I’m Lotte, the first Certified Pediatric Sleep Coach in Greece.
My background is in Social work and Communication, but my work experience is mostly in HR.
I’m a happy and very proud mother of a beautiful, smart, stubborn and funny daughter (2022) & son (2020). I’m Dutch, fluent in English and currently working on improving my Greek so I can coach and help families in 3 languages.
Why did I start as a Pediatric Sleep Coach?
After my oldest son was born, I had no idea of the world of ‘sleep coaching’. To be honest, I didn’t need it. Then came my daughter—a very alert baby. I was aware there would be short nights during the first months while breastfeeding, as this had been my experience with my oldest. I also knew that it would and should end within a reasonable period of time.
When time passed and a ‘schedule’ did not happen as I thought it would, I felt like I was going backwards instead of forward. My daughter was happy during the daytime, but when it came to sleeping, I didn’t know what to do anymore.
To get her to fall asleep, feeding, rocking, co-sleeping, and so on are all possible methods, as long as she is touched and not left alone. Putting her awake in her bed and leaving the room? Impossible!
Google became my enemy. There is so much information online, but where to begin and what coaching method suits our family? I tried ‘cry it out’ and ‘gradual extinction’ because I did not know better. These methods failed and just made me feel worse.
It was time to try something better. I heard about The Shuffle Method by Kim West, aka the Sleep Lady®. I started reading more and making small changes, and things improved. Finally, after more than one year, I was able to say out loud, "She is sleeping through the night!" I could now put her to bed and leave the room, knowing that she would settle herself to sleep. WE DID IT!
Why did I not discover The Shuffle Method earlier and save our family many sleepless nights? The experience with my daughter has taught me a lot. It was a wake-up call (excuse the pun) of how important sleep is and how the lack of sleep impacts the entire family. It was during and because of these struggles that my interest and new passion were born and my Gentle Sleep Coaching journey started. My goal is to support other families in getting the sleep they need.
If you would like to see if sleep coaching will help your tired family, click here to arrange a free 15-minute call...
