South Florida Baby Sleep Help

Hello There!

Welcome to my “About Me” page! I think it’s important to know who you’re going to be working with, especially if they are going to be involved with your precious little one(s). So, my name is Laura Knecht, I am a south Florida local, born and raised in Broward county. I am married to my amazing (yet extremely nerdy) husband, who is amazing with all technological things. We have one son, Logan (who is named after his grandfather and a maybe comic book character).  

Before I settled down with a house and family, I went to college to study Early Childhood Education, with the goal of becoming a teacher like my mother! After several years of working within the school system, I decided it wasn’t for me. I left to work at a local YMCA, creating and teaching within their Early Childhood Program (including various Mommy and Me classes & Infant Swim classes) and After school Programs (including tutoring and Cooking classes). 

Fast Forward…

After meeting my husband, we settled down and started growing our family, fur babies and little humans included –  insert warm fuzzy feelings here! After having my son via an emergency C-Section and struggling to recover from surgery, we found that my son had many allergies leading to terrible breakouts and severe reflux issues. I won’t dive into all the details, let me just say that the first year with my son was a very painful time, that took its toll on our family. There is nothing worse then watching your baby suffer and not being able to help. It was a dark year full of screaming, crying and so very little sleep.

If you’re the parent of a reflux baby or a child with severe allergies, you know how hard it can be at the beginning. If you’re still struggling with these issues, know there is help out there! Don’t settle for anything you’re not comfortable with. Keep searching until you find what works for you and your baby! Professionals in the infant and child industry, like me, can help guide you to the right person or product to help your situation.

Back To The Story…

Once we had resolved the root of my son medical issues, he still struggled terribly with sleep. Now that we knew he was not in pain or uncomfortable, we were desperate to try to help him (and ourselves) get more sleep. And when I say he was a terrible sleeper, I mean the worst, just awful! He would sleep, at most for 1.5-2 hours overnight and it would take us 30-45 minutes just to get him to sleep. Forget napping – my son only slept in the stroller, but not the car. The car was the devil as far as my son was concerned, he would scream bloody murder whenever he was placed in the car seat.

We tried just about every product designed to help him sleep- swings, rockers, bouncers, sleep sacks, oil diffusers, the works and still nothing! Each night my husband or myself would get stuck bouncing on a yoga ball for hours, trying to get him to sleep and then we would have to play the awful “can we transfer to the crib” game. It failed at least half the time and yes, we tried co-sleeping and that didn’t work either. My husband and I would take turns putting him to sleep throughout the night, but my son would be up 4-8 times on any given night. So, we started reading baby sleep books and tried lots of different strategies, but each one seemed to make it worse. There was so much crying, my heart was breaking, my marriage was suffering and the postpartum was getting worse!

We eventually found an online program that came with a plan and most importantly real expert support. Even though it wasn’t as much support as I would’ve liked, it made a real difference. When Logan slept through on his first night, I couldn’t believe it and it didn’t seem real. It was just a fluke. Nope, it was the real deal. My baby was sleeping and for the first time since he was born, he seemed happy and playful! He was a new baby, a rested baby. It was the most wonderful thing I had felt since becoming a mother! I knew then, that I wanted to be that expert support for other families. I wanted to hold their hands and explain that it would be okay and that together, we can get their baby to sleep peacefully!

My Education…

With my background in early childhood education and my passion for teaching, becoming an infant and child sleep consultant seemed like a natural path of progression for my career, now that I was a mom. There are no degrees for Pediatric Sleep Specialist but after doing lots of research on the different sleep education and certification programs, I found my path. Upon completing The Sleep Sense Certification and Training Program, I created Good Little SleeperZzz and started helping families nationwide. While growing my company, I continued my education with online classes: specializing in Reflux/GERD, Newborn Development, Breastfeeding, Baby Led Weaning, Tongue & Lip Ties and more.

After starting my company, I was thrilled to be accepted into the International Association of Child Sleep Consultants, as well as the Association of Professional Sleep Consultants. Through these associations, I am able to continue my education on the most up-to-date research and studies from around the world, all relating to infant and child sleep.