Kelly Harper is a "Mum" to three of her own babies and the owner of Elemental Beginnings Postnatal Services (www.elementalbeginnings.net). She has the privilege of supporting families after the birth of their baby in Adelaide, South Australia. She is the first Certified HUG Teacher from Australia and is eager to share how HUG Your Baby "translates" to the Australian Mum!
During my work as a postnatal doula I get to meet many different families at various stages of their parenting journeys. I have found The HUG to be fantastic at explaining baby’s behavior in an easy to understand format (super important for those sleep deprived parents!) At first I thought it would be best for first time parents but as I worked my way through the course I discovered tips and tricks that would have been great even for me when my babies were little.
My most recent experience with the HUG confirmed that it is a great tool even for Mums who have been doing the parenting thing for a while.
Sarah’s third baby had a few medical issues that meant she was quite high needs, didn’t sleep a lot and was really only happy when being carried. Sarah had mentioned to me that the level of need had nearly ‘broken her.’ She was understandably worried when becoming pregnant for the fourth time. I was hired as her postnatal doula so that Sarah could get much needed rest and help with her older daughter after the birth of her new baby.
Baby number 4 arrived and I started my visits with Sarah. I would tuck the young mother up in bed with baby Ethan and look after her older daughter, fold washing and sweep the floor while Mum slept.
We had talked about the different stages of sleep, the different newborn Zones and how good Sarah was at reading Ethan’s SOS’s. After about 6 weeks with this family, Ethan was waking up to the world and clearly in the Ready Zone while having some nappy free time on the floor. I thought the nappy time would be a great opportunity for Mum to play with her baby and see just how clever he was. I got Mum to kneel on the floor with the baby beside her and call his name. Sure enough Ethan turned towards his mumma!
Sarah swapped sides and repeated his name. Again ethan turned towards her and this time Mum was met with a baby smile big enough to melt anyone’s heart. It was lovely to see Sarah and Ethan so happy together. At the end of this visit Sarah exclaimed that, “Playing with my baby reminded me what a happy, healthy baby is like. He is such a blessing. It's the little things that all add up, like the way he smiles when you walk up to him. He is a priceless presence in our lives.”
It was very heart warming to know that I had been able to pass on The HUG and bring this family closer together. Even Mums who are already parents can add tools to their parenting bags with The HUG.