About Me and Tranquil Baby…

Honestly, I’ve known since about the age of five that I was destined to not only be a mom but to also be a nurturer to other babies and their families.  My entire childhood revolved around mimicking parenting skills with lots of baby dolls and various furry (and not-so-furry) pets.  In my teens, my focus remained on babies and babysitting–no waiting tables for me!  Even in college my goal was to find a way to work with children…so I received my degree to be an early childhood educator.  I can now see that I have truly been preparing for this occupation for almost my entire life!

Fast forward to today and I’m still continually amazed by babies and love working with them and their families.  A large majority of Tranquil Baby was born out of my own experiences with my three boys. Parenting teaches you constant lessons if you just take the time to see and appreciate them!

While my first two sons were fairly easy-going, my third son definitely gave me a run for my money! He rarely ever slept, wanted to be carried 24/7 and had no problem making his needs well-known to anyone within a 2-mile radius!  Had I had some of the parenting and soothing skills that I now teach my couples, it would certainly have made those first few months a lot less stressful and I probably would have been able to enjoy his “individuality” a bit more!

My other motivation for the services I offer have slowly come to me over the past 12 years that I have been teaching childbirth classes and being a birth doula.  Time and time again my couples would come back with their babies and tell me how prepared they were for their birth, (which would be music to my ears) but how shocked, overwhelmed and unprepared they were in those first few months (which made me feel that I failed them in some way as their childbirth educator).

Once I began contemplating my couples’ postpartum experiences, I soon realized the we have it kind of backwards in our society… most couples sometimes spend 20-plus hours in childbirth class and on average read 5-10 books on pregnancy and birth to prepare for the usual one-day event but very few hours (usually less than one or two) and maybe read one book preparing for the much longer duration of infancy and parenting with their new baby (lasting upwards of 4 months and beyond).  And because of this revelation, Tranquil Baby was born!

With Tranquil Baby, I like to see myself as a bridge between newborns and their parents.  I enjoy helping parents gain an understanding of their baby and their sometimes puzzling behavior and also teaching them specific techniques that work and will make everyone’s lives easier in those first 6 months.

There are no do-overs in parenthood but my goal is to help parents feel confident and secure in their parenting so that they don’t ever feel like they need one.

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Trainings and Certifications

• Childbirth International Certified Childbirth Doula & Breastfeeding Counselor- currently enrolled 
• DONA (Doulas of North America) Certified Postpartum Doula- September 2011
• Certification from Infant Massage USA as a Certified Educator of Infant Massage- March 2011
• State Board Certified Massage Therapist- MD State License # MO4521- January 2011
• “Happiest Baby on the Block” Certified Parent Educator- December 2010
• Nationally Licensed Massage Therapist through NCBTMB- November 2010
• Brio Birth Certified Childbirth Educator- October 2010
• Bradley Method Certified Childbirth Educator- November 1999
• DONA (Doulas of North America) Certified Childbirth Doula- December 1999
• Bachelor of Science in Elementary and Early Childhood Education- Frostburg State University, May 1994

Six interesting things you may not know about me but I’m going to share with you anyway:

1.  I always wanted (and knew) I’d have all boys growing up

I never had dreams of braiding my future daughter’s hair with ribbons and bows or dressing her up in frilly pink outfits. When I nannied for families in the summers, it was always for boys.  I guess it’s a good thing I had all boys since I couldn’t do  a French braid now…even if my life depended on it.

2.  I’ve had just about every type of animal as a pet

I suppose this speaks again to my love of nurturing living things.  Some of my past pets have been: dogs, cats, ferrets, guinea pigs, hamsters, lizards, a frog, mice (my mom just LOVED those), turtles, fish, hermit crabs (that could never successfully move to their new shells), a rabbit, ants (yes, many ant farms) and of course I can’t ever forget the Sea Monkeys.

3.  I much prefer vanilla over chocolate

I know, I know…I’m weird and chocolate rules the world.  But give me a good vanilla buttercream frosting and I swear I’ve died and gone to heaven!

4.  I developed a fear of flying once I had kids

I hear this is a common occurrence (it happened to my dad after I was born) but it still amazes me that my logical brain–which knows flying is the safest way to travel– cannot overrule my irrational brain when sitting in a huge steel vesicle over the Atlantic ocean.  I do however; fly just fine when my boys aren’t with me.  Still trying to figure this one out…

5.  I once nursed my son on a log flume ride at Hershey Park

Hey, he was crying, we didn’t have a lot of options and I really wanted to enjoy the rest of the ride.  I even have a picture of this one!

6.  I truly think that parenting is the MOST important job in the world

Enough said!

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 My three “Tranquil Babies”: Keaton, Griffin and Landon