We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Erin Meinel. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Erin below.

Erin, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

When my first son was born back in 2018, I *thought* parenting would be a breeze, after all, I had a B.S. in early childhood education and had worked with young children my whole life. Oh, how wrong I was!

After just a few weeks after giving birth to him, the lack of sleep brought me to my knees. My husband and mom found me hunched in the hallway sitting against the wall, a puddle of tears and a ball of anxiety. The round-the-clock feeding and not sleeping was taking it’s toll on me. I learned a few things over the next few weeks – to allow more help from others AND to focus on laying a strong sleep foundation so that we could all get a little more shut-eye.

After figuring out my son’s sleep, I became obsessed with anything related to baby sleep. I was read books and scouring the internet for anything I could get my hands on to make sure he would stay a good little sleeper, because once I had figured it out, there was NO WAY I was every going to go back to the way things were – exhausted and crying into my coffee mug more often than not.

Eventually, I learned that pediatric sleep consulting was a thing, and with my background as an early childhood teacher, becoming certified seemed like a no-brainer. I enrolled in a program, learned everything I could, and started my business, Lake Country Sleep.

At Lake Country Sleep, we empower busy moms with customized sleep training solutions so that they can confidently manage their child’s sleep and achieve freedom and flexibility in motherhood. And, the best part is, we do it in a way that feels good to the parent.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

If you’ve got a child who struggles with falling asleep at bedtime, wakes throughout the night, and takes naps that are short (or non-existent), we can help!

We partner with families to provide sustainable, holistic, custom sleep solutions to help their children learn to sleep independently. When you think of the word “cheer” you probably wouldn’t equate it with sleep training.

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But, for us, CHEER actually stands for what we – as moms and sleep coaches – believe every sleep and parenting program should include:

When it comes to our signature CHEER Method…

…we (you and us!) believe that your child is CAPABLE.

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…we use a HOLISTIC approach that examines every angle of your child and family.

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…we provide EVIDENCE-BASED sleep and parenting strategies because we only want the best for our children.

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…we nurture a feeling of EMPOWERMENT as you navigate your child’s sleep with bold confidence after working with us.

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…we utilize a RESPONSIVE technique that allows you to strengthen your bond with your child.

Our program was designed for parents who want the best for their children!

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

When most parents hear the words “sleep training” they often want nothing to do with it, worrying that they’ll damage their bond with their child in some way.

As a former early childhood educator with a background in education and child development, I had the same concerns.

But, knowing there had to be a better way to function as a mother, I decided to dig deep to find a solution for my family: enter responsive sleep training.

No, we don’t encourage families to leave their children to cry-it-out. That doesn’t feel good for anyone, parent or child! Instead, we utilize middle-of-the-road, responsive methods that actually strengthen the bond between parent and child.

I couldn’t believe that parent-child attachment wasn’t something I learned during my college years in my early childhood education program. Because of this, I needed to re-educate myself to have this knowledge to really create the best program out there for helping parents navigate their child’s sleep in a way that feels good to them, protecting their secure attachment with their child.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I truly believe that the client experience we provide sets us apart and makes our life-changing services hard NOT to share with others. We make sure that we encourage and guide our clients like we would a younger sister during the sleep training process. We empathize with them (because we’ve been there) and we cheer them on as they experience wins throughout out time together. We also make it fun! Sleep training can seem like a stressful process, but it doesn’t have to be! By educating them in advance, we empower them to handle their child’s sleep and respond with confidence. We provide an experience that truly is life-changing, and, paired with a juicy referral program, it’s hard not to sing our praises. Most of our revenue comes from clients who have been referred to us by someone who has already worked with us!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.lakecountrysleep.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/lakecountrysleep
• Facebook: facebook.com/lakecountrysleep

Image Credits
Laurelyn Harrig from My Brand Photographer