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JANELLE VANO – Helping Babies Find Sweet Sleep

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You’ve probably heard of horse whisperers and even dog whisperers. But a baby whisperer? If you ask some of the clients of Janelle Vano, they’ll gladly call her that and quickly add lifesaver to the moniker.

 

Janelle prides herself on helping parents, new and experienced, with quieting a fussy baby, resulting in a relaxing, natural sleep that’s great for the little one and their exhausted parents. Her website, Raising Happy Babies, lists her success stories as she shares her somewhat revolutionary ideas for raising happy babies, a result of many years of experience with infants and children.

 

“Truly, my passion is helping the baby, but of course the parents benefit too. It’s natural that babies know how to sleep, but I help them learn to love sleep, love their bed and sleep through the night,” enthused Janelle. “Good sleep helps babies in every area: emotionally, mentally and physically. When they wake up, they feel happy and relaxed and better equipped to learn from their surroundings. If they’re overtired and exhausted, babies won’t have the muscle coordination or mental capabilities to develop in the ways that they could if they’re well rested.”

 

This 41-year-old Western Shawnee, Kansas, resident has an impressive resume. Her experience with children began at the ripe old age of five, when she was allowed to feed a baby in the church nursery. Completely fascinated by the encounter, Janelle wanted to learn as much as she could about babies. Her first babysitting job came at the age of ten. “The parent of that first little one told my mom that I knew more about taking care of babies than she did,” laughed Janelle. “By the age of 19, I had babysat over 100 children. During the summer after my high school graduation, I was hired for my first full-time nanny job.”

 

She continued her learning experiences with other people’s children and then had a daughter of her own. The revelation she had at that time was that things when raising children are not as black and white as they appear. “The job of being a mom was suddenly in front of me, and honestly, a little overwhelming. I quickly figured out that things were as I had thought they were. That happened the day I brought her home from the hospital. But I discovered it was about staying in a gray zone,” remembered Janelle. “I wanted my baby to be happy and comfortable, going to sleep on her own. But I didn’t want her to be so independent that she didn’t actually have any kind of attachment or bond to me. Finding a place between those two is what I call the gray zone.”

 

When her daughter was ten years old, she spotted an ad for a night nanny, which would fit well with her business as a photographer. Janelle didn’t exactly know what a night nanny was when she applied for that position. But this experience would launch her on a remarkable career that has become a lifesaver for others. “As I was caring for these little ones in the night and trying to make them comfortable, I noticed that if I made some very small but significant changes, it would lead them to sleep through the night by ten weeks. I did this over and over until I became so confident that I started to give my guarantee,” she shared. “In 2008, I began coaching parents with older babies to help their little ones learn to sleep through the night and love their cribs. Amazingly, it happened with about three nights of effort.”

 

To achieve her method, Janelle has focused on observing and learning the complexities of each child she encounters because each one is so different. Rather than applying a rigid set of rules and guidelines, she adapts and develops a successful plan to move them to being a happy child. “I have a troubleshooting list in my mind and eliminate issues as I see them. It does depend on the baby and what they need, but I can tell a lot by their body language,” she commented. “I love babies and children; I’m absolutely passionate about them. With my method, I’m not torturing children or leaving the child to cry until they pass out from exhaustion. Sleep is so important and it’s critical for their growth and development. I consider it as important as food and oxygen.”

 

Parents who sing her praises are numerous. They come to her desperate for a solution when advice from pediatricians and well-intentioned family members does not work. One case that Janelle shares is that of the parents of a 15-month-old who hadn’t slept through the night in almost a year. During one month, the baby had awakened nearly 20 times every night. Sadly, nighttime had become a battleground between the parents and their daughter. There was a respite here and there with the baby sleeping some nights, but most of the time she was awake from midnight until four in the morning. Then they got to the point of taking her out of the crib and letting her sleep with them. Finally, they let her cry it out, screaming for 45 minutes until she finally passed out.

 

“I scheduled an in-home consultation with the mother. As were were talking, she shared that her pediatrician said her baby’s waking so often in the night was because she had been ‘too nice’ and she needed to let the baby cry it out. The pediatrician said the baby shouldn’t be allowed to nap too long in the afternoon because she won’t be sleepy at night,” Janelle noted. “This weary mother expected that I would come to her home and tell her to just let the baby cry until she learned to sleep. But that’s not what I did. I told her that my method works in just three days if she stays consistent.”

 

In this scenario, Janelle shared with the mother that her baby should be allowed to nap as long as needed because she was allowed only one nap after lunch. “There’s no way she could actually sleep so long that she wouldn’t be able go back down at bedtime,” revealed Janelle. “Being overtired always makes night sleep more difficult for little ones.” After focusing on her methodology, Janelle says the mother communicated that the baby is falling asleep after just a few minutes of being in the crib and wakes up a happy girl just past 6:30 a.m. every day.

 

Janelle also is a strong supporter of swaddling babies from newborns to those up to three months old. She claims that babies are comfortable being swaddled. “They enjoy the feeling of security it provides them, and keeps their arms in control, which prevents them from getting tired and upset,” she stated. She also reminds parents that babies need to burp. “Burps are huge for them and they need to get them out,” remarked Janelle. “They can sleep better and feel better.”

 

While Janelle can’t be in every home, every night, she is exploring opportunities to share her ideas and techniques with parents who are at their wit’s end or those who want to start their baby with good sleeping habits. She’s working on a book to share her methods, designed to get babies sleeping through the night. Videos are on the horizon, too. She’ll teach parents how to interpret the signals children clearly send and how to respond to them. Within a short period of time, they should be sleeping through the night. Janelle’s tried and true methods have saved many parents from sleepless nights and re-established a successful routine resulting in happy babies and thankful moms and dads. HLM

 

For more information, visit the website at raisinghealthybabies.com.