Meet A Mom, Ashley Rizzo
Owner, Well Rested Baby
Where did you grow up and how did you find your way to Ridgefield, CT?
I grew up the youngest of four in Lakewood, Ohio, a suburb on the west side of Cleveland. I adore where I am from, but after college I was eager to get to New York City with my fashion marketing degree. The next thing I know, here I am in Ridgefield with four kids and a minivan. We have been in town for two years and we absolutely love it.
As a certified pediatric sleep consultant you must have tons of experience with children…tell us about your little ones!
I have two sets of twins and no, twins do not run in our family! Our first set of twins was conceived via IVF after three years of struggling with infertility. We thought we couldn’t get any luckier! Then just 9 months later we discovered we were pregnant again – the single embryo we had transferred had stuck! Keeping it company, another little one, miraculously conceived naturally at the exact same time. Three girls, one boy, all miracles each in their own way!
What are your favorite things to do with your family when you are not working?
As a family we love getting outdoors and taking advantage of all the local paths and parks – Weir Farms, The Garden of Ideas, and Merwin Meadows are some of our favorites. I’m also a sucker for baking with my kids and doing anything creative. When it comes to me time, I like to keep things calm – reading, yoga, and of course, sleep!
Tell us more about Well Rested Baby & how you started this miraculous business of giving parents the gift of sleep?!
Well Rested Baby was a well-timed opportunity that I view as my journey through motherhood coming full circle. When I discovered I was pregnant with my first set of twins I worried that my favorite pastime, sleep, was to be no more. I devoured every book on baby sleep I could get my hands on because, no way was this mom not sleeping. I applied what I learned and by introducing healthy sleep habits from the beginning I was able to avoid sleep training all together. Not only that, but life with twins was pretty, dare I say, easy with two well-rested little ones. I knew my dedication to my family’s sleep was what made our life low stress and enjoyable. I wanted to share that gift, that magic, with as many moms as possible so I enrolled to be a certified pediatric sleep consultant through the Family Sleep Institute. Well, you as you know I got pregnant with twins…again. I hit pause on my dreams, grew heathy sleepers, and jumped back into the sleep game! When I was offered a position at Well Rested Baby I knew I had to snatch up the opportunity. The chance to empower parents to take back nap time, bedtime, and their nights on that level was exactly what my heart was pulling me towards. As my twins grew (they are now three and four) and I found myself with time to explore and invest in myself (which I highly recommend doing regardless of your child’s age) I felt a need to reach more moms and tell them, “we do not need to accept tired as the status quo! You can invest in your family’s wellness and be the best version of yourselves with just a little sleep.” Shortly after I was offered the opportunity to purchase Well Rested Baby, a sleep consulting practice with 7 years experience. That kind of opportunity doesn’t fall in your lap everyday and again I felt that pull to share the power of sleep, but on a much grander scale. Now I have the opportunity to invest in myself and a passion of mine that runs deep – supporting tired, frustrated moms. All moms regardless of their parenting style deserve sleep and now I can help them develop a unique plan that speaks to them and support them as they discover the magic of sleep first hand. Even expectant and new parents can take those gentle and early steps to take back their sleep!
How have women in Ridgefield inspired you?
Have you met the moms around town? They’re amazing and such a melting pot of all that moms have to offer. There are working moms (full time, part time, those with side huddles) that inspired me to dump the mom guilt (Mom-guilt, why does no one warn you about mom-guilt?) and follow my heart to put in the work. There are the moms that meet to run, walk, or take a class together. They taught me it’s ok to invest in me. There are the moms that bake, run marathons, crochet, play a sport, you name it, that share their successes. They inspired me to invest in my passion. Then there are my friends, my incredible friends (a sampling of all the mama types) that made me believe in myself. The mamas in Ridgefield are amongst the best and I’m honored to have the opportunity to work with them and the most precious things in their lives, their children.
