Episode 55- "Responsive, Intuitive Methods for Gentle Sleep Consulting Success" with Lisa Falkenstein

In this episode of the Sweet Slumber podcast, host Meredith Brough and guest Lisa Falkenstein, a multifaceted sleep consultant, discuss their experiences in the field of sleep consulting. They reflect on their professional journeys, the significance of community, and the evolution of gentle sleep consulting methods.

Lisa details her experience as Meredith's first "official" student in the Baby-Centered Sleep Consultant Certification Program. She explains how this unique and loving approach has influenced and improved her sleep solutions, even softening the traditional approach that some clients prefer. The conversation also touches on the advantages of having a diverse skill set and need for more collaboration in the sleep consulting world.

Tune in for an amazing discussion on the past, present, and future of sleep consulting!

Topics 

• Professional journey and collaboration of Meredith and Lisa
• Evolution of gentle sleep consulting methods
• Importance of community over competition in sleep consulting
• Lisa's passion for sleep consulting and customized care
• The advantages and opportunities that come from taking the Baby-Centered Sleep Consultant Certification Program 
• Connection and collaboration between Meredith and Lisa
• Impact of their collaboration on the field of sleep consulting
• Imposter syndrome and seeking mentorship and support
• Value of collaboration and continuous learning in sleep consulting

Find out more about Lisa, her programs, and contact information here!

If you'd like to learn about the Baby-Centered Sleep Consultant Program or Mastermind set up a call with Meredith HERE.

Don't forget to leave a rating or review and share your favorite episodes!

Keywords
sleep consultant, gentle sleep consulting, gentle sleep methods, gentle sleep training, birth and postpartum doula, lactation counselor, pediatric sleep consultant, infant development, newborn development, healthy sleep solutions for children, holistic sleep solutions for babies, supporting the well-being of young children, mentorship, parent support, sleep consultant certification program, continuous learning, family support, listening to intuition, mom confidence

The Baby-Centered Sleep Consultant Certification Program Launched on May 27th, 2024!

Check out the links below & add your name to our waiting list so you can join our next session in the Fall of 2024.

Learn More About the Baby-Centered Sleep Consultant Certification Program HERE.

Learn about our Baby-Centered Sleep approach, methods and principles, hear from a few of our graduates, and get to know Meredith HERE.

Transcript

Meredith Brough (00:00:00) - Welcome to the Sweet Slumber podcast. I'm your host, Meredith Brough. Whether you're a seasoned sleep consultant, a sleep coach, a birth world professional, or a mother aspiring to enter this fulfilling field of sleep expertise, you're in the right place. I'm here to teach you my baby centered solution so you can help exhausted, struggling parents reclaim their sleep and help children thrive along the way. I'll teach you how to find harmony in your life and avoid burnout. Build a thriving business and become a financially independent woman. My goal is to help you fall in love with sleep coaching and never look back. Let's embark on this journey together. Her dreams are sweet and the work is rewarding. Stay tuned for a show that will transform your business and the lives of those who touch. Hello! I'm excited to be here with my friend and associate, Lisa Falkenstein. Hi, Lisa.

Meredith Brough (00:01:09) - Hello. I'm excited to be here today with my friend and associate, Lisa Falkenstein. Hi, Lisa.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:01:15) - Hi, Meredith. Thanks for having me.

Meredith Brough (00:01:18) - You're welcome. I'm looking forward to this. I can't believe we're doing this for the first time.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:01:23) - I know it's been years that we've known each other and collaborated, so it's exciting to be on your podcast.

Meredith Brough (00:01:30) - Thank you. Yeah, it's just a matter of slowing down and thinking about who I really want on here. So I'm just really happy that we were able to connect.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:01:39) - It's an honor. Thank you.

Meredith Brough (00:01:42) - So Lisa is one of my favorite women I've met in the past several years. She has been a source of wisdom, direction, and great at helping me solve problems. She gives incredible business advice and I love the way she communicates and expresses herself. What it treated is to finally sit down and speak with her. Lisa graduated from Kent State University with a BA in Family Studies. After working in various social work positions and working with many families in various capacities.

Meredith Brough (00:02:13) - She found her calling Lisa's love for families, motherhood, parenthood, and breastfeeding or breast feeding led her to her career choice as a postpartum doula in Cleveland. Helping build families, establishing nursing and empowering people is her passion, and as a result, she completed her certification as a Certified Postpartum Doula, Certified Breastfeeding Educator, Certified Lactation Counselor, Certified Newborn Infant Massage Instructor, Certified Newborn Care Specialist, and Dual Certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant. In addition, she is also a board certified Holistic Health Practitioner. Through the EDP, Lisa consults for a national training certification organization, helping to design curriculum for newborn care specialists and sleep consultants. She also coaches and mentors newborn care specialists and sleep consultants worldwide. Lisa is a happily married mother of two young adults and has an amazing husband. They reside on the west side of Cleveland. After working part time, mostly through referrals, for over eight years and full time since 2000. Founded Nurtured Foundation Doula and Newborn Care Agency in 2014. Wow.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:03:28) - I'm kind of like a slight addiction to certifications.

Meredith Brough (00:03:32) - I know I was like, I probably could have taken out saying that over and over, but that's okay. It's a lot of education and a lot of work. So you earn all that credit.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:03:43) - I did I have a slight, you know, when you start in a profession and you start to learn more and more, you're like, I got more and more as you know, things come up and you see what helps and what's needed. And so that's why I just kept going and going and going with my certifications.

Meredith Brough (00:04:01) - That's great. I mean, I think the only issue is when people do that and they they don't jump in, they don't do the work. They they think that they're not qualified enough. So in your case, it's more about wanting to do more and help more. Right.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:04:15) - Yeah, absolutely. And you know, having the agency in Cleveland, you know, we work with birth birthing families and postpartum. So it's a broad range of topics to deal with. And so to be able to have a broad knowledge and be able to help clients and my team was really important to me.

Meredith Brough (00:04:34) - Yeah, that makes sense too. You're a mentor in many ways, right? Yeah. the other thing I was thinking about was how important it is that you have this hunger and thirst for knowledge because you and Maddalena, you were the two people that inspired me to create my sleep consultant certification program. So, like, you inspired that. It's amazing.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:04:56) - I love it, you know, but it's. You have what? We had a passion, right? Like, if you would have asked me 30 years ago if I would have all these certifications and constantly be taking trainings, I'd be like, no, I am done the day I graduate college, I am never opening another book. but then you find your calling and your passion and you just keep going and it inspires others. So you've inspired me just as much as I've inspired you.

Meredith Brough (00:05:25) - Thank you. That's so kind. Well, I just love your dedication to your clients, to the people that work with you. And I admire you so much.

Meredith Brough (00:05:34) - So again, just sorry if I'm making you blush, but I just want to give you credit for who you are because you're making a major difference in Cleveland and even worldwide now. Can you explain more about what you do in. Evelyn. Like, tell us about your agency and what your day to day looks like. Maybe. I don't know if you want to share any more about your story as well. Yeah.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:06:00) - So the the agency is based in Cleveland. We do in-home support for we have birth doulas and then we have postpartum doulas. and those are going to be in-home and hospital, support locally. we also do sleep consulting, which I do on a national level. I do all the sleep consulting for the agency. at this point, and that's really where my passion has taken me is to the sleep consulting. I have a team of 18 amazing women.

Meredith Brough (00:06:36) - Wow.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:06:37) - That offers services locally here in Cleveland. We serve a broad range Cleveland. There's east and west and even south into Akron.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:06:47) - So we have a wide reach, in the area. And then I, I worked in homes for many, many years, as a postpartum doula. And as the agency grew, I've gotten out of working in homes, and now it's running the agency, being available to my clients, being able to mentor my doulas, and then again, doing that sleep consulting, which takes a lot of time, especially when you're working with highly anxious parents and children.

Meredith Brough (00:07:18) - Yeah, I love that. That's the direction that you love the most in all the all the things that you are qualified to do and my passion.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:07:29) - But here's the thing. Everything that I've learned has is incorporated into that sleep consulting. Right? I have a solid knowledge of infant and newborn, you know, development. I have a solid knowledge of the sleep piece, the lactation piece. So everything has really helped that holistic health practitioner that I am, to approach it in many different angles.

Meredith Brough (00:07:55) - Yeah. That's wonderful. Well, that's a really good lead into what connected us.

Meredith Brough (00:08:01) - So you want to share that story? I was.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:08:03) - Looking back. I'm like, how did this all start with us?

Meredith Brough (00:08:07) - I don't know, I put a lot of pressure on you to tell it because you're like, what?

Lisa Falkenstein (00:08:11) - Thinking back, and I believe it was in a Facebook group, you had responded to a professional. It was a professional Facebook group, and you had responded with more of your sleep method, which was appeared to be more of a gentler approach. And I was used to more of the traditional approach to sleep training where there's more tears involved. And so I was like, who is this woman? What? What does she know about gentle sleep training? And then I, I ended up stalking you. And your website. And I was like, oh my gosh. She has self-paced courses and all this. And that's when I actually bought some of your courses. And I think you noticed my email, which is my business. So then you respond and you're like, are you a mom or are you a professional? I was like, I'm a professional.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:09:13) - I'm just curious. And that's kind of how the whole thing started.

Meredith Brough (00:09:17) - Yeah, I love I just love seriously that we're talking today because I still can't believe it took us this long. But just the fact that we can circle back around, especially at a time when I'm about to relaunch my certification, a third version of it. But it's just just remembering that experience of I had always considered teaching others what I did, like I should, I should say, since the second year I was in business because I met with these, CEOs. the company's called score, and they're retired CEOs. They gave me some advice, and we were trying to figure out how I could franchise my business. And we were discussing, like, you know, breaking into other countries and all this stuff. But then I put that on a shelf. I was like, that sounds really impossible. So having you come to me was just the first time I really considered, I could share this. I remember it being scary.

Meredith Brough (00:10:16) - So funny.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:10:17) - Yeah, because you remember, you were like, you know, are you going to be using this with your clients? Or. And I'm like, you know, I'm not going to take all your information, but I'm just again, I'm curious and I, you know, want to learn. And then I was like, you know, you should make this into a class for sleep consultants, because we typically learn more of the traditional methods, which are great and work in certain circumstances. But they're not for everyone. They're not for every family. Yeah, I'm all about customized care, so I wanted to make sure that I had all of the ways that you could sleep, you know, consult or coach families based on their family philosophy. Yeah.

Meredith Brough (00:11:01) - Yeah, I love it. And, you know, if I could have told that person back then tell myself not to worry, because I know you and I. I know that your intentions are just, you know, wanting to expand your knowledge and your toolkit and and just being able to support your clients in the best way.

Meredith Brough (00:11:20) - But also, it's your heart. It's, you know, it's you just being kind and warm and compassionate and and never, ever wanting to step on toes or compete with someone or I think that was just just all so new to me. But I'm so grateful.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:11:38) - Yeah, it is kind of odd. You know, given our profession, it can be, you know, it can come off as some people are very competitive. And, I my philosophy is there is a sleep consultant for everyone. not everyone is a good fit for everyone. So the more that we have out there, the better it is for families. Because we're helping families.

Meredith Brough (00:12:01) - Yeah. And I I've been thinking about that as I put together my new, you know, version of my course. I. I won't appeal to everyone. I don't want to teach everyone. I, I agree, there's there's no reason to feel competitive in any area of this work, especially when we're our common goal is to support parents and moms and and just make life better and easier for them.

Meredith Brough (00:12:28) - And we all have to just kind of team up. And I guess in a way, I like picture everybody holding hands and just joining in the effort, right.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:12:35) - Well, I always say community over competition. That is my motto.

Meredith Brough (00:12:41) - Yeah. Amen. Yeah. So what's funny about talking to you about my program is that back then, it was me just thinking. How do I do this? You went through the the mini course first, which was not a comprehensive course. I at the time, I was like, you know what? I don't have time to create a full on course where I teach everything. And so many people are coming to me wanting this specific, separate, unique things that I was offering. So it's actually really perfect for you because you're like, all right, I could dive in. I could go through these five little modules. But then what we did after that was, I pulled together all my workshops and we met weekly for months. It was a lot of fun.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:13:25) - It was a long time. And it was great, though, because, you know, when you do crash courses, you know, I always call them crash courses when it's like two days of learning and then nothing, right? I'd rather learn it over a period of time. You have a chance to digest it, to apply it. You know, I got to use a lot of your, like, methods and techniques with current clients as I was going through it. So and then, you know, to be able to come to you and ask questions in the midst of it. So it was I was totally happy being one of the guinea pigs at the beginning. because I knew we had to get this out here. It's a very unique, program, and it's not offered by a lot of, you know, training agencies. so getting out there was important, and I was happy to be part of it and have access to you. That was amazing to have you as a mentor.

Meredith Brough (00:14:22) - Thank you.

Meredith Brough (00:14:23) - I love hearing that. There's so many things that go through my head as we talk, and one of them is how crazy and weird it is that now there are more gentle programs and that there are more people, a lot more people talking about gentle methods and gentle approach. And I don't think people realize how much it's changed or what it was like. What was that 4 or 5 years ago? Even so.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:14:47) - Oh, yeah. You couldn't find one. I mean, there was maybe a couple if you googled, and even that was not.

Meredith Brough (00:14:55) - Not being.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:14:57) - Gentle is is you think they are. Yeah. And in it's great again every program there is a family that needs it. But I was, you know, looking for something different that wasn't out there. so the fact that we just found each other, I don't think it was randomly I think it was a divine appointment, and then foraged not only this, like, working relationship, but a friendship. To continue to watch this grow with you has been amazing.

Meredith Brough (00:15:28) - Yeah, I agree, I remember that first year teaching you and others being like, oh my gosh, we have to do this together. Do you remember that? It's like, let's make a new program. Let's do it together. We can just all throw ourselves into this project. And it was like six months after that that I was like, there's not going to be a good time for all of us. I better just do this. But Lisa does teach in my program. So yeah, that's it's a fun thing for me to be able to offer other expert advice and insight, because I even get tired of my voice in my face, and hearing these other perspectives is just so valuable.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:16:08) - Yeah, and I always tell people like, we all have our strengths that are non strengths, so let's surround ourselves with people that complement us. And so I love your collaboration again that community over competition because it's for the betterment of the family right.

Meredith Brough (00:16:25) - Yeah. And how many times have I come to you in the last couple of years, even though, you know, on one hand we all have some imposter syndrome, you know, like, am I good enough? Can I do this? Am I, you know, do I know enough or you just have a situation that smacks you in the face, makes you think that way? And there's the other side of being the mentor, the instructor and people coming to me, and then me standing there in front of a client empty handed and and thinking, I don't know what's going on.

Meredith Brough (00:16:56) - So it's been really nice to be able to go to you for your perspective, your insight. Oh my gosh, you've saved me so many times.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:17:05) - Ditto. Ditto girl.

Meredith Brough (00:17:08) - Yeah. Let's talk about that a little bit. So talk about. Your sleep consulting work and what you're enjoying leading up to meeting me, and then maybe how things have shifted a little bit because I know you didn't change everything, but there were some.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:17:21) - No. so honestly, when I got into sleep consulting. So I was coming from the perspective of a postpartum doula who, you know, had been working with families and of course, sleep, infant sleep, newborn sleep first. There's there's not reasonable expectations around it. Something that we don't talk about as a culture. You know, we prepare for pregnancy and childbirth and then they're like, here's your child. Best of luck. Right. Oh. and a lot of people, you know, I would notice going into the homes to help them, whether it was days or nights, it was always like, why is my baby getting up so frequently? Why won't they lay down on their own? Why won't you know all these things? And like, when are they going to sleep through the night? That was usually like the one of the first questions I got when I walked into the house.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:18:14) - So when are they going to sleep for the night? And I would be like, okay, we need to sit down. Let's talk about limitations, about why newborns and infants are designed the way they are. and it'll help you understand why it's important that they do get up throughout the night, especially in those early weeks and months, you know, up until the first year. so just kind of setting those expectations. My client base for postpartum are, the demographics are, you know, highly educated business professionals, dual income households, very specialized in their field. So they really value education, evidence based information. They're very scheduled. They have to be, based on their, their job. So a lot of them were, you know, it was, you know, once that baby hits 5 or 6 months developmentally when they can do a little more self-soothing, it was, I need my child to sleep through the night. That is kind of my client base. And so I thought that was the direction that my sleep consulting was going to take me.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:19:27) - It would just be a natural progression. and to an extent it did. So, you know, I got trained, wonderful organization, learned all the traditional kind of sleep methods. having the lactation background allowed me to be able to, you know, it's important to keep, you know, a feeder to at night, you know, up until nine months or so. so being able to incorporate that. But what I ended up finding out is a lot of people that were coming to me were actually not my client base from postpartum, but just people that were looking for sleep support were drawn to our philosophy and our brand as a company, and wanting a more gentle, all slower approach to, you know, sleep consulting. And their goals were different. Their goals were not necessarily to have their child sleep from 7 to 7. it may have been they were going from a co-sleeping or bed sharing situation where it was time they wanted to get the child out of their bed. or they, you know, they had a child that was nursing multiple times at like nine, ten, 11 months, up to three years.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:20:44) - And it was I don't want to give it all up, but how do I get this manageable, kind of thing? And so those traditional methods didn't really give me the tools to deal with those families. and I had thought, okay, it's I guess it's called gentle or whatever. And so that's what I started researching, and there just wasn't a lot of stuff out there. and then I stumbled upon you in the Facebook group, and, and I, I really I've gone I've taken your, your word and I call it intuitive sleep coaching or sleep consulting. because gentle like every other thing has, has gotten kind of misused. Right. Like we hear a term and now it just seems like a trendy word, like, oh, I'm a gentle sleep consultant again. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but a lot of times it's not even about gentle. It's about being an intuitive parent and really getting to understand your child and understanding their needs. and, you know, putting those, you know, boundaries into place.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:21:53) - But intuitively, it feels good to you. This is what you know, your body, your mind, your soul, your heart is telling you to do with your child. So, I think that's why it was just instantly drawn, because that was your branding, that was your website. And I was like, this is the piece that I'm. Miss seen. I know, I, I know she has it kind of thing.

Meredith Brough (00:22:17) - I love it. I'm just sitting here going, all right, so I'm just going to take your words and put them right on my website because this marketing stuff. There you.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:22:27) - Go. And to be honest, I rarely get sleep clients anymore that want more of the Ferber or interval kind of training. It is mostly they come to me because I'm one of the only ones in the area that does more of that intuitive, approach, and that will work with bed sharing families and toddlers. A lot of sleep consultants, rightfully so, are intimidated by toddlers. I was when I started, but, you know, learning your big kid method, I was like, toddlers are my favorite now, you know? And, toddlers, toddlers are a lot of fun too, because you can they understand, you can talk to them.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:23:10) - Right? And you can acknowledge feelings. And so now they're my favorite thanks to you in the big kid muffin.

Meredith Brough (00:23:19) - I love it. Yeah, yeah. And there's some things that I can't really go into detail here because trade secrets. But of course, I do remember one of the, I guess, exciting things for you was learning ways to make the process smoother and more pleasant for all your clients, not just the ones who are coming to the gentle and I. I've just always love that that piece of your story. Just yes. How needed is that? That was something that you could encourage and, and, recommend and and then people. Exactly.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:23:54) - So yeah, the, the things that I learned from you and your methods, I incorporate into all my sleep training. So even if somebody wants to go more of the traditional route, there is still, you know, things that I learned in your program that I still have my parents do because I think, like, the beauty of your program, too, is there's a lot of prep work, right? It's not just rip off the Band-Aid and suddenly you're diving, you know, headfirst into a method, and everybody's kind of like, I'm not for sure what I'm doing or how I'm feeling about this.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:24:30) - So it's not only preparing the child for these changes in the way they're going to sleep, but also the parents. Great. So we have to be mindful not only of the child's emotions and feelings around it, but the parents, too, because, you know, it's hard to watch our kids learn new things, especially when they're getting frustrated and just being in constant contact with the client and giving them these little things and then being like, look, you did this little exercise and look how great it went. Right? And it builds their confidence for getting to that next. I always call them phases phase one, two and three. When I do sleep training, regardless of the method.

Meredith Brough (00:25:15) - That's really cool I love that. Yeah, thanks for explaining so well to just the way you've been able to integrate what I taught you into what you do and how that's been able. I just love it. It's a big.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:25:27) - Part of it.

Meredith Brough (00:25:29) - Thank you so much. And hearing it is just it's very rewarding.

Meredith Brough (00:25:34) - It's very touching. You know, just to me.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:25:37) - It should be. I mean, you're empowering by teaching others sleep consultants. You are reaching so many more families than you ever would have been able to do on your own. You know, that's the thing. So yeah, it's a gift. It really is a gift. And you are touching a ton of people.

Meredith Brough (00:25:57) - You know that. I'm crying right now. It's just funny.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:26:04) - It's important. The work you're doing is important.

Speaker 3 (00:26:08) - Thank you.

Meredith Brough (00:26:09) - Thank you.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:26:10) - You're building. Building families because part of, you know, part of doing more of the intuitive, sleep is really reinforcing those parents to child bonds interest. And, you know, and it it really sets I always tell parents like, these skills that I'm teaching you now are going to take you through your entire parenting journey, right? It's not just about sleep. It's about how you're going to approach a lot of different changes. You know? And, you know, Meredith, your children are older, too.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:26:47) - You know, there are so many phases to parenting and the principles that you that you incorporate with this intuitive sleep. Just go across the board through all, through all the ages. So we're really giving families this solid foundation. And that's a gift.

Meredith Brough (00:27:07) - Yeah. And what's been fun is meeting with other students, past students, and hearing them talk about that piece in their parenting. Oh, I love that. It's funny because that's not what you're expecting. You don't take a sleep consulting course to sharpen up your skills as a parent, but to be able to connect deeper and trust yourself more, you become more confident. Let go of so many of your fears and hang ups. And, you know, especially these women who have younger children like, wow, I wish I had this. Yeah. So I would like to talk a little bit about your parenting approach over the years. I mean, all the knowledge that you've been gaining. When did this journey start? Were your kids pretty young?

Lisa Falkenstein (00:27:52) - So let me think.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:27:54) - So my background is in family studies. So that's what my degree is in. back back when I graduated college. Family studies was what you got for social work. They don't call it family studies anymore. It's like a human development degree and that, you know, then you'd go on for your master's in social work. I'm so old that I it would be fostered in. I would not have to have my masters. My licensed social work would have been enough back in the day. So I had a huge, like, educational base of infancy through death. it's the whole wide range of the family. the reason I even chose to go into that is I've been drawn to children my entire life. you know, babysitting cousins. I was the oldest of a whole bunch of cousins. it was always the little mother hen. so I knew I wanted to do something with the family, so that's why I went into the social work. I quickly learned that that particular sector of working with families was not my gift.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:29:04) - it was very. I found it really too hard to work for family services. I had a really hard time compartmentalizing. I taught parenting classes to parents that had gotten their kids taken away, and had to take these parenting classes to get their children back and just, you know, talking with them. You know, here I am, 22 years old, right out of college, no children of my own. Listening to parents that have been parents for years and gotten their kids taken away. And it was just my I'm so glad there's so many people out there that that have that calling, that gift. But I just knew that particular way wasn't for me. and then I got into the nonprofit sector, starting and running a community center in the west side of Cleveland and working with lower income families that needed food. needed maybe some classes on, you know, budgeting, you know, basic life skills kind of thing. And I loved every minute of that. My kids were young. I was able to, you know, bring them with me to do a lot of that kind of work.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:30:16) - but my passion was always the newborns in the infants. And, you know, after having my kids and having to really rough postpartum time with both my, my oldest, you know, I had every intervention under the sun when I had him, I ended up with an emergency C-section. Horrible. Like breastfeeding experience, dairy allergies, reflux, all those things had horrible postpartum depression and anxiety. Three years later, I had my daughter. Everything went like as planned. She was a great. It was a great. It was a great nursing. She was a great sleeper, still had postpartum anxiety and OCD with her. unfortunately, you know, I have a wonderful family, a wonderful husband, very supportive. I was able to get the treatment, but my passion was always like these. These families need help. and so that's what really, like, spun me into the postpartum world. I started going on Caricom years ago. I mean, we're talking like probably 16 years ago at this point and be like, hey, I can help moms overnight.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:31:30) - Are you a new mom? I can help you, you know, get the rest and all that. I had no idea. Like there was a term for what I was doing. I know you mean that. It wasn't until my sister in law who had a birth doula for her youngest birth. She said, you know, there's a term for what you're doing that's a postpartum doula. And I was like, oh my gosh, I have to know everything about this. And that's really what started me into the world. I got my certification in the postpartum doula, and then lactation is a huge part of that in those early weeks or months. and then it just it kept growing. I knew that I wasn't going to work in homes forever. I knew as the agency grew and I have such a passion for mentoring and teaching, there's no way I could work in homes and have time to to do that. But sleep was huge. And so I was like, you know, this is something that I can still be impactful with families, and do it from home, not have to work in the home.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:32:36) - I don't offer any of my sleep services in home, and that's just logistically, it would be hard for me to be able to do that. But I firmly believe that sleep coaching is just night time parenting, so it's better done by the parent than me, right? Because I'm I'm some random woman that's going to come and sleep, train your child. But we we know Meredith's rate. Sleep training is not an event. It's kind of an ongoing we get illness and vacation and, you know, all these things that get us off track. So they have to know how to parent their child back to sleep after those things as well. So, you know, being there and empowering and being like their best cheerleader from a distance. But. Letting them learn how to parent their child, giving them the skills. that they can replicate as they need. It is life goes on.

Meredith Brough (00:33:32) - So absolutely the same belief for me. I yeah, I love empowering parents and I love that we can help them develop that sense of confidence by making the decisions on their own.

Meredith Brough (00:33:46) - Yeah. And get the, you know, feedback or the tips. It's not like you're getting graded. It's not like you have to be perfect.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:33:55) - And yeah, no, it's really important, for the parent, you know, because again, it's their goals. It's their child. They have the intuition, the parental intuition. So when I'm asking them how things are going versus me being there, I don't I wouldn't know. I don't know their child intimately. Right. I don't have that connection. So having the parents with that connection and you know, this is, you know, night time parenting, bonding, paying attention to their emotional needs, parental responsiveness, it's really important during the day. And it's important is night at night as well. Yeah.

Meredith Brough (00:34:38) - Very well said. I love it. Do you have any favorite tips that you like to give parents? It could be about sleep or it could be about motherhood in general or another area of your expertise.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:34:51) - What is, you know, really.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:34:53) - I seem to be like a broken record these days. My biggest thing, and I guess it's just parenting in general, is being consistent. You know, I think I've told you my favorite, my favorite phrases. You know, consistency brings security. Security brings sleep, right? When children know exactly what to expect, they know that their parents are there. All of their needs have been met. that security brings that sleep. And that's with anything across parenting, having, you know, routines, security. It just builds that bond stronger and stronger between, child and parent. And so, you know, no matter what happens, the child always knows you have their back. You're always going to be there, even if it's a difficult situation and they're not happy and you're not happy and your mama heart is breaking. We can't always save our children, from things, but they can know that we are that safe place to land when they're going through those hard things.

Meredith Brough (00:35:55) - That was beautiful. Thank you.

Meredith Brough (00:35:59) - So what would your advice be to sleep consultants that might be listening today?

Lisa Falkenstein (00:36:05) - My advice would be, of course I'm going to say take Meredith's class. But, as you know, as a sleep consultant, I have taken a variety of courses in sleep. because every sleep course has something different to offer. for me, being diverse in what I offer, because I, I am wholeheartedly in favor of customized, care and support. So learning one method or one way of doing something doesn't always, you know, doesn't allow you to customize a lot of times. so being able to take several different courses really build your, your toolbox of things to do. So there can be a situation. I have a very unique situation. And maybe I'm pulling some of your stuff. Meredith. Because I'm like, this is exactly what this parent needs. And then but maybe they need something a little bit different. And I'm going to pull from another method and kind of really I really tailor it to the client instead of cookie cutter.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:37:13) - You know, there's a lot of cookie cutter programs that are there. You buy a program and it's like, great. If you have this textbook baby that reads and knows how to follow the guide, right? But the minute they they throw a wrench in that, you're like, what do I do? I don't know what to do. And, you know, and that's the one thing that you really taught me was, you know, temperament plays hugely into the type of sleep training and the method and the speed at which you're going to go. So really diversifying your education will help you be a better sleep consultant. because it's not a one size fits all. At all.

Meredith Brough (00:37:59) - I know. I know, I, I feel like I'd like to reserve, like, two more hours with you so I can just keep asking questions. So, like, forever.

Speaker 4 (00:38:11) - I might just be like.

Meredith Brough (00:38:12) - There's a real. Okay, I'm putting that on my website. Okay.

Speaker 4 (00:38:17) - Thank you so much. Thank you for me.

Meredith Brough (00:38:21) - Thank you for the valuable insight. That was very, very helpful. And God, those who are listening will definitely consider what you just shared. And what a blessing to be able to have so many tools and to have that rounded perspective. I know your perspective is one of the most well-rounded I know of, because all the all the trainings and your life experiences and what a gift you out of your community. Oh my gosh, you're like an unsung hero, right? But going back to what I was saying, having a couple of sleep consultant courses is, is a really good thing. It sounds like it's very beneficial.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:39:02) - It is super beneficial. because, you know, you're you'll know as you get into sleep consulting, you get some pretty unique and wild situations. And it's nice to have a lot of different tools in your toolbox. And not only that, but just forging those relationships, too, because I know at any time, if I get stuck with a client, I could call you and pick your brain, right? And you could call me and pick my brain.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:39:28) - And, you know, we're back to that community over a competition kind of thing. We all have the same goal and we all have strengths and non strings. So together we can get families the support that they need for their situation.

Meredith Brough (00:39:44) - Beautiful. That was perfect. No.

Speaker 4 (00:39:49) - That's the goal.

Meredith Brough (00:39:50) - That's my goal. Yeah. We can't do enough. And together we can do a lot more.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:39:57) - No, no. Exactly. Together we can do a lot more. And, you know, I'm not the sleep consultant for everyone. I. I refer out if there's a case that I don't feel that I'm the best fit, that's okay. I will refer them out because I want them to get the best fit. absolutely. Yeah.

Meredith Brough (00:40:15) - I love that. So, Lisa, can you tell us how people can find you, but also maybe a little bit of information about the offerings that you have. And I know that there's two different worlds. You have certain offerings for people in Cleveland. And then obviously the sweet consulting for everyone.

Speaker 4 (00:40:35) - Yes.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:40:35) - So the easiest way to see all those offerings is to, go to my website, which is going to be nurtured foundation.com. it'll have everything listed that we have. We do, you know, we do have the birth and postpartum doulas that serve the local Cleveland area. We offer classes such as and these would be virtual postpartum planning, lactation, going back to work in lactation again locally we have like car seat checks that we do. We also offer baby registry consults as well, because we know there is a bazillion things they think that you need for a baby and that marketers will tell you you need, but in fact, you do not. And you will waste a lot of money, on things. so that could save you some money doing that. as well as we offer in-home massage, postpartum and prenatal.

Speaker 4 (00:41:32) - Wow.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:41:34) - yeah. And then we we offer a lot of resources, on our blog, on a lot of different topics, including the sleep consulting. as well.

Meredith Brough (00:41:46) - Great. All right.

Meredith Brough (00:41:47) - So nurtured foundation. Com.

Speaker 4 (00:41:50) - Right. yeah.

Meredith Brough (00:41:55) - Well, thank you, Lisa, for being here today. It's been so joyful for me to to reconnect and just talk about all these, all of these things from the past several years of friendship that we've had and and watching you do your work. I'm just really grateful that we were able to connect like this today.

Lisa Falkenstein (00:42:16) - Me too. It's long overdue, right? Everything's about timing, though, so. But thank you, Meredith, really, for having me on and trusting me with your listeners, because I know you hold everyone really close in your heart, and and what people say and what they represent is really important to you. So thank you for trusting me.

Meredith Brough (00:42:37) - Oh, my gosh. You're just always saying the most beautiful things. Thank you Lisa.

Speaker 4 (00:42:41) - Thank you.

Meredith Brough (00:42:42) - You deserve that trust so much. And that's why I'm really, really supportive of, you know, or encouraging those of you listening, if you need Lisa's services or want to find out about the agency, you want to look into her resources.

Meredith Brough (00:42:59) - Lisa's got your back. So nurturedfoundation.com.

Speaker 4 (00:43:04) - And thank you.

Meredith Brough (00:43:05) - To my listeners for being here and listening to the show. Until next time, I'll see you soon. Thanks for listening to the Sweet Slumber podcast. We hope you enjoyed today's show. Before you go, please leave a review and hit subscribe and have a great day!