making waves
Where infant sleep meets modern motherhood.
An eight-week exploration of infant sleep, modern motherhood and what it means for the professionals supporting them.
THE LIVE COHORT BEGINS MONDAY 12 OCTOBER
Our first teaching module begins Monday 19 October.
When sleep enters the room, what do you do?
You might be a psychologist, midwife, GP, MCHN, nurse, OT, lactation consultant or doula. You already know how to support mothers and babies. You care about doing that work well.
And then, somewhere in the middle of an appointment, sleep comes up.
“My baby isn’t sleeping.”
“Should I sleep train?”
“Someone told me I should stop feeding him overnight.”
“Is this normal?”
Or perhaps a mother brings you an article she’s found and asks, “What do you think?”
And suddenly you’re having a conversation that sits just outside the neat boundaries of your usual professional role.
Because infant sleep is rarely just about sleep.
It’s about the baby, obviously. But it’s also about the mother, her expectations, her exhaustion, what she’s been told, what she thinks she’s supposed to be doing, what she wants for her family, and all the noise around her about what a “good” baby should sleep like.
This is the bit I want to help you with.
Because the sleep conversation doesn't happen in a vacuum.
It happens in the middle of modern motherhood. In a world of intensive parenting, social media, comparison, expert advice, commercial pressure and an enormous amount of information about what mothers and babies are supposedly meant to be doing.
Making Waves asks what happens when we look at infant sleep within that bigger picture.
I feel so much more confident and comfortable in working with mums when sleep comes up - which I know it will OFTEN!
“
MADDISON, PSYCHOLOGIST
Infant sleep is more interesting than a list of sleep strategies.
There is fascinating science here!
There is developmental psychology, biology, attachment, temperament and neuroscience.
But there is also motherhood.
We don’t just look at the baby. We look at the world the baby is sleeping in.
There is culture and history. There are ideas about what a “good” baby should be doing and what a “good” mother should be able to manage. There is the enormous commercial world that has grown around infant sleep, the pressure it can create, and the way all of these messages can shape what a mother believes about herself and her baby.
That’s the territory Making Waves explores.
And we don’t ask you to leave your professional judgement at the door. We want you to develop more of it.
We take the evidence seriously, but we don’t reduce the conversation to evidence alone. We look at the individual baby, the mother experiencing it, the family around them and the wider cultural landscape they’re navigating.
Because the goal isn’t to make you a practitioner who knows the right answer to every sleep question.
It’s to give you the knowledge and confidence to know what to do when the answer isn’t obvious.
The experience was enlightening, challenging and empowering. Being able to put language around deconstructing societal norms/biases that are engrained and bring this to specific support for individual mothers/parents.
“
ERRYN, ACCREDITED MENTAL HEALTH SOCIAL WORKER
Six modules. Eight weeks live cohort. A deeper way of thinking about infant sleep.
Making Waves is an eight-week live learning experience designed to help you explore infant sleep within the much bigger context of modern motherhood.
Each module combines short lessons with Practitioner Handouts and a Research & Reference Library, giving you practical resources and plenty of space to keep exploring beyond the core content.
Learn alongside the cohort
Making Waves is designed to be experienced with a group of other professionals, not simply worked through on your own.
We begin together on Monday 12 October with a welcome and orientation. Our first teaching module is released the following week.
Each Monday, we’ll come together live to reflect on the module you’ve just worked through, explore the questions and ideas it has raised, and introduce what’s coming next. The next module is then released after the call, giving you the week to work through it before we meet again.
You can join the calls live or catch the recordings. Either way, you’ll have the structure, connection and momentum of moving through Making Waves alongside the cohort.
Your live cohort experience runs from 12 October to 30 November.
01
Sleep in the Context of Modern Motherhood
We'll start by widening the lens beyond the baby and the cot.
We'll explore the surprising history of infant sleep advice, how sleep became tangled up with ideas about what a “good” mother should be doing, and the cultural and commercial forces that continue to shape the way we think about infant sleep today.
We'll look at the motherhood market, the expectations placed on mothers, and the ways normal infant behaviour can become something we're encouraged to fix.
02
Maternal Mental Health & The Sleep Rabbit Hole
Sleep and maternal mental health can become deeply intertwined, particularly when a mother is exhausted, overwhelmed or caught in the pressure to make her baby's sleep better.
We'll explore the sleep rabbit hole and the ways sleep concerns can intersect with anxiety, expectations, comparison and the wider experience of becoming a mother.
This is about understanding the whole picture, rather than treating sleep as an isolated problem to solve.
03
Attachment, Co-Regulation & Infant Mental Health
What does a baby actually need from the people caring for them?
We'll explore attachment, co-regulation and infant mental health, and what these ideas can tell us about babies, relationships and sleep.
We'll also take a closer look at some of the assumptions around “self-soothing” and what we're actually asking of babies when we expect them to settle without support.
04
What We Actually Know About Infant Sleep
Time to get into the science.
We'll explore what we actually know about infant sleep, from sleep biology and development to night waking, infant sleep needs, breastfeeding and sleep, and the research around behavioural sleep interventions.
We'll look at the difference between what the evidence tells us and some of the much more confident claims that surround infant sleep.
We'll look at the evidence, the claims that surround it, and what the research actually means when you're sitting with a family.
05
Supporting Infant Sleep Responsively
So what does all of this actually look like when a mother is sitting in front of you saying, “We're really struggling with sleep”?
We'll bring the science, context and understanding together and explore what responsive support can look like in practice.
You'll consider the individual baby and family in front of you, the concerns they're bringing, the options available to them and how you can support them without simply adding another set of instructions to the pile.
06
The Professional In The Room
Finally, we bring it back to you.
What happens when infant sleep becomes part of your professional relationship with a mother? How do you hold conversations when there isn't one straightforward answer? How do you work within your scope, navigate different perspectives and offer support without adding to the pressure?
We'll bring the different threads of Making Waves together and think about what it means to work with infant sleep thoughtfully, ethically and confidently within the professional role you already have.
This is a course for the curious.
If you've ever found yourself down the infant sleep rabbit hole, fascinated by the science, history, psychology and stories behind what we believe about babies and sleep, you're going to find a lot to get your teeth into here.
Whether you're deepening your existing practice, taking some intellectual space while you're on maternity leave, or exploring where you might want your professional path to take you next, Making Waves gives you eight weeks to really dive in.
A note on “infancy”
When we talk about infancy in Making Waves, we’re talking about the first three years of life, not just the first few months.
Sleep, development, temperament, relationships and family life continue to change enormously across these years, and the way we think about sleep needs to change with them.
You’ll leave with more than knowledge.
You’ll leave knowing what to do with it.
By the end of Making Waves, you'll have a much deeper understanding of infant sleep and the wider world around it, along with a clearer sense of what this knowledge means for your work, your thinking and the families you support.
Understand what you're actually seeing
You'll be better able to make sense of the sleep concerns mothers bring to you, understand the individual baby in front of you, and recognise the different things that might be shaping what's going on.
You'll have research and evidence to come back to, practical resources to use with families, and a deeper understanding of the different ways infant sleep can be approached.
Have something solid to draw on
Feel more confident when sleep comes up
You'll have more to draw on when a mother asks, “Is this normal?”, “Should I sleep train?” or “What do you think about this advice I've been given?”
You'll be better equipped to have those conversations, explore what matters to that particular mother and family, and recognise when something sits within your role and when it needs another professional involved.
You can sit with a mother in the often overwhelming, conflicting world of infant sleep and know how to genuinely help her.
The ripple starts with you.
When a professional becomes more knowledgeable, more thoughtful and more confident, one mother gets a different experience.
Instead of adding another voice to the noise, you can help her make sense of what she's hearing, understand her baby a little differently and feel more supported in the decisions she's making for her family.
And that experience matters.
Because the way a professional talks about infant sleep can shape what a mother believes about her baby, about herself and about what she needs to do next.
That's the ripple.
When you complete Making Waves, you'll receive a Mama Matters Trained badge to use on your website, professional profile or directory listing.
It's a simple way for families to recognise professionals who have chosen to develop their understanding of infant sleep through a responsive, nuanced and broader lens.
Because when a mother reaches out about sleep, it matters who she finds on the other side of the conversation.
“
It felt like a huge sigh of relief. I finally have the evidence and the language to practice in a way that aligns with my values.
STEPHANIE, PAEDIATRIC NURSE
Who is Making Waves for?
Making Waves is for professionals who work with mothers and babies, and anyone wanting to go deeper into the fascinating world of infant sleep.
✺ You're intellectually curious about infant sleep and want to go much deeper than the surface-level advice and information that's everywhere online.
✺ You're on maternity leave or considering your next professional chapter, and want something genuinely interesting and professionally meaningful to sink your teeth into.
✺ Mothers regularly bring sleep concerns into your work, even though sleep isn't your primary area of expertise.
✺ You want more confidence talking about infant sleep without feeling like you need to have all the answers.
✺ You're tired of simplistic or prescriptive conversations about sleep and want to understand the evidence, context and different perspectives more deeply.
✺ You want to understand biologically normal infant sleep, including why babies wake, how sleep develops and what can influence it.
✺ You want practical language and resources you can actually use with families, rather than information that stays in your head.
✺ You care about the mother as much as the sleep question, and want to understand how exhaustion, anxiety, expectations and the wider experience of motherhood can shape the conversation.
✺ You want to think critically about sleep training and behavioural approaches, including what the research actually tells us and what it doesn't.
✺ You value responsive, flexible support and want your approach to reflect the individual baby, mother and family in front of you.
Making Waves might be for you if..
Why I created Making Waves..
Knowing more about infant sleep wasn't the same as knowing how to help someone with infant sleep.
When I had my own baby, I started to realise just how surface-level, black and white and, at times, judgemental some of the sleep advice I'd received felt.
And then came the rabbit hole.
I dove deep into biologically normal infant sleep. I read everything I could get my hands on. I questioned what I thought I knew. I even completed a sleep certification.
But I also realised something uncomfortable: I had probably been part of the problem too. As a health professional, I had given advice based on what I thought I knew, without really understanding the bigger picture.
And then I swung the other way.
I came back with so much fire and so much information that I wanted everyone to know what I now knew. Until I realised that passionately info-dumping everything about infant sleep could shut down a conversation just as quickly as simplistic advice could.
Meanwhile, I kept hearing stories from mothers who had seen professionals about sleep and left feeling judged, pressured or worse than when they arrived.
And I could see the gap.
Between a $3000 sleep certification and figuring it all out yourself. Between knowing the research and knowing how to sit with a real mother in front of you. Between infant sleep and everything it intersects with: mental health, attachment, development, feeding, relationships and modern motherhood.
That middle ground is where Making Waves was born.
Here’s what’s inside.
6 modules
of infant sleep education
Live Calls
weekly support & Q+A
Handouts
for your practice
Library
research & reference
Badge
Mama Matters trained
1:1 with Fi
60-minute private session
OCTOBER 2026
Join the live cohort
AUD
or 3 monthly payments of $349
$997
✺ Weekly live sessions with Fi
✺ Guidance, discussion and Q&A as you move through the course
✺ Space to connect the learning to your own professional practice
THE LIVE COHORT INCLUDES
✺ A cohort of other professionals to learn alongside
✺ Structure and momentum to keep you moving
✺ The complete Making Waves programme and all course resources
We come together Monday 12 October.
The first module begins Monday 19 October.
Prefer to work through Making Waves on your own?
The self-paced programme will be available from 20 October for $1,297 AUD.
Join the live cohort for $300 less, with Fi’s guidance, group connection and live integration throughout.
Making Waves is a mother lode of modern, benevolent and responsive sleep guidance.
“
MAKING WAVES GRADUATE
FAQ’S
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Absolutely. In fact, it can be a really lovely time to do Making Waves.
You might be craving some intellectual stimulation, wanting to stay connected to your professional self, or simply find yourself fascinated by infant sleep now that you're living it yourself. You might also be thinking about how you want to shape your work when you return, or exploring whether working with mothers and babies could become a bigger part of your future.
You don't need to be actively practising to get a lot from Making Waves.
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Not at all. Making Waves is designed to give you a strong foundation in understanding infant sleep and the wider context around it.
Whether you're established in your profession or just beginning, you'll build knowledge, language and professional confidence that you can carry into your work with families.
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Making Waves is not formally accredited by a specific professional body, so we can't guarantee that it will count towards your individual CPD requirements.
However, many professional bodies allow practitioners to record relevant non-accredited learning as part of their CPD, depending on their specific requirements. You'll receive a certificate detailing the course content and hours, which you can use to support your own CPD records.
We recommend checking the requirements of your professional governing body.
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Yes. Making Waves can also be a chance to explore this area more deeply before deciding what you want your future work to look like.
It isn't a qualification to become a sleep consultant, but it will give you a much deeper understanding of infant sleep and its intersection with motherhood, mental health, attachment, development and family life.
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No. Making Waves is not training you to become a sleep consultant or to provide a particular sleep consulting service.
It’s a 6-week professional education experience designed to help you develop a deeper understanding of infant sleep and feel more equipped to work with sleep conversations within the professional role you already have.
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Not necessarily. Making Waves is designed for professionals who work with mothers and babies, including psychologists, midwives, GPs, MCHNs, nurses, OTs, lactation consultants and doulas.
If infant sleep comes up in your work and you want to understand it more deeply, you're welcome here.
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Making Waves is designed to fit alongside your existing work and life. You'll work through the material at your own pace across the 8 weeks, with the weekly live sessions there if you want the extra support, discussion and space to ask questions.
You don't need to be online at a particular time to complete the experience.
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That's completely fine. The live sessions are optional, so you can still get the full Making Waves experience without attending them.
They're there for deeper discussion, questions and connection, rather than being something you need to attend to keep up.
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Absolutely. Making Waves isn't simply a course in infant sleep facts.
We'll explore the research and biology, but also the history, culture, motherhood, maternal mental health, attachment, development and the complexity of supporting real families. It's about developing your thinking and professional judgement, not just adding more information to your existing knowledge.
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Making Waves isn't about prescribing one way of approaching infant sleep.
You'll explore the evidence, different perspectives and responsive approaches, and develop the knowledge and judgement to think about the individual baby, mother and family in front of you.
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When we talk about infancy in Making Waves, we're talking about the first three years of life, not just the first few months.
Sleep, development, temperament, relationships and family life change enormously across these years, so we'll consider infant sleep within that broader developmental context.
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The Practitioner Handouts are practical resources designed to help you take what you're learning into your work with families.
The Research & Reference Library is a curated collection of research and trusted resources you can return to when you want to explore a topic further or have something solid to draw on in your professional practice.
