About
When my first daughter was 5 months old I got to a point of desperation for sleep. I felt as if I was going slightly crazy with getting up 3-5 times a night. Because I was a first time mom, I wanted to make sure I was doing everything to love and care for my new baby. I got to a point where I really needed help. I hired a sleep coach who was able to help me understand not only when my baby needed to sleep but where, what her sleep needs were and how important daytimes were for helping her sleep better at night. Within two weeks we had moved my daughter out of our bedroom and into her own room AND she was sleeping through the night!
After working with a sleep coach I realized how much people don’t talk about the sleep needs of a baby. Often times we just put the baby to sleep once they are cranky or already falling asleep. So with my limited knowledge from the sleep training process I tried to encourage and help friends as they struggled with getting their little ones to sleep.
Fast forward a year and my family decided to become a foster family. We saw how great the need was for families to open their homes to these children in need and how we were able to care for another child. We started the process of becoming licensed to foster and the day after we got licensed we got our first placement. It is such a strange and yet terrifying experience to be handed this child you don’t know and most likely didn’t have them from birth to learn all about them. These kids have been removed from their homes and families and are craving something familiar and ”normal.” Yet we have no idea what song they like to be sung before bed, whether they liked being rocked before bed or if they need a night light because they are afraid of the dark. We take these kiddos in without knowing much of anything but knowing they need a place to call home.
After the adjustment or “honeymoon” period is over many of these children begin acting out before bed or struggling to sleep. So, you try everything you can to help them sleep better. You are up rocking them, singing to them or just sitting next to their bed throughout the night so they can rest peacefully knowing they are loved and they are safe. You are tired and don’t know what else to do, but you keep saying yes because that’s what these kids need.
That’s where I come in. My family has a heart for foster care. We have four kids 6 and under, two biological and two adopted. Our hands are pretty fill most of the time, however, I decided to pursue getting certified in sleep coaching so that I could still work from home and raise my babies. I wanted to be able to help other parents learn how important sleep is for their kids and how prioritizing sleep can actually give them a lot of freedom.
I love what I do, but I do not do it for the money. Like I said, my heart is for foster care and I cannot take in all the kids that need a place. All foster and adoptive families receive a discount on all sleep services.