I’m Andrea and I am Calgary’s Gentle Sleep Coach. I have been trained by Kim West (LCSW-C and author of Good Night Sleep Tight) to help you teach your child to sleep using gentle sleep coaching strategies. I have been certified as a Gentle Sleep Coach since July of 2015 and can be found in the Gentle Sleep Coach Directory.

Aside from my work as a Gentle Sleep Coach, I am also a mom to three incredible children.  All three had sleep struggles (hello reflux), but the sleep deprivation I experienced after my second was debilitating.

He fractured his clavicle in birth, had a tongue tie that went undiagnosed, and had severe reflux.  He cried for the better part of the first five months of his life AND he woke six to twelve times per night.  Postpartum depression and anxiety kicked in very soon after his birth and I was not coping well with the nightly 3-4 hour struggle to help him to sleep.

The main advice we received from well-meaning friends and professionals was to let him cry.  It took us five months to get our sweet boy to STOP crying and we were still quite traumatized from the first five months of crying; it just wasn’t the right option for us.

Luckily, we soon discovered some gentle sleep coaching strategies and LIFE CHANGED!  Our son started sleeping through the night other than one feeding we chose to keep AND we started to see his true, sweet, happy personality start to emerge.  As his sleep improved, I slept and my symptoms of postpartum depression and anxiety began to lift.

I am a huge advocate for mental health – for the entire family.  I have a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication and Culture with a Minor in Psychology.  The majority of my pre-sleep coaching career was spent working with families in the mental health field.  Since becoming a Gentle Sleep Coach, I have taken an additional 30 hours in breastfeeding training, and 60 hours in infant mental health training.

My goal is to educate, listen, empower, and support you on your journey to better sleep.