Holistic Evidence based
Sleep & Infant Feeding
support
Own bed, many wakeups, milk during the night or something else?
What do you need help with?
I offer sleep coaching and support for families who already have their baby in their arms – and sleep preparation for those still waiting.
I focus on giving you valuable information about normal baby and child sleep, as well as helping you get ready for the arrival of your baby or the next phase in your babys sleep.
Many families come to me because they are overwhelmed and need support to make sense of their situation, possible causes and solutions. They often only need a little bit of information, a good talk about the situation and suggestions for small adjustments. In the vast majority of cases I can also reassure you that your family and situation are completely normal.
If I hear something that requires further investigation, I will let you know and discuss possible ways to get help.
Better sleep in 4 easy steps
with a focus on transparency and feeling supported
Before you decide whether you want to work with me, I offer a brief talk on the phone or video. This allows you to assess whether you are comfortable with me and the support I offer.
It also gives me a chance to evaluate what kind of support you need.
This means that you cannot book or pay for online – it all works the old-fashioned way: With us talking/writing and agreeing to working together.
1
We decide to work together and I send you instructions on what information I need from you.
We set a date and time for the coaching call.
2
You fill out a sleep diary, describe your situation, wishes and goals by following a structures questionnaire and I analyse the information.
3
We discuss your situation, talk about likely reasons for what you are experiencing and look at possible things for you to try at home.
4
We stay in touch while you work on the sleep at home, adjusting if needed and when you feel ready, we do a follow up call.
The above points describe packages – I also offer single session sleep coaching.
About Mia Bernscherer Bjoernfort
Sleep- and Infant Feeding Coach
Education, courses and conferences in relation to sleep:
- Holistic Sleep Coach | Holistic Sleep Coaching/BabyEm (UK)
- Sleep, Baby & You | Durham Infant and Sleep Centre/BASIS/NDC Institute (UK/AU)
- NDC for Providers and Educators, NDC Institute (Previously ‘The Possum Clinic’) (AU)
- Normal Infant Sleep & SIDS and Sleep Satfety | Baby Sleep Info Source (UK)
- BeboMia Infant and Family Sleep Specialist (CA)
- Ammenet (DK)
- La Leche League (DK & International)
- Breastfeeding Conferences: Broken Sleep 2023 (AU)
- Durham Infancy and Sleep Centre 22nd Anniversary Conference
- Gold Lactation: Tongue Tie (USA)
- Child Sleep Institute: Sleeposium conferences (USA)
My promise to you
I do not promise any specific outcomes of my sleep coaching like for instance the baby sleeping 12-hour stretches within 2 weeks. And I caution you to want me to.
What I do promise, is that you will get a new perspective on the sleep situation in your family, a better understanding of how infant-, baby- and family sleep works – and a good little toolbox of things to try right now and as you and your child continue to grow together.
I do love it when families come back after some time – or after having another child – but my goal is for you to not need to come back. For you to have gained the knowledge and tools you need to figure it out yourselves.
I am a holistic and evidence-based sleep and infant feeding consultant. You could also call me a coach, supporter or counsellor.
This means that I look at the whole situation to get a full picture, not just the sleep – and that I base my evaluations and suggestions for possible interventions on research.
My experience is of course an important part of the coaching and support I provide. In many cases it is precisely this experience that connects the research, the parents’ descriptions and the circumstances to give a clear picture of what the family is experiencing and what kind of interventions and support is needed.
I work with families with children of all ages – including kids in preschool, kindergarden and primary – and even teenagers.
I work with neurodiverse and gender diverse families, offering neuro- and gender affirmative support.
I have 9 years experience with infant feeding and sleep coaching and support, by telephone, online forums, videocalls, in-person 1-on-1 and groups.
I offer individual or group-based sleep coaching and support, including guidance in early parenthood, feeding, safe bed solutions and other aspects that influence child and family sleep.
My approaches are not secret and you can ask me how I work and why I work that way any time. When you choose to work with me, you pay for my time, my knowledge, my experience and support.
If you want to try yourself first, I refer you to the free materials I have created. You will find them on the website of the NGO I manage called ‘Sleeping Children‘. (It is in Danish, but google translate does a good job)
Important information about my services
I do not offer any separation or cry based sleep training such as ‘Ferber’, ‘Extinction’ or ‘Cry It Out’.
It is absolutely possible to work on sleep without using these approaches – you do NOT have to just accept unmanageable sleep or ‘stick it out’ and wait for it to change.
My values and approaches
When you get sleep coaching and support from me, it is based on the wishes and needs of the individual family.
I believe that parents know their children best and it is my most important job to support the good work parents are already doing. Therefore, as a parent, you will also notice that I ask a lot of questions. Some of the questions are about getting to know you as a family, others are about guiding you to find the right solution for your family.
By sharing knowledge about completely normal baby and child sleep, possible strategies and what consequences, both positive and negative, the various strategies can be expected to have, parents have the opportunity to make an informed choice about what should happen with regards to sleep in their family.
If at all possible, I work with small adapted steps, starting from the zone of proximal development*, so that neither parents nor children are overwhelmed. What may feel like a small change to adults often feels completely different to the child – and when we are aware of this, we can better adapt our expectations to the process.
Sometimes the situation requires that changes be implemented more quickly than is possible through this very gradual approach, for example in the case of illness. In these situations, it is about supporting everyone as best as possible and recognizing the unique nature of the situation.
*Zone of proximal development: What the child is unable to do themselves, but can be able to do given appropriate support, gradually working towards doing it with les and less support – until they can do it themselves.
Voluntary work:
I do voluntary work as a board chair and spokesperson for ‘Sleeping Children’, where I write articles, guides and postings for social media, among other things.
I am a co-author of several articles in the Danish Health Nurses journal and have spoken to various media about children’s sleep and other child- and parent-related topics.
The articles from the Danish Health Nurses journal be read on the Sleeping Children website using a translation tool like Google translate:
The Problem with Sleep Training: What Can Baby Health Nurses Do About It?
The private side of me:
I am married to Stefan and have been for 12 years. We have 4 children aged 6 to 16 – and two cats, a little red-striped cuddle-queen and a huge playful Bengal-kitten.
We live in Brossard, a small suburb of Montréal, Canada.
When not submerged in the pool or enjoying a ‘powderday’ on our skies or snowboards, we watch a lot of movies and tv-shows.
We were looking for advice and guidance on how to put our 2-year-old boy to bed, as he is an ultra-night owl and would usually only sleep around 9-10 in the evening. This meant that the adults did not get any time for themselves. Before we looked into the possibility of getting help, we had tried different solutions, which unfortunately most often led to us splitting up, taking turns to do bedtime.
Mia developed a sleep plan for our youngest, which also meant that we had to create a dialogue with our day care provider about our son’s entire daily rhythm and thus sleep needs. It took approx. a little week to get our son used to the new rhythm, but IT WORKS! Today we stick to the sleep schedule and it still works 2 months later. The adults have been given some alone-time in the evening, so we can now watch tv together again.
We found that Mia listened to the wishes we had. Especially with needing time for ourselves at night. The sleep schedule was well written and easy to follow, which probably also contributed to our day care provider understanding the importance of waking our son. In fact, our day care provider has a copy of the sleep plan and sticks to it.
In a few weeks, a new member will join the pack. The sleep plan has also given us guidance on how to handle this. It means a lot to us that we have been given guidance that looks at current and future needs. It is and has been of great value to us.
First things first: It was an incredibly nice experience to talk to Mia due to her very casual, down-to-earth style. It felt welcoming and non-judgmental – just what I needed. Next, it was a huge relief to get a different and very well-informed perspective on the situation. The biggest relief was without a doubt to have it established that my daughter is just as she should be… even if that doesn’t necessarily equate to a well-rested mother. Next, it was incredibly nice to be informed about possible measures that could be taken, but without a direct recommendation of a specific measure. No judgmental “you should do this and that” comments.
I felt informed and equipped with interventions I could try out when I felt it was the right time. I took with me the feeling of having regained control of the situation – that the insights and decisions about new measures once again rested with me.
I can definitely recommend talking to Mia if you’re stuck, don’t feel understood, are exhausted or maybe a little too hard on yourself.
A desperate and heavily pregnant mother with a husband on night shift sent a message to Mia after I had been sitting 2-4 hours a night for 3 months straight in my daughter’s room to hold her hand. I was totally in a state of panic about how I was ever going to be able to be there for an infant at the same time that the big sister-to-be was in such great need of a hand to hold.
Mia immediately saw my daughter’s need for an increased feeling of support and connection for a period of time.
Mia put different possible solutions on the table. Mother felt drawn to one thing, father felt drawn to another. In the most professional and challenging way, Mia embraced a mother and father who were a bit at odds about how best to get out of this stupid habit. Listened to both father and mother. She explained to dad in the best possible way what can be expected of an 18-month-old in relation to sleep.
Mia’s plan worked from day 1. Within a week, the problem was close to being cancelled. And the fear of a new kind of stupid habit was put to shame – as Mia had rightly said.
Mia gets our biggest and warmest recommendations.
What does sleep coaching cost?
Prices for sleep coaching start at 175CAD / 130USD / 100GBP /120EUR / 200AUD.
Sleep coaching can include analysis of sleep diaries and basic information, online sleep guidance, sleep plan or sleep coaching by email, adaptation of the sleep plan after you have worked with the interventions for a while, bottle or breastfeeding support and follow-up or wrap-up coaching.
Infant feeding support (Breastfeeding/Bottlefeeding/Solids) is included in all services.
If you are only looking for breastfeeding/bottlefeeding support unrelated to sleep, an IBCLC is more suited to offer this support.
I currently have approx. 3-5 day waiting time for consultations and that time is spent filling out basic information and the sleep diary.
Are you unsure what you need - or if you actually need sleep coaching at all?
I offer a short conversation, over the phone, video or email, where we can talk about your situation and what kind of support might make sense for you.
The conversation is of course free. Send me an email with your thoughts and questions and lets talk.
Sleep coaching and sleep support packages
Basic sleep coaching
- Basic information form and sleep diary
- 1-1,5 hour sleep coaching session
- Sleep plan by email
In depth sleep coaching
- Basic information form and sleep diary
- 1-1,5 hour sleep coaching session
- Sleep plan by email
- 45 min follow-up sleep coaching session
- Revised sleep plan by email
- Follow-up email coaching
- 30 min wrap-up sleep coaching session
- Optional: Payment in two instalments
All-In-One Sleep coaching
- Basic information form and sleep diary
- 1-1,5 hour sleep coaching session
- Sleep plan by email
- 45 min follow-up sleep coaching session
- Revised sleep plan by email
- 30 min follow-up sleep coaching session
- Revised sleep plan by email
- Email coaching for 4 weeks
- 30 min wrap-up sleep coaching session
- Optional: Payment in 4 instalments
Other sleep coaching and support options
Sleep coaching or support sessions are 1 - 1,5 hours unless otherwise stated
Conversion to other currencies follows the day-to-day currency rates
Sleep coaching session and analysis of sleep diary
Sleep coaching session
Sleep coaching through email for 4 weeks and analysis of sleep diary
Sleep coaching by email: You fill out basic information and a sleep diary, I analyse it and give you my thoughts. We email together while you work on the sleep.
Sleep coaching by email
Sleep coaching by email: You answer some predefines questions, I analyse it and give you my thoughts.
This a one-time-email offer.
Do you have more than one child?
Cost pr. child after the 1st.
Covers added time.
Example:
You would like sleep diary + coaching of your infant – and some pointers for your two older children.
1st child: 200CAD. 2 siblings: 2x60CAD
Total for for 3 children: Sleep diaries and extended coaching session of 2-2,5 hours (can be done over 2 sessions) – 320 CAD.
holistic individual
family sleep
coaching and support
One-size-fits-all solutions work for very few – the vast majority of families need individually tailored suggestions, adapted to their unique situation.
My family and I live in Brossard, QC,
Canada
I offer sleep and infant feeding coaching and support through email and video calls.
-
If you are in my local area - I may be able to offer in-home support.
I offer coaching and support by appointment only.
I can be booked all the days of the week - including on holidays.
Send me an email
My family and I live in Brossard, QC,
Canada
I offer sleep and infant feeding coaching and support through email and video calls.
-
If you are in my local area - I may be able to offer in-home support.
I offer coaching and support by appointment only.
I can be booked all the days of the week - including on holidays.
Terms and conditions
You can not book or pay for my services online – it’s all done the old-fashioned way.
I have chosen this because it minimizes my costs and thus keeps my prices down.
In addition, it ensures personal contact before the guidance.
– We talk/text/email.
– We make an agreement about what you would like help with and what service suits you best.
– If you have ordered coaching and support with an analysis of a sleep diary, you will receive a document which you are asked to complete, sign and send back to me no later than the day before the coaching session.
– After the coaching session, you will receive an invoice which you pay through regular bank transfer or another money transferring service.
That’s it – totally old school.
If I have not received the completed document with the basic family and sleep information the day before our coaching session, I will prefer to rebook, as I will not be able to analyse your information properly and therefore cannot provide the optimal sleep coaching. It is thus a rebooking for your own sake, so that you get the service you pay for.
Since you pay after the coaching session, there are no returns and no refund.
However, I understand that life can create unforeseen situations.
If – for whatever reason – you cannot or do not want to carry out our agreement, but I have already started working on your information/with you, we will find a solution of a fair reduced rate.
You will also be offered a rebooking if you cannot make the planned coaching session or if you have to stop in the middle of the coaching session, for whatever reason.
Reebooking to ensure optimal sleep coaching:
If, for example, your child becomes ill leading up to or while you have to fill in the sleep diary, it is best to wait to fill it in until the child is well again, so that we have the best conditions for the sleep coaching.
If I have not received the completed document with the basic family and sleep information the day before our coaching session, I will prefer to rebook, as I will not be able to analyse your information properly and therefore cannot provide the optimal sleep coaching. It is thus a rebooking for your own sake, so that you get the service you pay for.
**If you need to wait a bit to pay or need to split the payment into smaller bites, just say so when booking your coaching. It’s something we can figure out together, there are no credit bureaus involved. I trust you and you trust me, so we can easily handle this ourselves**
If, for example, your child or someone in your home becomes ill leading up to or while you have to fill in the sleep diary, it is best to wait to fill it in until the person is well again, so that we have the best conditions for the sleep coaching.
If I have not received the completed document with the basic family and sleep information the day before our coaching session, I will prefer to rebook, as I will not be able to analyse your information properly and therefore cannot provide the optimal sleep coaching. It is thus a rebooking for your own sake, so that you get the service you pay for.
Should you choose to keep the original time for the sleep coaching session, you agree to doing so against my recommendations.
**If you need to wait a bit to pay or need to split the payment into smaller bites, just say so when booking your coaching. It’s something we can figure out together, there are no credit bureaus involved. I trust you and you trust me, so we can easily handle this ourselves**
Should it happen that you are not satisfied after the coaching session, I prefer you to just tell me – and help me with whatever it was, that did not meet your expectations. Then we can talk about trying again or I can opt to not invoice you.
I have no interest in you leaving the guidance with a feeling of having thrown money out the window – I want it to feel supportive, good and helpful to receive sleep coaching and support from me.
I do not promise any specific outcomes of my sleep coaching like for instance the baby sleeping 12-hour stretches within 2 weeks. And I caution you to want me to.
What I do promise, is that you will get a new perspective on the sleep situation in your family, a better understanding of how infant-, baby- and family sleep works – and a good little toolbox of things to try right now and as you and your child continue to grow together.
I do love it when families come back after some time – or after having another child – but my goal is for you to not need to come back. For you to have gained the knowledge and tools you need to figure it out yourselves.
