The Responsive Family Sleep Podcast
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by conflicting sleep information; frustrated by sleep advice that felt wrong; or searched for a truly gentle, responsive alternative to sleep training, then you are in the right place. In each episode I’ll be answering your most pressing baby and toddler sleep questions, dispelling common sleep myths, deepening your understanding of biologically normal sleep, and encouraging you to trust your intuition. And because sleep is rarely just about sleep, you may just find some responsive parenting, lactation, or self-care tips sprinkled in along the way.
I’m your host, Kim Hawley, MA, MPH, IBCLC Holistic Sleep Coach, Lactation Consultant, Peaceful Parenting Educator, and mom. My specialty is truly holistic, developmental, attachment focused sleep support – no hidden sleep training here!
Episodes
91 episodes
Is Bedsharing A Bad Habit?
Our culture is so anti bedsharing that we tend to only hear (or interpret) bedsharing stories as scary, bad, worse case scenario situations. In this episode, I’m unpacking the idea that bedsharing is a bad habit or a tool parents are scared of ...
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Episode 90
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18:35
How To Know If It's Time To Drop A Nap?
Nap struggles are frustrating, but they don’t always mean it’s time to drop a nap. In this episode I’m talking about nap transitions. I share common times for nap transitions as well as the fact that transitions are often messy times with...
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Episode 89
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12:12
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How To Know Your Postpartum Doula Is Lactation And Normal Sleep Supportive With Alex King
Throughout human history new parents had support with their newborns around the clock from their friends and family. Now, most parents don’t have friends and family who are able to help overnight, and postpartum doulas are an option for nightti...
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Episode 88
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42:38
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Simple Steps To Nurture Your Sleep
Modern life is not sleep friendly for any of us. While there are many ways to better support and optimize baby and toddler sleep, let’s not forget that there are often simple things that adults can do to support your own sleep (no matter how yo...
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Episode 87
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15:22
Avoiding The Comparison Trap
Your baby is an individual and comparing them to other babies can create a whole lot of unnecessary stress and struggle. In this episode I’m talking about how comparisons make your life harder as a parent, especially if you have a baby or toddl...
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Episode 86
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11:34
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How To Make Bedtimes Easier: Your Parenting Superpower
Sleep is separation, and connection is our best tool to support through a separation challenge. And in fact, connection is almost always part of the answer to most parenting challenges. In this episode, I’m talking about the role of connection ...
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Episode 85
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11:13
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The Dad Perspective With Adam Angel LCSW
There’s a lot of focus on moms and their experience with baby sleep, but less attachment based conversations focusing on the dad experience. While I’m fortunate to get to support many actively involved dad’s through my work, I’m also a mom , no...
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Episode 84
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1:00:07
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When Can I Get My Baby On A Schedule?
When can I get my baby on a schedule is a very popular question I get from parents of younger babies (and even parents of older babies struggling with sleep unpredictability). It’s understandable as schedules bring predictability and order to w...
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Episode 83
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9:44
How To Spot Hidden Sleep Training Info (Even When It’s Called Gentle)
The world of sleep information is full of information that claims to be gentle and responsive but is really just sleep training with gentle marketing. So many of the sleep norms commonly shared are just wishful thinking for sleep training outco...
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Episode 82
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16:35
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Understanding The Stages Of Attachment With Heather Boyd
Attachment is the most fundamental need and yet we don’t do much to educate parents around attachment – what is it and what do we need to do in our parenting to support it? In this week’s episode I’m joined by my friend, colleague and s...
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Episode 81
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56:25
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Realistic Expectations For Older Toddler Sleep (2 And 3 Year Olds)
Is it normal for my toddler to still wake? Surely they should be independent by now….. Even the most responsive parents can sometimes feel like toddler sleep should be easier than it is. In this last episode of my realistic expectations mini se...
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Episode 80
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13:04
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Embracing Your Feeding Journey With Kassi Reyes IBCLC
Feeding and sleep are two of the most individual and emotive topics in early parenting. In this episode I’m joined by Kassi Reyes, IBCLC to talk about navigating your feeding journey, especially when things don’t go as expected. We talk...
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Episode 79
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44:19
Realistic Expectations For Younger Toddler Sleep (12-24 Months)
Your baby isn’t a baby any more – suddenly they are a toddler. After that first birthday the unrealistic expectations just keep coming. We expect so much from our young toddlers that they just aren’t ready for yet. In this 4th episode o...
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Episode 78
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13:35
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What's The Deal With Wake Windows?
Wake windows – helpful or stress inducing….it really depends on the family. However, wake windows are commonly shared as precise, exact rules we must follow or else (insert some fear based message). In this episode I’m sharing s...
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Episode 77
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12:55
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Let’s Talk Mom Guilt With Jillian Neill
Parenting is hard, and there are so many rules, shoulds, and external expectations that can lead to feelings of mom guilt. In this episode I’m joined by Dr. Jillian Neill, a psychologist specializing in the parenting transition. We talk about:<...
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Episode 76
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58:11
Realistic Expectations For Older Baby Sleep (6-12 Months)
There are so many unrealistic expectations perpetuated about older baby sleep that it’s no wonder that so many parents are confused and overwhelmed about what’s going on. This episode is the third in my series on realistic expectations....
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Episode 75
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18:25
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How To Get Back On Track With Sleep After The Holidays
It’s January, and you may be thinking about bringing some order to the chaos that the holidays brought to your sleep routines. In this episode, I’m sharing some tips for getting back on track and into a good rhythm with sleep. This is a good ti...
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Episode 74
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10:28
Realistic Expectations For Little Baby Sleep (3-6 Months)
You finally feel like you got the hang of things, and then your baby is in a whole new phase! This is a really common feeling in this phase of babyhood. This episode is the second in my realistic expectations by age short series. I’m sharing so...
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Episode 73
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13:22
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Coregulation And The Parent Baby Nervous Systems With Meaghan Beames
We tend to think of baby and parent as separate beings, separate nervous systems. And yet in so many ways they are part of an inter-connected, inter-dependent system.In this episode I’m talking with Meaghan Beames, an experienced Regist...
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Episode 72
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50:15
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Realistic Expectations For Newborn Sleep (0-3 Months)
What is normal for newborn sleep? How can parents have more realistic expectations? Our culture is full of unrealistic expectations about baby sleep and it creates so much stress, worry, and anxiety. This episode starts a short series I...
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Episode 71
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20:18
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Mindful Parenting With Sultana Karim
Early parenting is an intense time that can challenge us physically, emotionally, and mentally. A wonderful tool for coping with the intensity, challenges, and changes that come with parenting a young child is mindful parenting. In...
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Episode 70
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42:18
Holiday Family Rituals And Traditions
To those in the US who celebrate, Happy Thanksgiving. This is a short episode to kick off the holiday season. There’s so much pressure to create traditions and have perfect family holiday rituals right from the start. In this episode, I encoura...
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Episode 69
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6:42
Informed Decision Making When You Aren't Always Given All Your Options With Kaely Harrod
How can you make informed decisions when you don’t know all your options? Well, you can’t! From sleep setups and safety to navigating big sleep transitions and parent led changes, knowing your options makes a huge difference. In this week’s epi...
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Episode 68
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41:35
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It's Time To Stop One Size Fits All Sleep Info
Have you ever noticed how much sleep information and advice seems to be very generic, one size fits all? As if all babies have the exact same sleep needs and it’s only a matter of being consistent to get all babies sleeping alike. In this week’...
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Episode 67
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17:22
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Anxiety and Sleep with Clare Donofrio
Does baby sleep make you anxious? Does your anxiety keep you from sleeping? Either or both of these things can be true. The relationship between anxiety and sleep as a new parent is complex. IN this episode I’m joined by Clare Donofrio, a perin...
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Episode 66
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45:40
