My name is Mica, founder of Rested Mama, Happy Baby, and I have been in your shoes. If you’re reading this, you’ve probably felt “it.”  “It” being the exhaustion of being a parent, from the time your baby is born and you bring them home from the hospital until...well, until you’re not exhausted anymore, somewhere several years down the line. I was completely EXHAUSTED when I had my daughter until I did something about it, and I could be the mama I wanted to be. Since then, I have become a certified sleep consultant and Rested Mama, Happy Baby was born! I help families on their journey to establish healthy sleep habits and get the whole family sleeping again! Exhaustion is optional. 

My Expectations: 

    I remember being so excited to come home from the hospital, thinking, “wow, she’s such a great sleeper,” because she slept so well the first 2 nights of her life. We had the sweetest little pack ‘n play set up next to our bed, ready to take on this phase of life, dreaming of snuggles and coos.  While I did get some of my snuggles, I certainly did not accurately picture what the majority of my days and nights looked like. We were told that our newborn would need to get a lot of sleep and that she would sleep most of the time.  I remember many people telling me,

“She will sleep when she’s tired."  

"There’s no need to track her sleep.”  

 

 

Reality: 

   She did NOT sleep when she was tired! So here I was, a first-time mom, stressing out about sleep for my child, knowing she was not getting enough sleep while also NOT SLEEPING MYSELF.  My husband and I were spending hours on a yoga ball bouncing her to sleep, then not being able to put her down, because, well...how?!   We’d then be up 3 times a night to feed her or soothe her, trying our best to take turns so one person could at least get 4 hours of sleep. She was certainly not getting enough sleep, and neither were we.

Lack of Sleep has Consequences: 

  It turns out that sleep deprivation is a huge factor in postpartum depression, and my lack of sleep was feeding into my negative emotions.  I truly felt it impacted my ability to be the parent I wanted to be. 

Can you believe that the researchers from the German Institute for Economic Research and West Virginia University found that neither mothers’ or fathers’ sleep fully recovered to pre-pregnancy levels for about 6 years?!  That is a long time to build up a sleep deficit that impacts your mental health, emotional regulation, and more.

What I Did About it:

   I became sleep-obsessed! I did tons of research and developed my own research-driven methods that WORKED! By the time my daughter was 5 months old, I had started setting healthy sleep habits that brought the whole family to sleep again for our entire well-being. I was able to be the parent I wanted to be, and no longer the exhausted mama finding her keys in the refrigerator or going to work with my clothes inside out. My daughter was also happier and able to really thrive.

Rested Mama, Happy Baby was Born: 

   I found myself being the ‘go-to’  for sleep advice, and by the time my son arrived, I realized I was fully equipped to survive this phase this time around. Fast-forward, and I am now a certified pediatric sleep consultant, helping families set healthy sleep habits and getting the whole family sleeping again. 

    Let’s STOP making exhaustion a requirement for parenthood! Instead, head on over to our website, Rested Mama, Happy Baby, to learn more about how we can help you bring rest back to your family because a happy mama and dad lead to a happy baby.

  Learn more about how we work with families to help their babies sleep 10+ hours at night without Cry-it-out or Ferber.  Join our free webinar!

Exhaustion is Optional, 

Rested Mama, Happy Baby Founder