1
Prior to the arrival of my son, Harry, I was a lawyer for almost 15 years. I approached impending parenting as I would a new area of law, devouring multiple books on the subject, cross-referencing, making notes and even colour-coding!
Despite my diligent research, as we approached Harry’s first birthday, we remained in a cycle of short naps and long periods of wakefulness during the night - and I felt I was failing him. He was clearly so very tired, yet, despite pouring over everything the internet has to offer on the subject of sleep, I couldn’t help my little boy to take the rest he so obviously needed.
I was told that I “should” leave him to cry. This was so at odds with my parenting style that it was never going to be an option. Instead, I stumbled on.
Realising that I couldn’t think on my feet in the courtroom in my sleep- deprived state, I deferred my return to work. With the benefit of hindsight, there was also something deeper at play – my losing battle with Harry’s sleep had fundamentally affected my confidence. I felt incompetent.
Ultimately, we enlisted the support of a sleep consultant. Despite heavily modifying the advice we were given to make the process suitably gentle, within a few weeks, Harry was like a different child – well-rested and much happier for it. The best bit? We achieved it all without a single tear being shed – by Harry or me! The impact on our family was profound and an obsession with gentle ways of helping children to sleep well began.
Turning my back on my legal career, I retrained in child-sleep, initially sitting within a large, established consultancy where I gained a wealth of experience before undertaking further study via the pioneering Holistic Sleep Course, which provides the most comprehensive and rigorous training available, accredited by the OCN at Level 5. With a commitment to using evidence-based practice to optimise sleep via gentle methods and supporting a strong parent/child attachment, Little Sleep Stars was born.
The best endorsement of what I do and how I do is that the majority of my work comes via personal recommendation. I work with parents all over the world, including elite sportspeople, paediatricians, and psychologists. I am regularly quoted in mainstream and parenting media and invited to work with global brands such as Childs Farm, Mamas and Papas and the Baby and Toddler Show. I have also supported families under NHS-funding and in collaboration with the NCT as part of the TechForce19 COVID response.
If your little one isn’t sleeping well, you can be sure that, together, we will get to the bottom of why that is and turn things around. One thing I can be sure of is that your child’s sleep challenges are not being caused by you not trying hard enough. Some challenges are entirely behavioural but often there is a physiological element that purely behavioural strategies won’t address. By taking a whole-child approach, I have helped numerous clients towards identifying sleep-blockers that have been missed elsewhere. Whilst some children do naturally find sleep trickier than others, there really is no such thing as a “bad sleeper” – it’s just that some little ones need more help to unlock their inherent sleep potential. When equipped with the skill, confidence and comfort needed, all any child can learn to sleep well. Yes, even yours!
To discuss how Little Sleep Stars can help you, get in touch today – I’d love to hear from you!
Lauren Peacock
Lauren is proud to be a member of the International Association of Child Sleep Consultants, the Association of Professional Sleep Consultants, the International Pediatric Sleep Association and the Association of Birth and Baby Professionals.
