Episode 19: Abbey, Hourly Waking, Baby Food Allergies & Surviving Sleep Deprivation
What happens when your baby wakes every 45 minutes, food allergies turn every feed into a really scary moment, and the village you thought would support you never arrives?
In this powerful episode of Awake at 3am, Abbey shares her experience of severe sleep deprivation, hourly waking, infant food allergies, maternal burnout and the reality of modern motherhood. After an unexpected pregnancy, Abbey found herself navigating newborn sleep, frequent night waking, false starts, feeding to sleep, co-sleeping, baby sleep challenges and the overwhelming mental load that comes with raising a baby who simply wouldn't sleep.
At her lowest point, Abbey was surviving on broken sleep whilst managing multiple food allergies, navigating relationship strain, struggling with her mental health and trying to be the mum she wanted to be. Like so many exhausted parents, she found herself questioning whether she was doing something wrong and wondering why nobody talks honestly about how hard sleep deprivation can be.
In this episode we discuss:
• Baby sleep and infant sleep challenges
• Hourly waking and frequent night waking
• Sleep deprivation and maternal burnout
• Baby food allergies and feeding challenges
• Co-sleeping and feeding to sleep
• Maternal mental health and postpartum anxiety
• The mental load of motherhood
• Relationship strain after having a baby
• Parenting without a village
• Sleep training and finding a path forward
• Why exhausted mums need support too
If you've ever searched for answers about baby sleep, hourly waking, sleep regressions, food allergies, sleep deprivation, maternal mental health, newborn sleep, co-sleeping, feeding to sleep or how to survive the early years of parenting, this episode is for you.
Awake at 3am is the parenting podcast for exhausted parents navigating baby sleep, toddler sleep, sleep training, maternal mental health, postpartum anxiety, motherhood, infant development, parental burnout and the realities of raising children in today's world.
Follow @awakeat3am.podcast and @sophiassleepschool to learn about todays episode.
