It’s been a while since I shared a bit more about myself. I have had some new followers so I thought I would share a bit more about my journey and how I ended up here!
As a recent high school graduate, I had big dreams of becoming a chartered accountant, I was accepted to university and worked through 3 years of my Bachelor of Business Administration. When year 3 came along, I couldn’t procrastinate my second year calculus any longer, and it’s actually the worst thing EVER! I had attempted it during second year, but made sure to drop the course before it affected my GPA because it really was not my jam. I had plans of finding a tutor and spending more time focusing on it, but the truth was my heart wasn’t in it.
I ended up filling that credit space with a course called Organizational Behaviour. I fell in love with this aspect of business, building up employees, promoting a positive work environment, caring about the health and wellbeing of others. It dawned on me, that my heart really was into caring about others, and since math and numbers is really the foundation of accounting, I should probably let that dream go.
After finishing that semester in the spring of 2008, I began to persue teaching Pilates. This is something that I practiced off and on for many years, and it seemed to come naturally to me after 15 years of ballet. That summer I became certified to teach Stott Pilates, both reformer and mat classes, and it all seemed too good to be true. I was helping people, I loved teaching, and of course the fitness aspect is a huge bonus. But I was cautious, I let my fear of being self employed hold me back. I didn’t believe that I had what it took to start my own business at the age of 20, and at that time (and still to this day) Pilates is a very lucrative business! So, I decided to put Pilates on the back burner, and keep it as a hobby and was back on track for a “more secure” career, or so I thought.
In 2008 I began my Bachelor of Science in Nursing. If you asked me back then, why I chose nursing, I would have said “There is nothing in the world that scares me as much as being a nurse or a mother, if I can become a registered nurse, there is nothing that I can’t do”. As a 20 year old, I felt that I needed to secure employment for my future, and that pushing myself to limits I didn’t know were possible felt like a necessary challenge at the time.
I’ll spare you the details of the utter carnage that is the BSN program. If you are a Registered Nurse, or know someone who has completed the program, you’ll know just how HARD it is. There were many ups and downs along the way, but it was by far the best decision I made! I learned so much along the way, I made some amazing friends, and of course I completed a goal I set based on my biggest fear. Upon graduation I was incredibly proud of myself, my wedding was a few months after graduation, and I had also completed my nephrology nursing specialty prior to graduation. I WORKED MY BUTT OFF!! The only thing I wasn’t prepared for, was the business of healthcare, the politics, and that my job wasn’t always direct patient care.
Very long story short, I loved being a nurse, but some bumps along the road allowed me to see the side of healthcare that isn’t so pretty. I always thought about that course I took on Organizational Behaviour and was disappointed in how far behind my employer was, and their whole business was healthCARE! I suffered a couple miscarriages, I had a major surgery (splenectomy) with a terrible hospital experience and an ectopic pregnancy shortly after. The worst part of my health struggles was the way I was treated by my employer for missing time from work. I felt very little compassion towards the fact that I was very sick after surgery and am now immune compromised for life, and that my ectopic pregnancy was another inconvenience for them, so they enrolled me in the “attendance promotion program”. When my health turned around, I found out that the funding for my position was being taken away, I felt devastated, and cheated.
Fortunately, shortly after, I found out I was pregnant with my middle son! I had a new positive focus, I began working in Mental Health, and things were all moving to a more positive direction! I have worked in this office since 2015, and I can say that this has been the most fulfilling of my nursing career, I have a supportive and encouraging work place, and I feel so blessed to find an area of nursing that allows me to help so many people and I feel that I can have a work life balance.
2018 brought the birth of my third baby, Lincoln. I had never imagined myself as a mother of three, but here I am! We call him Linc for short, and it truly does feel like he is the link that our family was missing, he’s an absolute joy!
By the time you are a mother of 3, many other moms come to you for advice, like I am someone who knows what I am doing LOL! Nope, I’m still totally winging it, and now with much, much, MUCH lower expectations, and probably a better sense of humour.
Sleep was not something that came easy for any of my babies, we had reflux, a stressed out mama, a husband who works a lot and night shifts, and a fear of my babies crying. I had many friends entering motherhood with many questions about sleep and feeding and all aspects of parenting. Late one night I was scrolling Instagram and I came across Isla-Grace Sleep Certification it felt like fate! I had the drive to try something new again, something that scared me, and the timing was right as I was still on maternity leave. When I began this course, I had no idea how amazing it would be! My new education about parenting, and sleep and feeding was something that I couldn’t wait to share with everyone I knew. I also had a new challenge of learning how to build a business, build a website, navigate social media marketing, all while raising 3 babies under 5!
If you have made it this far, you know by now that I love to stay busy, I love learning, and helping others just comes naturally to me. I have tackled my fear of being self employed during one of the most overwhelming times of my life (raising babies)! Helping families with sleep, parenting, and educating others about normal infant sleep has been THE most fulfilling career choice to date, I am thankful for the families that have chose me to help with their sleep, and I am thankful that you made it all the way though my rambling thoughts on this warm January day while my babies nap <3
