Yes that's right, more Lucy! We had so much to say about second babies that we had to make it into a 2-parter. What if you can't imagine loving. your new baby as much as your first? How does the bond work? How do you do bedtime with two children (and one parent?) Are nap times always a disaster if your older child doesn't understand the concept of 'quiet! the baby is sleeping ..read more

Are you ever ready?What might sleep look like the second time around? Is there such a thing as a 'perfect age gap'? How do you keep your sh*t together when sleep deprived AND looking after another small human?I talk to my very good friend (and fellow sleep consultant) Lucy Bagwell about what she's learnt since having her second baby and try to take in as much advice as possible now that I'm verrrry pregnant again ..read more

What if there was no word for self-settling? How different would your parenting experience be if nobody expected your baby to sleep in a cot in their own room? This week I'm joined by Lenka Medvecová Tinková from the Durham University Infancy and Sleep Centre to talk about how our cultural expectations shape parenting decisions and ultimately how we feel about ourselves as mothers.For more information about Lenka you can follow her on Instagram: the English speaking account is @sleepanthropologist or she has her Czech account @prosimspinkejhttps://prosimspinkej.cz/And for more info about Durha ..read more

A controversial question this week! There will be people who say that cry-it-out is always wrong/cruel/avoidable. And others that believe it is the best thing ever. But what about the space in between these two polarised stances? Kaitlin Klimmer and I are both sleep specialists who offer alternatives to sleep training, but where do we stand on the moral debate around infant sleep and controlled crying? We go deep into temperament, cultural expectations/norms, maternal mental health and setting boundaries whilst protecting attunement.Austria-based, Canadian sleep specialist and mother of two, K ..read more

Are you holding yourself to the highest standards as a mum? Have you noticed a cycle of self-criticism creeping in? What happens when perfectionists and people pleasers have babies? This week's guest, Catherine Counihan, is an Integrative Psychotherapist working in private practice in London. Cath specialises in complex trauma, perfectionism, nervous system healing, shifting dysfunctional patterns in our families and reparenting. One of her areas of expertise is how our own childhoods impact our parenting journey. Her passion is to shift shame and help each client gain an embodied sense of b ..read more

Just fill their tummies and they'll sleep all night, right? Is food under one just for fun? And what about adding rice or cereal to a bottle at 4m... where do these ideas come from?My guest today, Stacey Zimmels is a Paediatric Speech and Language Therapist as well as a Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). She offers feeding therapy plus breastfeeding and lactation support online, in the home or at a London clinic. Feed Eat Speak has a range of brilliant online resources as well - including courses and webinars about introducing solids, breastfeeding, bottle feeding and eating behaviours in older chi ..read more

Is your baby sleeping less than their peers? Are they cat-nappers with late bedtimes but... actually thriving? You might be surprised to learn that this is actually A Thing! The idea that all babies need long naps and 12hrs overnight is totally outdated and not backed by science. But if you have a low sleep needs kid, you might be struggling to find more information about this.I spoke to fellow sleep consultant Paula Morales McDowell about how she discovered her own son had low sleep needs and how they made this work for their family. Are babies harmed by having less sleep? Will they develop ..read more

My guest today is the relationship therapist and coach, Catherine Topham Sly who you may know from her Instagram account Insight and Connection. She is the expert in happy relationships after kids – and this is a subject that I have been desperate to cover for so long.In my opinion, how our relationships and partnerships change after becoming parents is still not spoken about widely enough. Especially in the lead up to birth itself. So when our relationship is adapting to this new stage of life it can come as a real shock when things aren’t as harmonious and blissfully loved-up as they seem to ..read more

Can you be a responsive parent when you've got more than one baby? How do you get two or three babies to sleep at the same time? Do they 'have to' self-settle? Is it possible to co-sleep with twins? And what happens if you've got a big family and the youngest is a highly sensitive soul that needs a lot of extra support? Kathryn Stagg is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC for short!) and qualified sleep coach. She's also a mum of four and runs the brilliant Breastfeeding Twins and Triplets group on Facebook. https://kathrynstaggibclc.com/ https://en-gb.facebo ..read more

We really don't hold back in this week's episode! Is it ok to live sleep train a 4 month old baby on Instagram? Do paediatricians have the right to tell new parents they should leave their baby to cry it out? Are we shaming other mothers by saying controlled crying isn't for us? Rachael runs HeySleepyBaby - the largest biologically-normal infant sleep account on Instagram - and as a result, she receives a lot of DMs from people who think differently to her. So I knew she'd be the perfect person to dissect the baby sleep industry with. These are really important conversations, especiall ..read more