Rachel is a Relationship Coach and Mentor who has worked with both mothers and fathers at every stage of parenthood, from birth prep to empty nest. She is a former breastfeeding counsellor and has given birth both in a hospital setting and at home. Rachel has trained in Relational Life Therapy (RLT) and Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and is trauma-informed to work with the utmost care for your well-being.
Patti is an Allied Healthcare Professional specializing in perinatal support services with advanced certifications in perinatal education, clinical lactation and maternal mental health. Her mission is to provide family-centered maternal care, empower parents through education, and guide families further as they grow.
Rebecca is a Yoga & Mindfulness Guide, Behavior Support Coach, and Parenthood Educator in Placerville and the owner & founder of Dahlia Mama.
Rebecca is based in Placerville and works with parents throughout the area.
Even with all the preparation and support you get leading up to your baby’s birth, and even if everything goes right according to your birth team, it can, on some occasions, feel very, very wrong. A traumatic birth is intense, distressing and can lead to other problems down the track. But the good news is with a bit of forward planning there are things parents and professionals can do to minimize some of the risks. There’s also support for you and your partner if your birth experience ends up being traumatic for any reason.
There’s few times in life when we’re pushed way outside our normal comfort zone and this can impact our ability to cope - especially if it’s for months on end. Self care is important for all of us during times of prolonged stress, but it’s even more crucial for parents. Parenthood involves giving out all day, every day and taking responsibility for the welfare of one or more little people who depend on us to be OK.
The lock downs imposed as a result of the COVID-19 virus has increased the incidences of domestic abuse among couples who have not experienced this before in their relationships. It might be possible that some of these incidents are a one-off in an otherwise healthy partnership. It’s also possible that they’re the first obvious sign of an unhealthy one.
Having a baby is normally an exciting and joyful time for a couple, so it might be surprising to find that the first year after baby is also a time of more conflict between partners. In fact, a whopping 92% of parents report increased disagreements during this time - and this was BEFORE the current virus crisis!
Valentine’s Day is supposed to be the romantic day of the year, or so we’re led to believe by card manufacturers, chocolatiers, jewellery shops, florists, restaurants and travel brokers! But why is it, and what does it actually mean to you, your partner and for your relationship? We look at the good and bad in our latest blog!
Most couples with children are in their relationship for the long haul. And just like anything else you rely on for your happiness and wellbeing, if you want your partnership to go the distance, you need to take time to look at it, look after it, maintain it, protect it - and at times even repair it.
Relationship maintenance is like keeping a car in great working order. There’s no better feeling than having things hum along nicely as you’re holding hands and heading to the horizon together. So, using that analogy, we’ve taken the basic requirements a vehicle needs to stay roadworthy and applied it to a relationship.
As others talk and reminisce about the year that’s passed and their hopes for the coming twelve months, this can be an incredibly emotional time for you and your partner. Add into the mix that the whole festive period is centred around one of the most religious and well- known pregnancies and birth in the world, you may feel that ache even more intensely particularly if you are asked ‘any news yet?’
While the festive period is a unique time of year for most families, whether an extended family, blended family or a single parent family, if you’re a brand new parent of a newborn or even an 11 month old, this is your first Christmas together as a family of three so it’s going to be an extra special holiday. You’ll want it to be memorable for all the right reasons – and that has a lot to do with your expectations.
Relationships come in all different shapes and sizes – and sizes, for some couples, includes the travelling distance between them!
Though some couples (even with families) manage to have happy, fulfilling permanent long-distance relationships, on the whole, long distance circumstances when you’re planning a family or have young children are due to commitments one or other of you have elsewhere. This could be due to shift work, work in remote locations, study, deployment, caring for elderly or ill parents or any other of the myriad of factors families live with.
So, how can you make long distance work as a couple and as a family at any time, not just during the holidays?
