“When you parent, it’s crucial you realise you aren’t raising a “mini me”, but a spirit throbbing with its own signature. For this reason, it’s important to separate who you are from who each of your children is. Children aren’t ours to possess or own in any way. When we know this in the depths of our soul, we tailor our raising of them to their needs, rather than moulding them to fit our needs.” ~Dr Shefali Tsabury
Some babies are more easy-going and might “fit” into some of the arbitrary boxes; but others are so spirited that the box cannot contain them, no matter how hard we try to put them in it.
Chances are the more we try to fit them into a box, the more they will fight. And so they should. They are teaching us about authenticity – that boxes don’t apply to your inner truth – and if we listen, we might just step outside of our own boxes too.
If your baby doesn’t sleep like the babies in the books, don’t worry – it just means they are their own person. You don’t need them to fit in the box – they are a good baby and you are a good mum.
Burn the boxes mama! They don’t serve you or your baby.
Sarah Palmer is a Baby-Led Sleep and Well-Being Specialist and the founder of Blossom and Snooze, supporting parents of babies and toddlers to get more sleep, holistically and without sleep training. Her focus is on attachment and the relationship between parent and child. The approach of her work is based on biologically normal infant sleep and provides sleep solutions which are developmentally appropriate and individually tailored to each unique baby and family. Sarah is an Australian mum, providing virtual consults to families worldwide. You can find her on Instagram @blossomandsnooze and you can book 1:1 support on her website.
