A former paediatric nurse from Solihull, whose whole professional career has been centred around supporting families, is now using her experience to set up a new baby and children’s sleep consultancy, with the aim of helping tired parents in Solihull and South Warwickshire get a better night’s sleep.
Vicky Taramasco, who worked as a paediatric oncology nurse at Birmingham Children’s Hospital for 15 years, and who currently manages a team of staff running tailor-made developmental music classes for children in nurseries, community classes and hospitals, has seen firsthand the problems sleep deprivation can cause families.
Vicky’s own experience is also backed up with research from The Lullaby Trust who state more than half of parents with babies under 12 months old struggle to get their baby to sleep for more than 4 hours at a stretch.
With a zest for learning and a passion for helping children, physically and mentally, Vicky sought to see how she could cross over her nursing skills and create a local family-friendly sleep service.
On setting out on this sleep educational journey, Vicky‘s first thought was to create an independent sleep consultancy service, but on further research, and with her experience and medical insight, she believed the best way forward would be to work with other like-minded sleep professionals who practice evidence-based techniques, and who are involved in the world of advancing research.
This led to Vicky meeting up with Jenna Wilson and Fay Smith from the award-winning, Bristol based Little Dreams Consulting, and she instantly knew that their child-centric, evidence-based approach matched her own ethos, and was the right fit.
With Jenna and Fay’s support, and after completing the company’s extensive training programme, Vicky is now ready to start helping families in Solihull and the surrounding areas – and in line with her professional background, is looking forward to helping children achieve all the health, developmental, and educational benefits that come as a result of a good night’s sleep.
Vicky said: “I’ve seen firsthand the devasting effects extreme tiredness can have on families, and with Little Dreams I’m excited, because I’ve found an award-winning, evidence-based approach that I know can help parents and children get a good night sleep.”
“I think it’s traditionally been thought that a child not sleeping is the norm, but it’s exhausting; I’m hoping to break that stigma, and show parents who are struggling with sleep deprivation that it is ok to ask for help. I also know from speaking with parents that have sought help from Little Dreams’, that it has changed their life – and that’s what I hope to achieve here in Solihull and South Warwickshire.”
Top 5 Holiday Sleeping Tips
With the main holiday season approaching, a time when baby and children’s sleeping patterns can be affected, Vicky has also created her Top 5 sleeping tips:
- Don’t overschedule your time away as this will lead to an overtired child who may not settle well at bedtime.
- An occasional nap on the go or late bedtime is fine but don’t do it consistently for the whole holiday.
- It’s very normal for babies and toddlers to test the boundaries around sleep when they are somewhere new…. remain consistent and keep to the same bedroom routine you do at home and they will soon return to settling and sleeping well … and don’t forget your little one’s favourite sleeping toy, blanket, or sound machine if that is part of your routine.
- If you are in a hotel room, try to make some sort of private space for baby to sleep, for example in a crib in the hallway, or hang a curtain to create some visual separation.
- Most importantly enjoy making magical memories on your holidays.
For further information on Little Dreams Solihull and South Warwickshire sleep consultancy services, which include antenatal packages and personalised sleeping plans for babies / infants up to the age of 3 years and children up to the age of 10 years, please email Vicky via vicky@littledreamssolihullandswarwick.com for a free consultation, or visit https://solihullandswarwick.littledreamsconsulting.com