Meet Melissa
Hello! My name is Melissa, I am a Certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant, the founder of Lavender Littles Sleep Consulting, a wife, and a mother. My husband and I are high school sweet hearts and welcomed our daughter, Carolina, in May 2019.
We love to travel and are always planning the next getaway. I love making scrapbooks of our family adventures and documenting Carolina as she grows.
Since becoming a parent, I am now also passionate about getting good old fashion sleep! I used to take it for granted but quickly learned how precious it really is when Carolina was an infant. You are probably here because you love sleep too and are wondering how to get more of it for your family! I have also been a parent struggling to get quality sleep for our entire family. We went on for months with very little, inconsistent sleep that was causing issues for our sanity, our marriage, and the well-being of all three of us.
We finally committed to sleep training Carolina at 9 months old and our lives have forever changed. Our fussy baby was no longer sleep deprived, Ryan and I were no longer sleep deprived and our entire family was so much happier. We were finally enjoying being parents! I decided to become a sleep consultant so that I could help other parents capture the joy in their parenthood and support them in getting their families the sleep they need and deserve.
My sleep philosophy
When it comes to sleep in children, I believe it is often not prioritized. Sleep is a vital part of health which means that ensuring your child is getting the sleep they need is just as important as ensuring they are receiving proper nourishment. It is so common to hear other parents and professionals discussing how sleep struggles are the norm in babies and young children. It is my absolute passion to change this mindset; sleep struggles do not have to be a normal part of raising children!
Sleep training is simply the process of teaching your child healthy sleep habits. Healthy sleep habits allow your child to fall asleep independently and to have quality and consolidated sleep during the night and for daytime naps. I truly believe that setting a foundation of healthy sleep habits early on in children will give them the skills to have a positive relationship with sleep as they grow into adolescence and adulthood.
A note on crying
It is important to understand that crying is a form of communication, especially for babies and young children; they don’t have the language to communicate with their parents and caregivers in any other way. When teaching independent sleep skills to babies, toddlers, and young children we can expect some tears as a way of them communicating their discontent with the changes occurring. Nobody likes changes, especially to their sleep environment but through consistent, gentle, and calm responses, your child will feel supported every step of the way and parents can expect these tears to quickly fade.