It takes a village to raise a child, and as an agency we cultivate a village of partner providers who support our clients in making the childbearing year nurtured, healthy and vibrant.

Each month, we profile one of our partners - it’s one more way in which we strive to weave a comprehensive safety net for our clients and build up other local businesses who are also working to shift toward a culture that truly respects and cherishes families.

This month, we’re profiling Bridgetown Baby partner Full Circle Sleep. Co-founders Camilla Malkin and Atika Hagen bring years of experience and insights - as birth doulas, postpartum doulas and newborn care specialists - to their work as Certified Sleep Consultants. As sleep consultants, their training - in combination with their deep knowledge of infants and their parents - has prepared them to craft customized support for families - from virtual consults and DIY sleep plans to in-home support for implementing sleep training for babies of the appropriate age.

Sleep is gold, as Camilla and Atika say. And sleep advice is golden, too! We’ll be featuring sleep Q&As throughout the year, and here’s one to get us started:

Q: We are loving our Snoo but are faced with the reality that our baby will soon outgrow it. We are worried about how to transition our daughter to a crib. What are your go-to recommendations for weaning babies from the Snoo?

A: Oh how exciting! It's a big transition to move your little love from the Snoo (a firm surface in perpetual motion) into a crib (a firm, motionless surface). Before you jump into any transitions it’s important to remember that your baby is resilient and capable of great things. Babies have amazing capacity to learn new skills and it’s our job as caregivers to provide babies with grounded support and a plan so they know what to expect with the changes in routine. So chat with your daughter about how she will be sleeping in a new place. That the new surface (the crib) is not going to move while she sleeps. That you know that she has the ability to sleep motionless. Show her the crib. Place her in it. Practice setting her down in the crib for a moment or two while you put away clothes in her dresser or restock diapers at the changing station.

As you have these conversations and dialogue with your daughter ensure your routine includes a soothing protocol. We want to encourage her to practice this skill of sleeping while still. So offer her that opportunity of a moment or two of stillness in arms before placing her flat in the crib.

The best time of the day to practice this skill is right at bedtime for that first chunk of sleep at night. Babies tend to have enough sleep pressure that they will be more relaxed and ready to sleep that the conditions of the room and new surface are less important than they might be during other parts of the evening.

Of course, if you'd like a more detailed plan or extra guidance don't hesitate to fill out our sleep intake form and schedule your consultation. We would love to help tailor a transitions plan that is applicable for your individual family, child, and sleep environment.

As postpartum doulas, normalizing infant sleep patterns and supporting families in getting rest in the immediate postpartum period is a huge part of the work we do - we’re grateful to have Full Circle Sleep as our partner in getting families to and through the next stages of their infants’ developing needs and abilities.

Schedule a free consult with Full Circle Sleep - and take advantage of the special discount they offer to Bridgetown Baby families - here.