Meet Karen Winter | Certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant and owner of Winter Slumber

We had the good fortune of connecting with Karen Winter and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Karen, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Working with children has always been my passion for as long as I can remember. However, once I became a mom and started going through the challenges of motherhood, my passion started to shift to supporting mom’s and uplifting them in moments of struggle. I had been running my own in-home daycare for a few years at this point and knew it wasn’t something I wanted to do forever. Once my daughter was in school full time I wanted to have the flexibility to help out in her classroom, to pick her up and drop her off at school, to be there for field trips etc. Upon researching what kind of shift I wanted to take in my career I kept stumbling upon sleep consulting. I, myself, struggled with sleep when I became a mom and had always pegged my daughter as “not a good sleeper”. This was something that I had worked through and realized it could also be something I helped other moms work through as well. This was also a career I could have that would provide me the flexibility I wanted and needed! I knew I needed to be my own boss, have my own business, but also have passion behind it! It was then I dove in to getting certified through Center for Pediatric Sleep Management and my passion quickly took a turn towards sleep and helping mama’s teach their children independent sleep skills so that their whole family could become well-rested and wouldn’t have to have the same experience I had as an exhausted mama trying to just make it through!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My own experiences and education sets me a part as a sleep consultant. I am a mother, an in-home daycare provider, a sleep consultant, and a business owner. I have my degree in Early Childhood Education and have been working with children in various settings for over 20 years; these experiences have made a world of difference in talking to parents and being able to offer advice that I didn’t necessarily learn in my certification course, or a book, but rather through my experiences.

My biggest challenge personally has been teaching my own daughter how to sleep independently without all of the knowledge I now have. I was a sleep deprived mama trying to figure it all out on my own and gave up countless times, had her sleep in bed with us, tried letting her cry it out, tried Ferber method, literally slept on the couch with her in a bassinet next to me so that I wouldn’t wake my husband up every two hours, and fed her back to sleep every two hours. I couldn’t stay consistent, I questioned everything I did. Finally around one year old she had her first full night of sleep (like 8 hours?) and we somehow made our way through to the other side once I started diving deeper into the importances of staying consistent, being firm in my boundaries, and incentivizing desired behaviors. I didn’t even know what a sleep consultant was back when she was a baby. I wish I would have known so that I could have hired someone then, it would have saved me so much time and energy and sleep!

Now, I get to provide that to families! Using my expertise, I provide families with advice, support, and behavior modification techniques to help teach their child the skill of independent sleep. I work together with families to choose a method that best fits their unique circumstances and desires so that their family as a whole can become more well-rested. I have found many families with toddlers and preschoolers struggle with sleep and many sleep consultants aren’t confident with this age group. For that reason I have really niched down to focusing in on the 2-7 year old age group and all the specific challenges they bring to the table. My Winter Slumber Sleep Transformation program was created specifically for parents of 2-7 year olds who want a stress-free bedtime and a full night of sleep. My individualized plan and one on one support ensure they stop feeling overwhelmed and frustrated and, instead, begin to look forward to bedtime.

I have been working as both an in-home daycare provider and a sleep consultant for over a year now and am thrilled to say I will be moving into full time sleep consulting this summer! It hasn’t been easy getting to this point, and balancing all things motherhood along with running two businesses but I am excited for what’s to come.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love Milwaukee and the surrounding areas due to all the festivals, and lake activities in the summer! It’s also a very family friendly place with children’s museums, indoor play places, outdoor playgrounds galore, beaches, and did I mention all the festivals?!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Shoutout to my wonderful husband who has been a great support in this whole process, and to the wonderful women in the Center for Pediatric Sleep Management community. I have created friendships through this business that have helped me to continue to move forward when things get tough! I wouldn’t be here without the support of my friends, family, and community.

Website: www.winterslumber.com

Instagram: @winterslumbersleep

Facebook: my Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sleepsupportfortoddlersandpreschoolers/?ref=share

Image Credits
Me