Presented by BBH South Rock:

The Bringing Baby Home Workshop

For Your Baby, For Your Relationship, For You

"Babies Don't Come with a Manual..."

You may have heard this one before. In fact, replace "babies" with "relationships" and you've probably heard that one too!

While it's true some experiences could just never be summed up in a "how-to" booklet, perhaps we can get one step closer to feeling more relaxed and grounded in such important relationship experiences.

Bringing Baby Home is a program that blends knowledge about couple relationships and child development with the goal of positively and simultaneously impacting both. In other words, by strengthening the parental relationship, the quality of life for babies and children can be improved.

Here are some documented benefits associated with past parent participation in BBH programs:

Babies that smiled more often in family play
Increased parental sensitivity and responsiveness
Increased ability to co-parent effectively
Decreased hostility and improved relationship satisfaction
Fewer symptoms of post-partum depression and anxiety

Learn more about the research behind BBH here.

BBH South Rock workshops are delivered by Registered Clinical Counsellor, Leanne Fessler. After having spent a great deal of her career focused on working with families (or adults dealing with the impact of challenges in their families), it became important to Leanne to focus on prevention and developing resiliency in families. Impressed as both a parent and practitioner by what the BBH Program had to offer, Leanne trained with the Gottman Institute to become an educator of the program.

Learn more about Gottman's relationship research here.

Read What Others Are Saying

The benefits of strong relationships belong to you and your baby.

How Does it Work?

Who Should Attend:

This workshop aims to be inclusive and open to couples of diverse backgrounds or experiences who want to learn how to achieve higher levels of relationship satisfaction after the addition of baby. This could include couples who are:

expecting / pregnant
adopting, fostering
engaged in surrogacy, donation, or other methods of family building
new parents with a child under age 3yrs
parents continuing to grow their family

* Please note: due to the educational nature of this program, it is recommended that couples for whom violence, active suicidality, untreated mental illness or substance abuse is a concern, seek the services of a qualified professional specialized in these areas for a more tailored approach.

What's Included:

6 weekly workshop sessions (2hrs each), or 2-day weekend sessions (6hrs/day) totaling 12 hrs of group learning via discussion and interactive methods; guidance for at-home application and exercises
digital parent workbook - 16 chapters plus additional resources and exercises
digital card decks for use in and outside the workshop
active community building feature that includes "rounds" by guest practitioners specializing in fields of perinatal nutrition, fitness, physical rehabilitation, mental health, labour and delivery (this feature is unique to BBH South Rock and is not included in other BBH programs).
additional relevant resources and research specifically curated by Leanne Fessler MA RCC from her years of experience as a clinical counsellor specializing in work with families.

Digital materials to accompany the program can be purchased separately at:

Bringing Baby Home Parent's Workbook – Digital Materials - The Gottman Institute

** Babies in arms welcome

** Please note participation is at your own level of comfort; breakout areas will be available for couples' exercises for additional privacy and comfort.

For Upcoming Dates, Location and Cost:

Click Here

Build a healthy relationship template for your baby

How BBH Supports Relationships

Topics covered in the program are based on sound relationship research conducted by Drs. John and Julie Gottman of the Gottman Institute. By studying parents before and after their child's first birth, they found common areas of concern. These areas became target areas for intervention in the BBH program and include such topics as:

The Transition to Parenthood

Learn about common trends couples experience when they become parents and how to prepare for these.

Negative vs. Positive Communication Strategies

Understand the difference between turning toward, turning away and turning against your partner, as well as how to effectively express your needs.

A Model for Strong Relationships

Understand the Gottman relationship model, including steps to build and maintain a sound relationship.

Managing Internal and External Relationship Stressors

Learn how to keep external or personal stressors from hurting your relationship and how to use the relationship to support each other.

Why Friendship, Fondness and Admiration Matters

Find practical strategies to get to know your partner's world, give feedback and express appreciation.

Conflict Regulation and Problem Solving

Discover the signs of relationship meltdown, different problem solving methods and what to do when things get too heated.

and more.....

Supportive Co-parenting and Caregivers

Find strategies to work as a parenting team and invite in other important adults in your baby's life.

Creating Your Family's Legacy

Discuss your combined family values, create rituals of connection and build a meaningful family life.

Perinatal Mental Health and Support

Learn the signs and symptoms of common mental health concerns in parents and how to get help,

Building Your Village

Learn how to enlist the support of others in your life and your community to boost your family's resiliency.

Maintaining the Spark

Discover ways to keep romance and intimacy alive to maintain the quality of your relationship.

Resources

Find out about information, resources and community supports available for your family.

Did you know there are 6 things that can predict divorce?

Find out what they are and how

to avoid them.

How BBH Supports Babies

The BBH program also provides information based on current research on parenting, child development and the impact of parental relationships on children. Some topics covered include:

Child Development and Learning

Learn about general timelines of infant and toddler development.

Bonding and Play with Your Baby

Discover ways to effectively co-play with baby, while gaining an understanding of the benefits of differing styles of interaction.

Tuning into Your Baby Cues

Get information on attachment-building and how to understand your baby's needs through common nonverbal cues.

Conflict, Repair and Children

Find out how to buffer your children from the impact of conflict and try repair methods that reinforce a sense of security.

What is Emotion Coaching?

Guide your child's emotional learning for increased connection, fewer behavioural concerns and to teach self-soothing.

Building a Sense of Belonging

Help your baby grow into a child with a secure sense of family belonging - another major protective factor.

Did you know that research has found certain childhood

experiences to be linked with chronic diseases and

social/emotional problems?

Learn about adversity and

resilience factors

Ready to Bring it Home to YOUR Family?

Let BBH South Rock show you practical, doable ways to apply information and strategies at home. We want to see your family thrive and would love to be part of your village!

JOIN US

“The greatest gift a couple can give their baby is a loving relationship, because that relationship nourishes Baby’s development.”

Dr. John M. Gottman