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The Secret to Infant Sleep with Melissa Gersin


The Secret to dreamy Infant Sleep with Melissa Gersin


Hey Tranquility Tribe!  Welcome to this week’s episode of the Tranquility Tribe podcast!  In this episode, Hehe speaks to Melissa Gersin, a maternity nurse with over six years of experience and the creator of Tranquilo Mat.

About Melissa

Through her experience as a maternity nurse, Melissa has developed a strong passion for soothing crying babies.  Melissa has undergone multiple trainings on calming little ones, including Happiest Baby training and Infant Crying Specialist training through the Department of Public Health.  All of this knowledge has allowed her to teach many of the colleagues and families that she works with about the techniques that she has learned, and has also earned her the nickname of “baby whisperer.”

Melissa came up with her product when she was about three years into her practice.  Late one night, she found herself alone at work with three crying babies (and only two hands!).  While she managed to soothe all three little ones, she realized that there must be an easier, more versatile, and less exhausting way to apply her calming techniques.

The Tranquilo Mat

And that’s when she came up with the Tranquilo Mat, a portable mat with various settings that are meant to soothe babies by mimicking the environment of the womb.  Melissa describes the mat as similar to a yoga mat, but thicker.  It comes in two sizes – the smaller size is roughly the size of a piece of paper, while the larger size is about two-and-a-half times bigger.  There are multiple settings, including very slow, slow, medium, and fast vibrations and slow and fast heartbeat that can be set to shut off after one hour or run continuously.  The Tranquilo Mat runs on batteries and can last for around 60 hours at a time. 

As Melissa points out, the mat is primarily useful for children between zero and six months because at this age, tiny humans have little autonomy or ability to self-soothe and often cry for no real reason.  However, the Tranquilo Mat can really be used for any age, from babyhood all the way up to adulthood!  Melissa has been amazed at the countless uses that the families that buy her mat have come up with.  Thanks to the mat’s portability and multiple settings, the possibilities are truly endless!

The Tranquilo Mat can be used to address many different issues that tiny humans may have with sleep.  One of the most common problems that the mat can help with is the transition from arms to crib – if you’ve ever tried to put a little one down for a nap, you’ve probably experienced the frustration of them fussing as soon as they leave your arms!  One of the great things about the Tranquilo Mat is that it can be molded however you want, so you can hold your tiny human with the mat and then use it for an easy transition to their bassinet or crib when it’s time for them to go to sleep.

As Melissa points out, the Tranquilo Mat can also help with naptime on-the-go – just stick it in the car seat or your diaper bag, and you’ll be able to use it to soothe your tiny human no matter where you are!  The mat is also helpful to induce a calming response in colicky babies; colic can cause your little one to cry uncontrollably, which can be frustrating and exhausting and can even affect bonding between you are your tiny human.  By recreating a womb environment, the Tranquilo Mat can help soothe your baby and give you some much-needed time to rest.

Some other uses that Tranquilo Mat users have found for the mat is to decrease fussiness during doctors’ appointments (especially on vaccination days) or when your tiny human is teething, has gas, or is feeling sick.  The Tranquilo Mat has also been used to help with period cramps, indigestion, pain, anxiety, or trouble sleeping in older kids and adults.  While everyone will have different experiences with their new little ones, the versatility of this mat makes it likely that you will be able to find at least one impactful use for it!

If you would like to learn more about Melissa and the Tranquilo Mat, visit tranquilomat.com or find her on Facebook at Tranquilo Mat or on Instagram at @tranquilomat.  Melissa also posts educational videos and funny pick-me-up posts, so be sure to check it out!  And if you are thinking about investing in a Tranquilo Mat, Melissa is offering a 10% discount for all listeners – just use the code Sleep10!

Don’t forget to join our private Facebook, The Tranquility Tribe Podcast, and follow us on Instagram at @tranquilitybyhehe!

"Welcome to the Tranquility Tribe"



Written by our Guest Blogger, Kyra Shreeve. She is a Biochemistry, Health Policy, and Music student at Brandeis University. 


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