Hafdis: Creating the resource that she was looking for
Creating the resource that she was looking for
A midwife for the last six years, Hafdis knows more than a thing or two about babies. However, when Hafdis was on maternity leave with her second child, she found herself at her wit’s end when it came to sleep. “My older child didn’t sleep very well, but I knew the younger one was also at the age where he should be able to sleep for longer. I was eager to find more information that I could use to help him.”
In Iceland, the only option really for support was the national hospital’s baby sleep clinic. Unfortunately, it was common for the wait times to be at least three months. “I didn’t want to wait that long,” Hafdis shares. “I wanted to be able to do something now.”
Hungry for information
Naturally, Hafdis began researching. “I wanted to know everything, but didn’t know where to get the best information to start with. Soon I realised that I could do such a thing as baby sleep consultant training, which would enable me to get the full picture and understand what was best.”
It turns out Hafdis wasn’t alone in her struggles either. When she started talking to her friends, all had stories about a child who wasn’t sleeping well. “I could see a need for this service,” Hafdis explains. “That’s when it became my mission – to get all the information I could and then deliver that to help other parents in the same situation as me.”
Jumping in and embedding the learnings
While the decision to do the training wasn’t a difficult one for Hafdis, the realities of becoming a student again required some navigating. Not to mention there was the juggle of taking this on while she had two young children at home with her. “All of my free time for that period went to studying,” Hafdis says. “It was challenging, but so worth it.”
It helped that Hafdis loved the content. “The reading material was exactly what I needed – it was so thorough and gave all the options. We really did cover everything. However, after we had done all this reading, we had to use our own judgment to land on our own ideas and conclusions, which helped to embed the learning and build my confidence. I felt equipped to help babies and parents of all different temperaments and styles, meeting them where they were.” And that’s exactly what Hafdis has been doing ever since she became certified.
Having an impact with what she’d learnt
It was always important for Hafdis that she provided information that could be accessed in a simple – and instant – way. So even before she had completed her training, Hafdis had begun to build a series of e-courses that took away the overwhelm and empowered parents with the information, and practical action-oriented steps they needed to help their child achieve better sleep.
“Really I’ve created what I really wanted in the beginning – and it’s going really well,” Hafdis shares. “For some, it’s enough to buy the course and follow that to achieve results. Others also purchase a phone call or two of more personalised support, but either way, I’m able to help more people by delivering my knowledge this way.”
As well as her business growing, Hafdis’ passion for this area is growing too. “When I had my children, I saw first-hand how much time and energy goes to thinking about sleep. But now, the more I learn, the more this passion grows,” Hafdis adds. “I just can’t get past how incredibly important sleep is for babies’ brain development.”
For Hafdis, it’s about sleep, but it’s also about helping to teach parents to read their babies and understand their needs, like when they might need to drop a nap. Now Hafdis reckons that she has found where she’s supposed to be – and what she’s meant to be doing. We wish her all the best as she continues to educate as many people as she can.
