If you’ve been trying to fit a square peg baby into a round hole based on what you’ve been told about sleep, listen to this week’s episode as Heather Boyd, O.T. and Certified Infant & Family Sleep Specialist delves into ways to reduce some of the friction between what you’re trying to shape and how you can lean into the need instead, to get easier sleep.

In this episode, Heather covers:

• The 3 questions to ask yourself that immediately drops some of the resistance you might have around helping your baby sleep holistically

• Why meeting the need for secure attachment supports sleep

• How attachment needs that are met naturally lead to independence 

• 3 thoughts you may have about meeting the need (and why they get in the way of sleep)

• 3 key messages around meeting your baby’s needs

Wondering what you can do next?

✔️ Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!  

✔️ Sign up for Heather’s weekly baby sleep newsletter.⁠ https://heatherboyd.activehosted.com/f/1
✔️ Book a call or email Heather at www.familysleep.ca/contact to find out if the Confident & Connected Baby Sleep Program is the right fit for supporting you.

Heather Boyd speaks with Dr. Nerina Ramlakhan, a physiologist and sleep therapist with a passion for supporting people and organizations using Western medicine, Eastern philosophy, consciousness, evolution, and feelings of safety for our nervous systems.

In this episode, Dr. Nerina and Heather explore:

• How our nervous systems developed through evolution to support surviving and thriving.

• The resourcefulness of our nervous systems to protect us through freezing, fighting or fleeing (sympathetic nervous system), and maintaining safety (ventral vagus nerve)

• What “safety science” is and how it relates to gauging our environments as safe or unsafe so we can react appropriately

• Co-regulation and its role in feeling safe

• Oxytocin’s role in helping a mother create safety for a newborn

• How intuition supports you physiologically

• How to listen inwardly in a noisy outward world

• Morning habits that support your ventral vagus nervous system

• Self-talk, the “shoulds”, and the resulting dysregulation

• Calming the inner voice 

• Using breathing techniques to regulate

• Why we might do well to replace the word “sleep” with “rest”

• Hunter gatherers, bimodal sleep, and polyphasic sleep

• Fear, love, and grief

• How to move from "must do" to a state of safety/love

• Dr. Nerina's 5 non-negotiables for more restful sleep

• Cultural differences in night and daytime sleep (and the many factors that impact this

• and more

Mentioned in this episode:

• Stephen Porges, developer of the Polyvagal Theory

• ⁠The Little Book of Sleep by Dr. Nerina⁠ 

• ⁠Finding Inner Safety: The Key to Healing, Thriving, and Overcoming Burnout by Nerina Ramlakhan | Goodreads⁠

• Dr. Nerina’s course to reset your nervous system: ⁠https://drnerina.com/awakenyourpotential/⁠

Wondering what you can do next?

✔️ Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!  

✔️ ⁠Sign up for Heather’s weekly baby sleep newsletter.⁠⁠ https://heatherboyd.activehosted.com/f/1

✔️ Get access to the Baby Sleep Roadmap, your  guide to your baby’s sleep from morning to night and back again.  Available at ⁠www.familysleep.ca/links ⁠for 50% off until September 30 with the code 5050 ✔️Get self-paced sleep support with the comprehensive and holistic Baby Sleep Mini Course at 50% off until September 30th at ⁠www.familysleep.ca/links⁠ with the code 5050

🎵 Music Credit: Jordan Wood

Heather Boyd, OT, Sleep Coach, and mom of 3 answers the common question that tired and worried parents ask: How much sleep does my baby need?

We explore how many hours of sleep are recommended at various ages, and what factors can impact how much sleep your baby needs (and how much they're getting!).

The Resources I Mention in this Episode:

Sign up for the Podcast Resource Hub to access National Sleep Foundation recommendations, nap expectations, https://heatherboyd.vipmembervault.com/products/courses/view/1170166

Listen to Episode #12: My Baby is Overtired!

On Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/ep-12-my-baby-is-overtired-what-do-i-do/id1735142551?i=1000658895939

On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/34HoonI0T8P3Ky6MkIbTQ2

Read 2 Family Sleep Blogs on this topic:

Family Sleep Blog: How Much Sleep Does My Baby Need? https://familysleep.ca/blog/how-much-sleep-does-my-baby-need

Family Sleep Blog: How Many Hours of Sleep Does My Baby Need https://familysleep.ca/blog/how-much-sleep-does-my-baby-need-are-they-getting-enough

Sleep Foundation blog https://www.sleepfoundation.org/children-and-sleep/how-much-sleep-do-kids-need

What I cover in this episode:

• 2:00 How the National Sleep Foundation developed their recommendations

• 3:10 Age-based recommendations for total sleep

• 3:35 Factors that affect total sleep

• 6:00 Signs that your baby is getting enough sleep

• 8:00 The roles that temperament and lower sleep needs play 

• 8:56 Naps

• 13:45 When baby is underslept: strategies and recommendations

Wondering what you can do next?

✔️ Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!  Provide a review on Apple Podcasts.  It truly makes a difference to reaching families who would benefit from better understanding their baby’s sleep.

✔️ Sign up for weekly baby sleep emails.⁠ https://heatherboyd.activehosted.com/f/1

✔️ Work with Heather https://familysleep.ca/contact⁠

Credits: 🎵 Music: Jordan Wood

Heather Boyd, sleep coach, occupational therapist, and mom of 3 addresses the big concern that many parents have around their baby being overtired.  She provides reassurance and strategies for managing overtiredness in babies and explains what else might be going on, and why it can be SO hard to get your baby to fall asleep if they’ve missed their bedtime.

 2:18 Fear of baby being overtired

3:26 How sleep is built

4:48 Signs that your baby is overtired

5:34 What overtiredness, overstimulation, and boredom have in common

6:00 Signs of overstimulation

6:27 Signs of boredom

7:15 What if it’s not overtired, it’s dysregulation?

7:50 Sleep pressure and overtiredness

8:20 When we miss tired cues (or the cues are unclear)

9:05 The Wake Maintenance Zone

10:13 When we’re over-invested in getting our babies to sleep (and why it gets so frustrating when they don’t!)

11:05 How to get unstuck when your baby won’t sleep

13:40 3 Strategies if your baby skips a nap

15:05 3 Strategies if you feel your baby is chronically overtired

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Previous Episode: How sleep is built: EP 2: What's Driving Your Baby's Sleep? on Apple Podcasts

• The Wake Maintenance Zone

• Tired Cues

Wondering what you can do next?

✔️ Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!  Provide a review on Apple Podcasts.  It truly makes a difference to reaching families who would benefit from better understanding their baby’s sleep.

✔️ Attend the Ask & Answer on June 18th 2024. Enroll here. https://heatherboyd.vipmembervault.com/products/courses/view/1169576  

✔️ Sign up for weekly baby sleep emails.⁠ https://heatherboyd.activehosted.com/f/1

✔️ Work with Heather https://familysleep.ca/contact⁠

Credits: 🎵 Music: Jordan Wood 🎙️Podcast coach: Min Sukree

In this episode Heather Boyd, sleep coach and therapist, chats with Tara Gratto, mom of 2 and parenting coach who supports parents and caring adults of children from toddler through early teen with behaviour, emotional regulation and social-emotional wellbeing. 

*Heather's audio in this interview is, unfortunately, quite low. We didn't edit it out to provide context for the questions Heather asks Tara. Thankfully, Tara's audio is fine. We'll correct this problem in future episodes!)

A long-time educator and former preschool owner, Tara has two decades of experience working with children and families. She is the host of Tara’s Take: Parenting, Education & Life With Kids Podcast and author of comic picture book The Adventures of Team Brain. 

Tara works one-on-one, facilitates workshops and group programs as well as does children's book talks at schools, libraries and special interest programs.

We cover:

• Emotional intelligence
• The reason parents struggle to teach emotional regulation to children
• Why building our own emotional vocabulary helps us support our kids.
• What Tara discovered as a preschool teacher about the challenge with “Name It To Tame It” (and how you can make it work better)
• Tools to build emotional regulation including narration and picture books
• Boundaries and the value of failing

Books mentioned in this episode:

• Tara Gratto, The Adventures of Team Brain

• Janan Cain, The Way I Feel

• Marc Brakett, Permission to Feel

• Jane Yolen & Mark Teague, How Do Dinosaurs Say I’m Mad 

• Eva Eland, When Sadness is at Your Door 

Additional Mentions:

• Dr. Dan Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson (Name it to Tame It, and Flipping Your Lid)

Where to find Tara:

https://www.instagram.com/taragratto/

https://www.facebook.com/raisingresilientchildren

https://www.taragratto.ca/

Heather Boyd, occupational therapist, mom of 3, and Infant & Family Sleep Specialist, outlines the four most common reasons she sees parents struggle with a baby who is not sleeping as well as expected.

This episode is a sneak peak at Heather's upcoming free Masterclass, "Why Isn't My Baby Sleeping?". Save your seat for May 30th at www.familysleep.ca/free-workshops to attend live, get the replay, and get a written summary of the call.

Wondering what you can do next?

✔️ Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!  Provide a review on Apple Podcasts.  It truly makes a difference to reaching families who would benefit from better understanding their baby’s sleep.

✔️ Attend the next free online masterclass, Why Isn’t My Baby Sleeping?, https://www.familysleep.ca/free-workshops May 30th 2024  

✔️ Sign up for weekly baby sleep emails.⁠ https://heatherboyd.activehosted.com/f/1

✔️ Work with Heather https://familysleep.ca/contact⁠

Credits: 🎵 Music: Jordan Wood 🎙️Podcast coach: Min Sukree

Join Heather Boyd in her interview with Sara Intonato, master coach to parents of children with special needs, as they explore parenting, self-regulation, and how Sara used yoga and self-care to heal emotionally after her son was diagnosed with autism.    

With over 20 years of coaching experience that includes an extensive background in the ancient science of yoga, Sara Intonato brings a unique combination of skills and insight to her clients.

Sara’s disciplined self care has allowed her to boldly advocate for her own child with autism successfully, even when experts told her it was impossible. Using her Full Potential Method, Sara teaches parents the skills they need to heal themselves, lead with confidence, and live a life so joyful, they thought was only a pipe dream, simply by showing up and taking action every day. Sara's insights are valuable whether you are a parent of a child with special needs or high needs, highly sensitive or neurotypical. If you find yourself questioning how to parent the child in front of you while not burning out, come listen to Sara's perspectives and supportive insights.

In this interview, Sara and Heather discuss:

• the importance of tools for coping with parenting challenges
• self-regulation
• how to put your self-care in the context of better supporting your child emotionally
• the value of having a plan of simple actions to support co-regulation, including breathwork and yoga
• the role yoga played in Sara's 20s to cope with debilitating panic attacks
• how to take your own healing seriously
• the value of going inward, instead of to social media, for the answer to the question "What do I need?"
• how silence can help one heal
• how to release guilt around taking care of yourself
• the importance of acknowledging the reality of intense, 24/7 parenting

You can find Sara at saraintonato.com and on Instagram at @sara.intonato   Her book is: Emotional Healing for Parents of Children With Autism: The Journey You Never Expected to Take

Mentioned in this episode:

• Bessel van der Kork, The Body Keeps the Score

• Documentary: Rocco Up RoccoUp.com

• Pema Chödrön , American Tibetan Buddhist, author, speaker

Wondering what you can do next?

✔️ Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!  Provide a review on Apple Podcasts.

✔️ Attend the next free online masterclass, Why Isn’t My Baby Sleeping?, https://www.familysleep.ca/free-workshops May 30th 2024 

✔️ Sign up for weekly baby sleep emails.⁠ https://heatherboyd.activehosted.com/f/1

✔️ Work with me https://familysleep.ca/contact⁠ in the Confident & Connected Baby Sleep group program or one-on-one.

Heather Boyd, Occupational Therapist, Sleep Coach, and Mom of 3 explores a NEW way to give on Mother’s Day.  If you’ve been disappointed, underwhelmed, overwhelmed, or overcommitted on Mother’s Day and are left wondering how to feel loved and nurtured on Mother’s Day, have a listen.

Heather explores:

• 4 gifts to give yourself this (and every) Mother’s Day

• What to let go of

• Why self-love is important

Mentioned in this episode:

• Sarah Rosensweet: website https://www.sarahrosensweet.com/   Perspective on Mother’s Day: https://www.instagram.com/p/B_-tMBcgPQf/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

• Gabor Mate, How to Reset Your Body from Chronic Stress https://youtu.be/Rik5E7wey0w?si=dBsoKKTW2yEdROpw

• I promised in the episode to share a booklist on self-love.  Here it is!

• Kamal Ravikant, Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It

• Shad Helmstetter, PhD, What to Say When You Talk to Yourself 

• Dr. David D Burns, 10 Days to Self Esteem

• Nathaniel Brandan, 6 Pillars of Self-Esteem

• Brene Brown, The Gifts of Imperfect Parenting: Raising Children with Courage, Compassion, and Connection

Wondering what you can do next?

1. Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!

2. Attend the next free online masterclass May 30th 2024, Why Isn’t My Baby Sleeping?, https://www.familysleep.ca/free-workshops  

3. Sign up for weekly baby sleep emails.⁠ https://heatherboyd.activehosted.com/f/1

4. Work with me ⁠ in the Confident & Connected Baby Sleep group program or one-on-one. ( https://familysleep.ca/contact)

Credits:

🎵 Music: Jordan Wood

🎙️Podcast coach: Min Sukree

When sleep gets challenging, it's tempting to focus all of your attention on your baby's behaviour (hello, behavioural sleep training!). Instead, what if you put your energy and attention on things BEYOND actual sleep that can make sleep easier?

Sleep hygiene is probably the most underrated and underappreciated strategy for sleep, but can be SO valuable for making sleep easier. And that's the goal! Easier sleep!

Join Heather Boyd, Occupational Therapist, sleep coach, and mom of 3 as she discusses 4 sleep hygiene approaches that you can use to make it easier for everyone in your family to sleep.

Wondering what you can do next?

1. Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!

2. Attend the next free online masterclass, Why Isn’t My Baby Sleeping?, May 30th 2024  

3. Sign up for weekly baby sleep emails.⁠

4. Work with me⁠ in the Confident & Connected Baby Sleep group program or one-on-one.

Credits:

🎵 Music: Jordan Wood🎙️Podcast coach: Min Sukree

In this episode, Heather Boyd, mom of 3, certified Infant & Family Sleep Specialist, and Occupational Therapist, talks about why working so hard on making our baby’s sleep better can often make sleep harder.

She shares:

✔️ Why we are conditioned to think grit gets us goals

✔️ Why sleep training  culture makes us believe it’s our JOB to work hard to make sleep easy

✔️ How working hard on your baby’s sleep is like training for a 5km run at 2am!

✔️ How working less on sleep gives you MORE time, MORE energy, and maybe even MORE sleep!

✔️ 5 ways to work less hard on your baby’s sleep to get more sleep.

Mentioned in this episode: Episode #2 of The Baby Sleep Connection Podcast: What’s Driving Your Baby’s Sleep? https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/0ofSCAQyZIb

Looking for more?  Here's what you can do next:

1. Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!

2. ⁠Sign up for weekly baby sleep emails.⁠

3. ⁠Work with me⁠ in the Confident & Connected Baby Sleep group program or one-on-one.

Credits:

🎵 Music: Jordan Wood

🎙️Podcast coach: Min Sukree

Heather Boyd chats with Jessica Darling, a personal trainer from Toronto, Ontario who specializes in prenatal and postpartum fitness. 

As a former competitive athlete, (rowing, cycling) and all round gym rat, Jessica loved feeling strong and pushing herself to the limits. After the birth of her daughter, jumping back into that kind of exercise wasn't the right fit. After some searching she found the right program that helped her rediscover my body and feel good in movement. It was a powerful experience that she wants to bring to all women.

Jessica takes a person-centered approach and uses breathwork and deep core awareness to help women reconnect with their bodies. From there she helps them build a path to a stronger self, no matter their life phase.  When she's not helping clients, you can find her somewhere outside, either on the water paddleboarding, rucking some trails or enjoying time with her family. 

In this episode we talk about:

• Jessica’s personal journey from pregnant with hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) to a tired but strong mom!

• Reframing what it means to adapt to your body and new role after birth 

• Redefining what “counts” as exercise?

• Where to start in reconnecting with your body post-partum

• How to set expectations that help you, rather than prevent you, from progressing towards your goals

• Navigating the false dichotomy of being a responsive parent AND taking care of your needs

• What’s missing in post-partum support

• Reframing our roles and priorities post-partum

Where to find Jessica:

Website: www.mauvement.ca

Email: jessica@jessicadarling.ca

Social Media Handles: @jdarling   https://www.facebook.com/jdarling.fit

Resources:

Free "Return to Movement Guide" (https://jessicadarling.ck.page/freeguide). 

1:1 coaching services virtually or in person in East York Toronto. 

What you can do next:

1. Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!

2. ⁠Sign up for weekly baby sleep emails.⁠

3. Explore the Family Sleep website.

Credits:

🎵 Music: Jordan Wood

🎙️Podcast coach: Min Sukree

In this episode, Heather Boyd, mom of 3, sleep coach, and occupational therapist dives into how to trust your baby and trust the process.

As an exhausted and overwhelmed parent, you are likely all too aware of how hard this is. And yet, as a responsive parent looking for a better way to parent than conventional approaches, you've probably already had experiences that have required trusting the process.

Heather guides you to reflect on: 🦋 Appreciating that your baby is doing the best they can at this particular time. 🦋 An evolutionary perspective on what babies have needed (and what your baby needs) to sleep.

🦋 Why curiosity trumps cookie-cutter approaches to sleep coaching.

🦋 How holistic approaches look at your baby's needs but not at the expense of YOUR needs.

🦋 How you can shift from searching for a problem to solve, to trusting the process.

🦋 Difficult does not mean broken.

Looking for more?  What you can do next:

1. Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!

2. Sign up for weekly baby sleep emails.

3. Work with me in the Confident & Connected Baby Sleep Group Program or One-on-One.

Credits:

🎵 Music: Jordan Wood

🎙️Podcast coach: Min Sukree

It's hard enough managing the sleep deprivation and deluge of information about what you SHOULD be doing to support your baby's sleep.

But now you’ve got to google “sleep coach” and figure out what coach you should pay money to to support you?

In this episode, Heather Boyd explains how to find a coach who’s right for you (even if you’re looking for something different than what she offers as a coach), and how to move from frozen and overwhelmed to seeking support that can help you move forward.

What’s covered in this episode:

• How skepticism and overwhelm held Heather back in her own journey to get support

• What key factors can help guide your decision (including where to find a sleep coach, and how to find one that aligns with your goals)

• Should you hire someone with a health professional background?

• How can you be savvy about reading testimonials?

• How to be open to coaching so you can get the most out of the experience

• Intro calls: why you should book one if it’s available, and what you should ask

Wondering what you can do next?

✔️ Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!  

✔️ Sign up for Heather’s weekly baby sleep newsletter.⁠ https://heatherboyd.activehosted.com/f/1

✔️ Get access to the Baby Sleep Roadmap, your  guide to your baby’s sleep from morning to night and back again.  Available at Baby Sleep Roadmap (vipmembervault.com) for 50% off until September 30 with the code 5050

🎵 Music Credit: Jordan Wood

If you have an unsettled baby, settle in for a listen as I talk with Alice Lucken, Internationally Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), nurse, and coach to parents of unsettled babies.

Alice is from the UK.  In addition to her IBCLC and coaching ro

In this episode we talk about:

• A holistic approach to supporting an unsettled baby

• How to advocate for your baby when you 

• The value of having your experiences validated

• Symptoms and root causes for unsettled babies

• The role of feeding in fussy babies

• What is colic?

• When is medication valuable for reflux (and when is it not)

• The difference between reflux and Gastro-Esophagal Reflux Disease (GERD)

• The barriers to reaching out for help

• What Alice wishes parents knew

• What is missing in the general conversation about unsettled babies

• A vision for integrated support for parents of unsettled babies

Where to find Alice:

Website: www.babyetal.co.uk

Email: alice@babyetal.co.uk

Social media handles: @babyetaluk

What can you do next?

1. Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!

2. Sign up for weekly baby sleep emails

3. Work with me
   
   

Heather Boyd, mom of three, occupational therapist, and attachment-based sleep coach, explores why baby sleep looks so different from your own sleep --and how that guides what you can do as a parent to support your baby's sleep.

In this episode, Heather covers:

• What 4 things change with your baby's sleep as sleep matures
• How sleep is brain-based (what's going on in that cranium, anyhow?)
• Why you're not "in charge" of your baby's sleep
• What you ARE in charge of!
• How to let go (just a little bit!) so you aren't expending energy on strategies that make bedtime and sleep time more exhausting than it already is

Music: Jordan Wood

Looking for more?  What you can do next:

1. Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!

2. Sign up for weekly baby sleep emails 

3. Work with me
   

There’s a misconception out there that there are only two choices when it comes to supporting your baby’s sleep: cry it out, or ride it out.

And as much as I tend to lean towards letting sleep development unfold (ride it out, within reason), this false dichotomy really does a disservice to parents.

In this episode I explore why I believe this false dichotomy exists, and what to do instead.

I talk about:

• Three beliefs that make sleep training seem like the “best” approach

• Three myths of attachment-based sleep support that can feel unattainable for many parents

• How to find a middle ground by:

• understanding sleep development, 

• solving underlying sleep problems, 

• supporting your baby’s sleep in a responsive way, and 

• reframing our role (and our self-care!)

If you want to learn more, head to my blog, “Cry-It-Out  or Martyrdom: The third choice mamas out to know about to get more sleep” https://familysleep.ca/blog/2018/the-third-choice

What can you do next?

1. Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!

2. Sign up for weekly baby sleep emails https://heatherboyd.activehosted.com/f/1

3. Work with me: https://familysleep.ca/contact
   
   

The message so many parents get is that the burden is on YOU to teach your baby to sleep independently.

Instead, let’s explore a holistic approach to your baby’s sleep.  

In this episode I cover:

• What is a holistic approach to sleep?

• Finding easier ways to support sleep without sleep training is valuable to your baby AND to you

• Sleep as a vulnerable state that requires feeling safe

• Why wake windows and sleep routines are only part of the story

• The value of understanding how sleep works

• Why meeting the need in a way that works for your baby and your family trumps following conventional sleep advice

• My goal for you as a listener of this podcast

What can you do next?

1. Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!

2. Sign up for weekly baby sleep emails https://heatherboyd.activehosted.com/f/1

3. Work with me: https://familysleep.ca/contact

Long bedtimes are a frequent challenge for families looking for baby sleep support. Spending one or two hours in a dark room trying to cajole your baby to sleep is a stark contrast to the peaceful, connected bedtimes you may have imagined.

In this episode, Heather Boyd, O.T., mom of three, and certified Infant and Family Sleep Specialist, explores 6 reasons long bedtimes might be happening, and what to do about it!

Have a listen to learn:

• 6 common reasons bedtimes are long

• 6 strategies for making bedtime a more manageable length

• Her realistic and flexible approach to late bedtimes with her own children

• How to set up a "runway" to bedtime

• Why looking at bedtime as the last connection before a lengthy separation supports an easier bedtime routine

• How bedtime routines get shaped over time

Mentioned in this episode:

1. ⁠⁠EP #2: What's Driving Your Baby's Sleep? ⁠⁠

2. ⁠⁠Ep #13: How Much Sleep Does Your Baby Need? (And are they getting enough?)⁠⁠

3. Gordon Neufeld, Developmental Psychologist, ⁠neufeldinstitute.org⁠

Wondering what you can do next?

✔️ Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!  

✔️ ⁠Sign up for Heather’s weekly baby sleep newsletter.⁠⁠ (https://heatherboyd.activehosted.com/f/1)

✔️ Get access to the Baby Sleep Roadmap, your  guide to your baby’s sleep from morning to night and back again.  Available at ⁠Baby Sleep Roadmap (vipmembervault.com)⁠ for 50% off until September 30 with the code 5050 (www.heatherboyd.vipmembervault.com/products/courses/view/1140910)

🎵 Music Credit: Jordan Wood

Heather helps unravel the myth that helping your baby to sleep is a “bad habit”.

If you nurse to sleep, bed share, or rock, pat, or walk your baby to sleep, listen in to explore:

• The 3 reasons we fear “bad habits”

• How habits serve us

• Why habits are like diapers!

• 3 things to say to yourself that help you take the fear out of bad habits

Mentioned in this Episode:

• Sign up for the Free Sleep Workshop: Why Isn’t My Baby Sleeping?  August 26th 2024 at 11am.  www.familysleep.ca/free-workshops

• Episode 2: What’s Driving Your Baby’s Sleep? EP 2: What's Driving Your Baby's Sleep? - The Baby Sleep Connection: Holistic help for tired, responsive parents who don't want to sleep train | Podcast on Spotify 

Wondering what you can do next?

✔️ Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!  

✔️ Sign up for Heather’s weekly baby sleep newsletter.⁠ https://heatherboyd.activehosted.com/f/1

✔️ Sign up for the free workshop on August 26th 2024 www.familysleep.ca/free-workshop⁠

🎵 Music Credit: Jordan Wood

Heather Boyd is joined by Mr. Chazz, educator, mentor, and motivational speaker, who is making positive waves in the parenting community through his work teaching Conscious Discipline.

In this episode, Mr. Chazz covers:

• The 5 steps to Conscious Discipline (I am, I calm, I feel, I choose, and I solve)
• The idea of accepting the parenting reality in front of you, instead of resisting it
• Learning conscious discipline and emotional regulation for your SELF, so that you can teach it to your child
• How an understanding of the 3 brain states (executive, emotional, and survival) can help you and your child regulate big emotions
• Why it's more than just "know better, do better"
• The OOPS strategy to life's "oopses" (Our Opportunity to Practice Skills, or Our Opportunity to Problem Solve)
• The analogy of adding "songs" to our harddrive or playlist to break the cycle on reactive parenting
• Why he believes that we ought to move beyond self-care to encompass "community-care"

You can find Mr. Chazz at www.mrchazz.com, on social media at instagram.com/mrchazz and on tiktok, and on his podcast, The Learning Curve https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/learning-curve-with-mr-chazz/id1525418064Mentioned in this Episode:

• Conscious Discipline book and resources: https://consciousdiscipline.com/product-tag/poster-set/

Wondering what you can do next?

✔️ Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!  

✔️ Sign up for Heather’s weekly baby sleep newsletter.⁠ https://heatherboyd.activehosted.com/f/1

✔️ Sign up for the free workshop on August 26th 2024 at www.familysleep.ca/free-workshop⁠

🎵 Music Credit: Jordan Wood

Heather Boyd, Occupational Therapist, mom of 3, and certified Infant and Family Sleep Specialist, talks about the value of connection and self-regulation in helping make transitions (including bedtime) easier. 

Parenting is hard.  Let’s find ways to use connection to ease the load.

Have a listen to hear about:

• How Gordon Neufeld’s approach to attachment supports cooperation

• Keeping your dignity intact through parenting challenges

• “Leading the Dance” through attachment

• 3 ways to use connection: Physical connection, Silliness, and Stories

• 2 ways to ramp up connection through Awareness and Habits

• Dr. Laura Markham’s approach to deliberate connection

• Ways to connect with your baby by turning inward and connecting with yourself

And if you’re curious about how Gordon Neufeld’s Roots of Attachment can support your baby’s sleep, follow the link in the bio.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Free Workshop August 26th 2024!  4 Reasons Your Baby Isn’t Sleeping The Way You Expected (And What to Do About It Without Sleep Training).  Get all the details and sign up at www.familysleep.ca/free-workshop

• Free Resource: Gordon Neufeld’s Roots of Attachment applied to sleep: https://heatherboyd.vipmembervault.com/products/courses/view/1072127

🎵 Music Credit: Jordan Wood

Heather Boyd, Occupational Therapist and sleep coach, explores the strategies she guides parents to use to tackle the mountain of challenges in the first few years of parenting (and beyond!).

In addition to sharing how she tackled a particularly chaotic period of parenting, Heather breaks down the three steps she uses when there seems to be more problems to solve than there is time to solve them.

If you’ve found yourself asking “Where do I start?”, have a listen.

Wondering what you can do next?

✔️ Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!  

✔️ Sign up for Heather’s weekly baby sleep newsletter.⁠ https://heatherboyd.activehosted.com/f/1

✔️ Reach out to Heather https://familysleep.ca/contact⁠

🎵 Music Credit: Jordan Wood

Heather Boyd interviews integrative pediatrician, Dr. Joel “Gator” Warsh about what it takes to raise healthy children.  Dr. Warsh, M.D., has a Master’s degree in epidemiology, and founded his private pediatric clinic in California in 2018.  He is a speaker, published researcher, dad, and author (his book, Parenting At Your Child’s Pace: The integrative pediatrician’s guide to the first three years comes out August 6th).

In this episode we cover:

• Integrative medicine: what is it?
• His recipe for a healthy childhood "smoothie"
• Sleep as one of the foundations of childhood health in his SEEDS of Well-Being approach: Stress, Environment, Exercise, Diet, and Sleep
• The rise in chronic illness and mental health challenges  in childhood 
• Managing the comparison and “perfect parenting” trap in the age of social media
• How to use information wisely to focus on what works well for your child and family
• Dr. Warsh’s take on developmental milestones (how to use them without undue anxiety about “being behind”)
• Taking the fight out of a “this versus that” mentality: baby-led weaning versus purees, breastfeeding versus formula 
• How to be flexible with your parenting expectations

You can pre-order Dr. Warsh’s new book (out August 6th) at www.parentingatyourchildspace.com.  Contact Dr. Warsh at drgator@integrativepediatrics.com with your receipt for an advanced peak at one chapter and 1 month free in his online VIP parenting community, Natural Parenting.  Dr. Warsh also runs a speaker series masterclass, RaisingAmazingPlus.com

You can find him on Instagram at @DrJoelGator

Wondering what you can do next?

✔️ Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!  Provide a review on Apple Podcasts.  It truly makes a difference to reaching families who would benefit from better understanding their baby’s sleep.

✔️ Sign up for Heather’s weekly baby sleep newsletter.⁠ https://heatherboyd.activehosted.com/f/1

✔️ Reach out to Heather https://familysleep.ca/contact⁠

In this episode, Heather Boyd, O.T., mom, and sleep coach, explores why babies drop naps, why it can feel so difficult, and what to do to make it easier.

Even though dropping naps is a normal part of development, it can be a bumpy ride!

Whether dropping naps is parent-led, circumstance-led, or baby-led, Heather explores ways to make the transition easier.

She also explores:

• Robust naps versus “cat naps” (neither is bad or good)

• What signs there are that your baby is ready to drop a nap

• The role adenosine plays in naps

• Why nap dropping isn’t “all or nothing”

• How to prepare for bedtime when a nap varies from day to day

• How expectations can support you in managing the “messy middle” of dropping naps

• How the last nap drop with our child went (and how we stayed flexible)

• Why dropping naps can feel disappointing for parents, and

• Why dropping naps can be a great thing!

Wondering what you can do next?

✔️ Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!  Provide a review on Apple Podcasts.  It truly makes a difference to reaching families who would benefit from better understanding their baby’s sleep.

✔️ Sign up for weekly baby sleep emails.⁠ https://heatherboyd.activehosted.com/f/1

✔️ Work with Heather https://familysleep.ca/contact⁠

Heather Boyd, mom of 3, Occupational Therapist, and certified Infant & Family Sleep Specialist shares 5 common sleep myths (and why they aren’t true).

Listen in to hear about:

• “Junk sleep”: what’s the deal with sleeping in arms or falling asleep in the car?  Does it “count” as sleep?  

• Humans as carry mammals: how does this impact how we can help our babies sleep?

• Why looking to your baby for “signs” that what you’re doing is working is the best way to avoid the trap of baby sleep myths

• Putting your baby down “drowsy but asleep”: does it work?  Is it necessary?

• How crucial is “teaching” your baby to sleep? 

• Ways parents can influence healthy sleep without sleep training

• “Sleep begets sleep”: is it true?

• Keeping your baby up later to get them to sleep in: what happens when we do this, and what is really impacting your baby’s wake up time?

• Scared about the time change?  Get your hands on my free resource for handling the shift in time between standard time and daylight savings time

Mentioned in this Episode:

• Free Resource!  Debunking Baby Sleep Myths (https://heatherboyd.vipmembervault.com/products/courses/view/1030616)

• Free Resource!  Managing the time change: Get my resource on Fall Back, Spring Forward sleep support strategies inside the “How To Not Sleep Train (And Other Free Resources) (https://heatherboyd.vipmembervault.com/products/courses/view/1080398)

Credits:

🎵 Music: Jordan Wood

Heather Boyd, mom of 3, Occupational Therapist, and certified Infant & Family Sleep Specialist shares 3 ways parents tend to cheat themselves out of wellness when their baby isn't sleeping long stretches and needs lots of support to sleep.

Listen in to hear:

• Where Heather sees most parents cheating themselves out of much needed sleep

• How to balance getting more sleep AND connecting with your partner or doing the things on your “to do” list 

• When, generally, the most effective time is to sleep in order to reduce your sleep debt

• How rest is different than sleep (and where to find more opportunities for rest)

• What are micro moments of rest?

• What self-imposed barriers to support you might be coming up against

• Why boundaries are an important part of seeking support

• The value in understanding that “Clear is Kind” (Brene Brown)

Mentioned in this episode:

• Episode #22: Mindfulness, The Nervous System, and Sleep with Dr. Nerina Ramlakhan https://open.spotify.com/episode/1dHIcMQzdJikrwIZBtv6vO

• Confident & Connected Baby Slep Program www.familysleep.ca/confident-connected-baby-sleep-program

Heather Boyd, Occupational Therapist and sleep coach shares two key perspectives in making your baby’s sleep make sense.

Listen in to learn:

• The two key perspectives that support sleep: sleep development, and understanding your baby’s needs

• Why sleep milestones should be approached more like the milestone of walking

• What important brain function allows adults to manage upset more easily than babies (and why knowing this matters

• The role that parents play in supporting brain maturation

• What sensory input has to do with sleep

• Why temperament plays a key role in figuring out what strategies will support your baby’s sleep

• How to understand total sleep needs for your baby in order to struggle less with getting them to sleep

Today’s episode is a recap of a recent talk Heather gave to Life With A Baby Niagara.  It is short, sweet, and to the point.  

Mentioned in this episode:

• Life With A Baby (lifewithababy.com)

What to do next:

 ✔️ Sign up for the free guide, How Not to Sleep Train Your Baby (and Other Free Resources) (vipmembervault.com)   https://heatherboyd.vipmembervault.com/products/courses/view/1080398/?action=signup
✔️ Book a call or email Heather at www.familysleep.ca/contact to talk with Heather about working together

Heather Boyd, Occupational Therapist and sleep coach, talks with Karla Masse, IBCLC and mom of 6 about her role as a home visiting lactation consultant in Niagara, Ontario

In this episode you’ll hear about:

• Karla’s journey that led her to become an IBCLC

• Perspectives on integrative approaches to lactation support

• Feeding “goals” versus “expectations”

• Karla’s passion for helping parents rediscover the foundations of caring for their baby, including trusting their bodies

• The tongue as an amazing, dynamic muscle

• Finding what works for you

• Getting to the root of feeding challenges

Where you can find Karla:

Instagram: @bewithbaby.ca 

Website: www.bewithbaby.ca 

Facebook: Be with baby

Email: karla_masse@hotmail.com

Mentioned in this episode:

• Niagara’s premiere Prenatal Retreat, Beyond Birth: www.familysleep.ca/retreat

What to do next:

 ✔️ Sign up for the free guide, How Not to Sleep Train Your Baby (and Other Free Resources) (vipmembervault.com)   https://heatherboyd.vipmembervault.com/products/courses/view/1080398/?action=signup

✔️ Book a call or email Heather at www.familysleep.ca/contact to talk with Heather about working together

Credits:

🎵 Music: Jordan Wood

🎙️Podcast coach: Min Sukree

If you’ve felt the pressure to leave your baby in their bedroom, alone, to fall asleep (despite it going against your instincts), or you’re just discovering that maybe there’s an alternative to leaving your baby to cry, listen in on this episode as Heather Boyd, occupational therapist, sleep coach, and mom of 3, explores why not crying-it-out is so important.

In this episode you’ll hear Heather talk about:

• Four reasons why it’s worth shifting from cry-it-out to responsive parenting

• Four perspectives to help responsive parents have reasonable expectations around responsive sleep parenting

• One easy strategy for helping support your parenting approach despite the pressure to conform to the sleep training culture

Mentioned in this episode:

• Sign up for the free resource, How to Not Sleep Train: A Responsive Parent’s Guide to Supporting Your Baby’s Sleep at familysleep.ca/links

Next Steps:

 ✔️ Sign up for Heather’s weekly baby sleep newsletter.⁠ https://heatherboyd.activehosted.com/f/1

✔️ Explore the Baby Sleep Mini Course and Baby Sleep Roadmap, both 50% off till September 30th at www.familysleep.ca/links

✔️ Book a call or email Heather at www.familysleep.ca/contact to talk with Heather about the Confident & Connected Baby Sleep Program.

Credits:

🎵 Music: Jordan Wood

🎙️Podcast coach: Min Sukree

Heather Boyd, occupational therapist and sleep coach, talks to Niagara IBCLC, Victoria Beninger, about the ways she supports new parents with feeding plans, goals, and the doubt and stress that new moms often carry.  We also talk about stress as a hidden impact on milk supply.  When there are so many products and lactation cookie recipes on line to increase milk supply, it’s a refreshing idea that we’ve got tools already inside us to support breastfeeding.

Listen in as we talk about:

• A trend Victoria sees in who reaches out to her overnight for support

• The barriers parents have in reaching out even when they are experiencing high stress and struggles with breastfeeding

• The role your nervous system plays in what Victoria calls the “relaxation and lactation” state

• How stress impacts breastfeeding

• Using your breath and mindfulness as key tools for increasing milk supply

• Cortisol, oxytocin, and the parasympathetic nervous system –what’s the connection when it comes to breastfeeding?

• Victoria’s perspectives on doom scrolling while breastfeeding

• Where does mindfulness come from?  (And why it’s not simply a trend)

• Strategies for moving away from being hyperfocused on how much milk you can pump and towards an approach that supports your efforts and goals

• A story that highlights just how valuable support, encouragement, and a regulated nervous system is to successful breastfeeding experiences

To find out more:

You can find Victoria at tenderlovinglatch.com

Sign up for her emails at http://eepurl.com/iK9zlA for news and opportunities (including when she releases her online courses, Holistic Approaches to Maximizing Your Milk Supply

Victoria is also doing a period product drive right now until December 22nd with Birchway Niagara Women’s shelter. Donations can be brought to Our Village Parent Group in Port Colborne, Niagara, Ontario on Wednesdays or reach out to Victoria for other arrangements to donate. 

Looking for more?  What you can do next:

1. Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!

2. ⁠Sign up for weekly baby sleep emails.⁠ (https://heatherboyd.activehosted.com/f/1)

3. ⁠Work with me⁠ in the Confident & Connected Baby Sleep group program or one-on-one. (https://familysleep.ca/contact)

Credits:

🎵 Music: Jordan Wood

🎙️Podcast coach: Min Sukree

In this episode, Heather answers real questions from tired parents looking for solutions.

We cover two questions about independent sleep:

1. How do I stop holding my 15 month old’s hand for her to fall asleep?

2. How do I help my 3 and 5 year old fall asleep independently?

To answer these questions, Heather describes sleep support strategies that respect your baby’s need for safety and security, stage of development, and temperament.

Listen in to hear how the Loved to Sleep method can help you change how a 15 month old falls asleep, and what the Boomerang Method and Bridging to the Next Connection can do to support your preschooler’s sleep.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Andrea Strang and Jen Verela's Loved to Sleep https://lovedtosleep.com/

• Gordon Neufeld’s Roots of Attachment neufeldinstitute.org

• Lyndsay Hookway's Holistic Sleep Coach lyndsayhookway.com

Do you have a question you want answered on the podcast?

• Leave a text or voice note for Heather in Whatsapp at 905-749-8254 and I may use your question on a future episode.

What you can do next:

• Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!

• Download the Baby Sleep Connection Podcast Listener Guide at www.familysleep.ca/links

• ⁠Work with Heather⁠ inside the Confident & Connected Baby Sleep group program or one-on-one.

• Find links to the podcast at familysleep.ca/podcast

Credits:

Credits:🎵 Music: Jordan Wood

Let’s talk about the 4-month sleep regression: what it is, what it’s not, and how to manage it.

In this episode, Heather Boyd, occupational therapist and sleep coach, explores what’s happening at the 4-month mark and how to move past the worry and fear about this stage of your baby’s development.

You’ll learn:

• An alternative perspective on the entire idea of a 4-month sleep “regression

• What’s happening in your baby’s brain and body at 4 months

• Why sleep is sensitive at this stage

• What makes this stage difficult for some babies

• 4 strategies for supporting your 4 month old baby

• That if sleep is difficult, it doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong 

 Mentioned in this episode:

• Parent Self-Care resource https://heatherboyd.vipmembervault.com/products/courses/view/1090681

• Baby Sleep Mini Course (50% off in June 2025 with the code JUNEBUG): https://familysleep.ca/baby-sleep-course

What you can do next:

• Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!

• Download the Baby Sleep Connection Podcast Listener Guide at www.familysleep.ca/links

• ⁠Work with Heather⁠ inside the Confident & Connected Baby Sleep group program or one-on-one.

• Find previous episodes of the podcast at infantsleep.ca/podcast

Credits:🎵 Music: Jordan Wood

In February, I had the pleasure of speaking at Sleeposium 2025, an annual international conference for sleep professionals. I spoke about the importance of taking a STRENGTH-based approach when working with families.

When families are seeking help around sleep, it’s not because things are going well –there are often some pretty big challenges and some significant hurdles.   Parents feel exhausted and defeated.  And it can feel like NOTHING is going well.

Buried under all the challenges, however, are strengths that can help us support your baby’s sleep and help them reach their potential.

It’s so important to look for the strengths!

Listen in as I share why a strength-based approach is key to getting the support you need.

What you can do next:

• Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!

• Don’t miss the next episode of The Baby Sleep Connection: ⁠Sign up for weekly baby sleep emails (which includes a heads up when a new podcast episode is released

• ⁠Work with Heather⁠ inside the Confident & Connected Baby Sleep group program or one-on-one.

• Find previous episodes of the podcast at infantsleep.ca/podcast

Credits:

🎵 Music: Jordan Wood

Heather is joined today by Helen Thompson, Tasmania-based infant massage instructor with over 3 decades of experience working with babies, toddlers, and their families.

In this episode, Helen helps break down:

• How to be “baby-led” when doing baby massage

• What signals a baby gives so you can tune into their cues

• How a gentle massage routine can help babies relax and settle into easier sleep

• The role massage plays in building connection, bonding, and communication

• How parents benefit from infant massage

And more

Helen is host of the First Time Mum’s Chat podcast (on which Heather was a guest for episode 160) and is a huge advocate and source of support for mums navigating their parenting journey.

You can find Helen at www.mybabymassage.net, on instagram at @babymassagehelen and @firstimemumschat

What you can do next:

Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!

Don’t miss the next episode of The Baby Sleep Connection: ⁠Sign up for weekly baby sleep emails (which includes a heads up when a new podcast episode is released

⁠Work with Heather⁠ inside the Confident & Connected Baby Sleep group program or one-on-one.

Find previous episodes of the podcast at infantsleep.ca/podcast

Credits:

🎵 Music: Jordan Wood

It’s time for the Spring Forward time change!

And that means losing a precious hour of sleep at a time in your parenting where every minute of sleep feels crucial.

As much as I’d love us to be able to ditch the entire time change ritual every year, there are ways you can make this shift easier.

In this episode, I share:

• How circadian rhythm drives sleep

• 3 approaches you can take to manage the time change

• What are zeitgebers and how do they help you manage the time change

• 1 key reassuring take away that will help you feel less worried and more confident coming into the spring forward time change

Looking for more? What you can do next:

• Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!

• Don’t miss the next episode of The Baby Sleep Connection: ⁠Sign up for weekly baby sleep emails (which includes a heads up when a new podcast episode is released

• ⁠Work with me⁠ in the Confident & Connected Baby Sleep group program or one-on-one.

• Find previous episodes at infantsleep.ca/podcast

Credits:

🎵 Music: Jordan Wood

March Break is coming up.  For many families, that means travelling.

But how do you go away and not see your baby's sleep fall apart?

Listen to this episode for:

• 4 perspectives on why (and how) sleep might not tank the way you expect it to
• 3 practical strategies to tip the scales in favour of reasonable sleep AND a reasonable vacation
• 1 story of how our vacation to Mexico didn’t look like we expected, but why it worked out anyway

Looking for more?  What you can do next:

• Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!

• ⁠Sign up for weekly baby sleep emails.⁠

If you’ve ever listened to a podcast while checking email while waiting for the washer to stop so you can turn laundry over, oh, AND you’re also feeding your baby, have a listen to my interview with Lisa Carpenter.

Lisa is an anti-performance performance coach –and if you’re an overthinking multi-tasker who hasn’t considered your own needs and is attempting to be a perfect parent, you need her perspectives on dismantling the ideas we have about motherhood, busyness, and parenting.

In this interview, Lisa unpacks:

• Why BEING more doesn’t mean DOING more

• How the stories we tell ourselves (including the ones about whether we’re “good” moms) are just that: stories

• Redefining what makes a “good mom”

• The HALT acronym for supporting yourself

• The power of being present

• Why chaos can feel normal, and calm feels uncomfortable (and how to change that)

• The value of self-compassion

  
  

You can find Lisa Carpenter at lisacarpenter.ca, on her Full Frontal Living Podcast, and on Instagram at @lisacarpenterinc   

Looking to connect with Heather Boyd?  What you can do next:

• Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!

• ⁠Sign up for weekly baby sleep emails.⁠

• ⁠Work with me⁠ in the Confident & Connected Baby Sleep group program or one-on-one.

🎵 Music Credit: Jordan Wood

In this episode, Heather Boyd, mom of 3, sleep coach, and occupational therapist dives into how to reframe your baby's difficult sleep. This is a throwback to episode 4 nearly 1 year ago!

As an exhausted and overwhelmed parent, you are likely all too aware of how hard this is.

Heather guides you to reflect on:

🦋 Appreciating that your baby is doing the best they can at this particular time.

🦋 An evolutionary perspective on what babies have needed (and what your baby needs) to sleep.

🦋 Why curiosity trumps cookie-cutter approaches to sleep coaching.

🦋 How holistic approaches look at your baby's needs but not at the expense of YOUR needs.

🦋 How you can shift from searching for a problem to solve, to trusting the process.

🦋 Difficult does not mean broken.

Looking for more?  What you can do next:

1. Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!

2. Sign up for weekly baby sleep emails.⁠

3. Work with me⁠ in the Confident & Connected Baby Sleep group program or one-on-one.

Credits:

🎵 Music: Jordan Wood

There's not one "right way" to parent. Some of us are flexible, and adaptable; others of us tend to be more tied to predictability and routine. Some of us wing it, and others plan ahead. Join me in this episode to challenge your usual approach and give some thoughts to how to make things easier --regardless of your usual approach to parenting!

In this episode, I compare baking cookies with parenting and baby sleep.

Here's the short version:

1. "Gather all the ingredients" is great advice, whether you're baking or trying to get your baby to sleep.

2. When you have some experience you can go with the flow a bit more ("wing it" in the kitchen and the nursery!)

3. One dish casseroles -there are ways to keep this simple. Parenting is hard enough without complicating things.

4. Savour the batch you just baked.  When your baby reaches a milestone for sleep, celebrate!

5. Worrying about making a change? Sometimes you just have to try it.

6. The perfect cookie --and perfect sleep-- doesn't exist.

Mentioned:

Ep 27: Sleep, Rest, & Support: Are You Cheating Yourself Out of Wellness?

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0CUOTn9u1FPygMP2nxogDE?si=hQC0hPgQQ9SEkJKuWChzXw

Looking for more?  What you can do next:

• Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!

• ⁠Sign up for weekly baby sleep emails.⁠

• ⁠Work with me⁠ in the Confident & Connected Baby Sleep group program or one-on-one.

Credits:

🎵 Music: Jordan Wood

Parent coach, author, public speaker, and mom, Sarah R. Moore talks with Heather Boyd, Occupational Therapist and sleep coach about positive discipline, story teaching, and brain-based parenting.

Sit in on this interview to learn:

• What is discipline?!  And how has it been misrepresented?

• What is story teaching, and how does it support human development?

• Brain-based approaches to parenting and discipline

• How to use story teaching to help our children manage challenges

• Is there such a thing as “too late” for story teaching to help our children through challenges?

• How rewriting the script during tricky times can rewire the brain

• Are there ways to connect with our kids without slipping into reward/punishment-based parenting?

• Parenting from a place of fear and what actually motivates children and helps them thrive

• The ways taking time to connect makes parenting EASIER

• Where does the tendency to be a “controlling” parent come from?  And how do we move away from control as a “default setting”?

• Giving yourself grace and compassion as a parent

• Boundaries

• Why is this kind of parenting so hard?!

• Your history does not need to be your destiny

Sarah R. Moore is the author of "Peaceful Discipline: Story Teaching, Brain Science & Better Behavior" and founder of Dandelion Seeds Positive Parenting. As a certified Master Trainer in conscious parenting and Chairperson of the Board for the American Society for the Positive Care of Children, she’s also a public speaker, accredited parent coach, armchair neuroscientist, and most importantly, a Mama. Her work has been featured on NBC, CBS, and SiriusXM, and in countless international parenting magazines. With training in child development, trauma recovery, interpersonal neurobiology, improv comedy and play, her work supports parents and caregivers around the globe. Follow her on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest & Threads.

Mentioned in this Episode:

• The American Society for the Positive Care of Children americanspcc.org

• Sarah R Moore’s book, Peaceful Discipline: Story Teaching, Brain Science, and Better Behavior, https://dandelion-seeds.com/book/

• Dr. Marshall Rosenberg, Non-Violent Communication: A Language of Life https://www.cnvc.org/store/nonviolent-communication-a-language-of-life

Where to find Sarah R. Moore:

• Dandelion Seeds Positive Parenting https://dandelion-seeds.com/

• Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/DandelionSeedsPositiveParenting/ https://www.instagram.com/dandelionseedspositiveliving/ https://www.threads.net/@dandelionseedspositiveliving https://www.youtube.com/c/DandelionSeedsPositiveParenting/featured https://www.tiktok.com/@sarah_r_moore

Heather has been under the weather this past week, which has her reflecting on how she managed parenting responsibilities when she was sick when her kids were very young.

Listen in as we move into cold and flu season for ways to manage acute illness when sick.  Have you been sick and navigating parenting?  What helped you through?  

In this episode Heather talks about:

1. Getting comfortable with not controlling “all the things”.

2. How perfection and planning can get in the way.

3. Being sick forces us (helps us?) get priorities sorted pretty fast

4. What worrying about how we’ll manage is really about

5. Outsourcing support

6. Conserving your energy

7. What happened when Heather had the stomach flu while pregnant and caring for her toddler

8. Prioritizing Safety, Sustenance, and Self-care

Looking for more?  What you can do next:

• Explore my Black Friday sale at www.familysleep.ca/black-friday

• ⁠Work with me⁠ in the Confident & Connected Baby Sleep group program or one-on-one.

• Explore past episodes at www.infantsleep.ca/podcast

Credit:

🎵 Music: Jordan Wood

Heather Boyd, occupational therapist and mom of three, runs through 6 questions she recommends you ask yourself when your baby's sleep is going through a sticky stage. So often, there's an easier way within reach, and these 6 questions can help you find it.

If sleep is tricky, ask yourself the following 4 questions:

1. What works best for helping my baby fall asleep?  

2. Am I resisting what works best because I’m trying to follow someone else’s “rules” about how to help my baby sleep?

3. What cues are my baby giving that let me know they are tired?

4. What happens if I start helping them to sleep a little bit earlier?  A little bit later?

5. What is my state of mind as I am helping my baby to sleep?

6. How hard am I working to get sleep for my baby?

Listen in on how to use these six questions to move things forward WITHOUT compromising your wellness and your connection with your baby.

Looking for more?  What you can do next:

1. Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!

2. Sign up for weekly baby sleep emails⁠. (https://heatherboyd.activehosted.com/f/1)

3. ⁠Book a call to talk about working together. (familysleep.ca/contact)

Credit:

🎵 Music: Jordan Wood

If there was one theme in my practice in the past year, it was night weaning and how to do it with respect, reason, and responsiveness.  So today’s episode is right on the mark.

My colleague and friend, Kim Hawley, IBCLC and Holistic Sleep Coach, shares perspectives and guidance on night feeding and weaning, and its relationship to sleep.

Kim Hawley, MA, MPH, IBCLC is a Holistic Sleep Coach, Lactation Consultant, Peaceful Parenting Educator, mom, and the host of The Responsive Family Sleep Podcast. She helps tired parents bring together developmental knowledge, sleep science, and their intuition to improve family sleep. Her specialty is holistic, responsive sleep support for babies, toddlers, and nursing families. Kim lives in Capitol Hill, Washington DC with her husband, 2 kids, guide dog, and cat. She loves running, listening to audio books, coffee, chocolate, and wine.

Listen for:

• 2 questions Kim wants parents to ask themselves when considering night weaning

• What age may be easier to night wean (you might be surprised!)

• What age tends not to be easy!

• Feeding is more than calories

• How the sensory system, nervous system regulation, and temperament play roles in night weaning

• Perspectives on how much of a gamble to put on night weaning helping sleep

• The fear Kim and I are seeing from parents about big feelings from your toddler

• Setting loving limits

• Kim’s favourite picture books about night weaning

• Strategies for setting the stage for night weaning

Mentioned in this episode:

• Research on the parent experience of weaning a toddler (covered in Heather’s blog, https://familysleep.ca/blog/nightweaning)

Where you can find Kim:

• Website: https://intuitiveparentingdc.com/

• The Responsive Family Sleep Podcast: https://intuitiveparentingdc.com/podcast

• https://www.instagram.com/intuitive_parenting_dc/

• https://www.facebook.com/intuitiveparentingdc

What you can do next:

 Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!

 Download the Baby Sleep Connection Podcast Listener Guide at www.familysleep.ca/podcast

 ⁠Work with Heather⁠ inside the Confident & Connected Baby Sleep group program or one-on-one.

 Find previous episodes of the podcast at familysleep.ca/podcast

 Stay tuned for a collaborative project Kim and I are working on!

Credits:🎵 Music: Jordan Wood

Wondering if your newborn’s sleep is normal?

In this episode, Heather Boyd, occupational therapist and sleep coach, breaks down what to expect in the first few months of sleep development.

Listen in to hear:

• What sleep looks like in the first few months

• What movements, sounds, and behaviours you’ll see in your newborn when they are sleeping

• What reflexes, breathing patterns, and movement patterns you’ll see from your newborn

• When sleep cycles and consolidated night time sleep start to develop, and what you can do to help

• The role that routines play in supporting your baby’s sleep

• Your role in supporting newborn sleep

Mentioned in this episode:

• Baby Tired Cues resource (and resources from other episodes) https://heatherboyd.vipmembervault.com/products/units/view/1654580/?lesson=2922858

What you can do next:

• Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!

• Download the Baby Sleep Connection Podcast Listener Guide at www.familysleep.ca/links

• ⁠Work with Heather⁠ inside the Confident & Connected Baby Sleep group program or one-on-one.

• Find previous episodes of the podcast at infantsleep.ca/podcast

Credits:🎵 Music: Jordan Wood

Heather explores the pressure she felt as a new mom to “measure up” and be “attachment-based enough”.  This pressure to be good enough is a theme that comes up often in her one-on-one and sleep group work.

In this episode, Heather explores:

• “Attachment Parenting” and the 7 B’s

• Why checklist parenting undermines what is truly important to you (and what to focus on instead)

• The freedom in knowing that not every moment is perfect

• The questions parents ask about whether what they are doing is attachment-based enough or if what they are doing is actually sleep training

• The value of knowing what’s most important to you so that decisions are easier

• Looking ahead at where you want your parenting to steer your family

• Appreciating that you are in a season of parenting right now that requires some compromise 

Mentioned in this episode:

• Scott Noelle Scott Noelle - Author & Life Coach

• Dr. and Martha Sears, The Baby Book and the 7 B’s

What you can do next:

• Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!

• Download the Baby Sleep Connection Podcast Listener Guide at www.familysleep.ca/links

• ⁠Work with Heather⁠ inside the Confident & Connected Baby Sleep group program or one-on-one.

• Find previous episodes of the podcast at infantsleep.ca/podcast

Credits:

🎵 Music: Jordan Wood

Baby wearing (carrying a baby on your body using a sling, wrap, or fabric carrier) is a popular and useful way of keeping baby close, and keeping a caregiver’s hands free.  

In this episode, Heather talks with Jordan Morillo, maternal health occupational therapist, mom of one, and babywearing educator about the benefits and barriers to baby wearing.  Jordan became inspired to start The Babywearing OT when she saw gaps in the perinatal care continuum after giving birth to her son.

Her evidence-based wisdom and passion for sharing information on the safety, merits, options and strategies for baby wearing leaves little doubt: babywearing is not a fad, but is a long-term helpful strategy that, with the right knowledge, can be done safely and easily.

When Jordan’s not working, you can find her caring for her plants, exploring local restaurants and boba tea shops, and spending afternoons on the couch, nap trapped.

Where to find Jordan:

Website: motherhoodtherapyservices.com 

IG: motherhoodtherapyservices.com

What you can do next:

• Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!

• Download the Baby Sleep Connection Podcast Listener Guide at www.familysleep.ca/links

• ⁠Work with Heather⁠ inside the Confident & Connected Baby Sleep group program or one-on-one.

• Find previous episodes of the podcast at infantsleep.ca/podcast

Credits:

🎵 Music: Jordan Wood

In May, communities across Canada come together for Flora’s Walk to increase awareness of maternal mental health and raise funds for community agencies who support mothers in the perinatal period. 

In this episode, Heather explores:

• The statistics around prevalence of mental illness in mothers and fathers in the perinatal period

• Common signs of Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorders

• 5 Strategies for supporting maternal mental health

• The roles that sleep and community play in supporting maternal mental health 

Don’t miss this important episode.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Lifewithababy.com

• Postnatal Support International postpartum.net

What you can do next:

• Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!

• Download the Baby Sleep Connection Podcast Listener Guide at www.familysleep.ca/links

• ⁠Work with Heather⁠ inside the Confident & Connected Baby Sleep group program or one-on-one.

• Find previous episodes of the podcast at infantsleep.ca/podcast

Credits:

🎵 Music: Jordan Wood

If you’re feeling frustrated or discouraged by your baby’s sleep, you’re not alone.  There’s really no way to fully appreciate how exhausted you’ll be as a parent, even if you’ve been told you’re going to be tired and your baby will wake up often.

In this episode, Heather breaks down 3 shifts you can make so that your baby’s sleep is easier and less draining starting right now.

So often in our search for solutions to sleep problems, we focus on fixing what isn’t broken, and we struggle to shift our expectations around what we think our baby's sleep looks like.  We also tend to latch onto what has worked for other families, instead of looking at what our unique babies need from us (and what we’re capable and willing to do).

The 3 tips in this episode won’t address underlying sleep disorders (that’s an episode of its own!).  What it will do is give you a foundation for what you can shift TODAY so that you are losing less energy trying to make sleep look a certain way.

Mentioned in this episode:

• The Infant Development Circle -get on the waitlist for September 2025 at www.familysleep.ca/infant-development-circle

What you can do next:

• Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!

• Download the Baby Sleep Connection Podcast Listener Guide at www.familysleep.ca/links

• ⁠Work with Heather⁠ inside the Confident & Connected Baby Sleep group program or one-on-one.

• Find previous episodes of the podcast at infantsleep.ca/podcast

Credits:

🎵 Music: Jordan Wood

Corrie Rose is a Kinder Musik educator in Niagara Ontario and studio owner of Kinder Musik with Miss Corrie.  Music is a powerful and deeply engrained medium for learning, connection, and regulation.  Kinder Musik is a specific program that uses instruments, stories, and movement activities to support early development.

In this episode we explore

• The benefits of music for mental health, regulation, and connection

• Corrie’s unexpected path from pharmacy assistant to struggling student, motherhood, and Kinder Musik educator

• What to expect in a Kinder Musik class

• How play and discovery are a part of the routine and rhythm of a Kinder Musik class

• Music, emotions, and healing

• Why being able to sing or play an instrument is NOT a prerequisite to using music to support your baby’s development

Where to find Miss Corrie:

Website: www.kindermusikwithmisscorrie.com

FB: https://www.facebook.com/KindermusikWithMissCorrie

IG: kindermusikwithmisscorrie

What you can do next:

• Subscribe to this podcast and share it with a friend!

• Don’t miss the next episode of The Baby Sleep Connection: ⁠Sign up for weekly baby sleep emails (which includes a heads up when a new podcast episode is released)

• ⁠Work with Heather⁠ inside the Confident & Connected Baby Sleep group program or one-on-one.

• Find previous episodes of the podcast at infantsleep.ca/podcast

Credits: 🎵 Music Credit: Jordan Wood

Naps can be a huge stress for parents.  

You might be asking yourself:

What time should naps be?  How long should they be?  How do you drop a nap?  And what on earth do you do if your baby falls asleep at 5pm?  What will happen to bedtime?!

In this episode, Heather shares strategies on managing the messy middle of changing naps to support night time sleep.

Have a listen to explore:

• How to distribute naps over the day to land at a reasonable bedtime

• How to be flexible with nap length to manage a decent bedtime

• When to consider capping a nap

• How rest time, nature, and water can support a skipped nap

• Strategies for managing surprisingly early or late bedtimes, late naps, and no naps

Mentioned in this episode:

• Heather’s Podcast Listener Guide is available at www.familysleep.ca/links

• Episode #14: How to drop naps.  https://open.spotify.com/episode/2q4dg8MB4YCufyxUTgokSn

 🎵 Music Credit: Jordan Wood