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Do you and your Partner Feel like Bedtime is a chaotic “Divide and Conquer” battle?
In this video I am doing "hot seat coaching" for Gina C. in a classic situation where bedtime is a battle and she and her partner have to "divide and conquer" especially now that they have a new baby at home!
Gina’s 3 year old boy transitioned to the big-boy bed and consequently, there has been sleep drama ever since. The situation is leaving both mom and dad utterly exhausted, especially since they also have a newborn!
Being held "for just a little bit"
Tantrums
Crying
Carrying back to bed after he falls asleep
Waking up to "potty"
Falling asleep in the recliner
New baby at home
Nap refusal
Transition to big boy bed
Self Doubt- Questioning parental skills
Gina is asking "Will this ever end?" I am here to bring insight and clarity to a path forward to help her son achieve beautiful, blissful sleep!
I am so happy that Gina reached out for help. If you are thinking these same thoughts, don't grin and bear it. Sleep is a learned skill and we can create the right environment for any child.
Are you struggling with your child's sleep? Are you interested in an alternative to cry it out methods?
The first step to see if I can help you achieve beautiful, blissful sleep is to schedule a 60 minute ZOOM sleep strategy session. Go to this link and complete the contact me form and I will be in touch within 24 hours with directions on how to schedule your Sleep Strategy Session.
If you are still wondering if I can help, please know I do NOT advocate 'cry-it-out'. I am a Gentle Sleep Coach. If you want to learn about my guilt-free and gentle process, please go to these links.
The Blissful Baby Stairway to Sleep
Please join my Sleep is Bliss Tribe in Facebook,Instagram andLinkedIn so we can stay connected and you can continue to get amazing resources on sleep and family wellness.Sleep is Bliss, Let's Get you more!
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Hello? Hello, this is Joanna with Blissful Baby Sleep Coaching, and I'm going live today to do some hot seat coaching. I love doing this you guys. So I am super excited to do the hot seat coaching today for Gina SI from Texas. And she has a three-year-old son who has recently moved to the big boy bed in may. And ever since the transition has taken place,
it's been really challenging and Gina also has a newborn. So what I'm going to do for this hot seat coaching is Gina has filled out the, get your life back and all starts with sleep hot seat coaching forms. So she's given me a lot of details that I want to share with you so that you guys kind of have the full picture of her situation.
And then what I'm going to kind of go back and do and give her some recommendations and suggestions. So Gina, if you are here, you know, feel free to post a comment. So I know you're here as I move through this, I might be asking for some validation from you, like is, you know, am I getting these facts right?
Or does this sound like what you think is happening? Because it's kind of nice to have the, the back and forth in these hot seat. Coachings. If you're not here, it's not a problem because this will remain on Facebook live and I'll also be sending it out on email so that you can go back and watch the video. And if any of you are here and this,
and you can relate to what's going on, then obviously definitely chime in on that. Okay. So I'm going to jump right in here and I'm going to give you guys the backstory so that you know, what is happening with Gina. Okay. So recall she is a three-year-old boy and she said, and who just moved to the big boy bed in may.
So it's only been a couple of months. She says the bedtime or takes the bedtime routine, takes one to two hours. Her son will request to use the potty two or more times. He requests a sip of water or milk and, or a pat on the back, or he wants to have quiet time while dad sits in the rocking chair. Oftentimes he'll request to be held in dad arms for just a little bit,
which she's put that in quotes, which I think is great. Cause right, these two year olds there's three year olds can be so cute with their requests. She says, okay, depending on the night, one or two things that occurs after that, either the child will tantrum and cry or dad will eventually tire and carrying him to recliner in the living room until they both fall asleep,
dad will then carry him back to the room and place him in his bed fully asleep. Okay. So this is what's happening at bedtime. Now I also asked her, well, what happens in the middle of the night? And she said, okay. And the middle of the night, our son will walk into our bedroom, wake up, dad asked to go potty and then wants to be held again.
So whatever notably happens, his dad and her son will fall asleep in the recliner, in the living room. And then the child will be carried back to his bed. So you guys remember that they also have a newborn in the house. So we've kind of got one of those, you know, classic situations where it's like divide and conquer. Right.
So probably mom is with the newborn and dad is like, okay, I'm in charge of the three-year-old. Okay. She's also having issues with naps. Okay. And he says, because he transitioned to a twin bed in may, he will either play or refuse to nap. So on top of all the other things happening at bedtime in the middle of night,
now she has a three-year-old that doesn't want to nap during the day. Which of course we can all have extreme empathy for Eugena because you're no one in your households getting a break. You've got a three-year-old boy awake all day and having broken sleep at night. I am so, so sorry. And I'm here to help you today. Okay. I asked her how,
how, how do you feel, how do you feel professionally, personally, emotionally and physically. And she said his regression and his sleep schedule has left us both mom and dad utterly exhausted, especially since we're tending to the newborn. We do not see any light at the end of the tunnel. Excuse me. We do not see any light at the end of the tunnel.
And it really truly has this question about parental skills. So, you know what I want to say this for any of you listening now or those listen later, one of the hardest things about being a parent is we're constantly confronted with our own self doubt and self doubt can just be dilapidating. It can just be really emotionally exhausting because you're always second guessing yourself.
You're always wondering if there's a better way. You're always feeling guilty about whether or not you're doing it good or bad. So I, I definitely understand this dilemma that you're, you're questioning your parenting skills and when issues start happening with sleep, it is very common because we're already a little bit emotional, fragile from our, you know, lack of sleep and broken sleep,
you know? Cause we all know we get a more emotionally fragile when we are low on sleep. Then of course it brings this parental self-doubt right to the forefront. And so I just want you to know that it's not, that you're not a good mom or that you're not, you know, doing the, making the right choices in your parenting or that you need to up your game with your parenting skills.
It's more like the situation where you guys are all sleep deprived and it's confusing and you've probably tried lots of things and they haven't worked has now led you to this kind of avalanche of self doubt. It's not that your parental skills are non-existent okay. So I just want to kind of offer you some perspective and some encouragement there. So you don't keep beating yourself up because that's not going to help us here.
We need to go into this with recognizing that sleep is a learned skill and that we can absolutely solve this and that you have the potential you and your husband to work as a team to get sleep back on track. All right. So I asked her, what are the, what are some of the other crazy things going on in your head when you're thinking about this situation?
And she said, will this ever end, like, are we ever going to solve this? And she's wondering, is this just a typical three-year-old thing and he'll outgrow it? Or, or, or is this like the new normal, very important questions to ask because we don't want this to be the new normal. And so that's why I'm so happy that Gina is reaching out for help now,
and that she's not letting this situation continue and go into a state of, well, I guess I have a bad sleeper or well, I'll deal with it later. He'll grow out of it. Please, please, please. Any of you out there that are thinking those same thoughts, stop right. Alert. If you're having those thoughts, like, oh,
maybe my kid's just a bad sleeper or he'll, you know what, I'll just deal with it. He'll grow out of it. Anyone having those thoughts please stop. That is not the truth. Okay. Like I said, a couple of minutes ago, sleep is a learned skill and we can create the right atmosphere and the right environment for any child,
no matter what age and stage they're at to learn the skills of sleep. So this is not something to grunt, you know, to just grin and bear it. This is not something to just give up and go. I, you know, whatever, I guess I'll just deal with it. No, we can absolutely move forward with a resolution and have everybody sleeping because we want that.
We want that for your child for healthy growth and development. And we want that for you from a parenting point of view so that you can be at your, at your very best while you're on this parenting journey. Okay. So, so her big question is, okay, how do we get this routine down to 30 minutes or less without a tantrum and with overall good participation with the three-year-old.
So we will discuss that. And then she said, okay, and if all this happened, if you were able to help me with this, how would life feel? And she said, life would be more enjoyable. And I, instead of us driving both bath time and bedtime, which of course you guys, there's nothing worse than dreading the bedtime routine because sometimes that dreads starts hitting you at like 11:00 AM.
It doesn't even hit you at five. It's like creeping up on you all day long. And I don't want you to drive bedtime. I want you to feel like you've got, you've got bedtime, like a beautiful routine that you can rely on and depend on. And the bedtime can be a time with, you know, that runs smooth and where your child feels emotionally connected and versa.
Okay. So that is the backstory going on with Gina. So now let's talk about what's going on here and then we'll talk about where to solve it. All right. So first of all, let me give you guys plenty of context. Three-year-olds big boy beds. You as a, probably heard me say this before, but the transition to the big boy bed or the big girl bed is a massive vulnerability for sleep progression.
And in fact, I have a sleep regression guide that I'm going to put in the chat right now so that you guys can download this. And in fact, Cina, hopefully you can go grab this guide and download it instant, download free. And it reviews all the massive sleep regression reasons and gives you some specific directions on how to unravel it. But the transition to the big boy bed and the big girl bed is a massive vulnerability for sleep progression.
And the reason why is that if you don't prepare in advance for the transition, lots of shenanigans show up. And if your child had not been a great sleeper before the transition or the sleep skills were a little shaky or there were no sleep skills. And what I mean by that is if prior to the transition to the big boy bed, if your child was still dependent on anything being done to,
or for them at the onset of sleep at bedtime in order to go to sleep, or if your child, when they were still in the crib needed assistance to go back to sleep in the middle of the night, then you are already set up right from the start to have a miserable transition to the big boy bed. Okay? So remember you guys asleep crutch,
there's nothing wrong with sleep crutches. You can have them for long periods of time, but asleep crutch really is where a child needs you to do something to inform them in order to go to sleep. If that child moves from the crib to the big boy bed and still has to have a menu of things that you have to do to, and for your child in order to go to sleep or to go back to sleep,
they will carry over those requirements into the big boy bed scenario. But the problem is is that in the big boy bed scenario, it accelerates because now they have freedom to get up and to move around. And we also, you know, with three-year-olds, it is they're notorious for bedtime, stalling and requesting. And so you add the freedom, the existing sleep crutches and the,
the normal behavior of stalling and requesting, and it ends up creating kind of, you know, essentially the firestorm, which is exactly what you're living. So let's, let's talk about the, the stalling and the requesting for a second. So children that are two, three, and up until about four years of age are notorious for pushing boundaries. And they do this through requesting,
installing. It usually starts around dinner time and you can see it accelerating as you move closer and closer to trying to actually turn off the lights. They come up initially with some pretty legitimate requests, such as I need to go potty. I need another hug. You know, I need some more water. And so you're thinking to yourself, okay, you know,
that that's easy for me to do. I want to make sure I'm being attentive to my child. So I'll take the potty one more time or I'll offer them some more water or some more, you know, a cheese stick because they say they're hungry, but you ha what you have to realize about these requests is that the request typically is not about the thing they're asking for.
It's actually about engagement. Their desire is to con is to begin to stall and delay the bedtime. And so they're going to think of every sneaky way in order to delay. And every single time they ask for something and we get into a dialogue with them and we all, and we, you know, accommodate the request. They're like expanding the amount of time it takes for you to kind of execute the bedtime routine.
So the, so as it relates to this mom, like your, the bedtime problems, aren't starting at the time that dad tries to put them in the bed with a tantrum, it's probably starting at least an hour before. So we need to kind of go back in time and say to ourselves, okay, what's really happening around dinner time. Because if,
if you have to really get into a very smooth routine, that is the same every single night, right? So that you can accommodate the requests before the request comes. And that you're moving in this very sequential way, that the chin, depending on the pattern. Now I know this is hard during summer, right? We have swim lessons. We have like barbecues,
things are happening. But when you were in the middle of a sleep dilemma, like this, Gina, you're going to have to kind of go into sleep coaching mode for probably a solid two weeks. And what I mean by that is you're going to have to be home for dinner, home for bath home, for bedtime. You're going to have to really go back to the basics and,
and, and ask yourself if you're meeting your child's appropriate sleep window, especially with the fact that he has now been refusing to nap. We've got a big problem here because he's probably already going into bedtime, utterly exhausted. And instead of him being tired and crashing out, which would be the easier thing for you and your husband, he's probably really wired and tired.
And so the potential for more stalling, more requesting and definitely more tantrums is right there. It's like a spotlight. Okay. And so typically at this age, from the time a child wakes up in the morning to the time they're ready for nap, number one is typically no longer than a five to six hour interval. And then from the time they wake up from their nap to the time they're asleep at bedtime,
not getting ready to go to sleep, but literally like already asleep is typically no more than four to five hours. So what the key thing is is that you're going to probably have to go back and do some investigative work by doing some sleep logging, to really start getting a understanding how you might be missing the sleep window, both at nap, time and bedtime,
which is why it's lowering the probability for those two things to occur, especially if he is skipping his nap. Like if you're having a hard time getting nap back on track, because bedtime is so crazy, then his bedtime is going to be really early. I mean, his bedtime might be like six or six 30. And so going back to like,
you're going to go and sleep training mode, you know, this means like you're also not traveling, right? You're not having guests. You're, you're just really dedicating yourself to identifying the naptime sleep windows and the bedtime sleep windows and making sure that you have a very, very smooth transition going into bedtime because you don't want to catch him over tired or else you're just gonna leave yourself vulnerable for all of these tantrums and more delays.
The other thing we have to do is we have to address the situation at the, at, at the scene of the crime, which is kind of like when dad does bedtime routine, when we aren't being consistent in how we attend to our child, we actually create them to tantrum more. So I know dad is trying to do the best he can because he's helping you with the newborn and he's got a broken sleep himself.
But the fact that sometimes dad holds them in his arms and sometimes doesn't, and sometimes it's, you know, the, the, this kind of inconsistency on how dad decides to handle the time is probably one of the reasons why you're seeing an increase in protest, tears, and tantrums. So you're going to have to go back to you and husband, sit down and kind of come up with a very specific way that you're going to handle it,
the bedtime routine. So this kind of goes back to my trusty book that I recommend all moms have on their bookshelf, which is good. Night's sleep tight by Kim west. What I love about this book is that you do not have to read the whole book, cause I know no mother has time, but what I want both of you guys to do husband and wife is to read understanding tears,
which is like literally a page and a half, but it's going to start giving you the mindset that you need to be taking. When you go into sleep training mode, you are the coach. You were there to help your child regulate and create the right environment and circumstances for learning. You are not there to sleep, crutch them. So getting into the right mindset is like one of the most important things you can do to support your child.
The second thing I want you guys to do is I want you to specifically read the section on three-year-olds and I want you to read the section on transitioning to a big boy bed, because in that it's going to lay out a specific day-by-day step-by-step plan. And it's going to be really important that both husband and wife read the chapters and that you guys come together kind of at the dining,
you know, dining room table and have like what I call a business meeting, which is like, okay, we've both read the chapters. This is what I think might work well for our child. Look at the family calendar and decide kind of what your night one is going to be. Okay. So when you start to sleep coaching, it's not something random.
It's not something like, I need to figure this out right now, and I'm going to start it tonight, or I'm going to start it tomorrow night. It's really not like that. You have to think of sleep. Coaching is like going on a diet, right? Like when you really are serious about a weight loss journey, you are being very mindful.
Like, okay, am I going to do keto? Or am I going to do whole 30? Or am I going to be, you know, go vegan. And then you're going to, you know, evaluate your pantry in your freezer. And you're going to get your meal plans together and you're going to batch cook and you're going to plan your meals.
And you're going to alert all your friends and family that you're doing this so that everyone will support you. And you're going to give yourself a long period of time to onboard yourself with getting used to your new diet profile and your new eating habits. And then you're going to allow time for the body to adjust to it. And then eventually you're going to start seeing some weight loss over the course of time.
That's the mindset you need to go into with sleep coaching. Like this is something that you go in with very mindfully. You, you, you, you, you absolutely need to do it with the support of your partner. So it is a joint decision by husband, you know, by the two partners you plan in advance, you decide on your methodology,
you decide on your plan. You decide who the sleep coach is going to be. My recommendation is, is that whoever the sleep coach is going to be in this particular situation needs to be the same person for both bedtime and middle of the night for seven days, straight at a minimum, then you can probably consider switching to the other caregiver, but in genus specific situation,
I think that consistency is going to be paramount because there's already been a tremendous amount of inconsistency, which has created the additional tantrums. And so we need to kind of calm that down. And by having the same caregiver, do the same routine and it, and respond to the child the same way at bedtime and in the middle of the night, it's going to help calm and give that balanced platform for learning that learning environment that I keep talking about.
And, and then once you guys have your plan, you know, you're going to look at the family calendar and decide when your night one is going to be. And because your child is three, it's going to be really important to loop him in, in this process and let him understand that, like, you know, we're going to make some changes because we want to have a really fun summer.
And, you know, everyone needs really good sleep. I need good sleep. You know, your daddy, the baby, everyone needs good sleep. And so we're going to work really hard on your sleep and you have the child participate with you. You'll probably see. And in the book, there's a recommendation for sleep manners book. I would absolutely do that in advance.
Again, this is one of those kind of pre-training things you would do. You would get a sleep manners book so that your child knew what the routine was, what the expectations were. You would role play around how the, how the child is going to expect you to respond that way you minimize the frustration and the tears and the tantrums, because everything is aligned between parents.
The child knows what's coming, you've role-played with them. And you've created the sleep manners book. So they know what their expectations are. Then you start your night one and you do your night one. And then the next morning you sit down as a family and discussed what went well and what didn't go well, and what we need to plan and change for night two.
And obviously with the three-year-old, what you can often do is role-playing with them. So if you had some, if they did some things really well in their, in their sleep routine, you want to praise, praise, praise them. Absolutely. And if there were some things where they were a little bit shaky, not a problem that's to be expected because they're learning a new skill,
then you would go and practice what was really hard for them, so that they could kind of do better during the daylight hours. So that when you go back into bedtime that night, there's a higher probability of them feeling comfortable and confident to do better because now they know what is being expected of them. And again, all parents are clear on what the plan is,
and you'll probably have to, like I said, stay focused on this for a solid two weeks. Now, if your child never learned sleep skills to begin with, and you're like, oh my gosh, like he was a mediocre or bad sleeper in the crib. And now I'm expecting him to be a perfect sleeper in a big boy bed. Then that's to me like regular,
like you need to like stop right now, call a trusted, certified, gentle sleep coach. And you'll probably need support on actually sleep training your child from top to bottom because they never learned the sleep skills. And if they don't have the sleep skills already embedded, when they were at crib sleeper, it is going to be much harder for them to learn those same skills under the new environment.
And in that situation, since you guys are already feeling really exhausted and depleted, you're probably going to need some expert support to walk you day by day, step by step and customize the process to meet you guys where you are and his learning profile with his age and stage. And also for you guys, because your parents have a newborn as well. But if he previously had good sleep skills,
then I think that, that you going back into this book and collaborating with your husband and collaborating with your child, it's really going to give you that foundational piece that I think you kind of jumped over. You kinda missed when making that transition in may and in terms of how do I get this routine down to 30 minutes? Okay. Typically a routine from the time you start bath to the time they're asleep is usually 30 to 45 minutes.
So what I just described in him going through this new learning process, you will get down to that. And like I said, in terms of what time will he go to bed? I mean, I, if he's literally refusing nap or growing out of his nap, you know, he might be as, as bad as early as 6, 6 30 every night,
and you'll have a quiet house. And this idea of, I want really good participation from my son. That's where that sleep enters book and the role-playing becomes really, really imperative. And again, this is something to, to, to prepare for and plan before you try to execute the, the actual sleep plan on the night when a coaching. And so,
you know, for those of you that are like, oh my gosh, this sounds like me. I can't believe it. I never sleep, train my baby in the crib. And now I'm trying to make this big transition to the big boy bed or the big girl bed. No wonder it's not working. Like, don't worry about it. Don't beat yourself up.
Remember, we're not going to go down that self-doubt road, just recognize that there's hope and help to be had. Like you can absolutely reach out to a trained and certified gentle sleep coach. You do not. This does not mean you have to cry it out. This, this is just a powerful learning opportunity for your child to learn lifelong independent sleep skills.
And, and as you guys know, obviously, cause you're here and listening, I'm a gentle sleep coach. So I do not believe in cried out. And the first step in working with me, where I can assess your situation is to do a Sleep strategy session, which is a 45 minute session on zoom with me, where I'm able to assess your situation and offer insight and perspective and talk about the different ways that you can this situation.
And I, those of you that are thinking, like, I just need to talk to somebody and ask my questions and hear my story. That would be the first step. I do want everyone to know I am going on family travel. We're staying, you know, local in California, but I'm definitely gonna try to do a digital detox. So I will not be on Facebook or doing any client consults or sleep strategy sessions starting.
Let's see, let me just get you guys the right timing, starting the 18th through about August 2nd. So you can absolutely email me. I might be a little bit slow to respond because I'm trying to stay as far away as possible from my phone and my computer. We'll see if I can do it. I, I, I love my job so much.
It's hard for me to stay away, but I'm going to try to do that because my family really wants me to, and I think I probably need a little bit of a mental mental break. So thank you so much for being here. Those of you that are listening to this later, always feel free to do hashtag you know, replay and I'll know to go back and answer your questions after you've watched the video and those of you that are watching this thinking,
oh my God, that sounds like my friend. Please share this video with them so that they can get insight and perspective too. All right. Take care. Bye.
Exploring Nervous System Dynamics in Sleep Coaching with Chantal Donnelly
Did you know that children under age 9 look to the parents nervous system to determine if they should be in fight, flight or freeze state?
In the realm of parenting, including when it comes to sleep coaching, understanding the intricate dance between a parent's nervous system and their child's nervous system is crucial. I recently sat down with Chantal Donnelly, a physical therapist, author of Settled and founder of Body Insight, to delve into this vital topic.
The conversation revolves around the three crucial phases of sleep coaching and how a parent's regulation impacts their child's ability to self-soothe. Chantal gives us tips and tools on regulating yourself so you can best support yourself AND your child.
Listening to the interview, Chantal will demonstrate many EASY and FAST tools to use to regulate your nervous system before interacting with your child. Below I overview a few key areas of family life when checking in with your body and nervous system can make the difference between a smooth family time and bedtime vs own of struggle and irritation.
Transitioning Home and Preparing for Bedtime
As parents transition from work life to family life, it's essential to allow themselves moments of transition. Rushing home only signals stress to the nervous system. Simple rituals like the alternating touch technique, where one sweeps their arms from shoulder to fingertips, or the butterfly hug, can help calm the nervous system before diving into bedtime routines.
Bedtime Routine and Initial Sleep Coaching
During the bedtime routine, parents often find their minds wandering, thinking about to-do lists or upcoming tasks. Mindfulness techniques, such as focusing on sensory experiences like temperature or light in the room, can ground parents in the present moment. By staying regulated during this phase, parents set the stage for successful sleep coaching.
Active Sleep Coaching
When actively engaging in sleep coaching with a frustrated or upset baby, parents must maintain their regulation. Tools like the panoramic vision technique, where one softens their gaze and takes in the entire room, can help parents stay present and calm. Entrainment breathing, matching the baby's breathing rhythm before gradually slowing down, can also facilitate co-regulation and soothe the child.
Throughout the discussion, it becomes evident that a parent's state directly influences their child's ability to self-regulate. By prioritizing their own regulation, through simple techniques and mindfulness practices, parents can create a nurturing environment conducive to healthy sleep habits.
Chantal emphasizes the importance of self-compassion, acknowledging that parenting is inherently challenging and stressful. By incorporating these tools into their daily routines, parents not only enhance their ability to support their child's development, but also cultivate resilience and calmness within themselves.
So without further ado, let's dive into the interview and uncover the secrets to unlocking the power of co-regulation with Chantal Donnelly.
In today's fast-paced world, understanding the intricate interplay between a parent's nervous system and their child's is paramount. Through insightful conversations like this one, coupled with practical tools and techniques, parents can navigate the journey of sleep coaching with confidence and compassion. As Chantal's work continues to illuminate the path to self-regulation and calmness, parents everywhere can find solace in knowing that they have the power to foster a peaceful environment for themselves and their children.
More about Chantal
Chantal Donnelly is a physical therapist and author of the Amazon best-selling book Settled: How to Find Calm in a Stress-Inducing World. She is also the owner of Body Insight, a wellness company designed to help people reconnect with their bodies and improve their health.
She combines her anatomy and physiology knowledge and experience with nervous system science to help people with chronic pain, overwhelming stress, and stress-related illnesses. Through videos, workshops, and her book, Chantal teaches body-focused tools for calming the nervous system. She believes that stress fluency can make the world a better place.
Website: https://www.bodyinsight.com/
Facebook Link https://www.facebook.com/BodyInsightInc
Instagram Link https://www.instagram.com/bodyinsightinc/
Youtube Link https://www.youtube.com/user/BodyInsight
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chantal-donnelly-0a69157/
If you want to learn more about her book and some tools you can go to these 2 podcasts.Empowered Relationships Podcast
Are you struggling to get your child to sleep?
The first step to see if I can help you achieve beautiful, blissful sleep is to schedule a 60 minute ZOOM sleep strategy session. Go to this link and complete the contact me form and I will be in touch within 24 hours with directions on how to schedule your Sleep Strategy Session.
If you are still wondering if I can help, please know I do NOT advocate 'cry-it-out'. I am a Gentle Sleep Coach. If you want to learn about my guilt-free and gentle process, please go to these links.
The Blissful Baby Stairway to Sleep
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Sleep is Bliss, Let's Get you more!
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Hello, I am Joanna with Blissful Baby Sleep Coaching. And I'm here with Chantal Donnelly, a physical therapist and author of an incredible book that I am reading and devouring called Settled, how to Find Calm in a Stress-Inducing World. And she's also the founder of a wellness company called Body Insight. Thank you Chantal, so much for being here. Thanks for having me.
Okay. So I have been reading Chantal's book and being part of her book club over the last four weeks. And I'm learning so much about what it means to self-regulate, and I think it's important for any human being to understand their nervous system, which I never understood to the level of detail that Chantal has helped me know and understand. And so I wanted to have Chantal come on today to talk about this really critical understanding of how a parent's nervous system and a baby's nervous system interact and how we can help the parent's nervous system remain calm,
centered and balanced when they're in a sleep coaching mode with their child while they're trying to improve their child's sleep. So we have a lot to discuss today, so thank you Chantal. Yeah, yeah. Super important for the parent to stay as regulated and calm as possible. And before we started recording, you were telling me about how your first three sessions of sleep coaching are the most difficult,
because that's when the baby is really frustrated with all the change that's starting to happen. I am gonna guess that even though the parent isn't conscious of it, their nervous system is also really frustrated. Even though they want their child to go to sleep, the nervous system likes the status quo. It doesn't like change. Ah, interesting. Okay. So it's gonna be the baby who doesn't like change as well as the parent.
There's a little bit of that going on even though you're not aware of it. Okay. So tell us, so explain the interaction between a parent's nervous system and a baby's nervous system. So if you have a premature baby, first of all, their calming nervous system, their parasympathetic nervous system has not completely developed yet. That happens at the very end of the third trimester.
So that's gonna, so if a baby is premature, they're gonna still be in that developmental phase. Okay. Okay. So that's number one. Yeah. That is important. Yeah. The, if you have a child who isn't premature who was born on schedule, then that child's nervous system is developed, but it's not formed its preferences yet. So it's,
it's a, it's a newborn nervous system. Right? So like anything else, it's gonna take a little while for the baby to actually understand how to self-regulate. And what happens is children under the age of nine look to the parent's nervous system to decide if they're going to be in freeze, in fight or flight or in calm. And I mean, think about it.
Have you ever seen a child be calmer than the parent? No, It doesn't happen. It can't generally, right. They can look like they're calmer, but that's usually because they're in freeze, they're in shutdown, or they're, you know, completely paralyzed by stress. That's when it looks like they're calmer than the parent. 'cause the parent might be running around like a chicken with their head cut off in,
in fight or flight and the kid is just sort of frozen, but really they're in freeze. They are not calmer than, than the parent. It's just almost impossible for that to happen. Okay? Right. So in other words, it is for us as, as parents, especially parents of young children up until age nine, it is really important for us to understand where we are standing on the spectrum of self-regulation.
And when, when a parent's doing something really new, like learning how to be a sleep coach to their child, they're coming into this experience sleep deprived, they're coming into this experience having probably already tried some attempts at sleep coaching and it's failed. So in the back of their mind, there's this big question mark, like, how can, how will this time be different?
Or a big question mark of maybe my baby's gonna be the toughest baby on the planet to learn to sleep and everyone else has been lucky but me. And then they also know that they're gonna have to go do what they think is this really hard thing and they're not sure if they really have the stamina to, to, to, to be the sleep coach.
So, you know, one of the things that happens when in those first three to four nights, which are the most important, is the, I feel like there's three stages that a parent might be in where they need to double check their regula, their own personal self-regulation. So stage one would be they've just come home from work, they're transitioning from work life to family life.
Okay. So that might be like, okay, now I'm home, we're doing family dinner, I'm helping, you know, get the babies, you know, bathed and everything. So it's kinda like, okay, how to make that transition. Then the second phase would be, alright, now I'm the sleep coach and I am with this child doing a final feed and reading books before I put them in the crib.
Am I regulated even in that what's supposed to be this relaxing, reliable bedtime routine? Am I even reg showing up regulated in that phase? And then the third phase would be, my child is now in the crib and I'm in active sleep coach mode, meaning I am there to support my child as they learn how to regulate, settle, and soothe themselves.
But in those first three to four nights, the role of the coach is to be the regulator, the child, because of what Chantal just said, that that, that they have an underdeveloped nervous system and the parent is the one that is the co-regulation. So what Chantel's gonna do today is take us through each of those three phases and talk about tools and things to consider for yourself so that you're really ready to show up being your best self when you are helping your child learn these new skills.
Yeah. There's definitely different things you can do at the, the three different stages. First thing I would wanna say is, coming into this, you wanna have as much self-compassion as you possibly can because being a parent, whether you were trying to get a child to sleep or just trying to parent on any regular day, is very difficult and very stressful.
And we, you shouldn't expect yourself to always be calm through it, all of that. Like, there are gonna be times that you're gonna be stressed as a parent, right? A hundred percent. Right. And, and not to feel like that is some kind of fa a failure or a weakness because absolutely not. It's just a normal natural way that things work.
So that's number one. And so when you're coming home from work or, or coming to that transition of coming into back into family and getting ready, you know, dinner time, bath time, whatever it is, getting ready to go into the sleeping phase, that second phase, the first thing I would say is that if you are rushing to do that,
which we often are and don't have a choice, right? 'cause our time is limited and we've gotta leave work at a certain hour and blah, blah, blah. If you are rushing your nervous system, we'll think you are under stress. Yep. So allowing yourself to slow down a little bit, particularly the closer you get to home is helpful. And then having a little bit of a transition ritual.
And it can be a 32nd ritual. It doesn't have to be a big ordeal, but just 30 seconds where maybe you're still in the car before you get out of the car to go into the house. And it's something that you can do to just let your body know that you are transitioning and that you're going into a, a more settled state right before you get with the family.
And one of those tools, there is many different tools. There can be a breathing tool, there can be something, what we call cross body alternating touch tool. You can use your eyes as a tool, you can use mindfulness as a tool. There's a whole bunch of things. What I find that really works well for transitioning is the alternating touch tool.
Yeah. Can you show us that one? Sure. There's lots of different tools there, but the one that I like to use is I just take my right hand and I place it on the top of my left shoulder, and then I just sweep my arm down towards my fingers and then I use the other side of the body left hand to right shoulder and sweep.
Yeah. And you can keep your arms on your steering wheel or wherever by your side depending on where you are. Right. And you can just do this a couple of times, 30 seconds. That's it. Right? That's all you need to do. And, and that alternating touch has been shown to calm your amygdala. Your amygdala is where there's a fear center of your,
your brain. And it has been shown to calm the fear centers of the brain. And so, you know, going into this situation where, oh my, I'm gonna have to get my child to sleep and I have to do this successfully. There's a little bit of fear there, right? And so this is just sort of calming everything down, sending a message from the body up to the brain that you are safe,
that everything's okay, and to just sort of settle that nervous system when you do it, you should feel a slowing of your breath, perhaps a deepening of your breath. You're going to feel your heart rate come down a slow down a little bit. Maybe the tension in your shoulders from your workday is gonna release a little bit tension in your jaw. Maybe your stomach might feel a little bit looser,
not so clenched. You might just feel a little more expansive, maybe a little warmer. Those are the signs that your nervous and Also sometimes saliva Increased salivation is, yeah, That's what happens to me. I take a deep breath and then I can feel an increase in saliva in my mouth. And then I know the tool's working. And what's amazing about these tools is that,
like she says, they only take like 15 to 30 seconds. I mean, I, I've been doing several of these tools frequently and usually within the first 15 seconds I can feel my breath getting deeper and more saliva in my mouth. And then I am, I know I'm taking care of myself and I'm calming my nervous system down. It's pretty powerful.
Yeah. So I love that idea of not rushing, having a little transition ritual. And maybe that transition ritual is something as simple as the side arm sweeps Yeah. Before you come back into the homestead with the family. Yeah. I love that. This is a little, little woo woo. But what I add to my little transition ritual after I do this is just sort of three little sweeps where I'm just sort of like washing the day away,
kind of like blah. Right. Just get that day the workday off of you. Yeah. And it's just sort of a, again, it's just a symbolic ritual of, okay, I'm going from work to home now. Right? And this is even true if you're, you know, coming out of your home office, right? I mean, let's not be fooled that making the transition from home office back out into family life is,
is not a transition. In fact, it can be almost a bigger transition than doing the car ride. 'cause at least in the car ride, you're like, you know, have time to think or listen to music or whatever. But sometimes just stepping out, you know, two feet into the, into the household can, can be a big change.
That's a good point. Okay. Now let's talk about kind of like there you are, you're a parent. You're like, all right, I've made the successful transition. I've helped my baby get ready for bed. And now I'm the sleep coach and I'm in my first, you know, you know, one to four days of sleep coaching and I'm nervous,
I'm scared. I hope this is gonna work. Hopefully I've got Joanna on my team as the sleep coach. But if you don't, you know, 'cause I would be coaching you on all of this to really get you really geared up. But if you're doing this on your own, then you would just be able to say, okay, so now I'm in the room with the baby.
And the thing about babies, you guys, whether they are six months old or 10 years old, whenever there's a change of pattern, there will be frustration and confusion. And when children are frustrated and confused, they will protest. It is normal human response to change. But when we are parents and we are already sleep deprived and probably a bit frazzled when we hear our babies' protest,
you know, we have that visceral response like, okay, I gotta go do something. Right? And the thing about gentle sleep coaching is there's lots you can do to settle your child, but it matters what state you're in before you go try to do that loving approach. Like picking up or the loving song or the loving pat. So this is what we're talking about.
It's like we're talking about your state in direct relationship with your baby, because their nervous system below age nine is underdeveloped. And their nervous system depends on your nervous system. So we're in the room, we're in phase two, now we're in the room, baby's in the crib, baby's had the bottle or the F of or the bedtime feed. Baby's been read to baby's in the,
in the crib at the right sleep window. So you know, you've done everything right and baby's frustrated because this is night two of coaching and baby still is waiting for mom to show up to breastfeed. And the dad starts freaking out and being like, oh my God, what can dad do? So if dad hasn't picked the baby up yet, then he can use tools with his hands to self-soothe.
So another tool that is the alternating touch tool would be the butterfly hug. So he can, what you do is you take your hands, palms facing, you cross the hands and interlock the thumbs, and then you place your hands on your chest so that your fingers are just under your collarbones. And then you're gonna tap one side of the body and then the other side.
So it's alternating touch, right? You can tap fast, you can tap slow, you can tap hard, you can tap light's totally up to you, but you just need to do this for about 30 seconds. So this is another alternating touch that's an option for a dad or a mom who's in that situation. Because as soon as you hear your,
your child cry, particularly if it's a a, a more desperate cry, your nervous system is gonna signal danger, right? So you need to tell your body to tell your brain that there is no danger, right? And so things like butterfly hug, what another thing you can do breathing wise is a long exhalation. We know that when you inhale,
your heart rate goes up a little bit and when you exhale, your heart rate goes down a little bit. So you can use that physiological phenomenon by lengthening the exhale. So you can inhale for three counts, for example, and then exhale for six counts. That's also gonna send a message up to the brain that you were not stressed. So good.
And you know, what's fascinating about this is that no one taught us this. That I am, you know, because of you and your book and your work and being a, you know, resilience toolkit facilitator, which is all about building, building resilience in the body, is this idea that what's happening in the body is sending messages to the brain.
So we think all the messages are coming from the brain, but they're actually coming from the body up to the brain. And so when we're feeling nervous or stressed or something, it's, it's all starting here, but we don't know that we think it's all happening up here. Right. Our thoughts can certainly augment it, that's for sure. Yeah. Yeah.
So, you know, maybe this is, maybe all you guys know about this already, but I, I feel like I've been having kind of an awakening in reading her book and just understanding my, my mind body connection a little bit more deliberately. Yeah. And testing these things out, like as part of her book club, she's got homework for us.
I was a little delin delinquent on my homework, but I'm gonna start doing it again. And because I know ultimately it's gonna help me, you know, that's why I wanted Chantal to come today to just help us all. Yeah, yeah. Okay. So that's where, there you are, we're in phase two. Like you're, you're, you're coaching you,
you don't have the baby in arms, right? So you are realizing, so you can do more of this, More of the arm sweeps. Yep. Can do. But butterfly hug, you can do the long exhalation. Now if those are not working, another one you can try is doing a neck massage. It's specifically your sternocleidomastoid muscle. SCM muscle goes from behind the ear and goes down to your collarbone,
right? Where your collarbone and your throat kind of meet up. So you don't have to worry that you're on the muscle specifically, but just raking from behind the ear down to the collarbone talks to the sternocleidomastoid. And that muscle is innervated by a cranial nerve that's very, very close to your vagus nerve. And your vagus nerve is your calming nervous system.
So those two nerves interconnect and can help you to regulate, I think of this muscle as sort of being a portal to the calming nervous system. And so that's something that really works for people is just massaging right behind the ear and going down to the collarbone. Sometimes just staying behind the ear and just massaging back there can be really helpful for people. Yeah.
And again, these are just gentle movements. These are not, you know, intense, you know, just, you don't have to press hard. I mean, I went, the first time I did butterfly, I was going, you know, like really fast. And she's like, no, no, no, no, no, you can,
you don't have to do it slow, but you don't need to like, you know, Don't beat yourself up For the moon. You know, so, you know, like that. Right? So there, that's okay. All right. So now we're in a situation where you have the baby in arms. Yep. And the baby's not calming down.
And that's probably because you either overstimulated the baby or you're in power struggle with the baby or, and or it probably means you are still dysregulated. Yeah. I think if you, if there's a power struggle happening or the baby is feeling overstimulated, you're trying too hard and you're probably trying too hard because you are stressed, you're in fight flight, right?
So you're fighting through this, you're pushing through a little aggressively. And again, this could be very unconscious. You could be doing this and not really knowing that you're pushing too much, but you're just trying so hard. Right. And you're a little stressed about it. And so that comes across to a very new nervous system as too much. Yeah.
Right? I call it flooding. Mm. I try to explain flooding because parents seem to really resonate. Like, oh my gosh, you're right. When I went to go do that third pickup in a row, you know, me coming at the baby with my arms with my big nervous system on fire, I'm like literally flooding the baby with all of that energy and then the baby isn't calm even when I do the most loving thing,
which is to pick them up. They are not downregulating with me. And it's not because you're doing it wrong, but because you guys are, you know, your nervous systems are clashing, right? So let's talk about what you do when you're, when you have a baby in arms. So of course you can use breathing techniques 'cause you don't need your hands for that.
The other thing I really like to do is we tend to kind of look at the baby in a very sort of narrow focused, intense kind of way. And that visual mechanism is exactly what happens naturally to your eyes when you're in fight or flight, right? So if you do the opposite, which would be to open up your gaze and take in 180 degree view of what's happening in your face in the room.
And you don't even have to move your eyeballs like that Joanna, you can just literally think about, imagine you're taking in a sunset. Like think about softening your eye. Oh yeah, I see. And just letting your whole visual perspective open up. I call it panoramic vision, Right? So you're just taking everything in and just that will kind of trigger your brain to go,
oh, we're not in a stress state. It's when we're in that really intense focused state that things can kind of go awry because our brain can get a little confused by the information coming in from our eyes when it's that focused and narrow our vision. You know? And that's why I wouldn't recommend a parent prior to picking up the baby if they are trying to soothe themselves to look at their phone,
right? Like scrolling on social media is not gonna help you downregulate. Not just because of the content on social media, because that's one of the reasons, right? But the other reason is that your eyes are going into focus mode and we don't want that. We want your eyes to stay soft and opened and to take in 180 degree view. Wow.
Yeah. So that one's really powerful, right? Because I often say to families like, don't stare your baby straight in the eyes because they will actually get matter. But it kind of makes sense because if, if you are dysregulated and you're looking at your baby and they're looking at you like you guys kind of get locked into that. Whereas if you pick up your baby and you're maybe,
you know, taking in kind of the panoramic view and then you're breathing 'cause you're trying to co-regulate, right? So three breaths in and then six counts out, you know, then you're now co-regulating with your child in arms and we all know what this looks like, right? So the analogy I always give is, you know, if your baby, if your child or baby falls on the ground and bumps their head,
they're gonna be crying. You're absolutely gonna be picking them up. And usually when you pick them up, they're still crying in arms. And when they're in your arms calming down after bumping their head, they are co-regulating with you. They are crying in arms is fine. Like it is a, is a, a safe place to be to co-regulate. And as they calm they're still crying but they're getting,
you know, less and less and less until they're at a whimper and then they recover. That is fine. That's kind of what we're looking like co-regulation. That's what we want to see. We wanna see this coming down both for the child and for the parent. And then when the child's calm you can put them back in the crib, right? Yeah.
One thing you can do is what's called entrainment breathing, which can be kind of fun to play with with a child. Entrainment breathing is when you, if you are breathing is calm, but the person you're with, in this case the baby is not, you match their staccato irregular breath for just two, three seconds and then you start to slow your breath down.
Oh Wow. And that kind of helps them so they're on the same rhythm with you 'cause you've matched the way that they're breathing and then you start to slow your breathing down to a calmer pace and then they can kind of follow suit. And that can be really effective in that situation where you're holding your child That I can see how that could work really beautifully.
That's a very powerful tool. So as you can see everybody that you know there, there are these three zones you're going to inevitably be in when you're in sleep coaching mode. And each zone is an an opportunity for you to regulate yourself. And when you do that, you are literally helping your child's regulation system mature because you're showing them what like is is,
could I say the word right? Regulation looks like what? What is that you're Co-regulating with them so they're able to sort of match your tune if you will. And yeah, you're helping them learn how to regulate by showing them what a regulated nervous system looks like. Calm is contagious, right? So they're gonna pick up on that. There's a little bit of mirroring that happens.
So they're learning from from what you're doing, but it's also just that they don't know what to do and they're just gonna follow suit. They trust you, they're gonna follow suit with where you're at. If you feel safe and you show that through a regulated nervous system, then they will feel safe. If you are feeling, oh my gosh, this isn't working and I wanna get to my glass of wine and go to bed myself.
And so you start to upregulate a little bit, it's gonna be really hard to get your child to downregulate or to soothe. Right? Right. I wanted to see too in that second zone, 'cause we didn't really touch on that Joanna the second zone when you're reading the book and it, right. Am I correct on that's the second zone. It's the reading and the prepping for bed and everything.
You know, you might have your mind wander and you're thinking about your to-do list and you're thinking about, you know, is this gonna work? Or when do I get my downtime 'cause I'm really tired. Like all of that stuff that really happens naturally as parents. That's when mindfulness can really be helpful during that phase. Or you can focus on what you're hearing in the room or the,
the temperature of the room or the light in the room and all those little things that you can focus on to bring you into the present moment and to keep you grounded that way. 'cause otherwise if, if you're thinking about all that stuff, then you're not gonna be settled as you go into the the third zone. Right. Right. That, thank you so much.
I, I realize I skipped, I skipped a zone, but I'll on that note about you know, trying to detach yourself from like your to-do list. The other thing I often say is like, don't be thinking about the other caregiver outside the room. So for example, if dad is a sleep coach and mom's outside the room and you're afraid that you're gonna be judged Or she might be watching you on the monitor or she hears a cry,
she's gonna think you're doing it wrong. Like all of that happens right now when I'm working with clients, I like really help build a united front so that there's agreements made between partners about how mom is not to interrupt. Mom is, you know, not gonna text him because dad really does need to be really emotionally present because he's there to pay exquisite attention to his child.
Like that's really what's happening when you're really doing gentle sleep coaching. The parent is very emotionally present and is paying exquisite attention to their child and being very loving and very attentive. And in order to be that way, they have to be in the moment. And I always say to them, if you find yourself popping out, you know, thinking about that work project,
thinking about maybe you know, someone watching you on the monitor in that moment you pop out guarantee that baby's gonna start crying more. Yeah. Guarantee your nervous system isn't settled too, right? Yeah. And the, and the parent, the dad will say, God, you were so right. I found myself getting a little distracted and was thinking about some work deadline and that baby w that was literally about to fall asleep,
ramped up and was all like ding, you know? And I said, yeah, it's pretty, it's pretty remarkable what happens. Which is why, you know, I wanted Chantal to come today to talk to us more about how to stay properly regulated because ultimately it will make the sleep coaching process go way better and you will walk away with more tools that you can use outside of your sleep coaching environment.
Like I said, I'm in Chantal's book club for settled and I'm learning all these tools that I can use throughout my day, what I can do before a meal, what I can do between client calls, you know, all of that to stay really balanced and centered and calm so that I can be the best coach I can be and also the best human I can be.
You know, not to be upregulated all the time. So this has been so valuable, Chantal, thank you so much. Can you tell everybody more like how to find your book, how to find you, what, what other services are you offering these days if people wanna learn more about their nervous system? Sure. I have a company called Body Insight so if people go to body insight.com,
they can find out how to contact me, they can find out about my upcoming workshops. There I am on Instagram and Facebook at Body Insight Inc. Okay. And you can get my book settled, how to Find Calm in a Stress Inducing World that's available pretty much online where, where books are sold and what else? Hoping to have some workshops coming up soon.
I know I have an in-person one in Pasadena coming up in October. Okay, good. And she does, she does one-on-one coaching too. So if you want to say come to Chantal and be like, okay, these are all the things that are going on with me. Give me some customized tools and protocols that will help me. You do, you do one-on-one coaching in that way,
which I think is really valuable because if you want to get right to the heart of things, if you don't have time to read the book or time to do the workshop, but you want direct help, Chantelle is available for one-on-one coaching as well. So I will make sure that in the show notes all of that contact information is available. But I,
I do highly, in fact, can you hold up the book? Do you have the book read? I do. Mine's upstairs by my bedside, so there we go. That's the book. So I do recommend this and then, but her Instagram is awesome because she's constantly demo demonstrating tools on, so if you're more of a visual learner, the Instagram is a great place to go.
So thank you so much Chantelle, for helping us to, to learn more about her nervous system. Yeah, thanks for having me. I hope it helped. Yes.
Traveling with Newborns, Kids, and Toddlers: Tips for Maintaining Blissful Sleep
It's travel season! For families who finally have their kids taking predictable naps and enjoying beautiful, blissful sleep, the thought of disrupting that routine can be stressful. For families already sleep-deprived and struggling to get their child to sleep at home, the idea of managing sleep while traveling can be overwhelming. But don't worry! Managing your child's sleep while on vacation is possible, and I'm here to give you some tips to make everything easier.
Think Ahead While Packing to Maintain Optimal Sleep Environment
Bring a White Noise Machine or Small Fan:
This helps maintain your child’s sleep routine and comfort in a new environment. It’s also great for drowning out background noise if you’re room-sharing.
Pack Your Child’s Favorite Lovie, Stuffed Animal, or Blanket:
These familiar items can provide comfort and help your child settle more easily.
Plan for Your Child’s Sleeping Arrangement:
Crib: Call ahead to see if a crib is available or bring a pack-and-play.
Child Air Mattress: Great options are available if your child is sleeping in a bed.
Baby Equipment Rental: Consider renting baby equipment at your destination.
Manage Bright Rooms:
Bright rooms can be tricky for sleep. Products like SnoozeShade or SlumberPod provide a quick and easy fix, especially if you’re room-sharing. Check out my interview with the Creator of SnoozeShade for more insights!
Pack Sleep Sacks or Swaddles:
Ensure you pack these items (plus some backups) if your child is used to them.
Stick to Your Sleep Routine:
Whether it’s reading the same book every night or singing songs, pack what you need to maintain this routine as much as possible. Consistency helps children feel comfortable and know what to expect.
Enjoy Your Trip and Be Flexible
Remember, being consistent does not mean never changing the schedule or routine. It's important to be flexible and, most importantly, enjoy your trip! Don’t feel guilty if you need to offer your child a little more support while traveling to make them feel comfortable. When you get home, you can return to your normal schedule and routines.
Download My Free Summer Travel: What to Pack Checklist to Help Make Sure You Are Prepared!
You can also check out my video on Holiday Travel Tips and blog post on 7 Family Travel Tips for Summer for more travel tips!
If you are sleep-deprived and struggling with getting your child to sleep at home, and the overwhelm is taking the joy out of travel planning, hope and help are available. Reach out for personalized support to ensure your family can enjoy both restful sleep and wonderful travels.
Happy Travels!
If you are struggling with your child’s sleep and want to get it on track so you can consider traveling:
The first step to see if I can help you achieve beautiful, blissful sleep is to schedule a 60 minute ZOOM sleep strategy session. Go to this link and complete the contact me form and I will be in touch within 24 hours with directions on how to schedule your Sleep Strategy Session.
If you are still wondering if I can help, please know I do NOT advocate 'cry-it-out'. I am a Gentle Sleep Coach. If you want to learn about my guilt-free and gentle process, please go to these links.
The Blissful Baby Stairway to Sleep
Please join my Sleep is Bliss Tribe on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn so we can stay connected and you can continue to get amazing resources on sleep and family wellness.
Why Hire a Gentle Sleep Coach? Demystifying Sleep Resources: Finding Your Family's Ideal Sleep Support Solution
I'm thrilled to share some exciting news with you! My latest article, "Why Hire a Gentle Sleep Coach? Demystifying Sleep Resources: Finding Your Family's Ideal Sleep Support Solution," is now featured on SleepCoaching.com. This piece is designed to be a beacon of hope for all parents struggling with their child's sleep challenges.
As parents, we understand that reaching out for help with our child's sleep can sometimes feel like admitting defeat. It's often only after struggling for some time that we consider seeking support. In my latest article, I delve into how a Gentle Sleep Coach can be a game-changer in addressing various sleep-related challenges, including:
Understanding Sleep as a Learned Skill
Exploring Sleep Support Options
When to Consider One-on-One Sleep Coaching
When to Consider One-on-One Sleep Coaching
Signs You Might Need Sleep Coaching
The Gentle Sleep Coaching Method Difference
Through this article, we aim to shed light on the invaluable support that Gentle Sleep Coaches can provide, offering compassionate and evidence-based solutions to help families achieve peaceful nights and restorative sleep.
So, if you're on the fence about seeking help or wondering if a Gentle Sleep Coach is the right fit for your family, I encourage you to dive into our article. Together, let's embark on a journey towards better sleep and brighter mornings. Remember, a well-rested family is a happy family.
Are you struggling with your child's sleep?
The first step to see if I can help you achieve beautiful, blissful sleep is to schedule a 60 minute ZOOM sleep strategy session. Go to this link and complete the contact me form and I will be in touch within 24 hours with directions on how to schedule your Sleep Strategy Session.
If you are still wondering if I can help, please know I do NOT advocate 'cry-it-out'. I am a Gentle Sleep Coach. If you want to learn about my guilt-free and gentle process, please go to these links.
The Blissful Baby Stairway to Sleep
Please join my Sleep is Bliss Tribe in Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn so we can stay connected and you can continue to get amazing resources on sleep and family wellness.
Wishing your family peaceful nights and joyful mornings in the midst of this seasonal change.
Lights Out, Brain On: Navigating the Sleepy Maze of School Age Slumber"
Today, we're diving into the magical realm of school-age sleep challenges and the incredible transformations that happen when Gentle Sleep Coaching steps in to save the night. I've been at this for 13 years, and trust me, I've seen it all – from midnight negotiations to anxiety-induced bedtime dramas. But fear not, because where there's a sleep challenge, there's a solution, and I'm here to spill the beans.
It's never too late to learn the skills of sleep!
The Mom-in-the-Room Chronicles:
Remember those nights when bedtime was more negotiation than relaxation? Picture this: a weary mom perched at the end of her child's bed, quietly tiptoeing out once the Sandman claimed victory. If this sounds familiar, you're not alone. The mom-in-the-room chronicles are real, and they often come with an invisible ticket to the middle of night wake-up circus.
The Middle of the Night Wake-Up Circus:
Ah, the art of multiple wake-ups! It's like your child has an internal alarm clock set for inconvenient intervals. But worry not, because with the right gentle guidance, we can turn those annoying wake-ups into uninterrupted dreams that even Sleeping Beauty would envy.
The Early Rising Enigma:
Early risers –waking between 4-6am- the bane of every exhausted parent's existence. But guess what? There's hope! Gentle Sleep Coaching can unravel the secrets to the early rising enigma, so you can savor those precious extra moments of shut-eye.
Stress and Anxiety Chronicles:
Stress and anxiety have a knack for sneaking into the bedtime routine, creating a tumultuous sea of worries. But take heart, dear parents! With the right tools and techniques, we'll navigate those choppy waters and lead your child to the calm shores of peaceful slumber.
I have been working with my clients Jennifer and Dustin for 5 years now sleep coaching their children and guiding them back to blissful sleep when regressions arise. Most recently, the family reached out when their nights included multiple wake ups and difficulty falling asleep fueled by stress and anxiety of their 8 year old daughter. Traveling for work was HARD on everyone. Nights out with girlfriends weren't happening. Mom and Dad knew there were resources available, a village to support them and a process to get back to Beautiful Blissful Sleep.
Watch their Sleep Success Story to hear how this family got back to calm nights and waking up rested.
Jennifer wants everyone to know:
"Having the right coach to walk us through this process was completely game changing for us. Years ago, when we first called Joanna, I had in the back of my mind "I'm a mom, I should know how to do this." It takes a village and it takes help. You have to reach out and ask for help and know that there's so many great resources available. There are processes that have been proven and techniques that can be used. As a mom you don't need to know everything and it's okay to reach out for help."
Are you struggling with your child's sleep? Could you use some support?
The first step to see if I can help you achieve beautiful, blissful sleep is to schedule a 60 minute ZOOM sleep strategy session. Go to this link and complete the contact me form and I will be in touch within 24 hours with directions on how to schedule your Sleep Strategy Session.
If you are still wondering if I can help, please know I do NOT advocate 'cry-it-out'. I am a Gentle Sleep Coach. If you want to learn about my guilt-free and gentle process, please go to these links.
The Blissful Baby Stairway to Sleep
Please join my Sleep is Bliss Tribe in Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn so we can stay connected and you can continue to get amazing resources on sleep and family wellness.
Sleep is Bliss, Let's Get you more!
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So, hello, I'm Joanna with Blissful Baby. Sleep Coaching. And today is a a celebration call with one of my longtime clients. Jennifer, thank you so much for being here. Absolutely. We're gonna have a great conversation today because we've actually worked together three separate times. We worked together first when her daughter was three years old and we did sleep training from top to bottom in the crib.
Great. Got her sleeping on we go. Then number two, baby came along when that baby was old enough, we sleep trained the son, no problem. Life goes on. So then between the ages of three and nearly eight, I don't hear from Jennifer and her husband. So that's what, how many years? That's like five years. And then all of a sudden one day I see them pop up on my phone 'cause I have all my clients on my phone and I'm like, Hey, and why were you calling mom? You're like, help. Yeah, We were calling because our daughter had a regression and we were in a place where she was not able to put herself to sleep and it was causing quite a bit of impact, you know, within our family and getting her to bed and getting her to stay asleep at night.
Yeah. So we had, so in other words, like we had kind of an interesting situation because technically this child had all her sleep skills, meaning she knows how to self-regulate, she knows how to self-settle, she knows how to self-soothe. She knows how to go to sleep. She knows how to go back to sleep. But all of a sudden, none of the above was happening. And what was replaced was fear around bedtime, anxiety around bedtime, fear in the middle of the night and being very mommy preference and kind of barnacle the mommy barnacle. Like just utterly devastated if mom was not, was not in view, you know, had to be in view all the time in every right. Like if you've tried to leave the house that's out of view.
She couldn't handle it and it just kind of started and then it kind of spiraled and like it started and then it kind of like ended up, really started seeping into bedtime and then seeping into the middle of the night. So it was like a slow build A little bit. Yeah. It was a very slow build. She had done well going to sleep for quite a while and then we had noticed, you know, we'd have a little bit of trouble getting her to sleep at night and then she would, you know, come downstairs in the middle of the night, we'd have to walk her back up. And then, you know, when she had started in elementary school is where we started seeing quite a bit of the difference. And I think that was due to just a lot of change going on with her life changing schools and you know, being in kindergarten, being in first grade And covid covid. Yes. And being outta school for a long period of time, there was just so much, so much change. So many things that were happening in her life. And I feel that that her concern around those things came out, you know, and how she was falling asleep or not falling asleep I should say. And then resting throughout the night. Those stressors were really impacting her sleep schedule. Exactly. Exactly. And so that's when Jennifer called and said, okay, we have a regression, but it's not your typical regression of, you know, oops, we went on a vacation, we ended up co-sleeping and now all she wants is co-sleeping. There was more going on.
There was the, the fear, the anxiety and, and and also just this neediness of the mommy preference, right? Yeah. She had a lot of anxiety built up and that that's something that we, you know, worked through and talked through, you know, quite a bit, which I didn't even recognize until we really started talking quite a bit bit how much her anxiety over going to sleep was truly impacting the, the entire process of her going to sleep. Exactly. So we did a really thorough assessment. Obviously dad was involved in all of these conversations. Like this was definitely a family system. And we got Brooke involved in, oh, excuse me, I don't wanna say her name. Anyways, we got your daughter involved in all the conversations so that she understood exactly what we were doing, why we were doing it, that we were working with her, with the team. I was kind of her sleep teacher, sleep coach. I forget what did she call me? She had, didn't she call me something? I mean, she knew me as Miss Joanna, but I think she kind of saw me as like the sleep teacher or something like that sleep Teacher.
She kind of saw me in that role. And so it was very collaborative with her. So there was nothing that was like put upon her or forced upon her. It was very much step by step, day by day integrations that she was highly aware of that she, that we had cre co-created with her. And so we are now, like, now we reached all her goals.
Like, so mom, now tell me what it looks like now. You know, it is, it's absolutely amazing. So I travel for work here and there and you know, I recall leaving and there just being so much fear and anxiety built up to where, you know, I would get upset. She would get upset, everybody in the whole house would be upset.
And I mean, just a complete fear of me being gone and not being there to put her asleep. I was at a point where I was laying at the end of her bed and I would quietly get up when she, you know, fell asleep and tiptoe out. I mean, there was times where I would even, you know, just sneak out of the room hoping that the floor wouldn't creak and make noise to wake her up.
And, you know, all of that, you know, went on for a, a very long time. And I think a lot of it was my fear of like, you know, how are we going, how are we going to to, you know, get to the place where we need to be, get back to that place where we need to be.
And so now you know that we've gone through the steps, we've done the process, we've worked with Joanna, we've worked with you, you know, to really uncover, you know, what is gonna motivate Brooke, what is going to increase her confidence and going to bed and make her proud of herself. And I think that, you know, she felt so much fear.
She was so worried that she couldn't do it, that we had to build that confidence up. We had to build, you know, her self-esteem around knowing that she could go to bed and do it on her own. And now, you know, when I leave for work to go outta town, you know, I get a hug goodbye. I get a mom,
I'm gonna miss you and I'll talk to you in just a little while, I'll call you. And there's not fear around what's gonna happen at bedtime. It it's, it's been such a difference in our lives. And you know, Brooke is proud of herself. Oops. Yes. She's so, she's so confident now. When we go to bed, we get ready for bed, we use our sleep manners, we go into the room, we give hugs, we give kisses. She'll sit and read a book too to or herself sometimes to settle herself and she lays down and goes to sleep. Sleep. And I'm not sitting outside the door or I'm not sitting in a chair or sneaking outta the room at night. And, And this is at seven 30 and this is at seven 30.
Everyone I want you to know. So again, eight, she's, she's almost eight. So what grade is she in? Second. Second grade, huh? Yeah. Yeah. So, so you know those of you that have older, older children that are like, oh my gosh, it's too late. I just have a bad sleeper. I just have to like lay down with her every night.
You know, this is just my life. The answer is no, it doesn't have to be your life. Because this child now happily goes to bed, lights out at seven 30, she's asleep by eight. And mom says that on the weekdays sometimes she actually has to wake her up in order to go to school 'cause she's willing to like literally sleep like 11 to 12 hours at night.
Whereas before she was having early rising and always up and out the door and wandering down the hallway and finding, you know, going to the bedroom, the master bedroom and stuff. So we've got a child now that is like confident, loves her bed, has a bedtime routine, she likes sleeping 11.5 to 12 hours all night long. And then you told me how it's changed her demeanor.
So you told me in the morning, what does she like in the morning Waking up excited and happy and just ready for her day. She's well rested, we're all well rested, which is has been an, an amazing experience to get to this point. Yeah, Yeah. And also no drama anymore. No barnacle like behavior with mom. Mom you just said told me that you just went out with your girlfriends last night for a girl, a girlfriend's dinner and all you to do is say, okay, I'm going out to dinner with my friends, I'll be back. And she goes, okay. Yep. Exactly. And then you went on a business trip and it was like, okay. Yep. And then you did two other things that were like things, your goals on your list that recently that went well.
Tell us about that. Yeah, she was able to stay over at her grandparents' house and have a fun slumber party and everyone was able to get, be rested and not exhausted at the end of the day, you know, or waking up in the morning. She did great with that and she's having her first real slumber party this weekend and we can't wait for her to be able to experience that little milestone in life. So you can see you guys, it's never too late. So when, when you, when you think that people like, you know, again, now you've been this through three times at all different ages, all different stages. Male, female, you know, one boy, one girl. Like if you, if you met a mom that was just totally, you know, or met some parents that just had, you know, sleep, had been struggling with sleep and, and their child was between the ages of six months and 10 years of age, like what do you wanna tell 'em about sleep training and, and sleep coaching and, and and finding the right coach to support them? Yeah, you know, I, having the right coach and having a coach walk us through this process was completely game changing for us when we, you know, years ago when we first called Joanna, you know, I had in the back of my mind that, you know, I should know this. Like I should, I'm a mom, I should know how to do this. And it takes a village and it takes help and it's, you know, you have to reach out and ask for help and know that there's so many great resources, so many, you know, processes that have been proven and techniques that can be used. And, and as a mom you don't need to know everything and it's okay to reach out for help and it's okay to know that, you know, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it will get better. You will get sleep, I promise you'll get sleep eventually. And we are, we're getting sleep now. And I, you know, I've just gotta say that, you know, we, we Joanna we greatly appreciate you. You've, you've been there for us and our babies, you know, for years through different regressions and, and given us the tools, you know, to really be able to give them, you know, the sleep that they need for them to be, you know, successful in school and successful in their day and confident and you know, everything. And this again, it, it trickles over to other things in their life, you know, where they're building confidence in around. So we just, we greatly appreciate it. Good. Yeah. 'cause your life gets easier as a parent too, right? So, you know, you're able now to go on the business trip without guilt. You're able to now go out to go out to dinner with your girlfriends without guilt. Dad is saying, fine, go out with your girlfriends 'cause these kids are so easy to take care of now I'm happy to be in the house. I'm gonna put these kids to bed and now I have a quiet house for a couple hours while you're out. And that was never the case whenever you left, dad was kind of left with a mess. And so now he can leave, he can enjoy a quiet house while the kids are sleeping and you get to go out and ha and see some friends or vice versa. He can go out with his guy friends and you can have a quiet house 'cause both kids are going to sleep at seven 30 at night. You know, I mean, it just opens up a whole world of possibility. And like you said, it takes a village and that as a mom, you know, we have this perception that we've gotta figure it all out on our own or that just our immediate circle is gonna be enough to provide the insight to help us solve things. And the reality is, is that, you know, you don't know what you don't know.
And so if you're in your own world and then you're only asking your friend or your grandma or your best friend, but they're all doing the same thing that you're doing, like you're still all Works for us, Right? Like you're, you're, you're, you're still stuck inside your own vacuum. You, you don't know all this knowledge that's sitting on the periphery ready to,
to be accessed. Right? And I think that, that reaching out to talk to a coach is just not a scary thing. 'cause you always, as a parent, you wanna know what your options are. And the good news is that for a lot of families, they think that if they have an older child, there's no options. But there's absolutely,
sleep is a learned skill. We can teach the skills of sleep to any child. I tend to work with children up to age 10. Some people will say, but what if my child is 12, 13, 14, 15? That can also be t taught, I can refer you to people that need that. But you know, as they get older, some of this fear,
anxiety and stuff starts young and it gets stickier and stickier and stickier. So parents that ignore it at the young age end up with a stickier. And so you kind of knew, you're like, no, we don't need to keep this going, that we need to get the support now. So she doesn't have to keep having that feeling anymore. So thank you for trusting me all these years.
We've got, I guess we've got like, see what's, see eight minus three is five. So five years we've known each other or three times. So thank you to you and your husband for trusting you. I'm so happy that you're a part of the well-rested revolution Are, we are very well rested now in this house. That is absolutely For sure.
Thank you.
Navigating Milk Consumption: Balancing Nutrient Intake to Prevent Childhood Anemia & Low Iron Storage (low Ferritin)
Do you serve milk with meals? Or as a stand alone snack?
We've all heard about the goodness of milk for our kids. But did you know that milk, despite its nutritional benefits, can sometimes play a tricky role in your child's diet? Recent research has pointed out how milk interacts with iron absorption, especially important in children's diets.
Understanding Milk's Role:
Milk is packed with nutrients like calcium and casein, which are great for building strong bones and muscles. However, here's the catch: these same nutrients can interfere with the absorption of iron from other foods your child eats. When milk and iron-rich foods team up in the same meal, it can throw a wrench into the body's ability to soak up that vital iron. This interference could potentially lead to iron deficiency and increase the risk of anemia or low iron storage (low ferritin), especially in growing kids.
Connecting Milk, Iron Deficiency (Anemia) and Iron Storage (Ferritin):
Studies have shown that too much milk in a child's diet could be linked to a higher risk of anemia. Pairing milk with iron-rich foods might make matters worse by hindering the absorption of iron. This double whammy could set the stage for iron deficiency anemia or low iron storage (ferritin), which can have serious consequences for your child's health. That's why being strategic about meal planning is key to ensuring your child gets the nutrients they need without missing out on iron absorption.
Practical Tips for Parents:
To help your child get the most out of their meal, it's a good idea to separate milk consumption from iron-rich foods. By serving milk as a standalone beverage or snack and saving iron-rich foods for other times, you can give your child's body a better chance to absorb the iron it needs. This simple tweak can go a long way in supporting their overall health and sleep patterns.
Why do I worry about iron as a sleep coach?
Ferritin is a protein that stores iron in the body, and it is essential for various physiological functions, including oxygen transport, energy metabolism, and neurotransmitter synthesis. Ferritin plays a crucial role in regulating sleep quality and overall well-being. Research suggests that iron deficiency can lead to restless sleep, frequent awakenings, and disruptions in sleep architecture, such as decreased slow-wave sleep and increased arousal during the night.
Over the years, I have worked with many families where we have identified low ferritin as the culprit behind some of their child’s sleep struggles. As part of my Stairway to Sleep Gentle sleep coaching process, we assess and address potential underlying factors contributing to poor sleep, such as iron deficiency and collaborate with healthcare professionals when these situations arise.
As always, I advise my client’s to work with their pediatricians for advice about their specific child. If you are worried or have questions about your child’s milk consumption or iron levels, it’s always important to check with your pediatrician.
Are you struggling with your child’s sleep?
The first step to see if I can help you achieve beautiful, blissful sleep is to schedule a 60 minute ZOOM sleep strategy session. Go to this link and complete the contact me form and I will be in touch within 24 hours with directions on how to schedule your Sleep Strategy Session.
If you are still wondering if I can help, please know I do NOT advocate 'cry-it-out'. I am a Gentle Sleep Coach. If you want to learn about my guilt-free and gentle process, please go to these links.
The Blissful Baby Stairway to Sleep
Please join my Sleep is Bliss Tribe in Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn so we can stay connected and you can continue to get amazing resources on sleep and family wellness.
Sleep is Bliss, Let's Get you more!
Me Time For Moms
I have been working with this family since 2017 by doing One-on-One customized sleep coaching for all three of their children. She called me out of the blue recently and told me she wanted me to know how good life was these days!!!
House is quiet.
Kitchen is clean.
Laundry is folded.
All three of children are asleep!
Enjoying "mommy time" starting with a glass of wine since all chores and house is quiet.
me time for moms
Like so many others, they waited until 16 months with her first child when the child AND mom was ready. They had hit pure exhaustion, marital conflict and inability to go on like this any longer. Mom and Dad had the same goals, but weren't sure how to get there!
This is so common! With One-on-One Sleep Coaching, I help bring a united front where parents end up “high-fiving” each other and working together instead of “tit-for-tat” battles. There is no need to disagree on something you already agree on.
Parents DON’T have to do the "close the door, and let their child cry it out."
"Joanna customized the plan to my child which helped give me the confidence to start the process earlier with my 2nd and 3rd child." Watching this family's evolution to Join the “WELL-RESTED FAMILY REVOLUTION” has been incredible!
Talk about Getting Your Life Back...Listen to Alicia's Fabulous story!
<<< Click image or here to watch video.
Alicia wants everyone to know:
"It's never too late to start. It's ok to "mess up" and restart. I've done a lot of 20 minute tune up calls (after a sickness or vacation) and you can easily get right back on track. You can still be successful."
Are you struggling to get your child to sleep?
The first step to see if I can help you achieve beautiful, blissful sleep is to schedule a 60 minute ZOOM sleep strategy session. Go to this link and complete the contact me form and I will be in touch within 24 hours with directions on how to schedule your Sleep Strategy Session.
If you are still wondering if I can help, please know I do NOT advocate 'cry-it-out'. I am a Gentle Sleep Coach. If you want to learn about my guilt-free and gentle process, please go to these links.
The Blissful Baby Stairway to Sleep
Please join my Sleep is Bliss Tribe in Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn so we can stay connected and you can continue to get amazing resources on sleep and family wellness.
Sleep is Bliss, Let's Get you more!
Yipee! I am a Finalist in Women Changing the World Awards ! Winners to be Chosen May 25th, 2024
I am thrilled to share some exciting news with you. I have been selected as one of the finalists for the People’s Choice Award in Health and Well-being for the Women Changing the World Awards!
Among a pool of 2,000 applicants, the distinguished panel of judges has chosen 319 inspiring finalists across 55 categories, and I am honored to be one of the 32 finalists in the People's Choice Award for Health and Well-being.
This journey has been immensely rewarding, and I am deeply grateful for the support I have received from organizations like WO3 and communities like the Gentle Sleep Coaching Community. Their belief in my mission to empower families through better sleep has been invaluable.
The winners will be announced on Saturday, May 25th, 2024. I am excited and honored to be among such incredible individuals who are making a difference in their respective fields.
I want to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation for your ongoing support. Your encouragement means the world to me, and I am grateful for the opportunity to share this journey with you.
Thank you once again for your support, and let's keep our fingers crossed for Blissful Baby Sleep Coaching to be selected as the final winner on May 25th!
Warm regards,
Joanna Clark
#wcwawards #finalists #global #awards #womenchangingtheworld #support #womensupportingwomen #womenempowerment #changemake #thesleeplady #wo3day #JoannaClark #BlissfulBabySleepCoaching #sleepconsultant #SleepisBliss #babysleep #babysleeptips #babysleepconsultant #babysleepexpert #howtogetkidstosleep #babysleeproutine #babysleephelp #babysleepsolutions #tiredmom #toddlersleep #newparents #newmom #parenthood #parentproblems #newborntips #sleeproutine #weaning #naps #waketime #sleeptime #parentsupport #overtired
PRESS RELEASE
Local Woman-Owned Business Named as a Finalist for Global Awards & Summit on Women Changing the World
PALO ALTO, CA – Joanna Clark of Blissful Baby Sleep Coaching has been selected as one of 32 finalists for the People’s Choice Award for Health and Well-being at the 2024 Women Changing the World Global Awards and Summit.
The Women Changing the World Awards, presented by Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, and one of Oprah Winfrey’s all-time favorite guests, Dr. Tererai Trent, celebrate and recognize women achieving outstanding success in areas such as sustainability, humanitarian work, leadership, advocacy, tech, product development, education, health, and innovation. The awards are designed to recognize the growing number of women who are leading the way in making the world a better place and to inspire other women to take action.
“These exceptional women are here to awaken hearts, give permission to recapture dreams, and inspire the women of the world to come together to forge a brighter path for all. The rising of women is the awakening of everybody,” explains Dr. Trent.
Joanna Clark started her Pediatric Sleep Coaching business after her own family’s sleep transformation. Her journey began when her child wasn’t sleeping like “other babies,” leaving Joanna sleep-deprived and filled with self-doubt and confusion. Seeking expert help from a Sleep Coach resulted in a true family transformation for her family. Inspired by this experience, Joanna made it her mission to help other sleep-deprived parents achieve beautiful, blissful sleep.
As a tenured and Certified Gentle Sleep Coach and Pediatric Sleep Expert, Joanna has spent the past 13 years helping sleep-deprived families become well-rested. Using proven evidence-based methods, she provides guilt-free and gentle sleep coaching solutions for children aged six months to six years. Joanna’s step-by-step and child-led approach helps parents tenderly teach the "skills of sleep" to their children.
Joanna’s work has helped thousands of families solve their child’s sleep struggles. Recognized as one of the top 200 coaches in the US by Tuck and a 3x International Amazon Best-Selling Contributing Author, Joanna’s success is further validated by her five-star reviews on Google Reviews and Yelp. She has also been a guest on numerous podcasts and featured in various media outlets and publications.
Joanna’s approach is distinguished by its depth and breadth, rooted in her personal journey and philosophy. As one of the first 50 trained and certified Gentle Sleep Coaches® in the United States, Joanna approach offers an alternative to “cry-it-out” methods and offers a scientifically-backed, gentle approach to sleep training that respects each family’s and child’s unique needs. Her aim is to nurture the family unit, eliminate guilt and shame, and build confidence and unity among parents all while minimizing tears and frustration and offering a fully customized process.
Blissful Baby Sleep Coaching is more than just achieving sleep; it’s about enhancing the well-being of the entire family. Joanna’s approach is data-driven, focusing on the details and nuances of a child’s life and the family’s values, goals, and feelings. This meticulous attention to detail, likened to being a “Sleep Detective,” sets Blissful Baby Sleep Coaching apart.
Dr. Trent’s vision for these awards is to empower women everywhere to reclaim their sacred dreams and unite to pave the way towards a better future for all.
Joanna encourages others thinking about following their calling to make a difference, stating, "Small, women-led businesses are changing the world, making a profound impact, all while infusing their work with tremendous heart!"
Joanna Clark is proud of her achievements and is creating a WELL-RESTED FAMILY REVOLUTION. She educates families daily on how to optimize their child’s sleep for healthy growth and development. Joanna’s guilt-free, Gentle Sleep Coaching® is a science-based method providing a systematic, proven process for nurturing a child’s sleep skills without “crying-it-out” and without psychological trauma or guilt.
Joanna attributes her successes to her mentor, Kim West, author of Good Night, Sleep Tight and founder of the Gentle Sleep Coaching community. She is an active participant in a global Gentle Sleep Coach community and part of a worldwide network of pediatricians, doulas, and lactation specialists.
Joanna is also on the Executive Board of WO3, a grassroots effort supporting women-owned businesses. Through this initiative, Joanna spotlights exceptional women-led businesses that support mothers and families, building a stronger, more inclusive community.
Joanna Clark of Blissful Baby Sleep Coaching is committed to making an impact through her work and vision for the future. Her approach is deeply rooted in compassion, scientific understanding, and a commitment to the family unit. Joanna is honored to be a finalist in the Health and Wellbeing category for the People’s Choice Award.
The winners of the 2024 Women Changing the World Awards will be announced at the Women Changing the World Global Summit and Awards in London, United Kingdom, on May 25, 2024. To read the complete finalist list, visit wcwawards.com/finalists.
For more information on the Women Changing the World Awards, visit wcwawards.com or contact Joanna Clark at (626) 318-4621, Blissful Baby Sleep Coaching, or via email at contactus@blissfulbabysleepcoaching.com.
Media Contact:
Joanna Clark
Blissful Baby Sleep Coaching
Phone: (626) 318-4621
Email: contactus@blissfulbabysleepcoaching.com
Website:Blissful Baby Sleep Coaching
Why Sleep Coaching benefits a secure attachment with your child
Amidst the joy of watching your little one grow, one of the most precious gifts you can give them is the security of a strong attachment. A secure attachment forms the foundation for healthy emotional development, and surprisingly to some, sleep coaching can play a pivotal role in nurturing this beautiful bond between parent and child.
Many parents hesitate to consider sleep coaching, fearing that it might disrupt the precious bond they share with their children. The concern is understandable; the idea of letting a child cry it out or implementing new sleep routines can seem daunting. However, what parents often find after taking the leap is quite the opposite. Gentle Sleep Coaching doesn't diminish the bond—it enriches it. As sleep improves for both child and parent, the time spent together becomes more meaningful and filled with joy. With well-rested minds and bodies, parents find themselves more present, patient, and engaged during waking hours. Bedtime stories are no longer rushed through, playtime becomes more imaginative, and heartfelt conversations flow easily. The fear that sleep coaching will alter or disrupt the bonding is replaced with the realization that the quality of time spent with their children has, in fact, been enhanced, creating lasting memories and strengthening the parent-child connection.
Understanding Secure Attachment
Secure attachment is the emotional bond that forms between a child and their primary caregiver. This bond is characterized by feelings of safety, comfort, and trust. Attachment is a construct that is established through a reliable pattern of responses over time. A secure attachment results from parents keeping distress at a tolerable level. When a child feels securely attached, they are more likely to explore their world, develop healthy relationships, and regulate their emotions effectively.
Attachment is not the action of soothing. Soothing is the result of parents reading signals and trying to interpret them. Is your child wet? Are they hungry? Overtired? Overstimulated? Frustrated? In psychology, this is called mentalizing and is the backbone of attachment. When you try to interpret your child’s cries, you are translating your child’s communication. The way you respond to them helps wire their own emotional regulation system which is the beginning of emotional communication between you and your child which is the foundation of secure attachment. This does not mean that you know what to do every time your child is upset, it means you are trying.
Understanding Gentle Sleep Coaching (and it’s differences from other sleep coaching methodologies)
There are 3 methods of sleep coaching. All have different “frameworks” for how to successfully see results. Like everything else in childhood, the Gentle Sleep Coaching method (A.K.A: “the Sleep Lady Shuffle”) helps children gradually learn their sleep skills until they can independently fall asleep and successfully go back to sleep in the middle of the night.
The “Sleep Lady Shuffle” entails you offering a lot of support and help while your child learns how to down regulate, settle and soothe themselves to sleep in the crib or bed with progressively less active help from you. Remember, the ultimate goal: to transfer the work of going to sleep from you to them. You’re going to do that gradually in a way that stretches their skills by tapering off how much presence and support you offer over time.The Shuffle is a gentle, responsive sleep coaching method that includes initially sitting by your child’s crib or bed and offering physical and verbal reassurance….so shushing, saying it's okay, patting, humming and picking up to calm!
The Role of Sleep Coaching
While the primary goal of sleep coaching is to establish a restful sleep routine, the benefits extend far beyond a good night's rest.
Consistent Caregiver Response:
Sleep coaching encourages a consistent and predictable response from caregivers. By establishing a bedtime routine and responding to your child's cues in a loving and predictable manner, you are building trust and security.
Emotional Regulation:
When a child learns to self-settle and self-soothe and fall asleep independently, they develop important skills for emotional regulation. This ability to comfort themselves lays a strong foundation for handling stress and anxiety in the future.
Confidence and Independence:
A well-rested child is more confident and eager to explore their surroundings. By empowering them to sleep independently, you are fostering a sense of autonomy and independence, essential components of secure attachment.
Quality Bonding Time:
Contrary to common misconceptions, sleep coaching does not mean less bonding time with your child. Instead, it promotes quality interactions during waking hours. A well-rested child is more alert, responsive, and ready to engage in meaningful play and cuddles.
Parental Well-being:
Let's not forget the well-being of parents! Adequate sleep for both child and caregiver means more patience, energy, and emotional availability. This positive emotional state is contagious and contributes to a warm and nurturing environment for secure attachment to flourish.
Nurturing Attachment Every Step of the Way
Remember that every child is unique, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach. It's essential to tailor the process to your child's temperament, needs, and developmental stage and that is exactly what I do here at Blissful Baby Sleep Coaching.
Tips for Building Attachment through Sleep Coaching:
Create a Loving Bedtime Routine: Incorporate cuddles, stories, or gentle music to create a sense of calm and security before bedtime.
Respond with Sensitivity: During sleep coaching, respond to your child's cries with love and reassurance. Knowing that you are there for them, even as they learn to self-soothe, builds trust.
Stay Consistent: Consistency is key in establishing healthy sleep habits and nurturing secure attachment. Stick to the routine and be patient as your child learns this new skill.
Celebrate Progress: Celebrate small victories along the way. Whether it's a peaceful bedtime or a longer stretch of sleep, acknowledge and praise your child's efforts.
Sleep coaching is not just about teaching your child to sleep; it's about fostering a deep, secure attachment that will guide them through life's ups and downs. By providing a loving, consistent, and responsive environment, you are laying the groundwork for a resilient, emotionally intelligent, and securely attached child.
As you embark on this journey, remember that each night of peaceful sleep is a step closer to a stronger bond between you and your little one. Embrace the process, cherish the moments, and watch as your child grows into a confident, secure, and well-rested individual.
Here's to the blissful nights and the beautiful bond of secure attachment!