Stepping Gently Outside Your Comfort Zone: A More Manageable Way to Approach Your Baby’s Sleep

When people talk about “stepping outside your comfort zone”, it’s often framed as something bold and dramatic.

But when you’re a parent running on very little sleep, comfort zones don’t look like big choices.
They look quiet. They creep in slowly. And before you realise it, you’re inside one you never consciously chose.

It might be:

• Feeding your baby back to sleep again and again because it feels like the only way

• Sitting through every nap because your baby will only sleep on you

• Driving daily because the car is the only place they’ll settle

• Telling yourself, “This is just how it is for now”, even though you’re struggling
  
  

These comfort zones aren’t about doing anything wrong.
They’re about survival.

And that’s something I want parents to hear clearly: you are not failing you are coping.

Why Sleep Support Should Feel Manageable

Families often come to me feeling nervous about reaching out for help.

They worry that sleep support will mean drastic changes, rigid routines, or being asked to do things that don’t feel right for their baby or their family.

That’s not how I work.

When families come to me and say:

• “My baby is waking ten times a night and only feeds to sleep”

• “My baby will only contact nap and I’m going back to work”

• “My baby will only sleep in the car and it isn’t sustainable”
  
  

My first response is always the same:

Let’s slow this down. Let’s make this manageable.

Why I Don’t Believe in ‘Big Leaps’

I will never say to a family,
“From tomorrow, your baby will sleep in their cot, in their own room, for 12 hours.”

Because if I said to you,
“Tomorrow, I want you to run a marathon,”
you’d quite rightly say no.

You haven’t trained for that.
Your body isn’t ready.
And it feels unachievable.

But if I said,
“Do you think you could run for five minutes?”
most people would say, “Okay… I could try that.”

That’s exactly how I approach sleep.

We don’t aim for the marathon.
We aim for the first mile.

What the ‘First Mile’ Might Look Like

For one family, the first mile might be:

• Supporting your baby to go down in their cot at the start of the night

• Gently changing one sleep association

• Supporting one nap differently

• Reducing night wakes gradually, not all at once

Some children move through steps quickly.
Some need to stay on step one for longer.

And that is completely okay.

My support is never about rigid rules or a fixed order.
It’s not “you must do A, then B, then C”.

Sometimes it’s A, B, A again.
Sometimes it’s A, C, back to A.

What matters is that we are moving towards your end goal — in a way that feels safe, realistic, and supportive for your family.

The Real-Life Pressures Parents Are Carrying

Many families I support are juggling:

• Returning to work while managing contact naps

• Long, broken nights that leave them depleted

• Daily routines shaped entirely around getting their baby to sleep

I often hear parents say, “I don’t even know where to start anymore.”

And that’s exactly the moment when having someone steady beside you can make all the difference.

Sleep support isn’t about forcing change.
It’s about creating space space for rest, clarity, and confidence.

You Don’t Have to Do This Alone

You don’t need to leap out of your comfort zone all at once.
You don’t need to have all the answers.
And you don’t need to do this perfectly.

Sometimes, the bravest thing you can do is take one small step and ask for support.

If you’re reading this and thinking, “This feels like us”, you’re very welcome to book a call with me.

We’ll talk through what’s happening with your baby’s sleep, what feels hardest right now, and what support might actually help — without pressure or judgement.

Because it’s not about getting there the “right” way.
It’s about getting there in a way that works for your family.

Melanie Hastings
Norland Nanny & Infant Sleep Specialist

Supporting families with calm, steady, personalised sleep support