"After giving birth to my first daughter, Grace, all the advise and books I was reading was not resonating with me and the other babies I was seeing, says Lauren Heffernan, Certified Holistic Maternity, Child Sleep Consultant, Certified Sleep Educator and Founder of IslaGrace.  I started questioning what I was reading in books, written in the 1980's.  Besides, things have changed and we know so much more now than we did then." In this podcast Heffernan talks about how new parents try to maintain some control over their new situation.  They naturally choose the two behaviors that cannot be controlled which is sleeping and eating.  However, books, numbers, pediatricians and even lactation consultants tell them otherwise.  They try to fit their baby to fit into a "box" by creating a sleeping and feeding schedule that does not work.  This creates an atmosphere of anxiety and stress which is relayed to the baby and makes the situation that much harder. Each baby, like each human being, is unique.  That uniqueness includes eating and sleeping.  Heffernan believes that babies and parents would have a much easier time if parents would "slow down and tune in" to their babies.  Heffernan developed an instinctual and more natural approach to sleeping called the Baby Led Sleep Approach.  This approach looks beyond the baby to their surroundings, situation and family dynamic. There are many reasons why a baby might not be sleeping.  Did they meet a new milestone?  Was there too much stimulation in their day?  Maybe they have not seen you in a while and need that connection and touch? Heffernan says, "stop reading the books and start tuning in to your baby."  She provides information and support to women at different stages of motherhood, and walks each one through the personal journey to become a more confident mother. Heffernan is very active on social media or for more information go to www.islagrace.ca