The Baby Sleep Connection: Holistic help for tired, responsive parents who don't want to sleep train

Heather explores the pressure she felt as a new mom to “measure up” and be “attachment-based enough”.  This pressure to be good enough is a theme that comes up often in her one-on-one and sleep group work. In this episode, Heather explores: “Attachment Parenting” and the 7 B’s Why checklist parenting undermines what is truly important to you (and what to focus on instead) The freedom in knowing th...

Baby wearing (carrying a baby on your body using a sling, wrap, or fabric carrier) is a popular and useful way of keeping baby close, and keeping a caregiver’s hands free.   In this episode, Heather talks with Jordan Morillo, maternal health occupational therapist, mom of one, and babywearing educator about the benefits and barriers to baby wearing.  Jordan became inspired to start The Babywearing...

In May, communities across Canada come together for Flora’s Walk to increase awareness of maternal mental health and raise funds for community agencies who support mothers in the perinatal period.  In this episode, Heather explores: The statistics around prevalence of mental illness in mothers and fathers in the perinatal period Common signs of Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorders 5 Strategies f...

If you’re feeling frustrated or discouraged by your baby’s sleep, you’re not alone.  There’s really no way to fully appreciate how exhausted you’ll be as a parent, even if you’ve been told you’re going to be tired and your baby will wake up often. In this episode, Heather breaks down 3 shifts you can make so that your baby’s sleep is easier and less draining starting  right now . So often in our s...

Corrie Rose is a Kinder Musik educator in Niagara Ontario and studio owner of Kinder Musik with Miss Corrie.  Music is a powerful and deeply engrained medium for learning, connection, and regulation.  Kinder Musik is a specific program that uses instruments, stories, and movement activities to support early development. In this episode we explore The benefits of music for mental health, regulation...

Naps can be a huge stress for parents.   You might be asking yourself: What time should naps be?  How long should they be?  How do you drop a nap?  And what on earth do you do if your baby falls asleep at 5pm?  What will happen to bedtime?! In this episode, Heather shares strategies on managing the messy middle of changing naps to support night time sleep. Have a listen to explore: How to distribu...

In February, I had the pleasure of speaking at Sleeposium 2025, an annual international conference for sleep professionals. I spoke about the importance of taking a STRENGTH-based approach when working with families. When families are seeking help around sleep, it’s not because things are going well –there are often some pretty big challenges and some significant hurdles.   Parents feel exhausted...

Heather is joined today by Helen Thompson, Tasmania-based infant massage instructor with over 3 decades of experience working with babies, toddlers, and their families. In this episode, Helen helps break down: How to be “baby-led” when doing baby massage What signals a baby gives so you can tune into their cues How a gentle massage routine can help babies relax and settle into easier sleep The rol...

It’s time for the Spring Forward time change! And that means losing a precious hour of sleep at a time in your parenting where every minute of sleep feels crucial. As much as I’d love us to be able to ditch the entire time change ritual every year, there are ways you can make this shift easier. In this episode, I share: How circadian rhythm drives sleep 3 approaches you can take to manage the time...

March Break is coming up.  For many families, that means travelling. But how do you go away and not see your baby's sleep fall apart? Listen to this episode for: 4 perspectives on why (and how) sleep might not tank the way you expect it to 3 practical strategies to tip the scales in favour of reasonable sleep AND a reasonable vacation 1 story of how our vacation to Mexico didn’t look like we expec...

If you’ve ever listened to a podcast while checking email while waiting for the washer to stop so you can turn laundry over, oh, AND you’re also feeding your baby, have a listen to my interview with Lisa Carpenter. Lisa is an anti-performance performance coach –and if you’re an overthinking multi-tasker who hasn’t considered your own needs and is attempting to be a perfect parent, you need her per...

In this episode, Heather Boyd, mom of 3, sleep coach, and occupational therapist dives into how to reframe your baby's difficult sleep. This is a throwback to episode 4 nearly 1 year ago! As an exhausted and overwhelmed parent, you are likely all too aware of how hard this is. Heather guides you to reflect on: 🦋 Appreciating that your baby is doing the best they can at this particular time....

There's not one "right way" to parent. Some of us are flexible, and adaptable; others of us tend to be more tied to predictability and routine. Some of us wing it, and others plan ahead. Join me in this episode to challenge your usual approach and give some thoughts to how to make things easier --regardless of your usual approach to parenting! In this episode, I compare baking cookie...

Parent coach, author, public speaker, and mom, Sarah R. Moore talks with Heather Boyd, Occupational Therapist and sleep coach about positive discipline, story teaching, and brain-based parenting. Sit in on this interview to learn: What is discipline?!  And how has it been misrepresented? What is story teaching, and how does it support human development? Brain-based approaches to parenting and disc...

Heather has been under the weather this past week, which has her reflecting on how she managed parenting responsibilities when she was sick when her kids were very young. Listen in as we move into cold and flu season for ways to manage acute illness when sick.  Have you been sick and navigating parenting?  What helped you through?   In this episode Heather talks about: Getting comfortable with not...

Heather Boyd, occupational therapist and mom of three, runs through 6 questions she recommends you ask yourself when your baby's sleep is going through a sticky stage. So often, there's an easier way within reach, and these 6 questions can help you find it. If sleep is tricky, ask yourself the following 4 questions: What works best for helping my baby fall asleep?   Am I resisting what works best...

Heather Boyd, occupational therapist and sleep coach, talks to Niagara IBCLC, Victoria Beninger, about the ways she supports new parents with feeding plans, goals, and the doubt and stress that new moms often carry.  We also talk about stress as a hidden impact on milk supply.  When there are so many products and lactation cookie recipes on line to increase milk supply, it’s a refreshing idea that...

Heather Boyd, mom of 3, Occupational Therapist, and certified Infant & Family Sleep Specialist shares 5 common sleep myths (and why they aren’t true). Listen in to hear about: “Junk sleep”: what’s the deal with sleeping in arms or falling asleep in the car?  Does it “count” as sleep?   Humans as carry mammals: how does this impact how we can help our babies sleep? Why looking to your baby for...

Heather Boyd, mom of 3, Occupational Therapist, and certified Infant & Family Sleep Specialist shares 3 ways parents tend to cheat themselves out of wellness when their baby isn't sleeping long stretches and needs lots of support to sleep. Listen in to hear: Where Heather sees most parents cheating themselves out of much needed sleep How to balance getting more sleep AND connecting with your p...

Heather Boyd, Occupational Therapist and sleep coach shares two key perspectives in making your baby’s sleep make sense. Listen in to learn: The two key perspectives that support sleep: sleep development, and understanding your baby’s needs Why sleep milestones should be approached more like the milestone of walking What important brain function allows adults to manage upset more easily than babie...

Heather Boyd, Occupational Therapist and sleep coach, talks with Karla Masse, IBCLC and mom of 6 about her role as a home visiting lactation consultant in Niagara, Ontario In this episode you’ll hear about: Karla’s journey that led her to become an IBCLC Perspectives on integrative approaches to lactation support Feeding “goals” versus “expectations” Karla’s passion for helping parents rediscover...

If you’ve felt the pressure to leave your baby in their bedroom, alone, to fall asleep (despite it going against your instincts), or you’re just discovering that maybe there’s an alternative to leaving your baby to cry, listen in on this episode as Heather Boyd, occupational therapist, sleep coach, and mom of 3, explores why not crying-it-out is so important. In this episode you’ll hear Heather ta...

If you’ve been trying to fit a square peg baby into a round hole based on what you’ve been told about sleep, listen to this week’s episode as Heather Boyd, O.T. and Certified Infant & Family Sleep Specialist delves into ways to reduce some of the friction between what you’re trying to shape and how you can lean into the need instead, to get easier sleep. In this episode, Heather covers: The 3...

Heather Boyd speaks with Dr. Nerina Ramlakhan, a physiologist and sleep therapist with a passion for supporting people and organizations using Western medicine, Eastern philosophy, consciousness, evolution, and feelings of safety for our nervous systems. In this episode, Dr. Nerina and Heather explore: How our nervous systems developed through evolution to support surviving and thriving. The resou...

It's hard enough managing the sleep deprivation and deluge of information about what you SHOULD be doing to support your baby's sleep. But now you’ve got to google “sleep coach” and figure out what coach you should pay money to to support you? In this episode, Heather Boyd explains how to find a coach who’s right for you (even if you’re looking for something different than what she offers...