Baby sleep without rules: trusting your instincts over the schedule
Baby Sleep Without Rules: What No One Tells New Moms
The Tiny Big Joys Podcast | Guest: Lauren Weber | Host: Annabella Daily
What if the rigid schedules, wake windows, and sleep training pressure are doing more harm than good? Lauren Weber — certified baby and adult sleep coach, founder of Isla Grace Sleep — shares the one thing most sleep experts leave out: trusting yourself. We cover self-soothing myths, safe bed sharing, sleep pressure, and the three simplest things an exhausted mom can do tonight.
Instagram @thetinybigjoys
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About Lauren Weber
Certified baby and adult sleep coach, founder of Isla Grace Sleep. Lauren works with families worldwide helping moms step away from rigid methods and back toward their own instincts — drawing from her own experience taking two very different approaches with two children.
Instagram @islagracesleep
Key Takeaways
Schedules: Babies need a rhythm, not a rigid timetable. Different babies at the same age have completely different sleep needs.
Wake windows: If your nap routine takes longer than 10 minutes, your baby probably isn't tired yet. Try starting 45 minutes later.
Self-soothing: The ability to regulate emotions doesn't begin until ages 5–7. When a baby left alone to cry eventually goes quiet, their nervous system is shutting down — not learning.
Bed sharing: Most of the world does it. Follow the Safe Sleep 7 and set up your space intentionally before exhaustion forces the decision.
Mom's sleep: Keep baby close, go to bed earlier, involve your partner, consider a dream feed. A five-hour stretch is the goal.
Guilt: When you know better, you do better. No single event determines attachment — it's never too late to shift.
Radical acceptance: Sleep is biological. You can support it, but you cannot control it. Obsessing over it often makes it worse.
Resources
Safe Infant Sleep — Professor James McKenna
The Safe Sleep 7 (search: La Leche League Safe Sleep 7)
Ferritin testing — ask a naturopath if baby wakes hourly and you had low ferritin in pregnancy
Airway health — ENT or pediatric dentist for snoring or mouth breathing
IBCLC — lactation consultant for gassy babies, breast or bottle fed
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