Awake at 3am

Belle thought her baby was just a bad sleeper.Colic from the start. Waking every 30-60 minutes, she followed every piece of advice, stuck to the routine and even worked with two sleep consultants.Nothing worked or improved her daughters sleep!At some point it stopped making sense to. So she stopped looking for better routines… and started pushing for answers through the medical field.When she finally got them, it was obvious why nothing had worked.Her daughter hadn’t been a “bad sleeper” at all, she had a serious medical condition preventing her from staying asleep.Once this was treated, she started to sleep through the night straight away.This is an important episode to hear, what are the signs and when to pivot away from sleep training....Because there is no such thing as a bad sleeper, there is always a reason and Belle found it!

Megan’s baby woke every single hour… for a full year.Then at 12 months… he suddenly slept through.She went from a career woman to completely exhausted, isolated, and questioning everything she ever thought to be true about being a mum.In this episode, she shares what that year really looked like… and why, the second time around, she did things very differently.If you’re stuck in hourly wakes right now, this will feel very familiar.For more follow @awakeat3am.podcast & @sophiassleepschool

If you haven’t already, go back and listen to Episode 11 first. That’s where part 1 of Sophia’s story begins.In today’s episode, everything unravels.Sophia shares how severe sleep deprivation led to PTSD, the breakdown of her marriage, and raising a baby on her own.She was so traumatised by the experience, she made the decision to never have another child… a decision that nearly cost her the man she would go on to marry.This episode is about what happened next.How she took back control, changed the entire way she approached sleep, and went from barely surviving to building a successful career helping parents all over the world avoid that same breaking point.For more follow @awakeat3am.podcast and for daily sleep tips follow @sophiassleepschool

Sophia, co-host of Awake at 3am, shares her story of becoming a first-time mum at 21.She was a flight attendant, living a completely different life, when she found out she was pregnant in a brand new relationship. Things moved quickly, and then fell apart just as fast, navigating single parenting as a young mum was not on her bingo card....In this episode, Sophia talks openly about what those early months really looked like. The impact of sleep deprivation on her mental health, navigating postnatal depression and a marriage breakdown, and the reality of becoming a single parent.She also shares how much she relied on her parents during that time, and what having a village actually meant when everything else felt unstable.It’s honest, raw and a side of motherhood we don’t talk about enough.Follow @awakeat3am.podcast & @sophiassleepschool

Simone’s first baby woke every two hours for months.No routine. No sleep. Just surviving it and hoping it would pass.She talks about what that actually did to her. The exhaustion, the pressure to “get it right”, and how long it took to admit it wasn’t sustainable.Then she had her second baby.Completely different… but not easier. Colic, feeding issues, two kids needing her at once.She describes it as humbling in a way no one prepares you for.This episode is about what early motherhood really looks like when sleep isn’t working, and how different each baby can be.If you’ve ever thought “why is this so hard?”… you’ll get this one.Follow @awakeat3am.podcast & @sophiassleepschool to learn more

Kate and Jess met in their first mothers’ group when their daughters were just days apart — navigating newborn life, sleep deprivation and the shock of early motherhood side by side.In this episode, Kate shares her experience with two very different babies and how her mindset around sleep changed dramatically between them. With her first daughter, Isabelle, sleep became something she felt she had to get “right” — often at the expense of getting out, living life and protecting her own mental health. With her second baby, Oscar, she approached things completely differently.We talk about reflux, tongue ties, dummy runs, split nights, toddler bedtime chaos, and the reality that even “good sleepers” come with their own challenges. Kate also reflects on the pressure parents can feel to control sleep — and how reframing babies as humans (not problems to solve) completely changed her perspective.This is a conversation about learning as you go, adapting to your child’s temperament, and finding more freedom in motherhood the second time around.Find us on Instagram: @awakeat3am.podcast & @sophiassleepschool

In this episode, the tables turn.Jess — usually the interviewer shares her own story of sleep deprivation, desperation, and the moments that still sit heavy long after they’ve passed.After a relatively smooth experience sleep training her first daughter, Jess expected the same path with her second. Instead, she found herself navigating endless wake-ups, conflicting advice, two different sleep consultants, and a level of exhaustion that began to erode her confidence as a mum.At one point, she describes letting her baby cry for two and a half hours while following advice she believed would finally fix their nights a decision she still struggles to forgive herself for.This conversation explores what chronic sleep deprivation really does to parents: the self-doubt, the strain on relationships, the desperate decisions made in the middle of the night, and the way sleep struggles can consume an entire household.Most importantly, it’s a reminder that the hardest parts of motherhood are far more common and far less talked about than we realise.If you’ve ever questioned your instincts, replayed a parenting decision in your mind, or wondered why something that worked for one child didn’t work for another, this episode will feel painfully familiar.Follow @awakeat3am.podcast & @sophiassleepschool for more!

Maddy’s baby woke every hour for 9 months.She didn’t ignore it, she asked for help.Doctors.Sleep specialists.Advice from everywhere, she spent a week living in an infant sleep clinic but nothing worked.And every time she was told the same thing.“This is just who your baby is.”A baby who wakes every hour.So she stopped questioning it and started trying to live with it.More feeds. More settling. Less sleep and a very bleak outlook on life.In this episode, she talks about what it felt like to keep going when nothing was changing and how having no hope changes you.And what happened when she finally realised it didn’t have to be her reality and she met Sophia.Follow @awakeat3am.podcast & @sophiassleepschool for more

Jacqui is a mum to twin girls, and for a long time, nights felt never-ending.Bedtime would take hours. One baby would settle, the other would wake. Back and forth, over and over again, until the whole evening was gone, then they would do it all over again overnight. She talks about how exhausting that stage was, and how hard it is when you’re trying everything but nothing is actually working.Things started to change when she met Sophia and began learning about infant sleep properly. Not just tips or routines, but what’s actually happening biologically, why babies wake, and what they need to fall asleep and stay asleep.From there, her life changed!!In this episode, she shares what it looked like to move from guessing and surviving, to understanding sleep and having a clear, consistent way forward ....even with two babies.Follow @awakeat3am.podcast & sophiassleepschool to hear more

Ash is a writer, mum to Archie and the voice behind You Wanted This, a platform validating the reality of modern motherhood. In this conversation, she shares her experience of a highly unsettled baby, months of broken sleep, and reaching breaking point before finding a path that worked for her family.We talk about colic, reflux, 45-minute wake cycles, sleep training, and how different approaches can feel emotionally — not just practically. But this episode goes beyond sleep. It explores identity shifts, mum guilt, returning to work, and the complicated truth that you can deeply love motherhood while still struggling inside it.This is a conversation about validation, instinct, and the relief of realising you’re not failing — you’re human.You can find more from Ash on Instagram at @[email protected]@sophiassleepschool

Amelia was heavily pregnant with baby number two, and sleep was still a challenge with her first, the kind of season that can feel endless. In this episode, we talk about what sleep looked like during pregnancy with a toddler, the mental load of doing nights while growing another baby, and how exhaustion can follow you into different stages of motherhood. But more than that, Amelia brings so much warmth, perspective and hope to a really hard season. This is a conversation about resilience, realistic optimism, and finding light even when you’re still very, very tired.If this episode brings anything up for you, you’re not alone, you can find us and continue the conversation over on Instagram at @awakeat3am.podcast @sophiassleepschool

Krysten was terrified that sleep training would harm her baby, even as her own mental health was falling apart. In this episode, she shares what sleep looked like before things reached breaking point, the fear and anxiety wrapped up in trying to change it, and how exhaustion can completely cloud your thinking. We talk about the family intervention that changed everything, learning to trust the science, and what it meant to finally accept help. This is a conversation about maternal guilt, fear, and how sometimes improving sleep is also about saving yourself.For more honest conversations about motherhood, sleep and everything in between, you can find us on Instagram at @awakeat3am.podcast @sophiassleepschoolIf you’re listening in Australia and feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or struggling with your mental health during pregnancy or after having a baby, support is available:National support & helplinesPANDA National Perinatal Mental Health Helpline (for perinatal anxiety, depression & emotional wellbeing) — call 1300 726 306 (free, evidence-based support for new and expecting parents and their families) ForWhen Helpline (matching you with local perinatal mental health support) — call 1300 24 23 22 (Monday–Friday, 9 am–4:30 pm) MumSpace (online mental wellbeing tools & support for new mums) — visit mumspace.com.au for information, programs and guided support options 

Savannah’s baby was waking every ten minutes overnight and the impact of that level of sleep deprivation was bigger and darker than she ever expected. In this episode, we talk about what sleep looked like for her in the early days, how it slowly unravelled, and what happens when you’re living on almost no rest at all. We cover postpartum rage, the dangers of severe sleep deprivation, the pressure to “just cope,” and how hard motherhood can be when you’re truly running on empty. This is an honest conversation about survival mode, asking for help, and what happens when sleep (or the lack of it) starts to affect everything.(Content note: This episode discusses mental health struggles in early motherhood.)For more honest conversations about motherhood, sleep and everything in between, you can find us on Instagram at @awakeat3am.podcast @sophiassleepschoolIf you’re listening in Australia and feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or struggling with your mental health during pregnancy or after having a baby, support is available:National support & helplinesPANDA National Perinatal Mental Health Helpline (for perinatal anxiety, depression & emotional wellbeing) — call 1300 726 306 (free, evidence-based support for new and expecting parents and their families) ForWhen Helpline (matching you with local perinatal mental health support) — call 1300 24 23 22 (Monday–Friday, 9 am–4:30 pm) MumSpace (online mental wellbeing tools & support for new mums) — visit mumspace.com.au for information, programs and guided support options 

In our very first episode, we’re sitting down to properly introduce ourselves and share why Awake at 3am exists in the first place. We talk about the conversations that live in your head at night, the parts of motherhood that feel heavy, confusing or lonely, and why we wanted to create a space for the honest stuff nit the polished version. This is the beginning of it all: who we are, what we care about, and the kinds of conversations we’re here to have.For more honest conversations about motherhood, sleep and everything in between, you can find us on Instagram at @awakeat3am.podcast & @sophiassleepschool