Bedsharing Guide: Benefits, Safety, and FAQs for Cosleeping and Bedsharing Families

Bedsharing is a wonderful, biologically normal way to care for your baby at night. It’s also a big controversy in safe sleep. Since many pediatricians only focus on a “just don’t” attitude towards bedsharing, parents are stuck trying to navigate safe sleep messages and the reality of nighttime parenting. In this guide, I’ll answer some of the many questions I hear from parents about sleeping with their baby, cosleeping safety, bedsharing, and many questions that I also asked as a new parent.

Tips for Toddler and Infant Sleep during Holiday Travels

One of the most common questions I get this time of year is how do I support sleep during the holidays? Whether it’s travel, hosting family, or just a lot of different events, there is a lot to navigate. You want to enjoy the time without undermining your littles sleep too much, and there can be a lot to consider. Below are some of the most common questions and areas of struggle I hear from parents struggling with what to do about infant and toddler sleeping arrangements during travel.

How to transfer baby from arms to sleep space

You’ve finally gotten your baby asleep in your arms. Success! Now if you can just put them down. The second you start to move them to their crib or bassinette, their eyes pop open and they start to cry. Back to square one! What to do?

This is such a common struggle. And I want to first assure you that you aren’t doing anything wrong or creating any bad sleep habits.

Infant SleepGuest UserMay 8, 2021transferring baby, safe sleep, infant sleep tipsComment

Baby Sleep Schedules: What you need to know about routines, schedules, and the difference

These questions come up over and over again from parents of newborns through older babies. It’s easy to understand the appeal of getting your baby on a schedule. Schedules promise predictability and control over something that feels very out of control, your babies feeding and sleeping. Strict schedules, however, are generally not the best approach for children of any age, but especially babies.

I often recommend routines rather than schedules. So, what’s the difference between a routine and a schedule?

Infant SleepGuest UserApril 23, 2021sleep schedules, baby routines, infant sleep tips, infant sleep specialistComment

Normal newborn sleep: what’s going on in the 4th trimester

What does normal newborn sleep really mean?

“Sleep when the baby sleeps.”
“You’ll never sleep again!”
“Newborns sleep a lot.”
“Is baby a good sleeper?”

Are these comments familiar? So many people like to share comments about normal newborn sleep, but it rarely comes with realistic, practical information to help parents understand normal sleep in these intense early months. However, understanding sleep in the early months through a developmental and evolutionary lens can dramatically change your perspective on your baby’s sleep. When your perspective shifts, you can support sleep in a way that works with your baby’s biology and leads to more sleep for the whole family.

Infant SleepGuest UserApril 7, 2021newborn sleep, fourth trimester, normal sleep, sleep advice, infant sleep tipsComment

Should I put my baby down drowsy but awake?

Put your baby down drowsy but awake is a common piece of sleep advice, but is it really something you need to do? Many parents are warned against soothing their baby to sleep in favor of teaching them to fall asleep independently. The problem is that babies don’t often cooperate, especially very young babies, and many parents’ struggle. Everyone says it’s an essential skill in forming healthy sleep habits, so when baby won’t cooperate, it’s easy to feel like a failure.

The Facts behind Babies and Self-Soothing

So many of my clients have heard comments like these on a regular basis. It makes them feel alone, isolated, and even doubt themselves.

So do I really need to teach my baby to self-soothe?

The good news is that you do not need to leave your baby to cry to teach them anything! And in fact, leaving a baby to cry is the exact opposite of how you help them calm down.

Though advice to leave a baby to cry to teach self-soothing is common, It’s incredibly outdated. So much sleep and parenting advice misses the very real neuroscience that disproves this concept as well as the important role of responsiveness in development.

Helpful Resources

What does normal newborn sleep really mean?

So do I really need to teach my baby to self-soothe?