Are you struggling with your child’s sleep?

I was born in Australia and 2 years ago, I had my first child here in Israel. Like many other immigrant English speakers coming from abroad, the first few months of parenthood can be tough when your immediate family members live far away.

You leave the hospital and your darling husband goes back to work and then you find yourself alone with a newborn baby.

For any parent this realisation can be scary. I remember many days sitting in my gorgeous apartment in Kochav Hatzafon thinking how am I supposed to handle this gigantic task all on my own and where is my support network? I thankfully had one good friend who had a baby 3 months older than mine, but I couldn’t rely on her to keep me occupied all day every day.

In addition, all my nieces and nephews lived so far away and therefore I didn’t have the opportunity to see them being raised. I wasn’t aware of a sleep window, or that you shouldn’t rock your baby to sleep. I didn’t know that it was recommended to have your baby lie on their back rather than their stomach in order to reduce the risks of SIDS. I didn’t know how to stimulate, when to stimulate, when not to stimulate my baby. I frankly had no clue what I was doing.

I did what many new parents do – I read and I read and I read. By the time my daughter was 3 months old I had already read 5 sleep books and 2 weaning books. Through trial and error with my own baby I had became self taught in the art of sleep training. It didn’t come without it’s difficulties. I spent a lot of time convincing my husband the importance of a good day time and bedtime routine and that unfortunately I wasn’t going to wait until he got home from the office in order to bath our baby. I also realised that my innate need to be organised and scheduled in my own personal life may actually benefit her, and give her a good sense of security by knowing what comes next in her day.

It is because of these first memories and a genuine passion for babies and sleep that I trained as a Sleep Specialist. I wanted to provide parents the support that I lacked in the beginning and teach them the tools to get their baby to sleep that had been so successful for me and my baby. A sleep deprived family cannot function well and be happy and if I could help in any way improve quality of life for people I was going to do it.

I am now the proud owner of my business ‘Natalie Herman – Baby Consultant & Sleep Specialist. I provide early prevention courses to parents, as well as sleep coaching to parents with children newborn – 5 years of age. I run workshops at different child care facilities in Israel educating parents on first time parenting and what are considered healthy sleeping habits.

I run a regular blog on my website: www.natalieherman.com as well as a facebook page connecting people from all over the world. Check out the events page of my website for upcoming sleep workshops in Tel Aviv. http://www.natalieherman.com/#!events-/c23t4.

I have a certificate in sleep consultancy and early prevention. In addition, I have a Bachelor in Social Science (Honours) and a Post Graduate in Human Resource Management.

Do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to set up a private consultation or merely just to have a quick chat about your child’s sleep.