21/01/2026
Thank you The Early Parenting Collective with Jayne Vidler for so eloquently stating this.
😴 Why I struggle talking about infant sleep 😴
…and why airway matters more than routines.
Yes, infant sleep is part of my work but I’ll be honest, I hate how sleep is often talked about.
Because most conversations jump straight to:
🚫 Controlled crying
🚫 Controlled comforting
🚫 Babies “learning” to sleep alone
🚫 Strict routines and schedules
And the reality is: babies are not built that way.
Babies are born with immature nervous systems.
They rely on us to help them regulate, feel safe, and settle.
That often means being held, worn, fed, and close, a lot.
👉 This is biologically normal.
I also carry my own lived experience here. I attempted sleep training with my eldest (briefly).
It lasted less than 24 hours and ended with a very clear realisation: he needed me. And I was willing to change my expectations and life to meet that need.
What I do love talking about:
🤍 Responsive care
🤍 Contact naps
🤍 Babywearing
🤍 Safe bedsharing and co-sleeping
🤍 Routines that follow baby’s biology, not the clock
But here’s the part that often gets missed 👇
🌬 Sleep is not just behavioural - it’s physiological.
When families are struggling with infant sleep, we must look beyond routines and ask:
• Is feeding impacting sleep?
• Is there body tension or discomfort?
• Are there allergies or intolerances?
• And critically, how is the airway functioning?
👶 Babies can have airway or ENT challenges.
If breathing is compromised, sleep will be disrupted, no routine can fix that.
👉 Airway assessment and screening are a vital part of infant sleep support.
Because sometimes the issue isn’t “sleep habits” at all:
it’s a baby who is working too hard to breathe.
🤍 If your baby’s sleep feels difficult, fragmented, or unsettled and something doesn’t feel right, support that looks at the whole baby matters.
