I’m sure many people in my life ask themselves (or maybe each other) why I’m so obsessed with the way kids sleep. It’s a good question, really. With every step of my sleep journey my response to this question has gotten to be very, very long because I honestly believe there is nothing else as important in the lives of our children as giving them the foundation of healthy sleep. Every aspect of who they are, what they’re learning, how they’re reacting, how they’re relating…is impacted by the quality of rest they get.

My personal experience with kids and sleep is 7-fold, since I am the mother of 7 beautiful babes. When our oldest son, now 17, was born I had no idea that there were rules to follow when it came to how he should be sleeping. Yeah, I knew all the SIDS prevention info and I had a feeling sleep was important,but I just didn’t understand that there was even anything to learn about it.  I just thought babies naturally slept a lot and that he would magically morph into a “normal” sleeper as he grew up. To think that I had to take responsibility for his sleep was not even on my radar.

That quickly changed. I’ll never forget when he was a little over 4 months old and he would wake up 30 min on the dot after he’d start his naps. I became a crazy person – researching, reading book after book, trying everything under the sun to make him stay asleep. Then, when he turned 2 I became even more nuts because by that point I understood why sleep was so important and I had seen the positive impact healthy sleep had on him over the years. And although I thought I knew it all, I couldn’t compete with my 2 year old son who would not stay in his bed. Argh! It was a battle of wills that I was losing fast, and no books or mommy forums could help me figure out how to make him sleep. That’s when I made the very first SleepBuddy prototype. (If you want to learn more about that, visit www.sleepbuddy.com) It worked wonders and within days he was sleeping well again, we were both lovin’ life and haven’t looked back since.

Fast forward a few years and add 4 more children into the mix, SleepBuddy finally came on the market in 2010. It was at that time that I realized parents needed much more than a light to help their kids sleep well. SleepBuddy was a tool, but many parents needed to be walked through the process and taught how to teach their children healthy sleep practices. At that point, I was able to give some pretty good advice since I had taught my own children and read all I could get my hands on about the subject, but I knew there was more to learn. I remember feeling so giddy every time someone posted a question or emailed me needing help. From the moment I began helping moms and dads in this way I was completely hooked and knew I had found my calling.

My education and training through the Family Sleep Institute confirmed by suspicions that sleep consulting is not only fun, but it’s also the best feeling in the world to know that I’m able to bring healthy sleep back to families. I get to be the voice for these tiny ones who need help but don’t know how to get the message across to their mom or dad. It truly is rewarding and remarkable to see the changes that take place in such a short amount of time. As a mother I’m able to identify with the struggles parents face with their children. And it truly brings me joy to share what I’ve learned and experienced with the families I come in contact with.

So…to all of you who wonder why I spend my time obsessing about the way kids sleep…I do it for YOU! I want to be well equipped to help each one of you  through the bedtime frustrations and sleepless nights that accompany parenthood.

Thank you for reading my blog! Most of my posts will be about sleep and parenting, but I thought you’d like to get a little bit of my personal background first. Please don’t hesitate to let me know if there are any topics you’d like me to write about. You can post a comment or visit my facebook page www.facebook.com/healthyhappysleep  to share your ideas.