The Gentle Mama – Interview with Infant Sleep Educator Hayley Bukhamsin

Today Zoe speaks to Hayley Bukhamsin infant sleep educator ‘the gentle mama’.   Hayley prides herself on giving scientific facts on infant sleep and development, helping parents tap into their own intuition and giving sleep solutions that are holistic and personal to each family’s needs.   Listen in today for a refreshing take on ‘sleep solutions’ as well as learning snippets on infant development and what made Hayley begin this venture.   KEY TAKEAWAYS   Hayley has two girls and admits herself that pregnancy with both was a challenge. Particularly with SPD (Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction). Hayley and Zoe agree that there is so much pressure on women to ‘get back’ to their former selves after giving birth. But it takes time to recover from pregnancy and birth. You will not be the same person again, you are different and that’s ok. Hayley tried hypnobirthing with her first baby but she didn’t feel that she could get ‘deep’ enough for it to truly work. She found her second birth much easier, she felt she had done ‘everything right’ with hypnobirthing. The oxytocin was flowing and it was a much better experience for her this time round. It was Hayley’s experience of the 8-month sleep progression with her first born that made her want to develop her sleep education. She couldn’t find a sleep consultant that was gentle enough to help with her own baby. Hayley then began researching and learning as much as she could about infant sleep development. She started looking at certification when pregnant with her second baby. When her second baby turned one she started The Gentle Mama. Hayley is an infant sleep educator, she looks at the root cause of sleep behaviours. If it is a ‘normal’ behaviour then she will support parents through this. If it is something that doesn’t seem right then she will look at the root cause rather than just changing the behaviour. Hayley looks at things from a developmental perspective rather than a behavioural perspective. There is no licensing around sleep training, you don’t have to have certification. Something that terrifies both Hayley and Zoe.   BEST MOMENTS   “There is no such thing as bouncing back, you are a different person after you have given birth”   “When a baby is born, a mother is born as well”   “I was schooled by social media and society that you have to push…I was still trying to do the things you see on TV” “They are progressing they are not regressing”   “I think expectation is the biggest culprit in a lot of issues that go wrong”   “Societal pressures are such a huge factor in what is happening to parents nowadays, a lot of struggles mothers are going through are due to societal expectations”     VALUABLE RESOURCES  www.petalscharity.org www.tommys.org ABOUT THE GUEST Hayley Bukhamsin IG @thegentlemama www.thegentlemama.com Facebook: The Gentle Mama  www.brenebrown.com www.pinkymckay.com www.jasminecollin.com Neasa Barry: http://amcdubai.org/      ABOUT THE HOST Zoe Cresswell Devoted mother of two (and a big hairy dog), UK trained midwife, doula and personal trainer, specialising in pre and postnatal fitness. Zoe was born in the UK and before moving to Dubai in 2013 and worked as a midwife in central London, both in a birth centre and a very busy NHS hospital. Although late to the scene, Zoe is an aspiring athlete having won numerous triathlons and representing Great Britain where she placed within the top 10 on the world stage. With her husband James, the couple will soon be launching their cloth nappy company, Bop & Bee, where they hope to inspire families to swap a few disposable nappies a day for the more planet friendly option of cloth. Zoe’s goal is to share her knowledge and experience, tell real life stories, manage expectations and open up those often difficult conversations. Zoe’s own motherhood journey has been full of twists and turns as she put everything on hold and went through numerous miscarriages and rounds of IVF.   CONTACT DETAILS Instagram : @zoecresswell_me Facebook: Zoe Cresswell LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/zoe-cresswell