“Is your baby sleeping okay?” is probably the #1 question new parents get when they bring a new child into the world. And of course it is! Sleep is essential. But it is also a hot topic, and there are many opinions about how to do it “right”.
Today’s guest on #thesoftfocus is Brittany Chambers, and she has a lot to say about the natural, biological rhythms of infant sleep. Brittany is an Infant and Family Sleep Specialist, on a mission to help parents return to their intuition and connect more with their babies. She shares some keen insights about why you can stop trying to manipulate baby sleep (at all), how she embodies a family-centered way of living, and the joys of raising babies from a “foundation of safety”.
If you’re a new parent, looking to become a parent, or know someone who is, be sure to check out Brittany’s wisdom. And of course, share it with someone who you know would enjoy it.
Corinne and Britt discuss:
- How Britt’s experience being sleep trained herself translated into a passion for sleep education decades later
- The perils of late-night Google searching in the throes of parenting strife
- Reconnecting with intuition around sleep and parenting in general
- The history of “sleep training”— why is it mainstream
- Why some believe cosleeping is not only suboptimal, but even harmful
- The science behind bed-sharing in infants and resilience
- The Nurture Revolution
- Responsiveness day and night as supportive for brain development
- What Britt refers to as a “foundation of safety”
- Discernible differences Britt’s clients are seeing with children being raised with and without sleep training
- Getting trapped in parenting as a “labor of love”
- Why you don’t need to manipulate your baby’s sleep
- Helping our children learn to trust their bodies
- Britt’s emphasis on normalizing contact sleeping, and stop pathologizing infant sleep
- Why women are so scared of advocating for ourselves and our babies
- Counteracting the tendency towards the martyr complex
- Dr Sophie Brock and the Perfect Mother Myth
- The way women’s brains are wired to caretake infants in groups
- How living in a “village-less” culture contributes to the prevalence of sleep training
- Britt’s personal rhythms of living and working with her small children
- How Britt supports women returning to work and wanting to integrate children into their careers
- Embodying a family-centered way of living, and why that paradigm shift matters
- Integrating children into our daily lives
- Hunt, Gather, Parent
- When couples need to come together and get on the same page about sleep
- The importance of learning your baby’s cues
- Serve and Return
- Britt’s work with parents 1 on 1, and her group Cuddle Crew
- The critical importance of nervous system work for mothers
- Connect with Britt at goodnightmoonchild.com and on IG @goodnightmoonchild
This episode was brought to you by Late Bloomer Ranch. Be sure to check our farm-raised yarn, flower essences, and BloomBoxes available to ship in the continental USA.
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See you next time.
