Today we’d like to introduce you to Leann Latus.
Hi Leann, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
When my two boys were very little, we were not sleeping well at all. My younger son especially had a very difficult time sleeping well as a baby and toddler and then when he turned 3 we realized we had a big problem that wasn’t taking care of itself. We had moved him out of his crib and into a big kid bed. He needed lots and lots of help to fall asleep and sleep through the night. He mainly required me to lay with him until he fell asleep and then I’d sneak out after he was asleep. But that led to him waking 3-5 times every single night screaming for me to come back and sleep with him. At first, I didn’t mind laying with him at bedtime; I thought it was sweet and I enjoyed the snuggling too. Little did I know what it would morph into over time. Once it got so bad, that not only was my son not getting the sleep he needed; neither was I and it was affecting every area of my life. We knew we had to do something as this approach was not sustainable and we were feeling very lost and hopeless. We learned of a sleep consultant/coach and so we worked with her to help us learn what was needed for our son to sleep more independently.
To say that experience was life-changing would be an understatement. At that time, the lack of solid sleep for me was affecting my health, energy, parenting, marriage, social life, and my work. I was a walking zombie! Once we did the necessary work with my son to help him fall asleep on his own and sleep through the night by himself, our entire family was in a much better place and I could be the wife, mom, coworker, friend that I wanted to be.
At that time, I was working for a local large corporation in marketing. Because we had such a life-changing experience, I decided it was time to start a new career. So I went through several thorough certification programs to become a sleep coach, lactation counselor, and postpartum doula and I launched Tender Transitions Sleep Coaching! That was in 2011. Now as we head into 2026 I’ve helped thousands of children learn to sleep better and I’ve been able to play a small part in helping parents live healthier too.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The beginning of the launch of Tender Transitions was fairly smooth. The program where I received my sleep coaching certification did a great job of providing me kind of a “business in a box” which I was so thankful for because I had no experience in how to start and run a business! I received templates for a website, business cards, marketing materials, etc. And for the first six months after my certification I received mentoring as I got my business off the ground. So essentially I was doing it all by myself; but truly without my mentor guiding me, challenging me to get out of my comfort zone, and helping me with those first clients, I probably would not have stuck with it.
In the beginning the struggle was getting the word out about how I could help families. A sleep coach is not a service that mainstream families had heard of at that time and it certainly wasn’t something you’d major in in college. So I had to do a lot of outreach to businesses that served families with young children. I would also do workshops and presentations to ECFE groups, daycares, yoga studios… anywhere where moms of young children were gathering. That was a struggle because I was not very skilled at this type of work and getting out there in front of people, not knowing how I would be received, was very scary for me. Also, because I’m coaching parents through various methods of sleep training, I knew that there would be parents who did not agree with what I provided because they simply did not agree with sleep training in general. I had to come to the conclusion that there would be parents who I could serve really well and there were also parents who I would not be a good fit for. For someone who wants to make everyone happy, this was hard for me.
Being a sleep coach requires me to make things very personal and individual for each family that I work with. In the beginning it was challenging to navigate the right types of questions to ask, figure out the right solutions for each family, doing some trial and error to find what works and what didn’t, and to make mistakes along the way in order to be better for the next family. This was scary as I didn’t want to let these parents down because I knew they were in a desperate state of exhaustion and were counting on me to help them get out of it.
The other struggle is that I didn’t have any budget to do real marketing. So I relied on using local printing services to print my materials but I had to hand deliver them to organizations myself. I didn’t have experience in online marketing, social media (at the time it was mainly Facebook), etc. so I really had to teach myself how to do those things as well.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Tender Transitions Sleep Coaching?
As a sleep coach, I help exhausted and overwhelmed parents across the country to teach their child(ren) to sleep easily and independently. I provide compassionate and gentle sleep strategies that help the entire family sleep better again.
I am a one-woman show and I do everything from the initial sales call to the moment a child sleeps through the night in their own crib or bed by themselves and I hold the hands of the parents the entire way through the process. Along the way, I provide education, guidance, encouragement, accountability, and emotional support because I know sleep training isn’t fun and can be somewhat emotional.
I work with families who have newborns up to age 10. I would say the majority of my time is spent on infants, toddlers, and preschoolers thought. Sleep looks very different at every stage so I adjust my strategies depending on the age of the child. I don’t believe in sleep training newborns so that is definitely not the focus there. However, there are lots of things I can teach and guide new parents through to help them set up a strong sleep foundation for their newborn without sleep training or lots of crying. Infants tend to need help learning to go into their crib awake and initiate their own sleep; then eventually sleeping through the night without things like rocking, bouncing, feeding back to sleep, bedsharing (when parents don’t want to), etc. Once a baby is 6 months, they are likely ready and capable to learn these independent skills. For older children, either in a crib or in a bed, I’m often helping parents understand the importance of boundaries around sleep. When its time to go to bed, what can be expected during the bedtime routine, and then when is bedtime over and the parents’ job is done– as kiddos are often not ready for it to be done! Then there are lots of toddlers and older children who cannot make it through their night without needed visits or help from their parents so I help with strategies to get them there.
I specialize in helping children learn to fall asleep and stay asleep without unnecessary help from their parents; both at bedtime, overnight, and for naps. I also ensure that parents are taught safe sleep guidelines, how to create the perfect sleep environment, and what gets in the way of good sleep for children.
I believe I’m known for a few things… I am not a hard core, no compassion type of sleep coach. I approach parents with compassion, understanding of their situation and why they’ve made certain decisions, and there’s no judgement or guilt allowed with my families. I know parenting is hard and sometimes we do what’s easiest in the moment. I am known for flexibility in my approaches. I will always make my best recommendation to a family with what sleep training approach I think will work best, when overnight feedings should stay or go away, what a schedule should look like, etc. But I always pride myself on listening closely to the parents to understand what is most important to THEM and what is their biggest worry or fear when it comes to sleep training so I can help to educate and support them so THEY also believe this is the best approach to use. I also have a special place in my heart for working with moms who suffer with postpartum mood disorders (postpartum anxiety, depression, etc.). I lived through postpartum anxiety myself and so I know how hard that can make things as a new parent. I take special care of these mamas and I love it.
What sets me apart from other sleep coaches is 1. My experience. I’ve been sleep coaching for almost 15 years. I was the first sleep coach in Minnesota. I have seen everything! And I know what is needed to make sleep better. I also know really well how to take care of the parents during this process 2. I don’t just write a sleep plan and check in with my families every so often. I take great pride in how I care for my families throughout the process. Checking in with them every day, making additional recommendations, troubleshooting with them as my partner in crime when things aren’t going easy. I even will stay up most of the night on the first night of their sleep training so I can be there virtually with them from bedtime forward to ensure their first night goes well.
Brandwise I am most proud that people here in MN know my name and that the majority of my new clients come from previous families I’ve worked with here in MN and across the country. I love that I have “pockets” of clients from cities like Tampa, Los Angeles, Des Moines, etc because those mamas know how to spread the word to their communities when they find something valuable! Today, I do not pay anything for marketing or advertising. Its word of mouth, Google searches, and a little bit of social media.
When a family is looking for sleep help, I like to start with a complimentary “sleep discovery call” called a Let’s Get Acquainted call. Its a 20-30 minute scheduled phone call that allows me to hear their story, understand their pain points, start to craft a solution in my head while I’m listening. I always have more questions for them during this call so I can get a thorough assessment of what they need from me. From there I have several sleep packages that vary in the length of time we work together, and what my support will look like. Many first time parents benefit from a longer time together and with more support — hence the first night of sleep support I provide. This gives them the confidence to keep going, to be reassured that the sleep training will be effective, and that they are providing an incredible learning for their child. Other parents who may be on child 2, 3, or 4 and have done sleep training previously, either with me or on their own, may only need my Basic package. When we finish that first call I am ready to make my thorough recommendation to them not only on which package is the best fit but also clearly explaining to them what they can expect as outcomes. Often times parents may laugh at me when I say “Your baby will be sleeping 11-12 hours overnight completely on their own.” They just can’t believe its possible! And I can’t count the times moms have started to cry on the phone when they hear that this is possible.
Its also important to know that everything I do is virtual. So you don’t need me to come into your home or meet you anywhere. We do everything over the phone, email, and a specialized sleep app created for sleep coaches.
I’ve also created really interesting partnerships over the years with organizations of all sizes. These organizations have learned that when children sleep well, parents also sleep well, and that leads to more productive and happy employees! So these smart companies have partnered with me to cover the cost of my sleep services as a benefit to their employees. 100% free sleep services to any employee who needs it! Its an amazing partnership.
How do you define success?
In the beginning I was really good at telling a parent what I thought their goals are and what we would work to accomplish together. But over time I realized my goals aren’t necessarily their goals so I learned to listen to what is most important to them. I used to believe that once your baby hit 4 months old, overnight feedings should be gone completely and that’s what parents would want also. But what I really learned is that parents don’t necessarily mind feeding their baby in the middle of the night as long as their baby will go back to sleep easily after the feeding is over.
So success to me means listening carefully to the parents from the onset of our time together to understand what is important to THEM; what does success look for THEM. I may believe a 9 month old should be sleeping 12 hours overnight but the parents just want a solid 5-hour stretch of sleep and they will be satisfied! Now, I will explain to them that their baby is 100% capable of sleeping 12 hours; if they’d like to try and achieve that with me. 🙂 This is usually when the tears of joy start to flow!
Success to me also means that I’ve helped parents in making one part of their important job as a parent easier. There are so many things as parents that we stress and worry about; sleep doesn’t have to be one of those. So I like to eliminate the worry of sleep for them so they can put their energy elsewhere.
Lastly, success for the child means to me that they can go into their place of sleep (crib, bed, etc.) and be OK being their on their own and sleeping; knowing that their parents will come back and get them again when sleep is done. I love seeing how the PARENTS benefit when their child is sleeping well. They get the sleep they need, they enjoy the bedtime process more with their child, they get some much needed time to themselves in the evening because bedtime isn’t taking an hour or more. And I love when parents say they were able to spend the evening together with their spouse/partner or even get a babysitter so they can go on a date. That to me is hugely successful!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tendertransitionsmn.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tendertransitionssleep/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tendertransitions
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leannlatus/
