Hello, my name is Ilaria

I am the founder of Learn Sleep Grow, and I am an experienced, patient, and affectionate nanny, maternity practitioner, and infant sleep coach.

My path started when the first of my nieces and nephews was born: I was only 17 years old, I deeply adored her, and I enjoyed her company immensely. I was a babysitter throughout high school and university and like most of children, I had a great passion for dinosaurs and shells which led me to become a geologist. I graduated from University College London, with a MSc degree in “Geoscience”, and I worked with children in a Museum of Palaeontology, where my responsibilities mainly included the organisation of educational activities for children of different ages regarding geological matters.

After this amazing experience, I moved to London, and I started to work as a nanny, and then I enhanced my career by becoming a certified maternity practitioner, passionate in working with young children and their families, with whom I created very close relationships. I loved following the growth of babies and toddlers, giving my best in being responsible of their early years development.

BEING A MUM

Across a 15 years career, I have worked with families in different settings and services, caring for children of all ages and varying temperaments, and I am now the proud mum of a lovely little girl, Alice.

During the first weeks of her life, she really pushed me over the edge with sleep. She used to wake multiple times each night, she didn’t stop crying without a feed or didn’t settle unless in my arms. Early in the morning she was wide awake, while I was exhausted and I couldn’t even count on a rest during the day because her naps were all over the place too. It is so different when you work with your own child, no matter how prepared you are, it looks never enough. I found myself crying along her in the middle of the night, wondering how I could cope until morning, when I felt completely shattered crying on a cold cup of coffee.

Sleep deprivation put me in a mental and emotional state that made me lose control completely, it affected my relationship and social life, leading my partner and I to more arguments, sniping and tension. I couldn’t help shouting at my parents, friends, colleagues, who gave me (often unrequested) advice, feeling even more anxious and stressed.

I felt lost, but I was really determined not to be defeated by my lack of confidence, and to find a way to get our life and our happiness back.

During my maternity leave, I invested a lot of time and effort in studying sleep science to support my baby and help her (and us) sleep better. I was very happy to understand so much more about the science behind how babies and children sleep, and about the amazing benefits of a long and restorative sleep (for children and adults).

Learning about sleep was life-changing for my family and I became a Certified Sleep Coach to prevent other families from feeling as lost as I did, and through my own expanding knowledge and expertise, I am now able to support many little ones in their journey towards a good night of sleep.

I work along with the parents as a team, and together we find the sleep solution that best suits them and their children, achieving realistic sleep goals which improve everyone's well-being.