10/01/2022
Society's expectations for infant sleep:
❌They should sleep like adults
❌They need to be trained how to sleep
❌They be spoiled with too much attention/contact
❌They only wake to be fed
❌Their sleep is linear
❌They should be left alone to learn to self-soothe
Infant sleep reality:
✅Sleep is a homeostatic function and thereby can't be taught. We can only teach a child that falling asleep is a nice and pleasant experience and that we are there for them if they need us in the night.
✅Human babies are biologically programmed to wake often to feed and as a safety mechanism
✅ Unconditional love and support will teach a child that they are worthy, wanted, seen and important.
✅Infants wake for a whole host of reasons - emotional ones just as much and as valid as physical ones.
✅As adults, we go through periods of disturbed sleep, insomnia or great sleep depending on what's going on in our lives and bodies. Children are no different except that there's a whole lot more going on physically and cognitively.
✅ We learn to self soothe by first being soothed over and over again until these skills are internalised and we feel safe and can do this for ourselves when we need to.
Whether it's miseducation, old wives' tales or fake news designed to sell a product: our future generations deserve much better.
Thank you for being here and helping change the narrative.
☎️If you'd like 1-1 sleep support, advice, reassurance or validation why not book a 20min SOS Sleep call with me (£25). Link in bio.
📑 Gentle night-weaning/Transitioning from contact napping, co-sleeping and bedsharing guides available now - no sleep training, leaving your child to cry or harsh separation methods involved. Link in bio.
