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One of the things I was completely unprepared for as a new mom was the effect broken sleep would have upon me. Waking up every few hours to feed my newborn baby (even when I co-slept and didn’t have to move from bed to nurse the baby) had a huge impact on my mental health. I struggled with sleep training my babies and with prioritizing my own sleep and establishing good sleep habits. Here, I’m super excited to interview Teresa Sedlmair, a mama who knows what this struggle is like and helps other mamas achieve better sleep for their babies and themselves.
TKM: Tell us a bit about yourself!
Teresa: I actually have had a few different lives. Originally, I did my bachelor of music in opera performance and worked professionally as an opera singer in Europe for over 5 years. For a variety of reasons, but mostly due to the nature of the profession and it not being conducive to the family life I wanted, I moved home.
I completed my teaching degree and began teaching full time shortly after. After the birth of my first daughter, I became obsessed with infant sleep and also postpartum mental health / well-being. I struggled immensely with PPD after a traumatic birth and sleep deprivation was my biggest trigger. I dove into everything there was to read about infant sleep: different approaches, schedules, sleep training etc. I decided to get my sleep consultant certification as I knew I wanted to become a resource for struggling postpartum parents.
I first started doing it part time as a side hustle to teaching and now it has become my full time job. I now have two daughters, Hazel and Maple (5 and 3).
TKM: Tell us a bit about your business.
Teresa: My business is named Little Trees Sleep Consulting in order of my two little trees 😉 As mentioned, it started as a side hustle and has now expanded to a full time job. I have supported over 400 families and have over 130 5-star Google reviews. I support families with infants and toddlers and work with them intensely over the span of 2-3 weeks to provide a plan, troubleshooting and emotional support through the sleep training process.
TKM: What inspired you to start your business?
Teresa: I was already helping friends and families with their children’s sleep. I gathered so much knowledge through my semi-obsession that I wanted to put it to some use and create a positive impact for other families. I felt a real lack of support and resources when I became a mom and didn’t really know where to turn at first when it comes to my daughter’s sleep. Postpartum mental health is greatly influenced by quality of sleep. Once my daughter was sleeping again, it was like a cloud lifted and I was able to be a more present, happier mother to her.
TKM: How does someone train as a sleep consultant?
There are various certification programs through different institutions that one can take.
TKM: What has been the most challenging part of your business, and how did you overcome that challenge?
Teresa: The biggest challenge is for sure the balance between home and work life. If I wanted to, I could work 24 hours a day. I am a very hardworking, motivated person by nature but it’s also important to maintain boundaries and priorities time that is not being spent sharing my attention with work. Time that is solely reserved for my family. As time has gone on, I have become better at finding this balance and maintaining consistent boundaries around my work hours.
TKM: What was the most fun or most exciting part of your business?
Teresa: Hands down, the life changing impact that sleep can have on my families. The increase in their quality of life is just so rewarding and amazing to see. As well, I have actually had the privilege of working with some amazing humans and have formed friendships with many of my clients. Infant sleep is also like a puzzle. Babies are individuals and also vary in their sleep. When their sleep starts to click and I figure out what THEY need to sleep well, it’s very exciting.
TKM: Are your husband or kids involved in your business?
Teresa: My husband has been absolutely amazing and so supportive. My girls understand what I do but as I mentioned above, I try to consciously be present with them as much as possible without being on my phone constantly. It’s not always possible through and they understand that my job is to support clients.
TKM: Where is your favourite place to work?
Teresa: At home in my little office nook.
TKM: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Teresa: I have had the privilege already of traveling frequently in my 20s when I was working as an opera singer. A place that I haven’t been is Ireland/Scotland and a place I want to go back to is Italy.
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