I had the pleasure of meeting Christie a couple of months ago and was excited to chat with her! My background is in nursing, and my heart is in the NICU, so I was excited to talk a little bit of shop with her, as well as hear about her awesome new venture she had started. It doesn’t get much better than having an experience NICU nurse to help guide the course of parenting a new baby!
My name is Christie. My husband Jeff and I have been married 10 years and have 2 children, Owen 7 years old and Emmy 2 years old. We have moved a few times for my husbands job but have been calling Davidson NC home for the last 5 years. I have been a Neonatal ICU nurse since graduating nursing school in 2005. Helping the sickest and tiniest babies has always been a passion of mine! I trained with Moms on Call out of Atlanta in 2014 and then started my business.
Shortly after my daughter was born prematurely in 2013 I quit my nursing job at the hospital and stayed home to raise the kids. Not long after that I realized that I missed working but was not ready to go back to working 12 hour night shifts, holidays and weekends. I was talking to a friend of mine and she suggested since I answer everyones baby questions that I should train with Moms on Call out of Atlanta and start my own baby consulting company.
I wanted the name of my company to simply state what the company did. As “The Baby Pro”, I am your go to person when you have questions about sleep, scheduling, feeding, developmental milestones etc for your baby.
Through my consultations my goal is to give parents the knowledge and confidence needed to raise new babies. The in-home consult includes a 2 to 3 hour consult in the client’s home. We discuss everything from how to really do a bath, to what to do for fever, congestion, diaper rash etc. We go over feedings, typical days (with times) through 6 months. I go over a specific nighttime routine to get babies sleeping through the night sooner as opposed to later. (usually between 8-12 weeks). The consults are relaxed and fun and will give you that confidence that is so helpful when you are raising a new baby. I also offer sleep training consults for babies who are over 12 weeks and over 12 pounds. We discuss the current sleep situation, establishing a good daytime schedule that promotes good night time sleep and everything needed for you to implement sleep training at home. For my in home and sleep training consults I follow the Moms on Call books and use the Moms on Call swaddle blanket. I am the owner of the company and I also personally perform all the consultations.
I work from home.
Unless I have a consultation during the day I am mommy all day, and sneak in answering emails when I find a moment. I do the majority of my work while my daughter is at preschool or the kids are sleeping for the night.
I feel the best aspect of having my own business is the flexibility. I love working part time and being able to balance being with my kids and volunteering at school with them.
As a nurse I never took any business classes in college. So by far I would say the hardest part of running my own business is the marketing and business aspect of it.
Long term I would like to see the in home consultation side of my business grow. They are my favorite part of the business. It is so rewarding to give parents the knowledge and confidence to raise their babies and start them out with great sleep habits!
I used to be very crafty and scrapbook and knit, but with 2 kids and running a business I rarely find time for those hobbies anymore. As a family we love spending time boating on Lake Norman.
I don’t know if this would be considered a household product, but I could not live without my Emily Ley Daily Planner. I use it to run my life and business and would be completely lost without it! These days I can’t remember anything if I haven’t written it down!
Jeans…I live in them pretty much everyday!
My first job was at an ice cream shop in St. Louis called Doozles.
I would love to meet Ellen. I think she is very funny and love how she promotes kindness to everyone.
Sadly, it was a book Called One More Time by Amy McCready. It is about using positive parenting. I wish I had time to read more pleasurable books, but I use my free time to read parenting books! As much as I know about babies, I am clueless about raising a 7 year old! To the parenting section of Barnes and Noble I go!
When trying to balance starting a business with raising a family, the business will take much longer than you expect to get up and running! I would advise reaching out to business partners and trying to market together to get the word out about complimentary businesses.
Chrissy Winchester Photography is an award-winning newborn, family and brand photographer. Established in 2012, her work has been published in multiple print and online publications. She has won Best Charlotte Newborn Photographer and Best Family Photographer from 2021-2024 and Best Charlotte Maternity Photography from 2022-2024.
Share:
