About me

About me

Growing up with four other siblings, our home was in a constant state of chaos. There were no set routines, schedules, and definitely no consistency. This lack of organization at a young age led me to struggle academically and emotionally throughout most of my grade school years. As a college student, I eventually developed a strong desire to have structure in my life. Eventually, this yearning for organization and order allowed me to explore a career in education and in 2010, I began working as a middle-school teacher. I immediately fell in love with my job because it allowed me to create an environment where I could promote a sense of security and trust for all of my students, by establishing the very same aspects of my life that I did not have as a child – routines, schedules, and consistency.

Seven years later, my husband and I were very excited to welcome our first baby into our lives. Both of us prepared throughout the pregnancy by taking hands-on classes, reading books, watching instructional videos, and seeking advice from many parents who had already gone through this stage in life. Unexpectedly, our son was born three weeks early, and though we thought we were equipped with the right knowledge to feed, burp, swaddle, and change diapers, nobody had prepared us for how to care for a four-pound baby. Due to his low weight, we struggled to properly feed him and he ultimately developed jaundice, which further complicated his eating patterns. As a result, our baby was constantly and frequently being poked for blood draws and lab testing. At the hospital, we consulted with different doctors, nurses, and lactation consultants, and, to our surprise, they all provided different advice. The general recommendation was to follow an aggressive feeding schedule. By day two, my husband and I were essentially zombies. We continued with the same aggressive feeding schedule at home for the next couple of weeks until our son no longer tested positive for jaundice. After we had his eating habits more-or-less under control, we wanted to focus on is his sleeping cycles.

I devoted any spare time and energy left in my newly busy schedule to learn about ways to promote good sleeping habits for my baby. Research is clear in linking quality sleep to healthy outcomes. As a new mother, I was on a mission to provide the best possible environment for my baby to grow and develop. After extensive research, much trial-and-error, and getting to know my baby, I identified fundamental concepts that directly contributed to his improved sleep cycles, particularly at night. I implemented an effective daily routine that produced quality daytime naps and lasting nightime sleep cycles for my baby. This, in return, gave me and my husband the ability to rest more throughout the day or catch up on laundry.

In 2017, I developed the PeTAL program which is a gentle and seamless approach to effectively teach your baby to sleep 12 hours at night by their 12th week of life. This 12-week program allows you and your baby to establish consistent routines following a prescriptive daily schedule broken out by feeding times.