felt like my back would break from walking miles every day just to get her to sleep a little. It felt like I had the only baby who broke all the rules.
When I looked for support or information online, I found so much fear and fear-mongering around attachment, crying, and “biological norms” that I felt paralyzed to make any changes. But I knew I could not keep going like this. I had come to hate my life and hate being a mom, and I hated that most of all.
I knew I had to shut those voices out and make a change, for the health of my baby, my family, and myself.
I had given Clara all the labels: “High needs.” “Highly sensitive.” “Low sleep needs.” Even just “difficult baby.” I thought I had just been dealt a bad hand. But she surprised me. When I finally got out of her way, she proved all of the labels wrong.
She’s 3 years old now and has become the chillest, happiest child I’ve ever met, and still sleeps amazing. And I don’t even want to think about where we’d be now if I’d suffered any longer under the weight of sleep-deprived guilt!
So, that’s why I’m here.
I know what it’s like to feel crushed under guilt and fear. I know what it’s like to suffer from sleep deprivation so severe that you forget how to exist. I know what the lies of postpartum depression and anxiety sound like.
And I know that babies are actually made to sleep. They start falling asleep on their own in utero, and are capable of doing so at any age and stage of development. I know that not everyone wants their baby to sleep independently, and I also know that not everyone wants to contact nap or bedshare. Both are normal and okay!
I want to help your family sleep so you can get a taste of what it’s like to love life as parents.
Ready? Let’s talk.
