The Responsive Family Sleep Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

We tend to think of baby and parent as separate beings, separate nervous systems. And yet in so many ways they are part of an inter-connected, inter-dependent system.

In this episode I’m talking with Meaghan Beames, an experienced Registered Massage Therapist, CST practitioner, mom, and the founder of the Beames CST Training Center. Our discussion focuses on regulation, coregulation, and the parent baby nervous system. While we do talk about the role of body work in supporting parent baby functioning and regulation, our conversation goes beyond the body work piece for a more comprehensive conversation about parent baby regulation. 

We discuss:

• What is polyvagal theory
• The interconnectedness of parent baby nervous systems
• Baby’s need for coregulation
• How the pregnancy and birth experience impact the body
• How bodywork can support regulation and better functioning
• Emotions, physical symptoms, and the body’s stored memory of our experiences.
• Ways to support regulation and coregulation

This was a really great and insightful conversation. I’d love to hear your biggest takeaways.

About Meaghan

Meaghan founded the Beames CST Training Centre, offering tailored global learning for health professionals. Her mission is to ensure every family in North America has access to qualified craniosacral therapists to help their babies cope with colic, latching issues, and all the growing pains that can make life with a newborn harder than it needs to be.

In 5 years, she's treated 700+ babies, taught more than 100 health professionals CST, and built a thriving practice in Toronto with multiple practitioners working under her. Her knowledge goes beyond just the practical applications of bodywork and spreads out into being a leader and growing a business.

She's also the host of The My Baby Craniosacral Podcast.

Connect with Meaghan
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mybabycst/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beamescst/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beamescst/
Website: https://mybabycst.com/
Website: www.beamescst.com

Connect with Kim
Grab a free sleep myth busting guide and learn more about working with Kim: https://intuitiveparentingdc.com/
Instagram: instagram.com/intuitive_parenting_dc
Facebook:  facebook.com/intuitiveparentingdc

What is normal for newborn sleep? How can parents have more realistic expectations?

Our culture is full of unrealistic expectations about baby sleep and it creates so much stress, worry, and anxiety. This episode starts a short series I’ll be weaving through my other episodes over the next few months on realistic expectations by age. In this episode, I’m focusing on some important points about newborn sleep and just how immature and ever changing their sleep is during this phase.

Resources related to this episode
How to think through a family sleep plan in the 4 th trimester:
https://intuitiveparentingdc.com/blog/2023/11/30/4pkldijw88upqr7xe2w56a01wruqn5

What is normal newborn sleep: https://intuitiveparentingdc.com/blog/2021/3/30/normal-newborn-sleep-whats-going-on-in-the-4th-trimester

Realistic expectations by age: https://intuitiveparentingdc.com/blog/2018/7/6/developmentally-appropriate-sleep-expectations-birth-to-age-5

Connect with Kim
Grab a free sleep myth busting guide and learn more about working with Kim: https://intuitiveparentingdc.com/
Instagram: instagram.com/intuitive_parenting_dc
Facebook:  facebook.com/intuitiveparentingdc

New parent sleep and mental health can be such a tricky topic, with so many blanket statements thrown around. In this episode I’m joined by Dr. Emma Basch, licensed clinical psychologist, for a wide-ranging and nuanced conversation about postpartum mental health.

A few of the many things we discussed include:

• Most people struggle with the transition to parenthood, and what some signs are that you should seek some additional support.
• Protecting a parent’s sleep through mental health struggles is complex and nuanced, and we don’t need to put baby and parent needs in opposition to each other.
• Sleep and mental health have a bidirectional relationship and we need to look at that relationship from both sides.
• Informed decision making is key, and there is no one right way to do anything in parenting.
• There is so much information overload affecting how we figure out our values.

This conversation was hard to sum up, and also so wonderful to have. I hope you enjoy listening to it. I’d love to hear what stands out to you.

About Emma
Dr. Emma Basch is a licensed clinical psychologist based in Washington, DC. She is the founder and director of Dr. Emma Basch & Associates, a group practice specializing in women’s mental health with a focus on perinatal and reproductive mental health. Dr. Basch serves as the Vice President of the DC
Metro Perinatal Mental Health Collaborative and is a founding board member of the Washington DC Chapter of Postpartum Support International.

She is also a Clinical Instructor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at George Washington University. She is a frequent speaker and teacher on topics
related to reproductive mental health, and her writing on the topic has been featured in Washington Parent Magazine, Scary Mommy, and other media outlets. She is a proud native Washingtonian and a parent to two incredible children.

Connect with Emma
Website: www.dremmabasch.com
All socials are at: @dremmabasch

Connect with Kim
Grab a free sleep myth busting guide and learn more about working with Kim:
https://intuitiveparentingdc.com/
Instagram: instagram.com/intuitive_parenting_dc
Facebook:  facebook.com/intuitiveparentingdc

As the sun sets earlier we use a lot more artificial light in the evening. In this episode I’m walking you through what to consider when it comes to light sources as you move through your evening, why it matters, and what some tricky places are in your home. Let’s do a light check before the sun sets any earlier.

Resources related to this episode
You may find these earlier episodes helpful.
Sleep biology: https://intuitiveparentingdc.com/podcast/2024/2/1/how-to-work-with-your-babys-sleep-biology

Circadian rhythm: https://intuitiveparentingdc.com/podcast/2024/3/28/how-to-support-a-healthy-circadian-rhythm-for-you-and-your-baby-with-nikko

Connect with Kim
Grab a free sleep myth busting guide and learn more about working with Kim:
https://intuitiveparentingdc.com/
Instagram: instagram.com/intuitive_parenting_dc
Facebook:  facebook.com/intuitiveparentingdc

Parenting is hard sometimes, and it’s natural to feel overwhelmed or triggered by hard parenting moments. In this episode I’m joined by Sheena Hill, a Responsive Parenting Coach, to talk all about parenting triggers. We discuss common triggers and why they are more or less likely to happen based on how well we are meeting our own needs, temperament, and neurodivergent brains. We talk about how our own early experiences and attachment needs being met or not met can shape our responses and triggers in parenting. Sheena shares with us 3 regulation strategies to try, and maybe more importantly the context for how to have the most success building your regulation toolbox.

About Sheena
Sheena Hill is a trauma-informed, neurobiologically-focused responsive parenting coach in private practice at Parenting Works. She works with families around the world, providing education and support for parents and professionals who seek to move beyond rewards and consequences to deepen their understanding of development and attachment while masterfully applying concrete skills in emotional intelligence, limit setting, and using play therapeutically. She lives in Baltimore with her spouse, 3 children, and a growing menagerie of pets (including 5 axolotls).

Connect with Sheena
Website: https://www.sheenahill.com/

Connect with Kim
Grab a free sleep myth busting guide and learn more about working with Kim:
https://intuitiveparentingdc.com/
Instagram: instagram.com/intuitive_parenting_dc
Facebook:  facebook.com/intuitiveparentingdc

Should I ever wake a sleeping baby? Doesn’t sleep beget more sleep? There’s such a widely held belief that more sleep is always better and so we should never wake babies, and yet that’s not really true. If letting your baby sleep however they sleep is working for you, that’s great – keep doing it. But if you are struggling with your baby’s overall sleep pattern, have other kids, or a schedule that requires you to wake your baby sometimes, know that it is ok to wake a baby – and even sometimes beneficial. In this episode I’m debunking the myth to never wake a sleeping baby and talking about times when you might want or need to wake them up both for practical, logistical reasons or as part of working to improve sleep.

Resources related to this episode
You may also want to listen to my episode on sleep begets sleep from earlier this year:
https://intuitiveparentingdc.com/podcast/2024/7/4/does-sleep-beget-sleep

Connect with Kim
Grab a free sleep myth busting guide and learn more about working with Kim:
https://intuitiveparentingdc.com/
Instagram: instagram.com/intuitive_parenting_dc
Facebook:  facebook.com/intuitiveparentingdc

About Austin
Austin Rees (she/her) is a mother to four children and has been engaged in the health field for 25 years. She is a Licensed Massage Therapist, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, and Craniosacral Therapy Practitioner. She is the founder of Nourish and Align, providing craniosacral therapy for all stages in life; using an individualized approach for each client and family. Austin specializes in optimizing infant oral function though bodywork. She provides guidance to caregivers on how to comfortably feed their baby, reduce crying, understand sleep, increase their baby’s immunity, foster parent and baby’s confidence, and nurture their baby’s intelligence.

Connect with Austin
website: https://www.nourishandalign.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/nourish.align
FB: https://www.facebook.com/Nourish.Align

Resources related to this episode
Check out my podcast episode on body work with Austin earlier this year:
https://intuitiveparentingdc.com/podcast/2024/2/22/how-can-bodywork-support-your-baby-with-austin

Connect with Kim
Grab a free sleep myth busting guide and learn more about working with Kim:
https://intuitiveparentingdc.com/
Instagram: instagram.com/intuitive_parenting_dc
Facebook:  facebook.com/intuitiveparentingdc

Almost every parent I know wants more sleep. Society and the sleep consulting industry tells us that the answer to that need is to change the baby’s sleep. While working to improve and optimize our little’s sleep is one way to get more sleep, we tend to overlook that there are almost always ways to support parent sleep without changing baby sleep. In this episode I’m sharing some simple ways to better support your sleep by examining your own habits, patterns, and sleep hygiene. When you support better sleep from all fronts you are more likely to feel better rested.

Connect with Kim
Grab a free sleep myth busting guide and learn more about working with Kim:
https://intuitiveparentingdc.com/
Instagram: instagram.com/intuitive_parenting_dc
Facebook:  facebook.com/intuitiveparentingdc

Learning how to set limits can be hard for many parents. I see so many parents struggle with this as their baby transitions from infant to toddler. In this episode, I’m joined by Sarah Rosensweet, a Peaceful Parenting Coach who has had a big impact on my own parenting journey. Our conversation focuses on setting limits – both the how to but also the important context around limits. We talk about connection, welcoming emotions, and when to be flexible.

We discuss how to be playful in limit setting, figure out the right supports your kid needs to meet your expectation, and also when to recognize that your limit isn’t realistic for your child in this phase. We also get to benefit from the long term view of Sarah as a parent who’s kids are late teens and early 20s – so much of responsive parenting is the long term, and I
hope you love hearing this perspective from her.

About Sarah Rosensweet
Sarah Rosensweet is a certified peaceful parenting coach, speaker, and educator and the founder of Reimagine Peaceful Parenting. She lives in Toronto with her husband and her 17 year old daughter. Her 20 and 23 year old sons have launched. Peaceful parenting is a non-punitive, connection-based approach that uses firm limits with lots of empathy. Sarah works one-on-one virtually with parents all over the world to help them go from frustrated and overwhelmed to, “We’ve got this!”

Read more at: www.reimaginepeacefulparenting.com  or listen to her top-rated parenting podcast, The Peaceful Parenting Podcast, wherever you get your podcasts!

Connect with Sarah
Website: https://reimaginepeacefulparenting.com/
IG: @sarahrosensweet

Connect with Kim
Grab a free sleep myth busting guide and learn more about working with Kim:
https://intuitiveparentingdc.com/
Instagram: instagram.com/intuitive_parenting_dc
Facebook:  facebook.com/intuitiveparentingdc

Bedtime is a tricky time for babies and toddlers and also for us parents. After a long day, your cope is likely low and you are ready for some down time. If bedtimes have been a struggle lately, then you are likely anticipating a frustrating experience.

In this episode I’m sharing some tips to help you reset your mindset and emotional capacity headed into bedtime. I’m also explaining how your mindset can be a contributing factor to how bedtime unfolds.

Resources related to this episode
Check out my blog post on what to do when you are dreading bedtimes:
https://intuitiveparentingdc.com/blog/dreading-bedtime

Connect with Kim
Grab a free sleep myth busting guide and learn more about working with Kim:
https://intuitiveparentingdc.com/
Instagram: instagram.com/intuitive_parenting_dc
Facebook:  facebook.com/intuitiveparentingdc