00: Introducing the Good Mornings Podcast
In This Episode:
Welcome to the debut episode of the Good Mornings Podcast with Jessica Bryant. Jessica is a sleep strategist and founder of Sleep Happy Consulting. She has been on the floor with children for over 25 years, working, playing, studying, collaborating, and communicating with children and their families. In this podcast, Jessica will be offering parents workable tools and strategies to their personal parenting toolkit starting with sleep as the foundation. Welcome to the show.
The Big Idea
Parenting is the most impactful job you will ever have and no one was meant to do it alone. On The Good Mornings Podcast I will be alongside you offering a fresh perspective along a heavy dose of encouragement each week to keep parents feeling encouraged.
Questions I Answer
How long can infants sleep at night?
How to help a toddler sleep longer at night?
Where can I find help with my child’s sleep?
Does kid sleep get better?
Actions to Take
Follow the Good Mornings Podcast
Help more parents wake up having a good mornings, where they don't have to be so tired, by sharing this podcast with a friend. And then send me an email and let me know because I would love to personally thank you and cheer on your happy sleep.
Look back on your child’s last day and make note of their mood, awake times, nap duration, and timing of bedtime. This will help you determine if your child’s bedtime is too late or they are not getting enough day sleep.
Follow me on Instagram so we can connect.
Resources and Links
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(01:15):
Hello, friend. Welcome to the Good Mornings podcast. I'm over the moon to start this podcast journey, so welcome. I'm excited you're here. If you know me. You know I love to talk about sleep. I've talked about the value of prioritizing children's sleep to thousands of families over the years. Plus I still talk about sleep at the bank, in the chair, at the salon, and each morning in the kitchen with my family. It's not even me who brings it up. Just this morning, my teenage son asked me how my sleep was and told me about his. My gifts lay in helping parents prioritize their children's sleep. My clients are always telling me stories about how they channel my voice at bedtime or in the heat of challenges with their children. They'll look at their partner and ask, What would Jessica say in this moment? Clients ask me to write down my advice or say those magic words again.
(02:23):
That feel so good. So here we are stepping into a new adventure of podcasting. I thought it would be the perfect fit for busy moms and dads. An opportunity to meet you where you are right now and encourage you along the parenting journey. I know your plates are full, but I see you craving tips and tools and small bites of information that can make a big impact in your lives. If you're new to me in this sleep happy world and yes, whose sleep does make it a happier world, let me tell you a little bit about me and why I'm here to help you. I'm a sleep strategist and founder of Sleep Happy Consulting. I've been on the floor with children for over 25 years, working, playing, studying, collaborating, and communicating with children and their families. It's my favorite thing in my practice. I provide tools like how to decode your baby's cues, scripts, what to say in the heat of the moment, when your toddler derails your thoughts, how to look at that two hour frustration loop of a bedtime routine in a different way, or how to address those early wake ups that just keep coming.
(03:50):
I provide workable strategies for you to consider adding to your parenting toolkit. Parents come back to the strategies I provide over and over again because I have become a trusted resource for my families, one who bases all my advice on building communication and creating healthy boundaries in partnership with their children. Parents trust me because in a parenting world filled with judgment, fear, and comparison, I'm a shame-free space to share your challenges. Parents know that I seek to learn about their child and their family's needs. Before I just jump to creating a plan, You know how you wish your baby came with a user manual? Well, in this podcast, I'll be alongside you helping you fill your own parenting user manual and helping you build the right toolkit for your family. I'll be offering a different perspective. I'll be encouraging you to consider this. Sleep is possible no matter how sleep deprived and frustrated you are right now, I'll be reminding you how valuable you are and that listening to your own guidance is the first step to fulfilled parenting.
(05:15):
I'm in the business of getting partners back in the bedroom with their significant others parent back to being present and rested, young children leading the charge for confident bedtimes and raising the happiness factor for morning wake ups by the thousands. That's why we're calling this podcast The Good Morning Podcast. <Laugh> bottom line, I'm in the business of building fulfilled families. Families come in all shapes and sizes. However, they're similar in nature. They're created in love. They have different members, and all those members are people that need sleep and the little people need the big people to be rested, healthy and able to be connected in their relationship. What's the foundation of fulfilled families sleep? I know it sounds too basic, right? If no one sleeps in your family day in and day out, do you feel fulfilled? This podcast will be structured like a short but valuable pep talk.
(06:27):
Just like those meaningful conversations you have with trusted friends or family members that leave you feeling lighter, more confident and encouraged like that, but even better because I'll give you the strategies you need each week. I'll talk about one area that parents tell me is frustrating or confusing. I'll offer a takeaway and a quick win for you to implement. Each week, each episode, you will hear stories, metaphors, and tools to help you prioritize sleep for your family so that your time together is happier, healthier, and more fulfilled. I've always been obsessed with sleep. Even as a child growing up, I was a great sleeper. I grew up knowing sleep was valuable, so much so that I had sleep in my marriage contract. Just ask Alan. I loved him and I wanted to love him forever. I had parents that never went to bed together. I decided going to bed together was going to be an important thing in my relationship.
(07:36):
I made my husband, Alan promised that we would go to bed at the same time each night. He will tell you 23 years later that I shifted his sleep cycle and he sleeps better as an adult than he did as a child. But my goal was not to change his sleep. It was rooted in the desire to maintain a deep, meaningful relationship over the long haul. Fast forward to motherhood, a journey I'd been dreaming about since childhood. I was that child who loved babies and toddlers and small children. I even spent my time at the neighborhood pool playing in the baby pool with the toddlers because my mom said I was too young to babysit. As an adult, I naed and babysat. In my free time between teaching kindergarten, I dreamed of being a mom and then I gave birth to Madeline as a new mom.
(08:32):
I was trudging through with a few trusted resources and my experience as a nanny, but something felt off. I thought it would be easier. My schedule felt frustrating. Mallon was going down to bed, okay, you know, around 10:00 PM but she was waking late in the morning and our schedule fell off. I just couldn't figure it out. I felt defeated. I sensed it could be better. One afternoon I was visiting with some neighbors down the street. One of the moms had a three year old, so I was busy soaking up all her knowledge. I mentioned that something was off with our routine and I just couldn't put a finger on it. I explained that Madeline was going down great most of the time for naps and nights, but our feeds and our schedule was just discombobulated. That's when she mentioned one sentence that transformed my life.
(09:35):
Words I had never even considered for a five month old baby <laugh>. Little did I know how my life would change. She said the words, You know, babies can sleep from 7:00 PM to 7:00 AM no <laugh>. What do you mean? How do you know this? Where can I find this information? I had no idea. Babies, that little could have a bedtime at seven o'clock. You see, my pediatrician never said a thing about sleep. No expectation, no guidance. I'm not sure why I thought she would, but I expected her to have an answer for everything. I had no clue that a healthy baby could get 11 to 12 hours of straight sleep at night and wake fully rested <laugh>. Well, that was all I needed to test this theory. My neighbor let me the book and I went to work preparing to test this theory on Madeline.
(10:38):
I dove into all the information and sure enough, three days after that conversation in the driveway, I had backed up her bedtime each night and she was going down to bed at seven, easily waking hungry at 7:00 AM and we were back on track. The grouchiness was gone. The weird feeds and naps were back on track. I was a new human. My mind was blown. This simple tidbit from the neighbor down the street set the course for my deep dive into children's sleep. It allowed me to shift back to blending my new mothering duties while at the same time nurturing my relationship with Alan. We now had time to connect, a time to talk, watch a show. We were getting more sleep. It felt good. It really helped us as a couple. As we transitioned into parenting, we each had time to recharge and work together.
(11:44):
He even had our first babysitter come after we put Madeline to bed. She never even knew we weren't home and this sitter. She never heard a peep. This well rested routine helped our family stay connected as we weathered two miscarriages and then a surprise twin pregnancy. The patterns I worked so hard to create for our family allowed for Alan and i's parents to have an active role in their very first grandchild. She spent overnights with them. She was confident in her sleep routine at their homes, and our parents got to enjoy quality time to bond with her and get to know her and have a lot of fun. Instead of having to push through an exhausted, overstimulated, crying child who fussed the entire time they were awake. My confidence fed Madeline's confidence and it was a win-win situation for all of us. When the twins were born <laugh>, oh, that was a a wild ride, but sleep wise, I got them both on the 7:00 PM schedule as quickly as possible.
(12:58):
Yes, it looked different and it was seven months before they were sleeping through the night, but with three children, three and under, it was the only way I survived <laugh> and stayed mostly same. I didn't realize this wasn't the norm for other families. I started to hear moms share how overwhelmed and maxed out they were. I heard from dads who talked about how they missed their wives and connecting with them and they just didn't know how to help. I started helping families with sleep routines because I wanted to help their relationships stay connected. I believe the most important thing you can do for your child is maintain a healthy relationship with your significant other. How can you do that if both parents are exhausted, irritable, sleep in different rooms and operate on different schedules? In my practice, I provide training for small businesses and community groups as well as working with families one on one across the United States and the world in person, and virtually.
(14:07):
My perspective is not one size fits all. My expertise does lie in building confident in independent sleepers. I bring a strong child development background to the sleep equation and I focus on the needs of the child, and I help families combine their needs with their child's needs to create a workable, repeatable routine that leads to happy sleep for life. Parenting is one of the hardest things you will ever do, and no one is meant to do it alone. I aim to remind parents to trust their inner voice, to know that you have a special way that you're meant to parent, but at the same time, know that you're not meant to have all the answers all the time. Know that you might just need a little bit more information, a little guidance and support along the way. It's okay to ask for help when you become overwhelmed in parenting. When you feel like you're hitting a wall over and over and you're waving the white flag, you have me to fall back on. Everyone wants to sleep happy. Sometimes you need a fresh perspective and some encouragement, which is what you will find here on the Good Morning's podcast.
(15:36):
I sure hope you left feeling encouraged. I loved hanging out with you today and I am so grateful you were here. If you would like more information about Sleep happy, be sure to visit our website@sleephappyconsulting.com and sign up for our weekly emails. If you liked what you heard today, please share this podcast with your friends or your favorite parenting group. I can't wait to get to know you and learn more about how I can lift you up in the journey of parenting. Fulfilled families are our mission. I'm Jessica Bryant and this is The Good Mornings podcast.
_Jessica Bryant is a sleep expert who specializes in working with parents to help families sleep better.
Jessica Bryant is a sleep strategist and speaker who helps tired parents understand the importance of sleep and how to create good sleep habits for their young children.
Jessica Bryant helps parents stop fighting sleep with their young children. She provides strategies to help babies sleep through the night, take naps and stay healthy.
