About Us
We're Parents, Professionals & Experts Who Get It
Bringing a baby home is the most extraordinary thing you'll ever do. And also, if we're being honest with you — one of the hardest.
Everything is new. Everything changes. Sleep schedules shift without warning, emotions run high, and no matter how much you read or how much family advice you receive, you still find yourself at 3 AM wondering if you're doing it right.
Here's what we've learned: family and friends have the absolute best intentions. They'll show up with tiny onesies, loud rattles, and a mountain of unsolicited advice. But what they often miss — what almost everyone misses — is the specific, practical, compassionate support you actually need in those earliest, most overwhelming days.
That's why Kidz Under Construction exists.
We're a team of certified consultants, nurses, coaches, and postpartum specialists who've been exactly where you are. We know what it feels like to be sleep-deprived, unsure, and desperately searching for answers that don't feel one-size-fits-all. We built this space because every parent deserves real guidance, grounded in evidence, delivered with warmth — and tailored to your baby, your family, and your values.
Our Journey: From Classrooms to Cribs
Every great team has an origin story. Ours didn't begin in a boardroom — it began in the trenches of parenthood, hospital wards, therapy rooms, and yes, more than a few sleepless nights.
It started with Barbara, our founder, who spent her early career as a teacher in Catholic schools and with Christian missionary programs, nurturing children at their most formative stages. Long before she ever became a sleep consultant, she was in classrooms watching how children learn, communicate, and grow — noticing how deeply early experiences shape a child's sense of safety and belonging. That time as an educator didn't just give her skills; it lit a fire of curiosity about child development that never went out.
When Barbara became a mother herself, that curiosity became personal. She found herself drowning in the same fog of sleeplessness and uncertainty that every new parent knows. She dove into research, discovered gentle, evidence-based approaches to sleep and infant communication, and realized that the gap between what parents needed to know and what they were actually being told was enormous.
She became certified. She started teaching. And slowly, she began building something bigger than herself — a team of experts who each brought a different, vital piece of the puzzle.
Mary came with years of frontline NICU experience at Children's Hospital Colorado, having held the tiniest, most fragile newborns and supported the families who loved them through moments of incredible fear and hope. Dolly arrived from a different direction entirely — a mother of three in the Pacific Northwest who had lived through every variation of infant sleep struggle and found her calling in holistic, responsive approaches that honor the whole child and whole family. And Nancy brought the piece that so often gets left out of the conversation: the mental health of parents themselves, bridging her clinical training as a Perinatal Mental Health Provider with the grounded wisdom of a postpartum doula.
Together, we don't just cover infant sleep. We cover you — the full, messy, beautiful picture of early parenthood.
Meet the Team
Barbara Ross
Founder, Certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant & Sign2Me Instructor
Boulder, Colorado
Barbara is the heart of Kidz Under Construction, based in Boulder, Colorado, where she lives with her husband Michael and their three children Emma, Jacob, and Sophia (plus Cooper, their very energetic golden retriever).
Before she became a sleep consultant, Barbara's path began in education — teaching in Catholic schools and working with Christian missionary programs, spending years surrounded by children at their most curious and formative stages. That work gave her an early, intimate understanding of child development that she carried with her long after she left the classroom.
When her daughter Emma was born, Barbara channeled that educator's instinct into finding real answers for real sleep struggles. She discovered gentle, evidence-based methods and fell in love with the work of Elizabeth Pantley. Around the same time, she discovered baby sign language — and watching Emma's frustration dissolve the moment she could sign "milk" and "more" changed everything. Barbara saw, firsthand, how communication and sleep are deeply connected.
In 2013 she became a certified Sign2Me Instructor, teaching baby sign language to thousands of families across the Colorado Front Range — at libraries, pediatric offices, hospitals, and community centers. She later deepened her expertise by becoming a certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant through the Pediatric Sleep Parenting Institute, and today she holds a degree in Early Childhood Education from the University of Colorado Boulder.
At Kidz Under Construction, Barbara brings together everything she's learned over 12+ years supporting families: that when babies can communicate their needs, they cry less, feel understood, and sleep more peacefully — and when they sleep well, they have the energy to learn and grow. One good night and one little signed word at a time.
Mary Whitcomb
BSN, RN, NRP | Former NICU Specialist
Colorado
Mary Whitcomb spent four years providing hands-on bedside care in a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Children's Hospital Colorado — caring for premature and critically ill newborns, managing advanced monitoring equipment, and supporting families through some of the most frightening moments of their lives.
That experience gave Mary something no certification alone can provide: a deep, clinical understanding of infant physiology, safe sleep practice in real medical settings, and the reality of what parents face when their babies need extra care.
After transitioning from hospital nursing to parent education, Mary now uses her NICU background to create clear, evidence-based content that cuts through the noise. Her expertise brings exceptional credibility to topics like baby monitors, wearables, sleep safety, and early infant care — helping parents make decisions grounded in real medical knowledge rather than marketing.
Dolly Gothard
Holistic Sleep Coach, Mother of Three
Pacific Northwest
Dolly Gothard lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband Alex and their three children: Maya, Theo, and little Nora. She is the kind of person who believes slow mornings, forest walks, and a warm cup of herbal tea can solve a surprising number of problems — but she also knows that when you're deep in infant sleep deprivation, you need more than a calm atmosphere.
Dolly's path to holistic sleep coaching came through lived experience, not just training. Each of her three children had completely different sleep personalities and needs. Maya was a sensitive, high-alert baby who needed constant closeness. Theo had reflux that made every sleep transition feel impossible. Nora — her third — taught Dolly that even the same family looks different the second and third time around.
Feeling torn between rigid schedules and her instinct to stay responsive and connected, Dolly discovered the work of Lyndsey Hookway and completed her globally respected Holistic Sleep Coaching Program. Today she works with families looking for alternatives to cry-it-out methods — especially those with sensitive or spirited babies, breastfeeding parents, families who bedshare, and parents carrying the weight of anxiety, birth trauma, or sheer exhaustion.
She writes for Kidz Under Construction with one goal: to help parents feel seen, supported, and equipped — because when children feel safe and connected, everyone sleeps a little better.
Nancy B. Urbina
PMH-C, Certified Postpartum Doula
Nancy B. Urbina holds the PMH-C credential — the gold-standard certification in perinatal mental health, granted by Postpartum Support International — alongside her certification as a Postpartum Doula through Childbirth International. She is also a mother of two, which means her clinical knowledge is always grounded in the real, unfiltered experience of early parenthood.
Nancy brings to our team the piece that most baby content forgets entirely: your mental health. The first twelve weeks after birth — what's often called the fourth trimester — are when babies naturally wake frequently and sleep erratically, and when parents face the kind of sleep deprivation that can significantly worsen anxiety, depression, and emotional dysregulation.
Her writing helps parents understand what's normal, what's a sign they need more support, and how to protect their own well-being while caring for a newborn — without shame, and without the pressure to "fix" everything immediately. At Kidz Under Construction, Nancy covers the 0–12 week period with both clinical precision and deep human empathy.
What We Believe
We believe there is no single right way to raise a child — and we've built this site to reflect that. Our team covers a full spectrum of approaches: from structured, behavioral sleep methods to gentle, connection-first philosophies. We share honestly. We let you choose.
What we will never do is make you feel like you're failing. Because you're not. You're building something extraordinary, one day at a time.
Every child is under construction. And so is every parent.
We're here for all of it.