Jen Tietjen

Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Certified Gentle Sleep Coach, Founder of Your Village STL

Sleep impacts every single aspect of your health and wellbeing as a family. Sleep disruption can impact our children at any age starting in infancy through adolescence. I will navigate these sleep concerns with you as a family to help everyone become better rested!

Hi! My name is Jen and I’m a mom to two beautiful little girls who continue to teach me valuable lessons daily! They both have some special needs that keep me on my toes. I became passionate about serving families in the early years of parenting during my own struggles with breastfeeding, postpartum anxiety and childhood sleep difficulties. As a result, I have so much empathy for families navigating these difficult years. When I’m not working, I enjoy spending time outdoors with my girls, anything animal related (zoo, Grant’s Farm, Gentle Barn), yoga, playing with my cat and dog, and traveling.

I completed my undergraduate degree in Nursing at Valparaiso University and went on to start my nursing career in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Mercy Children’s in St. Louis. I then completed my Masters of Science in Nursing at Saint Louis University to become a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP). I began my career as a PNP working at Mercy Children’s in Kansas City in their Pediatric Sleep Clinic. After moving back to St. Louis, I worked several years in Pediatric Primary Care. I have also completed additional education, becoming a Certified Lactation Counselor, a Certified Gentle Sleep Coach and being certified in Perinatal Mental health. I consider the whole child and family system when making recommendations. I always start by really taking the time to sit down and LISTEN to your story!

I will encourage you to listen to your intuition because you know what is right for you and your family!

My Specialties

As a Pediatric Nurse Pracitioner with over 15 years of pediatric experience, I specialize in sleep issues including:

  • Short naps and early rising

  • Difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep

  • Prolonged night wakings

  • Fussy infants/GI concerns

  • Sleep difficulties as they relate to breastfeeding

  • Restless sleep including Periodic Limb Movement Disorder and Restless Leg Syndrome

  • Identifying sleep disordered breathing and making the appropriate referrals

  • Children and Teens with nighttime fears

  • Children and Teens with Insomnia

  • Children and Teens with difficulty sleeping independently

  • Children with ADHD, Autism, and Sensory Processing Disorder

What To Expect

During our initial visit, I will support you to feel safe and heard as I listen to your goals, family details, and what is most important to you. I love to hear your child’s story - how did you get here? I know this story is so important to reaching an understanding of what would be a good plan that is mutually agreed upon for your family. During this visit, we will review all things sleep to explore how to maximize sleep. Sometimes it can be so comforting to have reassurance that behaviors are normal (or not) and what you can expect moving forward. I like to help set reasonable expectations and help maximize support plans. I will also help empower you to advocate as needed with other medical professionals involved in the care of your little one. I often give some initial homework at the first visit depending on the situation: lab work, small changes to work on, books and concepts to introduce. The initial visit usually lasts approximately 60-75 minutes.

Our first follow-up session will focus on a customized plan given the information I collected at the initial visit. I spend time going through this plan, providing education, and answering any questions or concerns that come up. This follow-up visit typically lasts 30-60 minutes depending on the complexity.

I like to follow-up in person or virtually on a weekly basis to check in and see how implementation of the plan is going. I also offer daily diary review/messaging support at the rate of $50/week (not covered by insurance).

For your convenience, after our initial session, follow-up sessions can be in person or virtual. Clients are always free to choose the pace and frequency of our sessions based on what feels most helpful and supportive to them.

Now accepting:

Is your family struggling to get a good night’s rest? Let me be a part of your village!

Have more questions?