We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jessica Petrus Aird . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jessica below.
Jessica , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?
Before landing on my work with families and Burgeoning Bud Postpartum, I tried on and wore numerous professional hats. In fact, my most significant former career was that of a professionally-trained classical soprano. My work as a musician, soloist, and ensemble performer taught me many foundational skills that I continue to use in my work serving families every day. One of its biggest impacts is that it taught me how to listen–really listen–to the nuances of a story. Being a musician is both individual and collaborative and requires a great deal of sensitivity for both simultaneously. To be a good musician, you must both hone your craft (in both technique and artistry) and then express that duality within the collaborative context of others. In short, it takes a great deal of self-awareness and dedication, as well as the ability to look beyond the self to create something beautiful with others in a way that is more than the sum of its parts.
When I work with families at Burgeoning Bud, I carry this practice with me. I must come to my work with the knowledge, skill set, and competency that I develop on my own through my training, reading, attending workshops, writing, and connecting with other professionals. But then, I must also meet my client wherever they are in their journey. I must be able to listen to their unique scene and respond judiciously, compassionately, and in tune with their needs. I must listen, really listen, to both what they say and don’t say *before* I respond.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Jess and I own Burgeoning Bud Postpartum and Pediatric Sleep Consulting. I help families eat, sleep, and be well both in their postpartum and well beyond. I believe that rest, a good meal, a cup of herbal tea, an empathetic ear, and a sense of humor are the best ingredients for navigating the postpartum well. I got into this work after having my own three children and experiencing three very different postpartums. While I had prepped for my first birth extensively, I had barely read up on much related to baby care and virtually NOTHING on my own postpartum care. As a result, that first postpartum had its typical rough trial and errors and exhaustion. I didn’t know what I didn’t know, but I knew I did not feel like I had enough support (and I had incredible family, friends, a birth doula by my side!). My second birth resulted in my daughter’s very pre-mature birth at 28 weeks. My husband and I encountered a radically different postpartum in which our daughter spent the first 2 months in the NICU/Special Care Nursery. We worked through this difficult time that was emotionally, logistically, and financially very challenging with the incredible help from more professionals provided to us through the hospital. We also had many friends and family who selflessly reached out to us on a regular basis, sent us food daily, and helped us to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Once we neared the birth of our third baby, we knew we had the knowledge and experience of the first two postpartums to know we could plan more effectively. We asked a trusted family member to put together a meal train for us, arranged our childcare so that we had help with our older two in the mornings while we could sleep in from the choppy nights, scheduled family to come in staggered fashion and help with tasks we knew they particularly excelled at, hired a sleep consultant when our baby was old enough to sleep through the night, but wasn’t yet, and took more time off from work to give ourselves the time we needed to adjust. This time around, we felt so much more prepared and cared for holistically in a way we hadn’t achieved previously. This time, we knew how to help ourselves, and that meant reaching far into our community of both family/friends and professionals to encircle us at this very transitory time. It was after this third postpartum I realized I needed to help families be able to do the same for themselves; Burgeoning Bud was born!
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
While families appreciate and value my expertise with both sleep and postpartum care, I believe they also value my presence as their peer. As my own children are 5, 3, and 1, I remind my clients that I am walking the journey of early childhood alongside them and I do not pretend to have it all figured out! I am real with my clients about our own parenting challenges, both ones we have resolved and ones that are on-going. I admit the past steps I took that I believe weren’t the best choices in hindsight, and I offer them an opportunity to consider a different perspective. But most importantly, my stories aren’t their stories. Since every family is different and every time a new child enters it changes that family once again, my role is always first and foremost to observe and listen. I never offer blanket advice to families because each family truly has a different situation to navigate. I believe in order to do well serving postpartum families, it takes openness, an agenda-free attitude, and the ability to put your ego aside to truly meet them at their level, wherever that is.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
This past fall, I started my own Facebook Group “Sleep Well, Be Well, Eat Well: Burgeoning Bud Postpartum.” As a mom myself, I knew Facebook was a place many parents congregate to learn from one another about parenting tricks, referrals, and find solidarity. I spend a lot of time connecting with other perinatal professionals who complement the work that I do, and we are all committed to helping families have as many resources available to them as possible in postpartum. This got me interested in starting my own FB community, where I invite both perinatal professionals and parents to connect. My group focuses on the three pillars of my business: eating, sleeping, and being well. I regularly share tips on nutritious (and manageable!) recipes, age-appropriate sleep insights for children 0-5, and pose questions that encourage thoughtful and mindful engagement. When parents visit my facebook group, I want them to feel like they are entering a safe space that has the tools to get them the resources they are looking for. Currently our group has valuable perinatal professionals like pelvic floor PTs, nutritionists, lactation professionals (IBCLC), early childhood educators, birth and postpartum doulas, perinatal yoga, mental health therapists, and other medical professionals. This group not only offers an incredible amount of value to the member for free, it also functions as the main social media channel in which I show up most authentically for my business. It leads to many personal DM conversations which translate into Discovery Calls and eventually paying clients. I nurture this group on a daily basis and it continues to grow daily with referrals from current members who appreciate the value it brings to their lives at this time.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.burgeoningbud.com
- Instagram: @burgeoningbudpostpartum
- Facebook: @burgeoningbudpostpartum, FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/498757255640238
Image Credits
Sara Sniderman Photography @sarasnidermanphotgraphy https://sarasnidermanphotography.com/