Meet Sarah Bossio

We recently connected with Sarah Bossio and have shared our conversation below.

firstName}, thank you so much for agreeing to talk with us about a deeply personal and sensitive topic. Postpartum depression affects so many in the community and hearing from someone who has overcome PPD might help someone who is going through it right now. For readers, please note this is not medical advice, we are not doctors, you should always consult professionals for advice and that this is merely one person sharing their story and experience
When my oldest daughter was born 8 years ago, my world turned upside down. Babies tend to do that to you! My husband and I were equal parts overjoyed and overwhelmed. We had just closed on our first house 7 days prior, nothing was unpacked, and I had to get an emergency c-section at 36 weeks. This sent my Type-A brain into a tizzy. Even after things settled, we got into a new groove as a family of 3, and the baby began sleeping through the night, I was still only able to sleep for a 2-3 hours, spending the remainder of the night worrying about everything. I struggled to get through each day without crying and my return to work as a special education teacher at 8 months postpartum was more challenging than expected. I knew motherhood was supposed to be hard, but I was starting to come to terms with the fact that this was not the normal kind of “hard” that postpartum parents talk about. After encouragement from my husband and my mom, I decided to check-in with my midwives, who saw all the red flags for postpartum depression and anxiety. They referred me to a psychiatrist and I sought out a therapist. After starting a low dose of Lexapro, combined with weekly therapy sessions, I started to feel normal for the first time since birth. I had spent almost 9 months in a complete fog and I was determined to continue to heal and step into motherhood in a positive light. Setting up routines that prioritized self-care were essential, and even though this had to be done at 5:00 a.m., before the baby woke up, I have stayed committed to meditating and moving every morning for the majority of the last 8 years. I realized that I needed to fill my cup if I wanted to pour into anyone else in my life. This perspective help me through my second round of PPD/PPA after my youngest daughter was born and I was able to recognize the signs sooner, get on medication quicker, and ask for help more willingly so that I could show up for my children in the way I had always desired.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Establishing healthy sleep habits for both of my girls was so important for our family, their growth and development, and my mental health. I am so passionate about the positive impact of predictable sleep on our family that I wanted to empower other moms and dads to feel that they could also get their family’s sleep on track. I decided to obtain a certification as a sleep consultant from the Family Sleep Institute and start a business in 2021, focused on support parents one-on-one through individualized sleep programs. Providing individualized programs was essential for me because of my 15 years of experience as a special education teacher and extensive post-masters training as a behavior analyst. The foundation of my practice is that every child learns differently and every parent teaches differently, so no one should have to use a one-size-fits-all plan. I also encourage parents to make modifications to sleep at any age, because it is never too late. I have worked with families with children up tp 8 years old. The most exciting part about my work is that every single family I have worked with has described it as “life changing.” Just imagine what a good night’s sleep can do for you! Because I want to empower parents early on in their journey to make sleep decisions that align with their parenting styles, I decided to launch a newborn sleep course, which is perfect for new and expectant parents to learn how to establish healthy sleep right from the start. In the same way we seek out help for lactation and birth, we can seek out health early on for sleep! You can check it out here: https://sarah-bossio-s-school.teachable.com/p/newborn-sleep-course-for-babies-ages-0-16-weeks-old

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Three skills that were the most impactful in my journey with entrepreneurship are: networking, problem solving, and the ability to stay up late! I’ll start with the last one, which is ironic given the fact that I’m a sleep expert who promotes sleep hygiene. However, like many entrepreneurs, when I started my business I was still working full time in the classroom and also had 2 small children to care for. This meant that if I wanted to put time into the business, it would have to be late at night or early in the morning. For at least the first 2 years, I definitely did not get the amount of sleep required for my body, but my perseverance paid off, I was able to leave teaching, and now I happily enjoy a more normal work/life balance with at least 8 hours of sleep at night. My ability to network was also crucial in my business growth. People buy from other people and moms love to hire based on referrals. I find that consistent local networking is so essential in creating like, know, and trust. Plus, the benefit is often being able to support other local businesses as well as my local communities. Finally, being a problem solver is essential, because I wear many of the hats in my business (marketing manager, social media manager, book keeper, content director….). Being able to learn quickly and solve problems within all of the back-of-house business management allowed me to understand what it truly takes to run a business and also helped to illuminate areas where I can be better served by hiring out experts. On my team of experts, I currently have a virtual assistant, public relations consultant, and SEO consultant, all of whom have been invaluable in my growth.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I love collaborating with folks in the perinatal space (therapists, pediatricians, doulas, lactation consultants, parent coaches, etc.). There are so many wonderful providers with similar intentions as mine, who want to support parents during this very vulnerable time. It truly takes a village and in this digital age, it’s often hard to find trusted resources. Collaborations are a wonderful way to support parents through resources and education on multiple related topics that make their job just a little easier. I would love to connect with anyone interested in collaborations via email: info@yourzenbabysleep.com.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Photo Credit: Carley Storm and Moments with Merry

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