Wanting to be prepared for when your baby arrives? Then read on...
Welcome to the Baby2Sleep Pregnancy to Parenting Support.
Firstly, please let me congratulate you on the start of your new adventure. Whether this is your first baby or your sixth baby, your life is about to change for the better.
No two babies are the same, so just because someone had a great sleeper, it doesn’t mean yours will be, and vice versa, just because a friend had a baby who struggled with sleep, it doesn’t mean that your baby will struggle.
What is important to know at this stage in your journey is that you cannot predict the future. You can plan for a certain birth, but it doesn’t mean it will happen. You may plan to breastfeed, but this doesn’t mean it will be easy. You can plan to have your baby sleep in their cot and make the decision now that co-sleeping isn’t for you, but this doesn’t mean you won’t co-sleep.
At this stage, you don’t know what you don’t know.
You don’t know how your baby will make their entrance.
You don’t know when they will be born.
You don’t know if they will latch when born.
You don’t know if they have tongue tie.
You don’t know if your baby will sleep well.
You don’t know how you will feel.
You can only plan and hope for certain outcomes, but no-one is able to see the future and know what will happen.
The best thing any expectant parent can do is plan ahead. It isn’t about planning to scare you, but to empower you and give you choices.
By knowing that any birth is possible, planning for a C-Section might not be the worst idea, then if you get your planned birth, that’s amazing, but if you did have to have an emergency C-Section, you may have already considered where you may sleep when you get home if stairs are an issue, you may have a plan to have friends or family come to help in those first few weeks. It isn’t saying you will need them to come, but the pressure is reduced if you know you are covered if you have a plan.
To plan to breastfeed is amazing, but what if your baby struggles to latch. Would you know what to look for or who to ask for help? Knowing what tongue tie looks like or knowing who the local feeding experts are in your area could be difference between a successful breastfeeding journey or an unsuccessful one. There is no shame in formula feeding if this is your choice, but if you were to choose to breastfeed and the chance was taken away due to poor support, it can lead to further issues with maternal mental health and more.
You may be lucky and have that rare unicorn baby who sleeps like a dream, but knowing that this isn’t common and understanding what normal baby sleep looks like can really help you manage those first few months.
Feeling confident in your choices when well meaning friends and family try to offer advice that doesn’t sit right with you.
This is just the tip of a very large iceberg. The what if list is huge, but knowing they are a possibility and knowing you have yourself covered for a multitude of events and emotions can make the transition so much easier.
This is where Nicole Ratcliffe, founder of Baby2Sleep can help.
Nicole has created a platform where she teaches and educates existing and new parents about normal baby sleep. She will guide you through your parenting journey to support your baby to sleep well by using responsive and holistic methods that create attachment and cement bonds.
Nicole has teamed up with some of the leading experts to raise awareness of some of the very normal, and complex, issues that new parents may face from pregnancy through to parenting. As Nicole’s speciality is sleep, she is passionate about helping you lay positive sleep foundations for the months and years ahead. No two babies are the same and no two journeys are the same, so helping you to learn about your own unique baby and support them using evidence-based information that feels right for your family is more likely to give you a better start to parenting life
Nicole has been studying, practicing, and supporting families of children from birth to 6 years old with sleep difficulties since 2017 and knows that postnatal support in the NHS is lacking and is working hard to change this. Nicole also knows that we set our bars so high when we are expecting a baby that our reality often doesn’t marry up, and this can lead to difficulties bonding, our mental health and in our relationships.
Time is also something we are short of, and we all need answers fast. This is why Nicole’s programme can be accessed on any device that has the internet and can be watched or listened to on demand at a time that suits you. This may be walking the pram, or playing through your car stereo like a podcast.
Short, easy to digest videos to help you navigate from pregnancy through the first 6 months of your baby’s life.
Find out more about the support available to help you transition from pregnancy to parenting here.
