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