With the second wave of COVID-19 upon us, I have decided to bring back Small Business Sundays! Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and we need to support them however we can.
Sleeping Beautiezzz Pediatric Sleep Consulting is owned and operated by Andrea Merino, a local certified pediatric sleep consultant and Registered Nurse in the Spruce Grove area. Helping children, and their families, sleep is a passion of hers. She’s a wife and mother of 3 boys, and knows how difficult it can be to function while being sleep deprived.
Andrea believes every parent truly wants to enjoy their child to the fullest, no matter the sleep struggles. She helps tired families nurture healthy sleep for their families by working with the parents philosophy and creating personalized sleep plans for families through their journey, giving them tools and confidence to succeed and achieve sleep for the whole family!!
What is Unique About Your Business or What Made You Choose This Type of Business?
I work with families to ensure they are doing everything in their power to maintain a healthy sleep environment for their little ones. Sleep is a behaviour in the same way that eating habits, manners, or even socialization and interaction are. All of these are learned and we teach our children how to act in all of these scenarios. Sleep is much the same. Children need to be taught healthy sleep hygiene, and as parents it is our job to do this.
As a nurse in the NICU, I noticed early on in my career that even premature babies can learn simple habits and routines. I became fascinated by infant and child sleep, and that fascination grew when my husband and I struggled with getting our first baby to sleep through the night. I quickly learned the true concept of sleep deprivation when my oldest son needed to be nursed or rocked back to sleep, even when he woke up every 1-2 hours throughout the night. When he was old enough, I decided it was time for all of us to get the well-rested sleep we needed to help our family function.
Once I had this knowledge behind me, I was able to implement healthy sleeping habits early on when our second and third son were born. Now I have 3 amazing sleepers! I became the “sleep guru” with my friends, and began sharing my methods and successes to help them with their little ones. This is when I realized the need for sleep consultants, and decided to become certified through the Institute of Pediatric Sleep and Parenting. I am very passionate about sleep, and the benefits of healthy sleep habits for the whole family. I am in this field to help people, all people, get the sleep they need and deserve! You need and deserve good sleep!
What is Your Favourite Small Business (Aside From Your Own)?
Oooh, there are so many within Parkland County, I can’t pick just one. Of course, I love Mama Bear Play Club as I am the co-owner of that business with one of my amazing friends. It’s a local moms group that offers educational health topics for moms and their babies 0-3 years. It’s been a real treasure to be a part of, and see mamas connect with other local mamas during these uncertain times. Other than that, I would have to say Fit Beside Me, The Play Cafe, and Heart and Hope Designs. I personally know and adore these owners and love what they offer our community.
If You Had One Piece of Advice to Someone Just Starting Out, What Would It Be?
Trust the process, it is so worth it! Sleep training is hard and it’s not for everyone, but when you trust the process and ride out the plan and your family is getting the sleep they need and deserve, it’s so rewarding. It can only take 12 days to see progress, but closer to 6 weeks for your beautiful efforts to be finally solidified. I don’t think people realize how sleep is always evolving, so even though you may have sleep trained your baby at 6 months of age, they may be going through something developmentally at 12 months and need a re-train. This is completely okay, and totally normal!
What Are Your Long-Term Business Goals?
I am passionate about sleep, and I don’t want finances to be a barrier for a family to achieve it. My goal is to create some more affordable options for families, such as group coaching and some newborn and child sleep plans and course that families can implement themselves and still achieve sleep for their family.
Since I am a Registered Nurse, my services may be covered under some health insurance plans, so that has been very helpful for some families.
I also want to normalize sleep training and make it known that when you are sleep training your baby, it doesn’t mean that you are letting your baby cry it out for hours on end and not offering your support. Implementing healthy sleep habits from day one, whatever your feeding and sleeping situation is, and still reacting to your child’s cries and needs can be so beneficial for your family in the long run. And, if you haven’t established healthy sleep habits from the beginning, it’s okay, it’s never too late to help a child learn to love sleep!
What Is Your Funniest/Weirdest/Most Memorable Experience With A Customer or Client?
My most memorable moment will always be my first client. She was a friend of mine from University, our lives got busy and we didn’t chat much following University. I then received a photo of her sweet family with a new addition, so I reached out to her to catch up. We started chatting about life with 3 babies, as I was expecting my third at the time. Lack of sleep became a topic, and I told her how I just finished my Sleep Training Certification, and she purchased a package right away. We started working on her daughters sleep, she went from eating every hour throughout the night, to eating once, then at the end of our 2 weeks, she weaned herself and slept 6pm to 6 am with no wake ups on our last day of working together. Hearing my friends voice on the phone call, and how well rested and happy she was is when I know that I can do this! It made me so happy to get my friends back, and function and have productive days versus just going through the motions of the day with 3 small kids. It was definitely a great feeling, which brought me back to the feeling I had when my first son slept through the night for the first time. I knew I could achieve this with so many other families!
If you have a new baby at home, or have a child struggling to sleep, don’t hesitate to reach out to Andrea on Facebook and Instagram. You can also email Andrea at andrea@sleepingbeautiezzz.ca
Thank you, Andrea from Sleeping Beautiezzz, taking the time to participate in Small Business Sunday!