When parents bring their new baby home, everything about their life changes — priorities, schedules, and sleep. After many sleepless nights, parents can become fixated on how to help their new little one sleep longer stretches. We get it. We’ve been there. It can be exhausting. But most parents think sleep training their baby is the only way to get through it. We thought so, too, until we met Rachael Shepard-Ohta. We like to call her “the no-sleep-training sleep consultant.” She’s all about evidence-based, intuitive, and respectful baby sleep and helps parents listen to their intuition, learn more about their specific babies, and helps them discover what’s best for them.
Rachael has a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Elementary and Special Education. When her son was born, she became obsessed with baby sleep, and through her baby sleep journey, she discovered her new passion. Rachael then decided to pivot her entire career to helping other mothers thrive! She does exactly that with her business and social media, gently leading parents and their babies to sleep better. If you haven’t seen Rachael on Instagram @heysleepybaby yet, you’ll see a refreshingly new side to baby’s sleep and attachment that hasn’t been discussed much before. And on today’s episode, you’ll learn more about sleep science, how to understand your baby (from their temperament and sensory profile to how they form attachments), and more.
Topics We Discussed:
- How she came to use this attachment-first method and why she thinks it is beneficial
- Her opinion on traditional sleep training
- Her tips for moms in the “sleep obsession” phase and how they can be more confident
- How infant brain development and attachment play a part in how our babies learn to sleep
