Sleep success is not one quick fix. It involves knowledge, consistency, faith, and acceptance that it is a journey filled with ups-and-downs. As a GSC® Certified Coach, this is what I believe:

1. Sleep is For the Brain and Body

Sleep is not just a time for rest, but a crucial period of growth and development. A well-rested baby or toddler is more likely to be happy, attentive, and able to engage with their environment. Getting enough sleep is essential for their overall well-being and sets the foundation for a healthy and happy childhood. According to this Harvard Medicine Magazine article, sleep is essential for:

• Brain Development: During sleep, their brains are hard at work forming new connections, especially in the hippocampus, which is crucial for learning and memory.

• Emotional Regulation: Naps help clear out emotional memories, making children less reactive to stressful situations and more able to cope with everyday challenges.

• Physical Growth: A significant amount of growth hormones is produced during deep sleep, which is crucial for physical development.

• Overall Health and Well-being: Adequate sleep is linked to a strengthened immune system, better attention, fewer behavioral problems, and improved academic performance.

2. Sleep is For Happiness (of the entire family!)

Better rested babies and children are happier, and better rested parents have more love and patience to offer. It is not essential to sleep coach, but it is important to make informed decisions, and take ownership of how you choose to navigate sleep in your family.

3. Falling Sleep (and Staying Asleep) is a Skill To Be Learned

According to Kim West, “coaching” is about helping your little one to acquire a new skill, similar to how we first learned how to swim. Sleep is a natural process, yet the skill of falling asleep and staying asleep is not. “Coaching” is about scaffolding a new skill to be learned and mastered. I believe that we can find a way together to support your child much as he/she needs, but as little as required.

4. It Takes a Village, and I am on Your Team

I want to be a part of your village, and meet you where you are with non-judgement. Your plan can be effective without feeling cruel. Your plan can be gentle while being firm. We will find what works for your child, and what fits your family.

5. My Feelings about Cry It Out (CIO) - The Serious Stuff

Here is why I do not recommend Cry It Out (CIO): It is not necessarily the quick fix you think it is.

Often times, when well-meaning people suggest CIO to new parents, they may not have taken into account all the elements that shape sleep and make sleep smoother before you take that extreme step. What are the sleep expectations for that age? Is there a routine and schedule in place? Is it hunger? Is it pain? Is it a medical condition? Have you checked with a doctor? Is there something else? The sleep journey will also never be free of ups-and-downs. As with all things in parenting, supporting our child’s sleep takes love and patience.

The truth is, we still don’t know what we don’t know in terms of long term effects of CIO. What is true however, is that research shows risen cortisol levels (stress hormone) in babies during CIO, and it remains in the body even after crying has subsided, which also makes it harder to fall asleep. Families may have started to use CIO before 6 months, but truthfully extremely limited or no research has been done for using CIO with babies under 6 months. At the same time, for older toddlers and young children with better memory, it is quite simply cruel.

I believe in preserving the precious parent-child relationship, and your little love’s basic foundation of trust, with you as their secure base. I am here to provide the science, the strategies, and the options.