Early Nurturing (2026)

25/05/2023

I am so excited to announce that I’m joining Fiona’s incredible team .au where I’ll be providing virtual sleep and parenting support as well as the Circle of Security program.

Fiona was looking to expand her team as she is about to have her third little babe and take some time off. This couldn’t have come at a more perfect time for me as you will see when I reveal the remaining announcements in the next couple of days 😉

Nat from will also be joining the team and she’ll also be offering psychological and postpartum mental health support.

I’ll still be posting and showing up on this page with sleep tips and information but with some new exciting changes… more to come tomorrow 🤫🎉

The link to book any of these services is in my bio

16/01/2023

Have you ever been told to avoid eye contact, be silent and not to interact with your baby at all during the night or it will stimulate them, wake them up and you'll never get them to settle?

This is a very common baby sleep myth and I'm not sure how or why this came about. Perhaps to disconnect parents from their babies to facilitate separation and sleep training methods. Parents aren't going into their babies rooms in the middle of the night ready to start a party, we're tired! So this misinformation is just unnecessary. You can absolutely look your baby in the eyes while feeding or settling back to sleep, snuggle them, humm, rock or engage in any other way you want. These are all things that your baby finds soothing and will therefore help your baby go to sleep not make them unsettled.

In fact avoiding eye contact and disengaging is something that your little one will find stressful and may actually be the cause of unsettled behaviour.

Avoiding eye contact and interaction to aid sleep is definitely a baby sleep myth! Go with your instincts 🤎

Let me know in the comments if you've come across this baby sleep myth

10/10/2022

For naps - no black out blinds aren't essential

Newborns aren't born with a developed circadian rhythm, this doesn't happen until around 12 weeks. This means they don't know that they should be having their longer stretches of sleep at night, and their naps during the day.

To help them establish a sleep pattern for night and day it is best to keep naps in natural daylight. This doesn't mean the room has to be super bright or that they need to have sun streaming in, but they definitely don't need black out blinds.

Newborns should also be having their naps in the same room as us (safe sleep guidelines advise room sharing for 6-12 months for ALL sleeps) and so it's much easier for them to nap in the lounge room, or in the pram or carrier where it's not possible to have black blinds anyway.

For night sleep - you may need to use black out blinds

We do want the room to be nice and dark for night sleep so that it signals to their body clock, this is time for your longer stretch of sleep.

Does it need to be pitch black with black out blinds? Not particularly. However, in the warmer months in Australia, especially if you are in a state with daylight savings, you will most likely need to take extra measures to keep the room dark.

If your bedroom has an eastern facing window and has sun beaming in at 5am you can take a guess at what's going to happen. Yep, you'll have an early riser on your hands.

And at 12 weeks when bub starts to produce melatonin, evening light will suppress this and make bedtimes more difficult.

Are you expecting a baby or do you have a newborn? Want to know more about newborn sleep, behaviour and understanding their cues? There is still limited spots left in the Nurturing Your Newborn Sleep & Early Parenting Classes for 2022.

https://babysleephealth.com.au/pages/classes

Have questions? Ask them in the comments 🤎

08/10/2022

I talk about attachment a lot, so I thought I would describe the difference between attachment parenting and attachment theory.

When I talk about attachment and the benefits and importance of building a secure attachment, I am referring to attachment theory.

Attachment theory was originated by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth and comprises 60 years of scientific research in the field of child psychology and development.

Attachment parenting has many variations based on this theory. This style of parenting was made popular by Paediatrician Dr William Sears who coined the 5 B's of attachment parenting.

The 5 B's include:
• Birth bonding
• Breastfeeding
• Baby wearing
• Bed sharing
• Being responsive

These practices do foster attachment and if you want to practice one or all of them then fantastic, I am a huge advocate for these things, but they aren't necessary to build a secure attachment with your baby.

Not all parents want to practice the 5 B's and many parents are unable to for various reasons. That doesn't mean they can't form a healthy attachment relationship with their baby.

There are many groups on social media for example that have their own version of attachment parenting. The principles of these individual groups can be strict and may not be inclusive to everyone and some may not be based on attachment theory itself.

So it's important to know that there is a difference and that when I refer to attachment I am referring to the theory which centres around the parent-child relationship and consistently sensitively responding to your child's needs. In doing so we become a secure base for our children, with a deep emotional connection which allows children to thrive.

Did you know that there was a difference?

07/10/2022

I recently did a post about the most common thing I hear from parents - " I wish I knew that before my baby was born".

I decided to put together 5 of the things that make parents say this into a free mini ebook for you all.

You can download the free 14 page guide here

https://babysleephealth.com.au/pages/5-things-every-parents-wishes-they-knew-before-kids

What is something you wish you knew before having kids?

06/10/2022

There's quite a few new faces that have recently joined us here that I'd like to welcome! I thought it might be a good time to reintroduce myself ☺️

My name is Sheridan and I am a Holistic Sleep Specialist and Registered Circle of Security Parenting Facilitator, with a background in psychology, research and sleep science.

I've spent the last 8 years working as a senior sleep scientist analysing sleep studies to diagnose sleep disorders and providing families with education about biologically normal infant sleep.

Since having my first baby in January 2021 (the gorgeous girl in the photo), I realised how little information and support new parents are given about infant and toddler sleep and behaviour and that there was a significant need for early parenting education outside of the sleep lab and medical setting.

A year later Baby Sleep Health was created to provide parents with evidence-based, holistic education and support for babies, children and their families.

My approach is family centered, relationship focused, aligned with attachment theory and based on sleep science and child development.

I offer one to one support, educational resources and group classes to empower parents with knowledge about normal infant and toddler sleep and behaviour, increase parental confidence, provide realistic expectations and improve sleep without sleep training.

Feel free to say hi in the comments!

📸

21/09/2022

You’ve heard the saying actions speak louder than words. This is especially true for babies that don’t have language yet. Babies learn about relationships long before they learn language.

When we consistently respond to our babies it sends the message to them “my caregiver is here, I am safe, I am worth it”.

This promotes a sense of self-worth and security right from infancy, which leads to resilient and confident toddlers and children.

Responsiveness, including at night, has a priceless impact on our little ones 🤍

20/09/2022

Many babies will begin to get their first tooth at around 6 months of age. This can make bub irritable, dribble more, put their hands in their mouth frequently and have poor sleep.

But these symptoms can also be due to the rapid development happening at this age. Salivary glands develop leading to increased drool. Hand and mouth co-ordination develops which means everything goes in the mouth. And other milestones like sitting and introduction of solids can lead to irritability and disrupted sleep.

So how do we know if our little one is actually teething?

Here are some signs that aren’t caused by development, just teeth.

• red cheeks
• stool changes
• wanting to chew on things (not just mouth them)
• less interested in solids
• these signs last a few days before the eruption of the tooth and a few days after

If it’s been a week(s) and there is no sign of eruption than it’s likely your baby is just experiencing a developmental phase.

Some babies won’t get teeth until closer to 12 months. So this information can be helpful in understanding what our baby is going through and how we can best support them.

What age did your little one get their first tooth? Have you experienced teething yet?

19/09/2022

6 qualities of a secure child

1. Have higher self-esteem
2. Know how to be kind to others
3. Solve problems on their own
4. Turn to their parents for help when in trouble
5. Trust the people they love
6. Have long lasting friendships

These positive qualities continue into adulthood, which means attachment during infancy and childhood influences our babies their entire lives.

It has such an impact that the connection a child has with their parents is deemed the most crucial part of childhood.

A secure attachment relationship can be built from birth, although it is never too late.

Parents can foster a secure attachment by
• responding sensitively to their babies
• learning to understand their cues and communicate with them
• make them feel safe
•be the secure base for exploration
• support their emotion learning

Building a secure attachment, understanding our babies and learning to communicate with them is the focus of the first class in Nurturing Your Newborn Sleep & Early Parenting classes. These live online classes are a 3 part series (2 hours each) which also includes normal infant sleep, gentle sleep strategies, baby behaviour and development.

Will you be joining us?

Early Nurturing

25/05/2023

16/01/2023

10/10/2022

08/10/2022

07/10/2022

06/10/2022

21/09/2022

20/09/2022

19/09/2022

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