Meet WE SLUMBR; Let’s Chat Child Sleep + Motherhood
The Best Thing You’ll Ever Read About Your Child’s Sleep (in our opinion)
Meet WE SLUMBR, founded by Lyla Wright. WE SLUMBR is a loving and supportive approach to end you and your child’s sleep deprivation, helping families achieve better sleep lies in the happiness that comes with a well rested child. If you’d like to know more about the wonderful Lyla and WE SLUMBR, read on lovely …
Name:
Lyla Wright, founder and owner of WE SLUMBR
Resides In:
Lennox Head, Australia
Describe yourself in 5 words:
Clear-minded, compassionate, adaptable, gentle and a Mother
Favorite simple pleasures:
My daughters laugh, cups of tea and ocean swims
What was your journey to motherhood like:
The greatest journey I have ever experienced and it has left me feeling more like myself than ever. The journey has felt instinctual, despite nothing being able to prepare you for it. Motherhood stretches you to your limits and then pushes you some more. You learn to live with your heart outside your chest. Your hands and heart are forever full - but better full than empty. Motherhood forces you to slow down and appreciate even the smallest of things.
How and why did you start WE SLUMBR?
After experiencing some pretty exhausting (to put it nicely) sleep challenges, I was deep into purchasing every guide I could find, hoping one of them held the secret answer. However, nothing seemed to work for our strong willed, yet sensitive little Coastie girl. Coast was exhausted (hello tears) because she wasn’t getting anywhere near enough sleep, despite my efforts. And I was exhausted, on a level I had never experienced and I found it so hard to fathom that during a time when I needed to be as clear minded and rested as possible, to truly give this child and my relationships everything they needed, I was more foggy and exhausted than ever. I was told by a friend “oh Lyla, just expect to not sleep for the next 2 years, this is just what happens!”. Yes, parenting absolutely comes with unpredictable and often disjointed sleep and yes, the newborn period is months we generally need to surrender to the experience. But I just couldn’t understand how I was going to show up to this role as a mum, being the best I could be on little to no sleep for the next 2 years! I just couldn’t accept that. And guess what, turns out you don’t have to. So finally after reaching out to a sleep consultant and getting some individualised help our lives were forever changed and here we are. Having a curiosity and love for learning and having already completed a Bachelor's Degree in Psychological Science, naturally the next step was to complete my certification to become an Infant and Child Sleep Consultant - I found sleep absolutely fascinating and was experiencing first hand truly how deep sleep deprivation runs within a family. So I thought even if I never used it within a business setting, being able to support my child/ren's sleep would be worth its weight in gold. Once we were receiving adequate sleep again our daughter was happier and less irritable. I instantly became a better mother, partner, sister, daughter and friend. My confidence in myself and my role as a mother blossomed and I was truly able to really soak in the experience of motherhood and most of all really, really, really enjoy it. So here my passion is to help other sleep deprived children and families receive the sleep we so desperately need and deserve blossomed into WE SLUMBR. A platform to support and improve the lives of others, just as mine was, one bubba at a time.
Lyla’s top 5 tips for obtaining better sleep, for both mum and baby:
1. Make sure your goals reflect YOUR goals. What is seen as a challenge in one family may be totally sustainable for another so it is so important for your focus to remain aligned with your goals - this will help to support you to remain consistent with whatever you choose to do!
2. Sleep associations - I love em'!! Introducing sleep associations that you can layer in to support your child's sleep can be so powerful. Think comforter/blankey, sleeping bag/swaddle, white noise, dark sleep space, sleepy phrase. Sleep associations can help your child anticipate the onset of sleep - which can help with settling and ease bedtime resistance. They are also fantastic when transitioning between sleep spaces to maintain familiarity (such as day care or when traveling).
3. Routines! I am a big one for structure around sleep. This doesn't have to mean a super rigid routine that you need to follow down to the minute. But rather focusing on where their sleep is falling throughout the day and ensuring that they are having the right amount of day sleep and create optimal sleep debt going into each nap and night sleep, which will help to consolidate their sleep. It will also make sure they are going into their sleeps without being over or under tired, both of which contribute to difficulty with settling and resettling and effect sleep consolidation.
4. Consistency and exposure!! Children only know what the are exposed to and they are exposed via consistency. If you want to see changes, consistently expose them to the new way of sleep/settling and soon enough that will be all they know and their norm.
5. Seek help! The best investment you will ever make. It is absolutely okay to have or want to have boundaries around your child's sleep. Just like we all hold boundaries around our children's nutrition or hygiene for example, often boundaries around their sleep are necessary for the whole family - it is always important to consider the positive impact these new boundaries will have for not only bub but for mum, dad and the rest of the family too.
Why is good sleep so important for both mum and baby?
Our children are happier, their attention and behavior improves, their capacity to learn is greater, and their overall mental and physical health is better supported when they are receiving adequate sleep - sleep is a basic, essential need. We are better mothers, sisters, partners and friends when we have had the opportunity to receive adequate sleep. We are more likely to parent intentionally and with greater patience - which everyone will benefit from. Our capacity is greater when we are rested, which means we can give more of ourselves to our family and our community - mothers really do make the world go round. And we have more time and energy for our partner, which results in a happier home. Sleep truly runs so deeply.
If you could help all mums master/implement one thing, what would it be?
Consistency. It really comes down to consistency. As I mentioned, children only know what they are exposed to. If you want to change your child's sleep habits, consistently changing what they are exposed to is key. But remember - consistency doesn't mean perfection. Consistency helps to create predictability, which provides children with a sense of safety and emotional security.
Lyla, your perspective on motherhood and family sleep is absolutely beautiful, and life-changing for all those learning from you! You have filled our hearts with so much love, and our minds with a whole lot of wisdom. Thank you for sharing so much value with us. Your heart for helping others and seeing others live life to the full is undeniable! You’re a blessing to mummas out there needing guidance with their child's sleep.
If you’d like to follow WE SLUMBR and soak up even more of Lyla’s wisdom, you can do so right here.
Team Baask xx