Logo - The Possums baby and toddler sleep program.Logo - The Possums baby and toddler sleep program.
menu-icon-libraryfull programsmenu-icon-audioaudio program
what is the possums sleep program?building this program from the scienceresearch that shows it workstestimonials from parents
speak to dr pam
login-iconlogin

Welcome back!

Forgot password
sign up
search

Search programs

Caring for You icon

Caring for You


  • How to support a breastfeeding woman so that baby sleep isn't entirely up to her
  • Practice kind and empathic responses to your partner when your family is facing baby or toddler sleep problems
  • How a partner doing paid work from home can help meet the sensory motor needs of your baby or toddler
  • Supporting your partner when your baby is bottle-fed and baby sleep is a challenge
  • How to do evenings with a breastfed baby when the breastfeeding mother is not available?
  • How to do baby sleep when you've made the decision to wean from the breast?
  • If you're breastfeeding your baby and in a sleep emergency, consider asking another loving adult to do a shift at night

Listen to audio program

Next article

Sign up now
  • Caring for You
  • S5: How your child's other parent or carer can help
  • CH 1: Baby

Practice kind and empathic responses to your partner when your family is facing baby or toddler sleep problems

Dr Pamela Douglas8th of Sep 202323rd of May 2024

happy father and curious baby daughter

It's normal to want to fix things when the people we love are struggling or having a hard time. It's easy to want to offer advice because you care so much, forgetting to check in first about whether or not that advice is welcome!

But if your familly is in the middle of baby or toddler sleep problems, I suggest that instead of trying to fix things in conversations with your partner, simply lean in. Listen very carefully, respond empathically, and try your best to imagine what it's like to be your partner in this exhausting situation. (This may not be a stretch, since you too may be more sleep-deprived and exhausted than you thought possible ...)

You might work your way through The Possums Sleep Program, and when she's ready or if she is available to hear, you might offer your partner some of the key messages that you think are relevant to your own family.

You might also

  • Specialise in providing sensory motor nourishment for your baby or toddler

  • Do much of the housework

  • Take on as much of the baby or child care that you possibly can, given your own family's unique arrangements and the way you and your partner manage paid work responsibilities. You can find out about baby feeds here and here, and toddlers here

  • Offer foot or shoulder massages or other kinds of nurturance and love which are acceptable to your partner in that moment.

Watching your loved one struggle with a challenging situation without being able to fix it (unless you are specifically asked for help in that way) is a profound act of love. This can mean carrying a great deal of heartache and worry yourself, in addition to sleep deprivation, without being able to change the cause, or at least not immediately.

Seeking out the support of other parents (other fathers, if you're a dad) can make the world of difference to your own mental health and wellbeing, and therefore your capacity to emotionally and practically support your partner and your family.

Selected references

Antonious E, Stamoulou P, Tzanoulinou M-D. Perinatal mental health, the role and the effect of the partner: a systematic review. Healthcare. 2021;9:1572.

Antoniou E, Tzanoulinou M-D, Stmoulou P. The important role of partner support in women's mental disorders during the perinatal period. A literature review. Meaedica a Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2022;17(1):194-200.

Finished

share this article

Next up in Baby

How a partner doing paid work from home can help meet the sensory motor needs of your baby or toddler

parent throws child playfully in the air

Are you doing paid work from home, while your partner cares for your baby or toddler as the primary carer?

Spending time inside the house is often quite difficult for primary carers, because the interiors of our homes are low sensory environments, in which babies and toddlers tend to dial up, due to a relative lack of sensory motor stimulation.

One way that you can help while still meeting your paid work responsibilities is scheduling in power sensory motor interventions for your baby or toddler throughout the day, timed to occur when your partner and little one are in…

Keep reading
logo-possums
decoration

About us

AboutCode of ethicsSpeak to Dr Pam

Programs

Browse sleep programsAudio programsGet advice

Help & Support

FAQsContact us

Legal

Privacy policyTerms & conditions

Get sleep tips and Possums updates straight to your inbox

Receive tips, updates, offers and more from Possums. We respect your privacy, and we'll never spam you. Unsubscribe anytime.

Dr Pam logo

© Dr Pamela Douglas 2025

Visit to learn more about the Possums project