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Kayla | Certified Pediatric Sleep & Development Practitioner

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holding space for motherhoods many seasons
• sleep, weaning, transitions & motherhood
• attachment-centred support rooted in connection & compassion

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Welcome to Holding You Close Sleep & Wellness 🤍

I’m Kayla, Mama to a beautiful little girl, Pediatric Sleep & Development Practitioner and Integrative Health & Wellness Coach.

In those early months after my little girl was born I caught myself wondering if I was doing the “right thing”. If holding my baby, nursing her to sleep, contact napping and responding to every cry was “wrong” or going to “ruin” her sleep. One day, I just stopped. I let go of the doubt. I started trusting what felt true and what my instincts were telling me. I chose my baby over the cultural “rules”. And from that place, tired, tender and honest. I knew I wanted to help shift the way we talk about infant sleep.

Our babies are born needing us. To wake often, to reach for us, to be held close. Not just in those fragile early months, but long after. This need for comfort and connection is not only normal, it’s protective, instinctual and it’s supported by developmental science.

My sweet little baby needed me, to be held, to be rocked, and to be nursed to sleep. She needed my presence, comfort, and responsiveness. And this wasn’t just biologically normal, it was something profoundly beautiful. Not only that, these
crucial years are building their brain and lifelong mental health.

In a world that often tells us otherwise, it can feel comforting to hear that you are not doing anything wrong by responding to your baby’s needs, day and night. Holding them close, rocking them, feeding them to sleep, and responding to them aren’t bad habits. You’re not spoiling them. You’re building a safe, loving place they’ll always feel at home in.

As a Certified Pediatric Sleep and Development Practitioner and Integrative Health and Wellness Coach I am here to support both you and your baby! I provide gentle, attachment and neuroscience based sleep information and support for infants and children, alongside comprehensive wellness coaching for parents. My approach supports families in navigating the complexities of sleep and overall health with compassion and nurture, empowering you to create peaceful routines and balanced, thriving lives at every stage of your journey. by @holding.you.close

Perhaps we should question the conditioning instead of questioning the mother. by @holding.you.close

You don’t have to figure out weaning all on your own.
And you don’t have to go into weaning hoping you’ll somehow figure it out as you go. You don’t have to spend your nights wondering if you’re doing it right, feeling guilty for wanting or needing to stop, or worrying about how your little one will cope with the change. And you certainly don’t have to have it all figured out before you begin.

Sometimes, what we need most is some guidance and support before we make a change. It’s someone to walk alongside us, help us understand what to expect, and remind us that we can honour our own needs while still being a safe, responsive place for our little ones.

That’s why I created my Weaning Gently workshop. 🤍

To give you the knowledge, reassurance, and practical tools to approach weaning with more confidence. To help you understand the emotions that can come with change, for both you and your child.
And to remind you that you don’t have to do this perfectly. You just need support, a plan that feels right for your family, and the freedom to move at a pace that works for you.

Because you deserve to feel supported through weaning, too. You deserve to have your feelings acknowledged, your needs considered, and someone in your corner as you navigate this transition.
You were never meant to figure it all out alone, mama. 🤍

If you’re thinking about weaning and would love some guidance along the way, stay tuned for my Weaning Gently workshop! More to come soon! 🤍 by @holding.you.close

What a privilege it is…

To be the person they reach for when they need comfort.
To be the arms they run to, the voice they know, the safe place they return to.
To be trusted with the messy, exhausting, beautiful work of raising a tiny human.

And also…
What a hard privilege it is sometimes too.

Because the same love that makes these moments so meaningful is the love that makes the hard days feel so heavy.
The nights where you’re touched out. The days where you wonder if you’re doing enough. The moments where you’re pouring from an empty cup.
Motherhood can be both.

It can be the greatest gift you’ve ever known and something that asks more of you than you ever imagined.
I will never pretend it’s easy.
The magic is that even in the hard, there is so much love.
What a privilege it is to be her mama. 🤍 by @holding.you.close

I’m not saying we never need guidance. I’m saying we don’t have to abandon ourselves to receive it.

We can learn. We can grow. We can ask for support.
And we can still trust ourselves enough to know when something doesn’t feel right for our family. by @holding.you.close

Because so much of what you’re giving them won’t look extraordinary while it’s happening.

It will look like making breakfast. Like answering the same question for the hundredth time. Like sitting beside them when they don’t have the words. Like apologising when you get it wrong. Like showing up again tomorrow.

And I think we don’t talk about that part enough. You may spend so much of motherhood wondering if you’re doing enough. If you’re getting it right. If you’re giving them everything they need to become who they’re meant to be. Meanwhile, your child is growing up inside a love you might not even realise you’re teaching them to recognise. They don’t know how much thought you’ve put into raising them. They don’t know about the guilt you carry, the decisions you’ve second-guessed, or the nights you’ve laid awake wondering if you could have done something differently. They just know the feeling of you.

And no, you won’t get it right every time. There will be moments you wish you could do over. Days when you’re stretched too thin and nights when you wonder how you’re going to do it all again tomorrow.

Those moments belong too. Because your child doesn’t need a perfect childhood to be deeply loved. They need a childhood where love is there in the ordinary moments, where repair is possible, where their feelings have somewhere to land, and where they don’t have to be perfect to be worthy of your tenderness.

And one day, they may not remember the little things you did to make them feel loved. They may not remember the extra five minutes you stayed beside them, the way you rubbed their back, or how you always made room for one more cuddle.

So mama, the next time you wonder whether the little things you’re doing matter…
Please remember that you may never fully see the impact of the love you’re giving. But you don’t have to see the roots growing to know that something beautiful is taking hold. 🤍 by @holding.you.close

What if we stopped expecting little ones to fit so neatly into the lives of the grown-ups caring for them?
To sleep alone before they’re ready. To stop needing us when we’re tired. To make bedtime quick and easy. To eat when it’s convenient. To move on from the things that bring them comfort. To have big feelings quietly, quickly, and without disrupting the day.

What if we stopped seeing their needs as things to manage, their emotions as things to hurry through, and their dependence on us as something they should be growing out of as quickly as possible?
Because it was never meant to be convenient.

It’s messy. It’s unpredictable. And it asks so much of us.

Sometimes it means sitting beside a little one long after we thought bedtime would be over. Sometimes it means another cuddle when we have a hundred things left to do. Sometimes it means changing our plans, slowing our pace, and putting aside what we thought the day would look like to meet the little person in front of us.

And yes, it can be exhausting. Our needs matter, too. We deserve support, rest, and moments too.

But perhaps the answer isn’t always to teach our children to need less of us. But instead for us to ask ourselvesl why we’ve come to expect so much independence from people who are still learning what it means to be in this world.

They won’t be little forever. One day, the arms reaching for us will reach a little less. The little feet following us from room to room will find their own places to go. The bedtime cuddles we sometimes wish were shorter will become memories we would give anything to step back into for just a moment.

So maybe we don’t have to make every part of childhood easier, quieter, or more convenient.
But instead make a little more room for childhood to be what it is. 🤍 by @holding.you.close

I want to measure my motherhood by something else entirely:
How safe my child feels with me. How deeply they know they are loved. How freely they can come to me. How much room they have to be exactly who they are.
That feels like a measure worth keeping. 🤍

New around here? Hi, I’m Kayla! 👋🏻 I’m passionate about helping parents navigate baby sleep, development, and the beautiful (and sometimes messy) journey of motherhood. I’d love to have you here, follow along for more! @holding.you.close by @holding.you.close

One day, bedtime will look different. Until then, you’ll find us right here. 🤍 by @holding.you.close

It’s so easy to get caught up in the idea that we need to prepare our babies for a future where they won’t need us as much. That we need to teach them to fall asleep without us, stop holding them so much, or worry that the things that help them feel safe today will somehow hold them back tomorrow.

But your child is only this little once.
You don’t have to turn every moment of dependence into an opportunity to teach independence. You don’t have to rush them through a stage they’re still meant to be in. You can meet them where they are. You can help them fall asleep. You can hold them a little longer. You can respond when they need you. And you can trust that growing up doesn’t require you to make them feel less connected to you.

One day, things will look different. Not because you forced them to need you less, but because they will grow, change, and reach for new things in their own time. Until then, you don’t have to rush your way through the little years trying to prepare for the day they won’t need you quite so much. You’re allowed to simply be there for the baby in front of you. 🤍 by @holding.you.close

Many parents believe they have two choices: sleep train or simply wait for sleep to improve on its own. But the reality is that there is a lot we can do to support healthy sleep without sleep training or just waiting.

Sleep is a biological and developmental process, much like feeding, communication, and movement. Rather than trying to change sleep through behavioral conditioning or force, I focus on understanding what’s influencing your child’s sleep and supporting it in a way that is responsive, realistic, and individualized.

When we work together, I look at the whole picture. That includes exploring your child’s unique sleep challenges, identifying any potential red flags, considering environmental and lifestyle factors, and helping you understand what is developmentally normal. Just as importantly, I help parents set realistic expectations and create a plan that feels sustainable for their family.

The message I hope every parent hears is this:
There are many ways to improve sleep. But it should never require you to ignore your instincts (or your baby), compromise your parenting values, or do something that doesn’t feel right for your family.

There are evidence-informed, responsive ways to improve sleep, and that’s exactly what I help families navigate. If you’re looking for support reach out or visit my website I would love to help! @holding.you.close 🫶🏼 by @holding.you.close

You’re not alone. Many parents are told sleep training is the solution but then feel confused or even heartbroken when it doesn’t feel right.
As parents, we’re biologically wired to feel calm and safe when our babies feel secure and close to us. When we’re separated, it can actually increase stress for both parent and baby.

I’ve heard from so many families who tried sleep training because they thought it was the only way, only to find it was overwhelming for everyone. The good news? I promise it’s not the only option.

Instead of “training” something that’s a natural biological process, we can support sleep in a way that honors our bond and our baby’s needs, with science to back it up. This approach brings more rest, more peace, and more connection… without the tears in separate rooms. 🤍

If you are needing support with sleep I would love to be a part of your village! Please reach out and we can schedule a free intro call! by @holding.you.close