About Me
I coach parents of young children in solving the mystery of getting their child to sleep through the night.
I know you, because I've been you.
You are a smart, loving parent — yet for some reason, bedtime is such a struggle. You never knew what this kind of exhaustion felt like — and now you can (with certainty) say it is sooo much harder than people realize.
The fear of falling asleep while driving, the constant worry of losing your temper, the frustration you feel even over the smallest of things … always on the verge of a blow up or meltdown.
Each morning feels the same, upset, disappointed, confused about what to do next. And still, you have to go about your day.
You’ve got worries about what this lack of sleep is doing to your child.
Is this causing lasting harm?
Is development being messed up?
Why won’t your child just sleep?
You feel stuck, and pressured, and you are so tired, you can’t even come up with any other ideas to try. You’ve tried them all, you’ve got all the gear — and still, you are awake sooo much each night.
You wish you had a clear path forward with some solid answers.
Hey, I’ve been there too, and I’ve come out on the other side.
I coach parents of young children in solving the mystery of getting their child to sleep through the night. So they can wake up refreshed and can embrace parenting even if they have tried everything to get their child to sleep. I help them trust instincts and use playful, compassionate methods so everyone gets the sleep they need.
With a Ph.D. in child development, I’ve trained thousands of parents and child care workers throughout the US and Canada in safe sleep practices and child development. I’ve coached and counseled parents and their children on everything from behavior and feeding, to listening and discipline, to sleep and developing independence.
PLUS, I was once where you are now.
I had a kiddo who would. not. sleep.
You may look at where I’m at now and think I have it all figured out…and to be honest, life IS good…BUT it certainly wasn’t always this way.
My personal experience
When my son was a newborn, it was clear early on that sleep was going to be a struggle for us all. It seemed like no matter what I tried, he just wouldn’t go to sleep.
I did everything the “experts” say to. I sang, I swayed, I swaddled, I unswaddled, I made it dark, I fed him more, I used the phone to entertain him, anything at all I could think of, I tried.
I thought Cry it Out was the only method out there, and I knew that wouldn’t work for our family.
Then, I tried it — for a painful 7 minutes. Then never again.
There were so many nights where I just wanted him to go to sleep, whatever it took. I cuddled when I thought he needed comfort. I tried breastfeeding. I tried bottle feeding. He slept in a side sleeper, in a crib, in my bed, on the floor, on my body. I did all the things, and still, I was so upset and stressed and worried for my little one.
Was he going to be ok? There was so much crying and he was awake so often at night, I was worried he wouldn’t meet his developmental milestones. I was worried I was messing it all up and that he would have trouble sleeping even into adulthood.
I was completely clueless on what to do. And I felt so defeated. So often I was crying alongside him.
The fear of falling asleep while driving, the constant worry of losing your temper, the frustration you feel even over the smallest of things … always on the verge of a blow up or meltdown.
Each morning feels the same, upset, disappointed, confused about what to do next. And still, you have to go about your day.
You’ve got worries about what this lack of sleep is doing to your child. Is this causing lasting harm? Is development being messed up? Why won’t your child just sleep?
You feel stuck, and pressured, and you are so tired, you can’t even come up with any other ideas to try. You’ve tried them all, you’ve got all the gear — and still, you are awake sooo much each night.
You wish you had a clear path forward with some solid answers.
I remember it so clearly.
One night, just like all the others...
I had been up for hours.
It was super dark out the window, and my son just kept crying. So, after another attempt at feeding, we sat in the rocking chair, both of our faces wet from crying. Finally, he fell asleep in my arms. I was so tired, and I didn’t want to wake him.
I heard the sleep advice in my head, just lay him down carefully.
But I was so afraid, so concerned he would wake up, that it would start the cycle up again, that I just sat there.
Then I fell asleep.
It must have been just a minute, but my arms loosened, and I felt my son slip.
I saved him from falling, but oh, was it close.
Then I started crying, he started crying, and I knew I had hit my own rock bottom. I knew things had to change, before someone got hurt. I couldn’t keep doing this to us.
I had to change something, and I had to figure this out.
That is when my new journey really began.
The beginning was a bit rocky for me. I was going in without a plan, and no one to really follow.
I knew enough to stop using a chair that we could fall out of. And I started to change the way our home was set up, to better support us all in this sleep battle we were fighting.
When he would fall asleep in my arms, I learned exactly what to do, so he would continue to get restful sleep that didn’t put him in danger.
I had read a bunch about baby sleep online, but it wasn’t until I began to listen to my own thoughts that I understood what those articles were saying.
It was finally beginning to come together …
Then one, seemingly magical morning, I woke up, and realized, I had gotten 2 full hours of sleep, without him waking. For the first time … that I could remember.
I over-analyzed everything that could have contributed to this amazing event. And I noticed what was different.
So I tried it again, and again. I’d finally figured out how to do this over and over again.
Then I kept studying and learning everything I needed to until I had this down to a science. (I have a Ph.D. and needed proof.)
My life is radically different now than it had been.
I get the chance to really spend enjoyable time with my son. AND he falls asleep on his own. He sleeps so much better and has a positive, excited attitude throughout the day.
Plus I am sleeping, and so is my husband.
My energy level has changed, and I get so much more done during the day.
The person I have become along the way … yea she is really different too.
I went from a really worried mom, who wasn’t sleeping, not taking care of herself, who could erupt into anger or sadness in an instant — to a mom that has energy to play during the day, and really looks forward to bedtime, not because it is a time to finally get a break, but because it means snuggles are ahead and a really beautiful time of day is approaching.
I couldn’t have reached this point without the Becoming Playful Sleep System. Without it I probably would have continued to feel like I was failing, and my child wouldn’t be sleeping through the night.
A new opportunity was on the horizon
Now, I had been teaching and coaching parents for over 15 years. And after this complete transformation that I had been through .. my passion for supporting other parents in this way completely took over.
Everywhere I looked, I saw the exhausted faces of parents at the playground, saw the desperate posts on social media hoping for some kind of hack that would make tonight easier, and the defeated, resigned deep breaths that came as the sun was going down and they prepared for another sleepless night.
And that is not ok.
Parents shouldn’t ever have to feel this tired.
And they don’t have to.
It’s my mission to support parents in getting the sleep they need, by designing a systematic way of supporting child sleep.
Today, I get to help incredible parents, discover the exact routine that both feels good and helps their child to sleep at night. I love my work as a coach and every day I’m thankful for the opportunities I have to make a tangible difference in my clients’ lives.
And I’m not gonna lie, being able to kiss my son on the head and be completely in control of my own night feels pretty great too …
I would love to hear from you!
I want to learn more about how I can help you discover a bedtime routine that supports your family.
