Morning, sleepy head. You've just opened up Cosleepy Dispatch #010, your field notes for the week of July 20, 2026.
I spent last week finishing up my final draft for the publisher. I'm all done, baby!! Now my editor will give it one last review, and then it's off to the production team. I've finished the hardest part, thankfully, but my work isn't done. Over the next few months, I'll work closely with the production team to put all the demo photos and illustrations where they belong.
And then, hopefully, I'll get to record the audiobook! (I have to audition first. 😅)
I'll keep you updated with all the things!
Now here's what I've gathered for you this week...
- 🧰 My top 3 books to give a "concerned" friend
- 🎧 Are humans designed to cosleep with their babies?
- 🍿 3 soapy shows for your afternoon contact nap
Hope this email starts off your week right. Make yourself something good to drink, get off your feet, and start scrolling!
🧰 COSLEEPY TOOLBOX
Three books to give a "concerned" friend
Let me guess. Someone in your life is concerned that your baby is in your bed, and they’ve got a moral obligation to bring it up. 🙄
It could be your mom, sister-in-law, best friend, or the random lady at the DMV. Everyone has opinions on your baby’s sleep, don’t they?
Let me remind you that you do not need to justify your decision to cosleep to anyone.
However, if you have the emotional bandwidth to engage, I have some research-backed books for you to give them as “proof.”
If this hasn’t happened to you yet, it will eventually. So save this email for future reference!
This book chronicles Dr. Ball’s career in mother-baby sleep research at Durham University. It’s practical and reassuring and extremely authoritative — there’s no one who knows more about biologically normal infant sleep than Dr. Ball.
FUN FACT: If you buy the U.S. version of this book, you’ll see my endorsement on the back cover!
Dr. Greer Kirshenbaum is a neuroscientist who studies the impact of nurture on babies aged 0-3. Her book is mind-blowing and encouraging for parents like us, who are nurturing our babies in our sleep.
3. Sweet Sleep from La Leche League
This one is a long-but-easy read, packed with practical advice from La Leche League International (and reviewed by Dr. Helen Ball prior to publication).
What is bonus book #4? (Sorry I couldn't resist) MY BOOK! COMING NEXT YEAR. 🤗
🎧 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Are we designed to cosleep?
How were humans naturally designed to parent?
"If we were living in a cave or were dropped on a desert island and there weren’t any baby stores, what would that look like?"
Tracy Gillett, founder of Raised Good, thinks about what life would look like if we weren’t listening to external influences.
“It’s very different looking at how an orca behaves in an aquarium. Or how an elephant behaves in a zoo, compared to how they behave on the plains of Africa. And to say that their behavior in a zoo is “normal” is just wrong. We need to look at how they behave in the wild."
So what about us, humans? How would we parent our babies if tuned everything else out and connected to our instincts and intuition?
🍿 NAP-TRAPPED
Three soapy shows to stream
Looking for a good way to spend your afternoon contact naps that won't leave you in tears or with more anxiety?
Allow me to suggest a show that offers wholesome content about female friendships, tight-knit communities, romance, and coming home again. Here are three soapy, relationship-y shows that are fun, heartwarming, and always come with a happy ending.
(And I made sure they are based on books, in case you'd rather read than watch!)
Virgin River (Netflix) — 70 contact naps
- Starring: Alexandra Breckenridge, Martin Henderson, Tim Matheson
- Based on: This book series
- Logline: Searching for a fresh start, a nurse practitioner moves from LA to a remote northern California town and is surprised by what—and who—she finds.
Chesapeake Shores (Hallmark) — 55 contact naps
- Starring: Robert Buckley, Meghan Ory, Treat Williams, Barbara Niven
- Based on: This book series
- Logline: When she returns to the small Maryland hometown her father founded, a successful career woman and single mom considers staying and setting down roots.
Sweet Magnolias (Netflix) — 50 contact naps
- Starring: JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Brooke Elliott, Heather Headley
- Based on: This book series
- Logline: Three 30-something lifelong friends lift each other up as they juggle relationships, family and careers in the small Southern town of Serenity.