This guest post was written by Jessica Brodey, a trained and certified Gentle Sleep CoachSM. Through her company Eat-Sleep-Love, Jessica provides private consultations with parents to help them develop healthy sleep habits for their children by creating and implementing sleep plans that are tailored to each child’s needs and respect parental philosophies; seminars and workshops on sleep strategies for parents of infants and young children; Happiest Baby courses; breastfeeding education and support; and guidance, advocacy and support for parents seeking early interventions, assessments, Individualized Education Programs, or Section 504 Plans for their children. Please see Jessica’s contact information at the end of the post.

The first six months of parenting a new baby are a challenging time, especially for first-time parents. New parents struggle with a changing family dynamic, the responsibility of getting to know their new baby, and balancing feeding, sleeping, and other care needs. Parents welcoming a subsequent baby into the family share these same challenges, but must also balance the needs of their newborn against the needs of their older children. Sleep (or the lack thereof) is a critical factor for parents as they embark on parenting their new baby.
[Read more…]