Mum & Baby Nurture: why a mum and baby yoga class dedicated to the fourth trimester?
If you start looking at the postnatal / baby classes out there, there seems to be some sort of disconnect.
There are the classes for the babies, which some are claimed are suitable anytime from birth, regardless of how you are feeling or how your baby is ‘settling’ into this world.
And there are the (fitness) classes for the mums, which can very often be joined from 6 weeks post birth onwards (once you’ve had the infamous postnatal 6-week check), regardless of the stage of development of your baby (and how much their need you) or how you are truly feeling and doing in your postnatal recovery.
But not many classes acknowledge how you are both doing together, and how these first few weeks and months after birth - this fourth trimester - are different.
Often tender, intense and a bit (or quite a bit) vulnerable, physically and emotionally. With very specific needs for both mums and babies, which can’t be met just as well in one big undifferentiated class with mums & babies who are further along in their journeys. I have seen it again and again.
And most mums (and parents) will tell, there is definitely a shift that happens towards the end of the fourth trimester.
A different & unique time
Before then, this is a time when most new mums, and most new babies, need time to adjust, and ease themselves into this new reality of life out of the womb, and life as a new mum, with a changed body.
A time when things are often more chaotic and unpredictable, maybe overwhelming too, which calls for greater flexibility and individual attention.
A time where most babies need holding, and new mothers too. And this is what the mum & baby nurture classes are all about.
What the mum & baby nurture course aims to provide
A warm, cosy, intimate and low lit space, with cushions, blankets, supports, where babies, and mums, can more easily unfurl.
A space to reconnect with and look after your body, step by step, breath by breath, to re-build strength and ease from deep within, at times with your baby in arms crying or feeding, maybe at times sleeping or gazing.
A space to support your baby making their transition into life out of the womb, through baby massage, gentle baby yoga stretches, comforting holds, rocking & swaying.
A space to learn about your postpartum body and postnatal recovery (what nobody really tells you much about!) …
and to learn about early baby development, and these essential skills for early parenthood like different (better?) ways to burp and wind your baby, introduce ‘tummy time’, easier ways to lift and carry your baby (and car seat) and generally understand your baby better.
A space to safely ask questions, share, laugh and cry with other mums, around a cup of tea and a slice of cake
A space where week after week, you can feel a little more like yourself again, and gain confidence at this motherhood malarkey.
If the sound of this space and support appeals, have a look at joining the next Mum & Baby Nurture course, or get in touch to arrange a private group & individual course in your home.