While our goal at South Austin Moms is to give moms the gift of time, Bethany Allen’s goal is just as important: giving moms the gift of sleep! I have been blessed to sit down, or stand while our kids run circles around us, and chat with Bethany numerous times as her business, Dream On, Babies, has grown. (Go ahead and click the link if you need to, new mommas! I won’t be offended) This woman has a heart of gold and a wonderful family behind her as she chases her dream: giving parents and their babies sweet dreams!
Where are you from originally and how long have you lived in town?
I am originally from Phoenix, AZ. I moved to College Station, TX when I was in 2nd grade and
lived there until I graduated high school. Upon graduating, I moved to Austin for 2 years, then
back to College Station for 2 years, New York City for a short summer (wished it was longer!),
and then back to Austin. I’ve now lived in Austin a total of 15 years.
Child(ren) and Age(s)?
Amaris: 8 years
Elliana: 5 years
Micaiah: 4 years
Keziah: 1 1/2 years
One thing people would be surprised to know about you…
-I LOVE natural birth (I know, I know, weird). All four of my babies were born at home and
natural. It’s the most challenging, difficult experience I have ever had, yet the richest moments
of my life. During pregnancy, I have different goals for my laboring experience and very
strangely look forward to when I go into labor (though I must admit, every time it’s “go time” I
also ask myself why the heck a chose a natural birth!).
-Another random thing: when I moved to Texas, I made a pact (with my 6 brothers and sisters)
that we would never say “ya’ll”, never listen to country music, and never go to Texas A&M (I
totally failed at the y’all part, only “kinda failed at the listening to country music, which was a
short season in high school, and definitely succeeded in not attending Texas A&M..though
several brothers LOVE the Aggies and both sisters graduated from there I made it out
untouched)
What is your favorite thing about living here?
-Ummm. Probably my favorite thing is the people. I feel like Austin culture is very
authentic. I genuinely value this particular character trait, and relish in the benefits of
being among people who also see the importance and benefits of embracing who “you”
are and figuring out how to love people with blemish (since we all are have
imperfections).
What do you love to do with your family around town?
-I’m kind of a foodie. So probably my favorite thing is to find good food/drinks that also is
very kid friendly; our family loves spending time with other friends and their kids, so we
often find ourselves somewhere outside enjoying the sunshine, eating and enjoying lots
of laughs
-Our family LOVES going to the downtown library and often find ourselves making a day
out of it
-We love going on nature walks around town, searching for things we are learning about
that we may not typically notice
-We just started camping (Austin and the surrounding areas) and LOVE it. I never
thought we would be a camping family (tent and all!), but we are finding how close it
brings us together as a family-being able to turn off cell phones and computers and
other distractions, and just “be” and “explore” (and we LOVE going with friends too!)
Tell us about your business and how it came to be, what you love about it, what makes
it unique…
-My background is in social work from Texas State. I was a later college student and
already married when I was finishing my undergrad. My last semester in school we were
gifted with a surprise pregnancy; when I walked the stage at Texas State, I was 9
months pregnant and had my first baby 4ish weeks later. It was a goal for me to stay
home with my baby at that time, while still finding a way to bring in a little income in for
my family. Prior to graduating, I worked as a nanny for several years (for individual
families and also sitting services for a couple of big nanny agencies in Austin),
compiling a variety of experiences with children and babies of all ages, and having the
opportunity to work in hundreds of people’s homes in the Austin area. I soon connected
with a good friend who worked for a birth and postpartum group who were in need of
hiring some postpartum doulas. Considering my prior experience, this ended up being a
great fit for my season in life. I naturally began being the postpartum doula who was
sent to new mamas whose babies “didn’t sleep” to help them. I began doing unofficial
sleep consulting with new moms (I actually didn’t even know this field existed at the
time) on top of teaching sleep classes to expecting and new moms. Time went by, I
became a birth doula as well, and then began working with families officially in “sleep
consulting” through ATX Doulas. Life got busier, I continued having children and trying
to keep up with being a sleep consultant, birth doula and postpartum doula. Eventually, I
decided to take a leap of faith and branch out and start my own sleep consulting
business. Though I loved supporting moms in the capacity of birth and immediate
postpartum help, I began to recognize the joy I received by assisting, coaching,
teaching and encouraging moms (with different ages of babies/toddlers) in how to
create and maintain an atmosphere and environment where people are at their best
because they are well rested (thus, creating really happy babies, which we all love!). I
find deep satisfaction in working with new moms as they transition to motherhood or
even transition from one to two kids (or more). Motherhood, to me, is one of the richest
parts of my life. I am able to be the best I can be as a mother, wife, friend, sister and
even a sleep consultant when I am getting sleep. I know it is the same for every other
person; we function SO much better with sleep! I feel honored to be a person who can
help assist in that and truly believe that families are changed with that simple gift.
One unique aspect of Dream On, Babies that not many sleep consultants offer is working
with moms on an ongoing basis whose babies are under 4 months. This is one of my
favorite things because many people believe there is nothing you can do early on to
encourage a good sleeper (they just tell you to suffer through and expect not to sleep!).
Yet, in fact, there is! There are many things you can do! I absolutely love coming along
side mamas with newborns to show them what we can do week to week to encourage
good little sleepers!
Are you involved in anything else within the community?
-As far as volunteer work, no. I have lots of goals for that of course. If I had the extra
time, I would be spending it with refugees in the Austin area. I homeschool my kids
during the day, schedule work calls and meet with with new clients in the afternoon, and
cook dinner and read bedtime stories to my kids in the evening. My door is always open
to anyone who shows up though (and many people do); and I promise if you show up at
my door, I will welcome you in and have something delicious for you to eat and drink!
How has this community been instrumental in getting you to where you are now?
-The owners of ATX Doulas (Amy Nevland, Cary Burtt and Tif Greening) I will be forever grateful
for. They believed enough in me to take a chance, allowing me to begin my sleep consulting
career under their leadership. I also could not have done this without an incredible, supportive
husband, who ebbs and flows as needed, and encourages and believes in me by cheering me
on and taking on added responsibility as needed to allow me time to work.
