Hi, I’m Suzanne, aka Zen Mommy
In addition to mommy-ing to two magical girls born in 2000 and 2003, my husband and I were blessed with boy and girl twins born in February of 2010. Being a mom of four is perhaps my greatest credential. In my “free-time” I help run our holistic health center, where my husband, business partner and life partner, Shawn, encourages me to moonlight as a physical therapist and an Infant Massage Instructor (favorite thing!). I teach weekly classes in St. Louis and will tell you more about that here if you are interested.
Becoming a Parent Coach just happened. My phone began to ring off the hook with questions from pregnant women and first time moms I’d never met. Friends of friends of friends began sourcing me for support, asking me questions about all things mommy-hood: pregnancy, sleep, back pain, preparing for baby, nursing, colic,gas, fussiness, sleep (it warrants mentioning twice!) relationships, routines, rituals, schedules… all looking, in one form or another, for the manual that failed to arrive when their baby did! I helped them find that manual… inside. And now I do that here as well.
I find great wisdom in Kahlil Gibran’s words to parents about children, “You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.” Parenting has helped to make my life a-parent to me in so many ways. I practice loving (and forgiving) myself everyday, that my children might love themselves whole-ly and completely as well.
I hope My Mommy Manual and my writing as Zen Mommy will help you connect in love to yourself, those around you and your children.
What??! You’re still reading? ^_^ 16 Things about Me
And finally, my top three My Mommy Manual post picks for sharing “me” with you would be:
How To Be Enough (where I struggle with BEING enough…)
How to Recognize Warning Signs (where I miss the warning signs…)
and How Spirit Moves (where spirit moved… and how)
There. That aught to do it. You now know more about me than you could have ever wanted to! Please share who YOU are with ME by sending me an email to info @ mymommymanual (dot) com, a tweet to @ZenMommy… or by commenting here on My Mommy Manual.
Thanks for taking the time to learn about me. I’m glad we’re connected.
I’d LOVE to be your PARENTING COACH:
If I can be of help as a Parenting Coach to you and your family, I would be honored. I do most sessions over the phone with the exception of first time sessions with families that live in St. Louis which I will often do in their home for a small home-visit fee. My track record is pretty good with only needing 3-6 sessions (30 or 60 minutes) to help moms meet their goals!
Here are some of the things my clients have said:
——
“Thank you for being such an encouragement to me in the most difficult times. Sleep deprivation after having a baby is something no one can understand until you go through it. But you have a way of showing you understand. The advice you gave me helped me see that I need to take care of myself, too, so that I can take care of my son. I cannot say thank you enough!”
Katharine N.
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“Suzanne,
Jonathan started crying pretty hard shortly after we talked. It went on for close to 7-8 minutes but I just held him and walked with him. I normally would have nursed him at that point even though it was barely 2 hours. Well…. He fell asleep and slept for FIFTY minutes. I’m starting to wonder if some of his fussiness is really over-tiredness. I’m going to experiment with that over the next few days. I hate for him to cry like that so I think I fall back on nursing, but that’s keeping me from getting on a schedule. Needless to say, I got my shower! 
Will keep you posted. Thanks again!!!”
*** then the next morning:
“The night went well. He slept until 4:20am, so I got 5 hrs sleep. He nursed and then slept 3 more hours!!! He has never done that (is usually back up in 1.5-2 hours.) We’re going to try your advice and the staying awake 2-3 hour max thing today. Thx again with the “compassionate” sleep support!” I never wanted to have to do the “cry-it-out thing” and with your advice I’m hopeful we won’t ever have to.”
-Mom of an 11 week old with reflux, after three thirty-minute sessions
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Email from a client asking for coaching:
“Hi Suzanne,
I am becoming beyond frustrated with my five month old’s inconsistent sleeping habits and exhausted from all the night wakings. Just when we think things are on the right track because we had a good day or two, then he’s back to his old ways of short naps, frequent night wakings, or both.
He used to be such a happy baby, and now he is just cranky all
the time. Maybe just teething? I hate the negative feelings I have towards him when I am so exhausted and I just want him to sleep. Definitely a lot of Mommy guilt there.
Both my sister and sister-in-law used the cry it out methods,
which I halfheartedly tried for a couple weeks and felt the
most mommy guilt I have ever felt, so I gave it up. I didn’t
even want to try it but I felt a lot of pressure from my
sister. So, sorry to ramble. Sort of having a little breakdown and
needing to vent. So, the point of this whole note is, about your parent coaching, when are you available to do it? Thanks!”
***after first sessions:
“Went really well thanks. I rocked David for about 5 minutes until his eyes were starting to droop, then laid him in his bassinet and held my hand on his tummy and rubbed him a little for about 10 minutes. He fussed a little at first, then became quiet but continued moving his arms and legs a lot until he fell asleep. Hoping it is that easy again tonight! Thanks so much.”
***after three sessions where I encouraged mom to follow her intuition which was telling her to move her 5 mo old out of her bed and into his crib:
“Great thanks! Last night he slept 7.5 hours before waking at 3am and then didn’t wake again until 5:30am, then 7:15am. Perfect!
