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Both Ellen and Sophie started as exhausted parents searching for answers to their own children’s sleep struggles. Today, after nearly three years on the Sleep and Wellness Coach team, they’ve helped countless families navigate bedtime battles, night wakings, short naps, early mornings, and everything in between.

In this candid conversation, Allison, Ellen, and Sophie share:
— Their personal stories of postpartum struggles and sleep deprivation
— How they discovered sleep coaching for the first time
— The one change that made the biggest difference for their own children
— What it’s really like to work as a sleep coach
— The hardest and most rewarding parts of helping families
— Why no two sleep situations are ever exactly the same
— Encouragement for parents who feel overwhelmed, exhausted, or stuck

You’ll also hear behind-the-scenes stories about how Ellen and Sophie joined the team, what they’ve learned after working with hundreds of families, and why personalized support can make such a powerful difference.

If you’re currently struggling with your child’s sleep, this episode is your reminder that you are not alone, things can get better, and there is help available.

Listen in to hear:
— Why Allison hired Ellen and Sophie
— Ellen’s experience with postpartum anxiety and infant sleep struggles
— Sophie’s journey from Air Force pilot to sleep coach
— How bedtime structure transformed their families’ sleep
— Why confidence and consistency matter in sleep coaching
— The emotional side of helping exhausted parents
— What keeps the Sleep and Wellness Coach team motivated after helping thousands of families

Allison, Ellen and Sophie are always available for free 15 minute consultations. Click here to find out how to schedule your call.

🎉 10-Year Anniversary Giveaways
To celebrate 10 years of Sleep and Wellness Coach, Allison is hosting four weekly giveaways throughout June over on Instagram.

On the first four Mondays in June, a new giveaway will be posted featuring a mix of sleep and wellness favorites. To enter, follow along on Instagram and watch for each Monday’s post.

It’s a fun way to celebrate 10 years of supporting families—and to say thank you to the community that made it all possible.

Give your child the gift of better sleep. Allison’s free, age-specific guides show you exactly how many hours of rest kids need to grow, learn, and thrive—no matter their age. Get your free copy now: 0-2 Years Old or 3 to 10 years old

From baby sleep to toddler sleep, daycare naps to sleep training—How Long ’Til Bedtime? is the podcast for parents who want practical, guilt-free sleep tips they can actually use.

Hosted by pediatric sleep coach Allison Egidi, each episode delivers real solutions for every stage—from navigating newborn sleep struggles and weaning night feedings to helping your 3-year-old fall asleep independently (and stay asleep!). Whether you’re trying to make sense of daycare sleep patterns, craving your evenings back, or simply need a working mom podcast to keep you grounded, you’re in the right place.

Want more from Allison? Sign up here to get her weekly email with podcast updates and other helpful parenting topics.

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Scroll down for a full transcript of this episode.

244. Advice From Our Three Sleep Coaches Who’ve Been There
Allison Egidi: I’m really excited to share this week’s episode with you guys. Sophie and Ellen joined Sleep and Wellness Coach three years ago, and I absolutely adore them. They are fantastic sleep coaches, wonderful moms, and just overall amazing women. And in this conversation, you’re going to hear today, we spill the tea on life before sleep coaching, how our paths crossed, and what we’ve learned along the way, and what we want all of you to know. If you’ve ever been curious about my small but mighty team, this episode is for you.

Hey there, Allison here. Welcome back to How Long ‘Til Bedtime. If you’ve been listening to this podcast for a while, you may have heard me mention the sleep coaches on my team, Ellen and Sophie, and you may have heard them on previous episodes. We’ve talked about specific sleep topics and situations, but today is going to be a little bit different. Today I want you to actually meet them and get to know them because July will mark three years since both Ellen and Sophie joined Sleep and Wellness Coach.

And as I’ve been reflecting on 10 years of having this business, I’m reminded how much they have meant to this team and to the families that we serve here. So today we’re pulling back the curtain a little bit and we’re talking about what their background is, how we all found each other, and what three years of sleep coaching has taught them. Ellen, Sophie, welcome back to the show.

Sophie Kuzjak: Thank you for having us.

Ellen Hayden: Yeah. Happy to be here.

AE: I’d love to start by giving people a sense of who you are outside of sleep coaching and what you did professionally prior to becoming a sleep coach. So Ellen, let’s start with you. Tell us a little bit about your family, your life, where you’re from, and what you were doing professionally before you became a sleep coach.

EH: Right, I’m from Evansville, Indiana, so the furthest southern that you can get in Indiana. Before sleep coaching, I was a high school math teacher for five years, and then I decided to stay home with my kids. So Dominic is four and Josephine is two. And then yeah, when Allison posted that she was looking for a sleep coach, that kind of led me to doing sleep coaching. So not what my previous professional life was in, but now it’s something I’m super passionate about and love.

AE: And on the coaching front, you are also a volleyball coach, right?

EH: That’s right. Yes. I was a volleyball coach up until this past year, yeah.

AE: Nice. All right, Sophie, same question for you. Give the listeners all the details.

SK: Yeah, so I grew up in Charleston, South Carolina. Met my husband. We went to Clemson together. That’s where we met. We have three beautiful girls, ages one, four, and six. And yeah, my background, people are surprised to hear it’s more technical. So I studied engineering for undergrad and then I was a pilot in the Air Force for eight years. And then I was lucky enough to get to pursue something I was passionate about and make the career change to helping families rather than airplanes. So yeah, that’s where I’m at today.

AE: Love it. So I love the fact that you guys have different backgrounds and that your backgrounds are different from mine. In fact, that was part of what drew me to both of you when I was interviewing people who had applied to join the team. But I think the thing that we all have in common and that I think really is impactful for how we help people is that we all had a child who had major sleep struggles.
And I think we all probably, fair to say we were a little bit humbled through that experience as people who are somewhat type A planners and can execute things. So I think we bring that piece of it to our coaching. And all of us ultimately stumbled upon a sleep coach who helped us turn things around. You two happen to both be previous clients of mine.

So Sophie, let’s start with your sleep story. What was happening in your house at the time that you were struggling and decided you needed to find additional resources? And then how did you stumble upon me and or the business?

SK: Yeah, so I was the mom who read all the sleep books, talked to other moms with kids who were sleeping well, and things were still not good. When my oldest daughter was two, we transitioned her out of the crib before she was ready and things went from bad to worse. And we were really struggling, struggling so much that I went out on a Facebook group of moms and said, like somebody help how do you get your kids to sleep through the night? And somebody mentioned pediatric sleep coach on there and I had never heard of it before. So we went to Google and ended up, my husband is from Charlottesville as well. So we ended up finding you through the Charlottesville connection. And our lives were changed almost instantly. So thank you.

AE: Love it. So you had a two-year-old that was struggling when you really needed help. And then Ellen, yours was a little bit earlier. So fill us in on your experience.

EH: Yeah, so mine was with our first, so Dominic, he was probably almost three months and he just started to refuse to fall asleep in our arms. And I was not like Sophie, like I had no like I just thought that’s what kids did. Like they just fell asleep in your arms and you put down and it’s great. And then eventually they’ll just one day learn. So I had like no education in that and I didn’t know anything. My postpartum like hormones and anxiety and everything was so bad that I didn’t realize it in the moment. But like looking back at it, like when I was trying to bounce him and rock him to sleep, I was getting so angry. And like it’s hard to say because I’m not like an angry person, but I felt like I like someone, yeah, but I was like, my gosh, I’m like bouncing him so hard. I’m like getting so frustrated. So it was definitely like looking back those hormones.

And so anyway, finally I stumbled upon Allison’s I think it was a podcast on the four month sleep progression and hearing you call it the progression instead of a regression and just kind of the language you used around it. I just loved how you approached sleep training and really not only sleep training, but just like children in general. Like it’s I don’t know, I just really liked the the way the view that you had. So we ultimately ended up purchasing Have Baby Need Sleep and it was totally life-changing for Dominic.
And then I re-watched it with our second Josephine and we ended up like not having to do any formal sleep training with her because I was able to set kind of the the pace before even her needing that. So yeah, that’s kind of how we stumbled upon you.

AE: Love it. And I think it I do think as we’re recording this, this will come out in June, but it is May, and it’s Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month as we’re recording this. And I think that’s noteworthy that you noticed that you were feeling angry and frustrated because not all the listeners know you, but Sophie and I know you, and you are the least angry person, one of the least angry people I know. And you really take things in stride and you have a really positive outlook. And so I think it’s just noteworthy to know that sometimes you can completely not feel like yourself. And it’s amazing that you were able to figure out pretty quickly that you didn’t feel like yourself. I mean, I went nearly two years before I really was able to take that step back and be like, whoa. This is not me. Something is not right. So I think that’s important to note.

EH: It’s easy to too, I feel like, to just think, Well, this is my life now. You know, like maybe I am an angry person, but yeah, to be able to step back and realize, holy cow, a lot has changed in the last, you know, however many months like with your own body and yeah recognizing it for what it is. Yeah.

AE: And did you, was your kind of mental health journey different second go around?

EH: I think so. And I think part of it was, you know, with the first you’re just there with a baby who doesn’t like talk or do anything. And then with the second, my son was around and he was a little over two and so I could, you know, talk to him and engage him in a different way. And it wasn’t just like me sitting in a quiet room by myself all day. So I think that changed some things too. And then also just having a better understanding of sleep and kind of more realistic expectations both positive and negative, right? Kind of like, okay, I expect to get up this many times a night, or I expect it not to be easy for them to fall asleep right away. Like I have to kind of help teach that. It’s not a skill everyone has. So having some experience there and realizing like the frustration is not me as a changed person, but hormones.

AE: Yeah. And you had some knowledge that it would pass. Like that this is a season. And I think that’s interesting. You I’ve never actually heard someone say that they felt less lonely the second go around because they had the older child. But that makes a lot of sense because I thought becoming a mom was a very lonely experience when my husband went back to work and my mom wasn’t here. And then all of a sudden I was like, my gosh, I’m by myself with this person. Maybe that’s why they say adding on the third and additional doesn’t feel as intense as getting started as parents, because you are definitely not lonely as you add on more and more people.

I’m so curious when you stumbled upon the whole concept of sleep coaching or sleep consultant. And I, similar to Sophie, had never heard of a sleep consultant until I stumbled upon one on Facebook and immediately was like, Take all my money. I don’t know what you do or how you do it, but here’s here’s everything. I’m curious when you learned about sleep consultants or sleep coaching. Were you like me, where you’re like, I don’t care, I have nothing to lose, take all my money. Or were you skeptical? Did you feel hopeful? I’m curious your thoughts, because I think we can agree that people come to this, our clients, with a wide variety of feelings on what it’s going to be like. So I’m curious if you guys recall.

EH: Yeah, I felt like I similarly was in a place where I was like, I am so desperate and so uneducated on the topic and have no time to do the research on my own. So when I like stumbled upon your podcast and kind of got to know you through that, I was like, Okay, I feel good about it. I was like, she’s got this. Similar, like, whatever we need, you’re going to, you know, this will work. It’s funny my mom though, on the other hand, she tells people all the time, she was like, Ellen said she was going to start, you know, sleep training with Dominic and I was like, Okay. And she never told me this at the time. She’s been very good about like, Okay, you’re the parent now, you know, figure it out. But she was like, I thought, like, okay, well, you know, what what’s she was very skeptical about it and now she’s telling people, she’s like, No, this works. Like, this is how, you know, it works. And someone said once they like got a good night of sleep, an adult, and they were like, I sleep like the Hayden children. Like I get as much sleep as the Hayden children now. So, even we’ve changed some skepticism, skepticism in my own family even, so it’s it’s funny.

AE: Love it. How about you, Sophie?

SK: Yeah, I was definitely more skeptical because I thought I had tried everything. I thought my daughter was different, that she was just not going to sleep no matter what was done. So I was hesitant to spend money on a service that I wasn’t sure was going to work. But at the same time, I got to the point where I was so desperate that we did it anyway. And again, was so glad that I did. Truly life-changing. And yeah, it was almost instant with my daughter. I think it was like one night and then she was good to go.

AE: Yeah, bringing back that crib and putting that structure in place and she adapted quite quickly. So when you look back at that experience, I’m curious what your biggest takeaway was or the one change that you made that had the biggest impact on improving your child’s sleep. Because obviously there’s a lot of pieces to the puzzle, but I think often there’s one thing where you’re like, that was mission critical. And I was just interviewed on another podcast last week and he asked me that when we hired the sleep consultant, what was the most impactful thing? And for us, it was shifting bedtime up by about 90 minutes. And there were obviously other pieces and things I had to do. And it wasn’t like the easiest process, it mine was not one night, it was 11 nights. But that one piece I think would never all come together, given her sensitivity to her schedule, if we had not shifted the schedule. So I’m curious if there was one thing for each of you where you were like, yes, the it could not have come together without this one change.

SK: It was just having clear direction and a plan that we were confident in that we knew would work for us and for our daughter. So once we had that, I could follow through. There wasn’t any wishy-washy or guessing or second guessing myself, like, is this right? Is this going to work? So that working with you, it really helped us have a clear plan that we were confident in.

AE: You trusted the process. Yes.

SK: Yeah.

AE: How about you, Ellen?

EH: Yeah, for us with Dominic being like three months, you know, the schedule piece was it wasn’t the schedule piece or, you know, a plan necessarily, but given how hard it was for him to get asleep, having a method and what was so helpful about the Have Baby Need Sleep is you talk through a lot of different methods. It’s not just like here’s one method that, you know, try this and see how it goes. but having like feeling like we had a method that gave him space to learn to sleep independently while also allowing me and my mental state to be able to check in on him and not feel like I was just like leaving him there. Because regardless if I was holding him and trying to bounce him to sleep or if I got so frustrated and just put him in the crib and walked away, he was screaming. so having a method that allowed like him to have the space that he needed to learn that independent skill on his own, but then also allowing me to not feel like, Good luck. See ya ne you know, see ya next time. It it was good to have a plan, I guess, similar to Sophie that like we felt confident in in the sleep training, with him being so young that you know helped him and helped us make it work.

AE: Yeah. Yeah, there’s something powerful of just having someone say, Okay, based on what’s going on or based on your child’s temperament, this might be the best route forward. So love that. So both of you went from being sleep consultant clients similar to me and then eventually deciding you had an interest in becoming a sleep coach and then ultimately joining my team and I’m curious about that transition because there have been other clients of mine who have also become sleep coaches. They aren’t on our team, but there are quite a few of them out there which I love. I think it’s like the greatest compliment. But I’d love to know Sophie what about that experience of working with me made you think, wow, I think I would like to do this and help other families. Yeah.

SK: Like I mentioned before, it was a totally life-changing experience. We were struggling so much and it felt like such an easy fix. So I know a lot of other families that struggle too, and I wanted to have the tools to be able to help them as well. And I tried this on my own actually. So I went and got certified. I had, I tried to do it on my own for like a year. And for those that don’t know, there is a lot of work behind the scenes doing the business side. And I wasn’t spending the time with the families that I wanted to be spending. so I’m grateful to be able to join this team so I can focus on families and not just on the admin portion.

AE: And I can’t remember with you if either it was right before I put out my application or right when I after I sent it out. I think you might have like popped up into my inbox right before and said, By chance, are you looking to hire? And I was like, Whoa, this feels very serendipitous. Where you were interested in coming on. And we had had a conversation before you got certified, you had asked if we could chat about becoming a sleep coach. So we I had known that you were pursuing that. But it felt very serendipitous that the timing of when you thought, Hey, maybe I want to join a team and when I thought, Maybe I want to add some people, which by the way, was a very big step for me to kind of let go of some of the control and then to to bring people on. So it really felt meant to be when you reached out to me, Sophie.

SK: The timing worked out.

AE: Yes. It really did. How about you, Ellen? I’m curious what kind of sparked it for you to make that shift and you were still teaching, I think, when you applied.

EH: Think that’s right. I think I had I was in the middle of a semester and I had decided that I wasn’t I was going to stay home soon, but I was still actively teaching. Yeah. I think similarly I was just so grateful for how life changing it was that, you know, Dominic was sleeping and we were sleeping and I was like, I would love to be able to help people in the same way, but I was not certified before starting with you all and I didn’t really still I only had my personal experience. I remember kind of thinking it I don’t think I ever actually reached out, but I might have said this maybe like in the interviewe or some somewhere along the line. Like I almost reached out around the time, similar I didn’t know that you did too, Sophie, and just said, I have no experience, but I was so like moved by this and like how can I help you? Because I like I don’t know if I could be a sleep coach because I don’t know anything about it yet. And then like around that time you had posted sleep coach, I like, Well, I love to teach people. So you know I love to coach. So and I’m really passionate about this because of what it’s done for our family so I kind of took a risk applying because I had no background in it. But I it just was something that I was passionate about and I knew that I love being a lifelong learner. And so I was like I would love to learn about what this means and how to help more people, not just, you know, from my personal experience but just from you know, the what we can learn as sleep coaches. So yeah, I just felt drawn to be able to help people in the same way that I was helped so that they don’t let their postpartum anxiety and anger take a toll on them.

AE: Yeah, it was kind of wild when I think back at that because I was pleasantly surprised by how many people applied. And I initially was thinking I was just going to hire one person. That was the initial thought. And I was like, well, if I had two really good candidates, maybe I would move forward with two. And I forget how long we had the application open. Not that long though. And I mean well over 25 people applied.

And immediately when Beth and I were going through them, I you guys were like the two right at the top. And I said, Well, I’m not going to just go off of that. Where I’m going to do the interviews. Maybe I interviewed like ten. But it was at the end, I was like, nope, these are the two. And I am going to get to take two onto the team. And it was just really great. But it was it I don’t know, sometimes I think things are just meant to be, like the fact that both of you were thinking about it and then I finally pulled the trigger and I think that was part of what drew me to you guys as well, that it was like this was something you both been thinking about and specifically about working with me. So it really feels like it worked out the way it was meant to be, which always makes me happy.

So in July, it will have been three years since you both joined us. And it’s great. We’ve talked a lot already today about how rewarding being a sleep coach is and and how we both had we all three had impactful experiences and then we love working with families. But I’m curious what you think the hardest part is about being a sleep coach.

EH: For me, one of the hardest parts, but it also is kind of what I love so much is just that every child is so unique and different and it’s not a one size fits all approach, which I also like really appreciate about like Sleep and Wellness Coach in general. It’s not just like, this will work for you, go try it, goodbye. Like it’s very individualized and sometimes it’s really which makes it enjoyable, right? Like to always have something different going on, but sometimes it is challenging to just find that like one little piece of the puzzle that might be missing and that isn’t working for a child. But again, that’s also why I love it. But sometimes that can be the hardest part when it’s like, we’re almost there, but there’s like one little thing that’s not working. Let’s try to figure out what that could be. But at the end of the day it’s still also why I love it.

AE: Yeah. How about you, Sophie?

SK: For me, it’s when I know I can help a family, but they’re just not quite ready to make the changes. And so that’s hard for me when I know they’re still out there and struggling. Sometimes I think about that.

AE: Totally. When you have like a get acquainted call and you’re like, I just want them to get help. Sometimes it’s even I relate to that so much because sometimes I can tell on a get acquainted call that they’re not going to pull the trigger to work with me. And I will and we’ve talked about this amongst the three of us, I will encourage them, like there are other sleep coaches out there, talk to other people because similar to you, Sophie, I’m like, I just want them to find their person who they can trust to help them because we know it could be better if they get help. So I relate to that a lot as well.

Yeah, I think for me, one of the hardest parts is when you have that mom in particular, although certainly I’ve had dads as well, but they’re just so exhausted and defeated. And I can tell when they’re telling me about their struggles that they just feel like it’s their fault. That they have done something wrong. And even just this past month, this may be what’s very forefront in my mind, even the past week, I’ve had several moms who have just broken down crying. And then they’re apologizing for it. And you just see how you get in that kind of mom guilt spiral. And what’s hard for me, it doesn’t bother me when a mom cries. I’m totally comfortable with that. We experience that all the time.

But that’s where I think the virtual work where we have all of our consultations on Zoom is challenging because I, yes, encourage them and tell them it’s okay, it’s going to get better. But there’s this part of me that’s like, I literally want to reach through the screen and give you a hug. Like this is I actually just hugged a mom at the soccer field last week who started to tell me something and I don’t know her very well, but I was like, I’d really just want to give you a hug. And she was like, Please. I’m like, okay, great. Because sometimes I think as a mom, you’re and I’m not even a touchy feely huggy person, but I just know that feeling where you’re like, someone just needs to hug you and tell you it’s it’s going to be okay. And so that in recent weeks I there’s been several where I’m like, I just wish I could give you a hug, because this mothering thing is no joke. And the guilt, if we can just turn the volume down.

AE: It’s tough when you see someone struggling and maybe it hits close to home because I struggled for so long. And I was like, someone needs to like give me a hug and tell me it’s going to be okay. okay. On the flip side, what is kind of the most rewarding thing or what kind of keeps you going when you have those tough moments? What is the best part, which I guess we’ve kind of touched on throughout the call, but I’m curious if you have any final thoughts on that.

SK: Two things come up for me. The first is there is nothing better than on the sleep log, the first night that the baby sleeps through the night. I get so excited. Parents can probably tell I’m like all caps in there, and then also when a baby starts hitting those developmental milestones that they weren’t hitting before, once they start sleeping better, that for me keeps me going.

AE: I love both of those. How about you, Ellen?

EH: Favorite parts is like the contrast between, especially in like the virtual sleep solution package that we offer, like the first initial consultation call and then the final wrap-up call. Like there’s some things I feel like I say in the first initial consultation, and they’re like, Okay, like you think my child’s going to be doing that. And you know, it just seems so far off. And then like we circle back at the end of it, it’s like, hey, remember when you like didn’t think that was possible? And now it’s happening. So just kind of seeing the transformation that happens along those two weeks and walking alongside of them the whole time too. It’s just really rewarding to see how life changing it can be for someone else.

AE: It is the best. Yeah. So for those who have not worked with us one-on-one in our sleep logs, the first thing that gets entered is a typical night. And I say typical with quotes because a lot of times people come to us, there’s not really a typical night, but it’s kind of the starting point, is the first input into the log. And I so agree with what you’re saying, Ellen, because when you get to the end and when I’m writing my wrap up emails of like, here’s what to keep in mind going forward and additional, you know, your next sleep milestone and what’s going to look like, I always go back to what did it look like before we went into night one and what was at the end. And it kind of still is after 10 years, I will say somewhat mind blowing what you can accomplish in a two week period. And I too, when people say what’s going to happen over the two weeks. And when I say to them during these good acquaintances calls, I’ll say, okay, well at the end of the two weeks, you should be able to do a bedtime routine. Know what time to put them to bed. They’re going to go to sleep without crying. They’re going to sleep eleven to twelve hours. And they’re going to wake up happy and you’re going to know what time they should nap and how long each nap should be. People are, understandably so, because I was the biggest skeptic, but are quite skeptical. And then when you just watch it progress in the log, it’s like, it’s the best. Yeah. And I think for me, and I’ve had some of these lately too. Again, I’ve been thinking just like the last few weeks, but I love when I have that second check-in call, which is usually at the end of the two-week period, and a family says, This has been truly life-changing. And I think that’s because it it I relate to it so much. Like that was my experience where I was at truly in my entire life, my lowest of lows, when I hired that sleep consultant.

And the difference in two weeks, it was like I got to come out of the bottom of the well and I was like, my gosh, not only is she sleeping and I’m so grateful for that, it helps me turn down the guilt. But then I started to feel like myself. And so it always really means a lot to me when someone does say this has been a life-changing experience. And I don’t take that lightly because I know what that feels like. And so every time I say I’m like, my gosh. And thank I always say like thank you so much for trusting me to come with you on this journey. Because it’s a big deal to trust another human to to join the team to help you accomplish something. So that just never gets old.

And I will sometimes have people ask me, both parents, friends of mine that are parents and friends who aren’t parents, they’ll s say, I just had someone ask me, we were on a walk. Is it getting old? Do you feel like you’re just saying the same thing over and over? And I think I can’t remember I think Ellen, you said each child is so different. I said, you’d be shocked that how not old it is, because every child has this unique sleep puzzle and every family experience is so unique of like what how it changes their family dynamics or experience, it’s just no. The answer is no. It doesn’t get old and it’s really it feels like very meaningful work.

Okay, last question. If you could tell a parent who is in the thick of sleep struggles right now, they’re exhausted, maybe they’re feeling desperate, maybe they like Sophie said, feel like they’ve tried everything and nothing has worked. What would you want to tell them?

SK: To send them a message of hope. I’ve been there, I have felt their struggle, and it’s very real. and it doesn’t have to be like that. Your baby can sleep better and so can you. So I’d like to get that message out there.

AE: Ellen.

EH: I think just like all obviously through this we all had our own struggles that led us here and you’re not alone. And even in the journey, like with myself being a sleep coach, like I sometimes reach out to Allison and I’m like, hey, what is going on? Like even people who seem to have it all figured out don’t have it all figured out. There’s still a lot of moving pieces that, you know, people have to work together and there are people who can help you in those moments and to just allow yourself to ask for help even if it’s outside of your personality or, you know, you think, you know, I’ve got this or it’ll pass. There’s people who can help right now and that would love to.

AE: And I think that’s a good point because you can even have the skill set. It’s like how therapists go to therapy. Sometimes you need someone a little bit removed from the situation, even if you know the things to do. If you can have someone that’s a little bit more removed take a look at it, they just bring a different picture because they aren’t so intertwined with all of the players and all of the emotions and all the things. So I think that’s a really good point.

And I kind of along the same lines, I would just say that there is help out there. I always tell people hiring the sleep coach was like my gateway drug to finding experts. Because once I realized I don’t need to spin my wheels when I get stuck so on something parenting related, I just go now and find who has the expertise. And I don’t think it doesn’t even have to be us. This is the other thing I like to tell people.

Call around. Just like you would look for a therapist or occupational therapist or any a physical therapist, you might do a little digging to find the person who aligns with your energy, with your parenting style, because I do think you need to trust someone to help you on the journey. You’re going to have to be forthcoming and tell them everything that’s going on and trust that they can take all of that on and help you take steps in the right direction. And so I would just similar say there are people out there who can help you with your unique situation.

And then I would also say you’re not too early and you’re not too late. The right time to make changes, and I feel this way about anything in parenting, is the time that you feel ready to make it. So you’re never too early and you’re never too late. Just when you feel you’re ready to take on this change, that is the right time to do it.

Well, Ellen and Sophie, thank you so much. Not just for coming on to chat with me for another podcast episode, but for three years of showing up for families the way that you do. I know you are really compassionate. I see it in the surveys that come in and rave about you guys. So I’m incredibly grateful to have you as part of this team. And since joining you both have had a baby and another one, hopefully soon. And

EH: I know I just thought, pregnancy brain, I forgot to say that when I was describing myself. We also have a third on the way and when this is released it might be here. I don’t know. Twenty fifth. We’ll see.

AE: Everyone keep an eye out for our announcement on Instagram when the family grows. But I have just loved getting to watch both of your families grow and I think you’re both amazing moms. So thank you for the work that you do to help and support Sleep and Wellness Coach families. I’m incredibly grateful to know you both.

EH: Thanks for trusting us to join the team and it’s been one life changing to, you know, have better sleep at our house, but also to be able to help people in similar boats. So thanks for trusting us and having us on the podcast.

AE: For anyone listening who wants to learn more about Ellen and Sophie or how you could work with them, you can find them at sleepandwellnesscoach.com under the Work With Us page. And as always, thanks so much for listening. I hope you’ll come back again next week. Bye for now.