Cara Popping

Shop Snooze was established in 2020 by Cara Popping - mum to two gorgeous girls, certified infant and child sleep consultant, and a primary school teacher. 

I initially trained as a primary school teacher, but after reaching the depths of sleep deprivation with our first daughter and hiring a sleep consultant as a last ditch effort to improve things, I was set for a career change!  While still working full time with a 6 month old baby, I completed the sleep consultant certification through Baby Sleep Consultant Training, and was offered a job working for Baby Sleep Consultant New Zealand, who I worked for part time, while still teaching 3 days a week.

Fast forward 5 years and I am no longer teaching.  After the birth of our second daughter, I did not return to the classroom.  Instead, I dove headfirst into sleep consulting as a 'full time gig' - we all know that mumming + part time work is full time, right!? and I haven't looked back.

My job as a sleep consultant has brought me together with so many families, all experiencing sleep deprivation and all after a solution.  I often recommend products where needed - sleeping bags, nightlights, sleep trainer clocks, blackout blinds, room thermometers, heater thermostats - anything that can impact positively on each specific child's sleep!  

After stumbling across Ooly by chance, while searching for an alternative sleep trainer clock for our daughter than those available in New Zealand, I was excited to have found a clock to use that looked durable, functional and most importantly, didn't glow blue overnight!

Ooly arrived and we transitioned our daughter out of her cot and into a big bed without a hitch, which I put down to the fact that Ooly was so simple to understand.  We had quietly prepared ourselves for a few nights of returning her to bed, until the novelty had worn off, but (touch wood!!) not a single return was needed.

I saw an opportunity to introduce this fantastic product to the New Zealand market, and Shop Snooze has grown from there.  I have a passion for helping families to improve their sleep situation, in both my sleep consultant role, and by curating a range of products I routinely recommend to my clients.

If you are struggling with your child's sleep, I will be able to honestly advise you as to whether or not the product you are hoping will change things, actually will or not!  I'd love to hear from you if you have any questions or concerns, and I can most certainly point you in the right direction if the concerns you have regarding your child's sleep cannot be solved by a sleep aid.