Hi! I’m Barbara Ross, founder of Kidz Under Construction and a certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant and Sign2Me Instructor based in beautiful Boulder, Colorado. When I’m not guiding families through gentle sleep transformations or teaching the magic of baby sign language, you’ll find me with my husband Michael, our three children — Emma (10), Jacob (7), and Sophia (4) — and our energetic golden retriever, Cooper. I’m either hiking the stunning Front Range trails, cheering from the sidelines at soccer games and school plays, or curled up in my favorite oversized chair with a blanket. I love rainy afternoons when everyone is home, the smell of fresh banana bread in the oven, strong vanilla lattes, and those rare quiet evenings when the whole crew gathers for board games and laughter.
Since graduating from the University of Colorado Boulder with a degree in Early Childhood Education, I’ve spent the last 12 years supporting families through the incredible, exhausting, and transformative early years. My work has taken me from leading community parenting workshops and hospital newborn classes to offering private consultations focused on sleep and preverbal communication.
When my first daughter Emma was born, I was completely smitten but quickly felt overwhelmed. Those early months were a fog of unpredictable sleep, frequent night wakings, and a baby who seemed frustrated no matter what I tried. I read everything I could get my hands on and eventually discovered Elizabeth Pantley’s *The No-Cry Sleep Solution*. Her gentle, respectful approach felt like a lifeline. Around the same time, a friend introduced me to baby sign language, and everything changed. Once Emma could sign “milk,” “more,” and “all done,” her frustration dropped dramatically — and so did many of our sleep struggles. Seeing that direct connection between communication and calmer nights lit a fire in me.
In 2013, I became a certified Sign2Me Instructor through Dr. Joseph Garcia’s SIGN with your BABY® program. I launched baby sign language classes, teaching parents, grandparents, and childcare providers how to communicate with preverbal infants and toddlers using American Sign Language. I began offering workshops at local libraries, pediatric offices, community centers, and hospitals across the Front Range.
The joy on parents’ faces the first time their baby signed “I love you” never got old. To date, I’ve taught thousands of families, and I’ve developed a popular self-paced online baby sign language course so parents everywhere can learn in their own time and space. When my son Jacob arrived in 2012, I was already using signs with him from day one — and watching him sign before he could speak felt like pure magic.
By the time our youngest, Sophia, joined us in 2022, I had seen firsthand how sleep challenges and communication frustrations often travel together. I decided to deepen my expertise and became a certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant through the Pediatric Sleep Parenting Institute.
My own experiences — from Emma’s early sleep battles and Jacob’s reflux-related night wakings to Sophia’s separation anxiety phase — taught me that every child is wonderfully unique. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but there are gentle, evidence-based strategies that truly work when tailored to the child and family.
Today at KidzUnderConstruction, I combine these two passions because they beautifully reinforce each other. When babies can sign their needs, they cry less, feel understood, and often settle into sleep more easily. When children sleep well, they have the energy and focus to learn and use signs (and eventually words) more effectively. Whether families come to me for a custom sleep plan, a signing workshop, or both, my goal is always the same: to help parents feel confident, calm, and equipped.
Every child really is “under construction,” and I feel incredibly grateful to help families lay strong, loving foundations — one good night’s sleep and one little signed word at a time. If you’re in the thick of the newborn or toddler years, know this: you don’t have to figure it all out alone. I’m here to walk alongside you.