Transitioning into parenting

Having a baby or expanding your family can be a huge transition. Everything changes when you bring your child home for the first time. Whether your pregnancy was planned, unplanned, you struggled with infertility, IVF, donor pregnancy, adoption, or loss of a baby..  Traumatic birth experiences, challenged expectations of family, partners, friends and care providers all add to the complexity of parenting. Highs and lows.

I support all parents from all families (single parents, blended families, LGBTQ parents, heterosexual parents, foster families, adoptive families, grandparents….) who are finding that transition to parenting or expanding a family challenging. We are parenting in a culture where there are many demands on us financially, emotionally and also socially. Social media has us worked into a frenzy that “I am  not doing it right” or “I am doing something wrong”.  We can be overwhelmed with our new roles and in how relationships may change.

Most people may not know you are suffering. Perhaps you are holding it in and no one really knows that you are struggling as they don’t see you fall into a heap on the floor in the bathroom or at home. On the outside you may look like you have it all together.

Can counselling help with my transitioning into parenting?

I know from personal experience that you can’t cope with this alone and it doesn’t just ‘go away’. Talking to a counsellor can be the first step to unpacking these issues and then coming up with a plan for how you’re going to move forward with being a ‘good-enough’ parent and parenting based on your values versus parenting in survival mode.