Carmen Liebert

My Story

When my first child was born in 2005, I had no idea that baby sleep support even existed.

I was severely sleep-deprived and went to bed each evening hoping that the next night would somehow be better. Most nights, it wasn’t. My son continued to struggle with sleep until he was six years old.

Slowly, I began to accept this as part of motherhood. I thought being a mum meant sacrificing my sleep, my time, my career, my health and, at times, even my relationship and sanity.

Looking back, I wish I had known that we did not simply have to live with it.

I wanted a different experience with my second child

Thirteen years later, when my daughter was born, I knew I could not go through the same experience again.

So, I tried several ways to help her sleep better. At first, nothing seemed to make a lasting difference. Then, one afternoon at the playground, another mother told me about The Natural Baby Sleep Solution by Polly Moore.

I read the book quickly and began trying some of its ideas. It sparked my curiosity, but it also made me realise that a book could only take me so far. I needed more than general information. I needed to understand what was happening with my baby.

Whenever I found a little spare time, often while breastfeeding my daughter, I watched online summits and listened to podcasts about baby sleep. That was when I discovered Kim West, known as The Sleep Lady, and learned about her gradual approach to helping children settle.

Of course, I immediately bought her e-book. Curiosity has always been one of my stronger qualities, and patience with an unread book is not.

I began applying the approach with my daughter.

Knowing what to do was only part of the answer

The first evenings were emotionally difficult. Hearing my baby cry was hard, even though I stayed beside her cot and responded throughout the process.

My partner was not immediately convinced either, so we also had to talk, listen to each other and find an approach we could both support. That was one of my first lessons in baby sleep: consistency is much harder when parents do not feel confident or agree on what to do.

Although I understood the method in theory, something was still missing. I wanted an experienced person beside me who could look at our situation, answer my questions and reassure me when I began to doubt myself.

So, I invested in an online baby sleep coaching package.

Within two weeks, our daughter was settling much more easily at bedtime and usually waking no more than once during the night. Compared with the previous month, the difference felt enormous.

Then we went away for two weeks, and many of our old sleep difficulties returned.

At the time, I was surprised and frustrated. I had not yet understood how important predictability, routine and consistent responses were for my daughter. I thought we had solved the problem, but in reality, I had only discovered one piece of the sleep puzzle.

That setback changed the direction of my life

When I realised that we needed to begin again, I decided to learn much more about baby sleep.

Instead of more sleep research or a safe-paced programme, I enrolled in a professional certification course. I wanted to understand why certain approaches worked, why progress sometimes disappeared and how different sleep challenges could be addressed safely and responsively.

Life was already rather full. I was caring for my family, returning to a part-time marketing job and studying during my daughter’s naps or late in the evening.

Still, the more I learned, the more interested I became.

For almost a year, I read extensively about infant and toddler sleep, watched lectures, completed assignments and worked with volunteer families. Many of these families were led by exhausted mothers experiencing the same confusion and sleep deprivation I knew so well.

Working with them taught me something no textbook could fully explain: exhausted parents rarely need more random information. They need someone to help them understand which advice applies to their child and which does not.

They also need a realistic plan, clear guidance and support when progress feels slow or uncertain.

I also came to realise that baby sleep is a puzzle, and the most obvious piece is not always the one that is missing.

How Happy Baby Schlaf began

By 2020, I was ready to turn my personal experience and professional knowledge into Happy Baby Schlaf.

I built my baby sleep consultancy around the qualities I had needed as a parent: honest guidance, scientific understanding, practical strategies, care and individual support.

Since then, I have worked with more than 300 families. Each child and family has been different, but many parents come to me carrying the same heavy combination of exhaustion, conflicting advice and fear of making the wrong decision.

This is why I never look only at bedtime.

Instead, I consider the whole sleep picture: the child’s age and temperament, daytime rhythm, naps, light, movement, food, connection, sleep environment, settling skills and the way parents respond during the night. Family circumstances matter too, because even the best plan will struggle if it does not fit real life.

The aim is not to follow a rigid formula. It is to create a personalised approach that parents understand and can apply with confidence.

Why this work matters so much to me

Seeing a child have a friendlier relationship with sleep is really rewarding. But the changes often reach far beyond the cot.

Parents begin to sleep again. Evenings feel calmer. Couples have time to talk and reconnect. The whole family becomes less overwhelmed and parents feel more confident in understanding their child.

I know what prolonged sleep deprivation can do to a family because I have lived through it myself. I also know how confusing it feels when you have read all the advice and still have no idea what to try next.

That personal experience is one of the reasons I take every family’s concerns seriously.

Sleep is a biological need, but falling asleep is a skill. With the right knowledge, realistic expectations and consistent support, families can build healthier sleep habits for their child on a long-term basis.

That is why I created Happy Baby Schlaf, and why helping babies, toddlers and their parents sleep better continues to be the work I care deeply about.