Amber's journey with childcare...

The Neighborhood's Favorite Babysitter

Starting out as the neighborhood's favorite baby sitter, it was apparent that Amber had a way with children... At the age of 15, parents in her community could see the level of responsibility Amber brought to her work and felt at ease in trusting her with their most precious little ones. As she began to serve more and more families, her calling as a child care professional became increasingly clear. 

Her training in child care began when she took a course in babysitting and became certified in CPR at her local YMCA. It was through the YMCA summer camp program that Amber grew her skills in managing and entertaining groups of children between the age of 4 and 6 years old. By her sophomore year she was consistently providing after-school care for two boys, ages 5 and 2, for a working mother, on top of her revolving weekend date night babysitting schedule.

At 16 years old Amber had the opportunity to care for her first baby. Bryce was a sweet, 4 month old little boy. This was Amber’s first experience providing full-time care for a such a young baby and she loved every minute of it. Every aspect of daily life for Bryce was provided for with great care under the guidance of his loving parents Lisa and Michael. She enjoyed learning about the introduction of solid foods and breastfeeding from Lisa who is a renal dietician. What Amber enjoyed most was watching Bryce grow and change with each stage of his development. Amber stayed with Bryce for a year before the family moved out of state.

After caring for baby Bryce, Amber was given the opportunity to care for the Bellamy girls. Madison was 6 and Alyssa was 3 when Amber began. The Bellamy family had a huge influence on shaping Amber as a nanny. Their mother, Michelle, was very intune with her daughters and taught Amber to be in tune as well.

One of Amber’s crowning achievements with the Bellamy family was helping Madison learn how to read. At 6 years old, and in the first grade, it was clear that Madison was struggling and her parents were beginning to suspect dyslexia. Having struggled with dyslexia herself, Amber set out to help Madison. The approach was, "Let's look at the words, letters and sounds differently," and, "this is what works for me." Instead of focusing on memorizing the letters, Amber knew they had to become alive for Madison. One day when arriving at the Bellamy home it was a sweet sight to see Madison reading a picture book to her sister and the other neighborhood kids.

Amber Moves to Seattle

After graduating high school, Amber moved to Seattle in 2006 and worked as a nanny for Ritzy (5) and BB (3). The joy of her time in Seattle was being outside in the lush, green summers of the Pacific Northwest. That summer the girls were busy enjoying the programs at the library, going to the zoo, getting farm-fresh produce and fish at the market, and every other joy Seattle had to offer. Amber could have continued as the nanny for Ritzy and BB for a long time, and she happily would have, however the opportunity to become an au pair in Europe came along...

Life as a European Au Pair...

In October of 2006, at the age of 19, Amber moved to Graz, Austria to care for two little girls, Clara (6) and Lana (18 months). Both Mom and Dad were Croatian. Regular trips to Zagreb to visit grandma and grandpa and the coast during the summer months ensued.

After caring for Lana and Clara, an opportunity to provide care for an Austrian family became available. Amber stayed on in Graz to care for the Phillip family. Maximilian was 6, Nina was 4, and Baby Lea was 3 months old when Amber began.

Learning Cosmetology & Night-Time Infant Care

Upon returning from her time as a European au pair, Amber enrolled in cosmetology school, seeing that this was her opportunity to learn a skill in a highly-creative and ever-changing field. Being that her course at the Paul Mitchell School took up most of her time during the day, Amber tried her hand at night-time infant care. It was a quick and easy transition! Soothing babies and listening to their cues and needs came easily to Amber. This work became more important than the schooling Amber had recently begun, yet she still finished her course and became a licensed cosmetologist. By that time Amber had become the night nanny for the Kasperg twins.

Caring for Preemie Twins

Lyla and Annika Kasperg were born at 28 weeks. They faced all the problems preemies have to go through, including difficulty regulating body temperature, poor feeding, and slow weight-gain. Lyla came home from the NICU while she still dealt with eating apnea. While eating her bottle, Lyla’s little nervous system would become overwhelmed and shut down. After all, coordinating suckling, swallowing and breathing is a whole lot of work. Lyla would lose all animation and Amber would have to vigorously rub her sternum to revive her. This was a regular occurance those first few weeks the girls were home from the hospital, and a terrifying one at that.  At 6 months old the girls had been guided into healthy eating and sleeping habits. The eating apnea had subsided as Lyla grew and the both babies were sleeping through the night. At this time Amber transitioned to providing care for the girls during the day.

The Anderson Triplets!

It was quite serendipitous, that the Anderson triplets were born just four days after the Kasperg girls turned two. Amber had interviewed with the Andersons months prior and had planned to provide the same kind of care she had for the twins, beginning with night care and transitioning to providing care during the day. After the second go at this it was quite clear that this structure works really well for the overall health of the family. The babies have round the clock care while in the newborn and infant stage and all care providers (the parents and Amber) are well rested and ready for the job. Then once the babies have been sleep-trained, Amber became the care provider during the day and the parents can begin their return to work. Everybody wins!

The Anderson triplets were born at 35 weeks. Their complications were limited but to be expected for a multiples pregnancy. Aiden, Kellan, and Jack were bouncing baby boys who gained weight quickly and were sleep trained by four months old. From then on Amber filled their days with enrichment activities and field trips. A favorite spot was the local beach, they would discover sea shells, build sand castles, and make new friends. At about two and a half years old it was time for the boys to begin preschool. Amber helped the Anderson family find a part time care provider by reaching out to her network of nannies.

Fulfilling Work With Special Needs

The Scheckly family was one of Amber’s most challenging and fulfilling positions. Eliza, the first born, had a stroke while still in the womb, 4 weeks before birth. The stroke affected Eliza's motor skills, she was unable to, crawl, feed herself, speak. Every aspect of Eliza's daily life took extra care. Eliza was 3 when Amber began, and her little sister Breda was a newborn. Amber played the role of "mother's helper" for Tanya Scheckley. She would do everything from child care, cooking, home care, to walking the therapy dog. Though Amber had experience with disabilities like sensory processing disorders and high-functioning autism, Eliza was the most intensive and broad-spectrum care that Amber was able to provide. And thus her time with the Scheckley family was one of the most rewarding times in her career.

Training As a Postpartum Doula

The Anderson family  was Amber’s last full time and ‘typical’ nanny position, if you can call triplets typical. From here Amber focused on her training as a Postpartum Doula. She relied on her experience providing sleep training for her previous families and began to network in the community of birth professionals. Amber is represented by a few Los Angeles based agencies, and finds most of her babies through referrals from previous clients.

Thank you for taking the time to read this!

Please feel free to contact her for a free consultation. :)