What is a Pregnancy Coach?

As a pregnancy coach and mentor, I am a part of your care team to elevate your pregnancy experience, educate you, help you step into confident decision making and birth plan with intention! Without knowing, we often take the route of routine care, unfortunately, that has led far too many women into sub-par support and un-ideal birth experiences.
 
Over here, we take control, so that you can move out of fear-based decision making, overwhelm, and head into calm, confidence and ultimately, bring the birth you desire to life!

I am here to help you with - your pregnancy mindset, building your care team, birth plan creation, understanding your rights & advocacy & hold space for what you are going through on the journey to meeting your baby! 

Should I plan for Birth? 

Mama, it’s a must! Here’s why. We’ve been taught to believe we can’t plan for birth, that it is up to chance, that it’s nothing we can control. False! If you want to create a positive and healthy birth experience, you’ve got to prep like it and Empowered Decisions is here to help you.

What can I expect from Sleep Coaching?

You can expect a closely connected coaching experience. I always say this, I truly head into coaching with each family with full confidence that we are getting your child sleeping and we will have success. The more important side of my role as your coach is to support YOU as parents as you commit to the process. I also educate you during our time together so that you will have continued sleep success beyond coaching.
 
I’m here to take away the burden of sleep confusion, create a clear plan, hold space for what comes up, be understanding, patient, educate you along with way, and be your support system as you make big changes for your family. I am guiding you from sleep struggle to sleep confidence.

What is holistic sleep coaching?

There are many factors that affect sleep therefore it is VERY important to assess all factors in order to improve sleep struggles. Sleep coaching involves helping a baby or toddler to develop independent sleep skills, ensure an age-appropriate schedule to prevent over-tiredness and create optimal sleep pressure, ensure efficient feeding, and set up a sleep environment to be safe and sleep conducive.


Simply, this is never just about getting a little one into their crib or bed and expecting them to sleep on their own. The assessment, prep, implementation, and consistency is KEY. 

Do I have to do Cry it Out?

No. Not all sleep training means letting your baby cry it out or for extended periods of time or alone, but CIO has been around for decades and understandably gets mistaken as an umbrella approach for all sleep training.
 
Education is key! Crying is an understandable concern, no parents wants their child to cry. I always like to transparently share with families that when teaching 100% independent sleep skills there is commonly some crying as learning the skill of sleep is frustrating (just like any new skill), but I do not coach with any crying in vein and this approach includes having a parent in-room coaching with your child at night.
 
This approach to sleep coaching is holistic and supportive, we are preparing you and your child before ever going in crib so that they are properly setup alongside guidance for age-appropriate coaching tactics so that even on Night 1 your child is learning to sleep independently and will build on their new skills every step of the way. With skill building, sleep only gets easier and easier! 
 
It is always important to explore and find a method and coach that is aligned for you.

When can my baby start sleeping better?

I commonly get asked, when will my baby be sleeping through the night? You don’t have to wait as long as you may think. I’ve coached many 3- and 4-month-olds that will be sleeping through the night during coaching. There is no magic age or an age that is too old, but ultimately that will happen most commonly once a child has developed sleep skills, has a great schedule, and is eating efficiently. 

My initial sweet spot for assessment is between 4-6 months. This means if you’re before or within this window and sleep is not getting better, or more importantly getting worse, it’s a great age to assess and make changes.

When we’re looking to head sleep in an independent direction, 1st - we must be beyond the newborn phase (or beyond 12 weeks), 2nd - we want to properly assess before making any sleep changes, 3rd - we want a plan for your child in place so we can implement with commitment and consistency to achieve your sleep goals.  

What is Pregnancy Mindset Coaching?

Pregnancy Mindset is one of the most powerful areas of focus! Pregnancy understandably can be a worrisome and stressful time. Whether pregnancy is an easy journey for you or complicated, our mindset will largely shape our experience during pregnancy and in birth. When we’re not mindful or aware of the state of our mindset, we can quickly fall into fear-based decision making. Our care system is also not setup to support our mental health, leaving us with no choice but to take control of the journey. 

While fears and stresses are normal, a healthy pregnancy mindset will ensure that it is not consuming you and shifting you OUT of making informed and empowered decisions. 

If you have any other questions, please email us at empoweredecisions@gmail.com

Why do I see online to wait until 6 months for Sleep Coaching?

This is a great question, I commonly coach with families starting younger, months 3 and 4+ (including my own sons) for a few reasons, but mostly because of HOW we are coaching. This is in-room coaching at nighttime, therefore you are with your child to them while they are learning to sleep, i.e. verbal and physical support).

I additionally (and importantly) like to keep in the option for night nutrition while teaching skills so that your child is learning to sleep through the night naturally. There is NO reason to eliminate night nutrition for young babies, as we are able to help them develop their skills even with night nutrition.

If choosing cry-it-out I also agree with waiting until 6 months old.