Drawing on both her own experience of sleep deprivation in early motherhood and 20 years as a primary school teacher, Rachel Whittaker is passionate about helping exhausted families find a gentler path to better rest. After struggling with feeding, severe mastitis, postnatal depression and years of disrupted sleep with her own children, she understands first-hand just how deeply sleep deprivation can affect the whole family. Through Feather & Sleep, she now combines her knowledge of child development with a calm, compassionate approach, offering personalised sleep programmes designed to support each family’s individual needs. Here, she talks to The Natural Parent Magazine about the experiences that inspired her to become an infant sleep consultant, the challenges of stepping into the world of business and her hopes of helping more families feel rested, supported and connected.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
My journey to becoming a sleep consultant started in the most exhausting way imaginable.
When my first son was born at Chesterfield Hospital, those early days were already overwhelming, but being awake every hour trying to feed a hungry baby made everything feel impossible. He quickly lost weight and was readmitted to hospital, where I found myself desperately trying to express milk while continuing to try (and fail) to breastfeed around the clock. Then I developed severe mastitis and ended up back in hospital myself for three days. I was surviving on almost no sleep, questioning everything and feeling utterly alone.
Looking back, I believe I was also experiencing undiagnosed postnatal depression. Exhaustion affects every part of you – mentally, physically and emotionally – and I didn’t feel I had the right support around me at the time.
Three years later, I had my daughter. She didn’t sleep well either. I managed to breastfeed her, which felt like a huge achievement after my experience with my son, but she developed a strong sleep association with feeding, and breaking that habit was incredibly difficult. It wasn’t until both of my children started school that they began sleeping well. I knew having children would affect my sleep, but I never imagined just how much.
Those experiences planted a deep desire in me to make sure other parents didn’t have to feel the way I did. Combined with my 20 years as a primary school teacher, where I supported children and families through challenges with patience, empathy and care, I realised I could make a real difference. Feather & Sleep and my gentle, personalised sleep programmes became the natural way to bring together my professional experience and my own journey to help families find the rest they deserve.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
Feather & Sleep is still very much in its infancy, as I qualified as an infant sleep consultant in May this year. But from the moment I began my training, it felt right. With my background in teaching and a deep understanding of child development already in place, so much of it came naturally to me. I think I’d been building towards this without even realising it.
Getting the word out was a different challenge entirely. I’m not a naturally salesy person, so handing out flyers and business cards felt a little outside my comfort zone – but I did it anyway, because I believed in what I was offering.
The real turning point came when I had a display at a local dance show – somewhere my daughter and I already go, which made it feel wonderfully personal rather than professional. People stopped, asked questions, picked up leaflets and started booking calls. That was the moment it stopped feeling like a plan and started feeling real. Seeing genuine interest from real families in my own community reminded me exactly why I’d taken the leap.
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
As a brand-new business, my biggest breakthrough wasn’t a product launch or a marketing win – it was the moment I realised I had genuinely changed a family’s life.
My first client came to me exhausted and at a complete loss. They had convinced themselves that their little one simply wasn’t meant to be a good sleeper. Their baby was waking every couple of hours throughout the night, would only fall asleep lying on mum and couldn’t settle without being fed back to sleep. It wasn’t sustainable – for the baby, and certainly not for the parents.
Working through my sleep programme together, we gently helped their little one develop the sleep habits that worked for their whole family. By the end, they had reached their sleep goals – something they had genuinely stopped believing was possible.
Hearing their feedback, knowing they were finally rested and that I had played a part in that – it meant everything. It turned Feather & Sleep from something I believed in into something I had proof of. That family gave me the confidence to keep going, and I carry their story with me every time I support a new family who arrives feeling just as they once did: exhausted, overwhelmed and quietly hoping that things can be different.
Yin and Yang: How do you balance work and family?
Living in Derbyshire gives me something I value enormously: a slower pace of life. At weekends, you’ll find me on a countryside walk with my family, heading to a National Trust property or enjoying a picnic somewhere peaceful. Those moments genuinely recharge me, and I think that matters deeply when your work involves holding space for exhausted parents every day.
I’ve also had to learn to value my own rest without guilt – something I now gently encourage the mothers I work with to do too. Whether that’s a spa day, a quiet shopping trip alone or simply an early night, I’ve come to understand that you cannot pour from an empty cup.
Running my own business means the boundaries between work and family life need to be intentional. I try to protect our family time and be fully present in it, so that when I am working, I can give my clients the calm, focused support they deserve.
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
Honestly? The biggest challenge I’ve faced has been myself.
After 20 years as a primary school teacher, I had a wealth of experience with children and families – but absolutely zero background in business or marketing. I didn’t know where to start. My entire experience of video calls amounted to a few Zoom meetings during lockdown, and until fairly recently, my only social media presence was a private Facebook account I’d created purely to keep up with news from my children’s clubs.
Building an online audience felt enormous. I’m a quiet, reserved person who has never had to sell herself, and stepping into that space felt completely unnatural at first. The self-doubt was real.
But two things carried me through. The first was the unwavering support of my friends and family, who believed in Feather & Sleep from the very beginning. The second – and perhaps the more powerful of the two – was knowing why I was doing it.
My own experience of sleep deprivation, feeding struggles and the emotional exhaustion of those early months of motherhood has never left me. Every time the doubt crept in, I came back to that. I knew from personal experience how desperately families need this kind of gentle, reassuring support – and that knowledge was always stronger than the fear.
It still is.
For better or worse: What are the pros and cons of running your own business?
The biggest pro, without question, is purpose. Every family I support reminds me why I started – and that feeling never gets old. Being my own boss also means I can work in a way that reflects my values: gently, without pressure or judgement, and always with the whole family in mind.
The challenges are real, though. Building a business from scratch requires an enormous amount of courage, and there are days when the self-doubt creeps in. You wear every hat – consultant, marketer, administrator – and it can be hard to switch off when your work is something you care so deeply about.
But I wouldn’t change it. Running Feather & Sleep feels like the most authentic version of work I’ve ever done.
Hopes and dreams: What next?
My dream is to reach more tired, overwhelmed parents – not just locally in Derbyshire, but further afield too. I want Feather & Sleep to become a name that families trust when they’re at their most exhausted and vulnerable.
Beyond that, I hope to keep shining a light on the importance of maternal wellbeing. Sleep deprivation is so normalised in early parenthood, and I’d love to be part of changing that conversation – helping mothers see that asking for support is a sign of strength, not struggle.
Most of all, I want every family I work with to come out the other side feeling calmer, more rested and genuinely more connected – to their little ones and to themselves.
Visit the Feather & Sleep website to find out more, and connect with them on Facebook and Instagram.
