Integrative Lactation Care

Navigating the minefield of infant/toddler sleep advice as a new parent is truly a nightmare.

There are a thousand different “expert” opinions & approaches – from social media, to MD-authored books, everyone’s favorite parenting economist, and of course: your mother-in-law.

And I’ll be completely honest with you: most of it is bullshit.

Our culture has WAY overcomplicated sleep for parents. That’s not to say that parent sleep deprivation & sleep challenges aren’t real – they absolutely are. But rigid schedules, wake windows, complex swaddles & devices…they aren’t the answer. YOU are.

My Approach: Supported Sleep

As an integrative IBCLC with additional training in holistic sleep support, functional nutrition, and perinatal mental health, I am very unique in my approach to coaching parents through sleep struggles.

What can you expect in a Supported Sleep consult?

Normalize Normal: I help you to understand what is biologically normal for your baby. How many wakes are developmentally appropriate at their age? What kind of parental presence is optimal for restful infant sleep & brain development? Debunking the many, many myths that are used to sell popular sleep programs (“12 hours by 12 weeks”, “eat, play, sleep”, “self-soothing”, etc) and helping you tune into YOUR intuition and your family’s unique rhythms & values significantly reduces stress and anxiety around sleep.

Rule Out Red Flags: If you ask your pediatrician about your child’s frequent wakes or restless sleep, it’s likely that you’ll either be told “they’ll grow out of it” or that sleep training is the only answer. But the reality is that restless sleep is a red flag that points to underlying dysfunction in the body (feeding issues, poor digestion, reflux, “colic”, to name just a few). I conduct a functional sleep assessment to identify any possible issues contributing to poor sleep, and provide care and/or referrals to address them.

Center Connection: I help you to lean into the incredible, transformative power of your connection with your child, and dismantle the fallacy that “independence” is essential for good sleep. Attachment and co-regulation is core to all of my work, and we prioritize nurture every step of the way.

Zero Sleep Training: I believe separation-based sleep training methods are harmful to both infant and parent mental health, and they mask deeper issues. Many parents seek me out because they do not want to pursue sleep training, or because they have already tried it and it did not solve their issues.

Creative Collaboration: We work together to create a plan to make sleep feel more sustainable in both the short-term, and the long-term. I pull tools out of my toolbox, and you tell me whether you think they are a good fit for your family. We look at parent nutrition & wellness, infant wellness, sleep hygiene, sleep environment, your support system, and more, and prioritize adjustments that make sense to you.

Your Sleep Plan Should Make You Feel Great

If you have worked with another sleep consultant, or purchased a program online, and the recommendations gave you a pit in your stomach, that is important information. That is your gut telling you it isn’t the right fit.

One of the key signals I look for in my consults with parents on sleep? Relaxed body language.

I look for two parents eyes’ meeting in relief that they no longer have to listen to their child cry behind a closed door, unsure of when it will end.

I see a mom’s shoulders drop away from her ears when she realizes she can freely nurse her baby to sleep without worrying she’s creating bad habits.

I live for the smile that creeps across a parent’s face when I remind them that 70% of the world cosleeps, and if that is working for them, they should feel free to keep doing it, too.

I am honest and upfront with parents that I will not guarantee that your baby will sleep through the night or put themselves to sleep. In fact, they probably won’t (and that’s not only okay, it’s a good thing!).

But I will help you feel more confident, empowered, and grounded in your parenting and how to navigate your child’s sleep.

Working Together

The best part? Working together might even be covered by your insurance. 🙂

Because I am an IBCLC and my approach to sleep support includes an assessment of infant feeding, 1-1 consultations are eligible to be billed as lactation/feeding care for most families.

If you’re local, you can also register to attend my free weekly support group and ask sleep questions there!

Self-pay consults are also available if your insurance does not cover IBCLC care.