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Posts tagged support

How to navigate work life after having a baby

Written by Natasha Kitson, Maternity Mentor. Returning to work after having a baby is a journey marked by challenges, adjustments and a whole new perspective on what work-life balance truly means. I don’t believe it truly gets the recognition it deserves, and employers often expect us to work as if we haven’t just had time out to birth and raise a small human. For many new mums, this period involves navigating a complex mix of excitement and apprehension as they step back into the professional world while balancing the (often wholly demanding) needs of their new family.

BabiesRebekah Frankcom5 November 2024parenting, families, parenting tips, baby, new baby, support, primary care giver, You time, Seraphine, returning to work, maternity leave, inclusive workplace, work life balance, self care, parent network, new mum

The Fourth Trimester - the first 12 weeks with your newborn

Written by Emily Darwell, Family Consultant. The Fourth Trimester is often used to describe the time after your baby is born when you and your baby/babies are getting used to your new lives together. As with the other trimesters this is around 3 months.

There is a lot for a baby (and you) get used to in this first 3 months not least learning how to be together! This is also a time for babies to develop their senses and get used to all the noises, smells and sounds they encounter outside of the relatively quiet, dark, warm womb.

When reading the blog, particularly if you have older children, or multiples, there are lots of useful pieces of information to help you to support your baby / babies during this time, but in lots of cases it might be difficult for you to devote this time solely to your baby /babies with so many other things going on. The important thing, during these first 3 months in particular, is that you recognise that this is a period of adjustment for everyone and that your baby / babies, their siblings and your partner have plenty of love and support during these first 3 months to help make this whole transition easier for everyone.

How can we help our babies and children adjust as we come out of lockdown?

Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. It has been a long 12 months, but we are just starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel (keeping everything crossed) and the thought of being able to do things and see people again is a really exciting one. However, for our babies and children (and even some adults) this new phase is something that we need to adjust to, and this might not just be a case of ‘getting back to normal…’ in some cases we will need a plan to gradually re-introduce other people back into our lives.

Having a baby in Lockdown - by Mama Em!

Written by Emily Darwell. Becoming a mother, entering lockdown and getting to know the new norm, 2020 was quite the year for our new family! When thinking about writing this, it has made me think a lot about other families and how this past year has effected everyone individually. I want to make it clear I am aware we are all on our own journey, the saying ‘we are all in the same boat’ got thrown around a lot in 2020 and I very much disagree with it, yes we have all had challenges and it is of course affecting us all, however, our ‘boats’ are all very different!! I know I am very lucky, having a garden and living in the Yorkshire Dales which suddenly became a huge benefit of 2020 life, I think the new mum in a small flat, home schooling two older children, with zero outside space living in a city would very much agree, we are not in the same boat! Though saying this and recognising I am lucky to live where I am doesn’t mean emotionally it hasn’t taken its toll, but it has enabled me on harder days to always see that silver lining, knowing I am lucky to have what I have! As mothers we should always try to remember we are on our own parental journey, completely individual to us and our wee ones, pandemic or no pandemic - just trying to do our best with what we have and somedays just finding the energy to get to bedtime is more than enough!

Babies, LockdownRebekah Frankcom8 April 2021parenting, families, parenting tips, life skills, baby, new baby, lockdown, parenting help, support, online, primary care giver, socialising kids, socialising babies, baby development, lockdown 3, lockdown 2021

Lockdown Mum!

Written by Abby Wheeler. When Abby became pregnant, she couldn’t have imagined the way the world would look when her son was born. Here she tells her story of bringing a baby in to the world during lockdown - it’s a story that many of you will identify with - there have been tough times, positive moments and now hope for the future...

Having a new baby in September 2020 started in much the same way as many new parents - once we were home, we could have visitors to meet our new little man for the very first time and I even managed to get out to cafés a couple of times to meet friends. I set into a new rhythm of life as a mum, trying to work out things on the baby front but also learning how to fill my days.

Babies, LockdownRebekah Frankcom6 April 2021parenting, families, parenting tips, life skills, baby, new baby, lockdown, parenting help, support, online, primary care giver, socialising kids, socialising babies, baby development, lockdown 3, lockdown 2021

I’m worried my baby is missing out due to lockdown!

Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. There have been thousands of babies born during 2020, a year when we have seen lockdowns and more social isolation than we have ever experienced before! This has brought about a great deal of concern for parents, often questioning if this isolation from friends, family, activity groups and classes will have an impact on their baby’s development.

Grandpa's role

Written by Roger Ashelford. After the initial excitement of the news that we were going to be grandparents I started to think of all the lovely things we would be able to do with our grandchildren as they grew up! The very early years were wonderful for the cuddles and watching the development of these small people, the smiles and the start of language but I knew I was going to become more ‘useful’ as they all got older.

GrandparentsRebekah Frankcom5 August 2020families, grandparent tips, granny, grandparent, pride, excitement, grandchildren, being a grandparent, support, Grandpa

Being a Granny

Written by Thirza Ashelford. I will never forget the moment I was told I was going to be a grandparent. Our son and his partner had arrived one Friday evening, ostensibly to stay for the weekend and visit friends in the town. We chatted in the kitchen while I made dinner when our son announced that they had something to show us. The “something” was a twelve week scan photograph of our first grandchild. That moment of transition from being a parent to becoming a grandparent was thrilling, exciting and at the same time somewhat overwhelming.

GrandparentsRebekah Frankcom4 August 2020families, grandparent tips, granny, grandparent, pride, excitement, grandchildren, being a grandparent, support

We have to talk about it – ‘death’, ‘die’, ‘dead’, ‘dying’ - it’s part of being human!

Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. Even the title of this blog might make you feel uncomfortable – many of us find it difficult to talk about death at all, let alone with our children!

BereavementRebekah Frankcom4 March 2019parenting, children, families, nanny, childcare, Bereavement, support, grief

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