Mindful Bloom

Mindful Bloom is a 6 week mindful parenting course that involves the presence of a parent and their baby.

Mindful parenting (MP) is mindfulness aimed at parental wellbeing and stress by increasing awareness of triggers and reactiveness, building understanding of parent-child attachment and improving coping skills for common postpartum challenges (e.g. lack of sleep, relationship conflict, anxiety etc).

Becoming a parent involves not only learning the skills to care for a tiny human but also requires us to grow in our ability to manage emotions and understand ourselves. Dr Kate Renshall (Clinical Psychologist) and Samantha Ransley (IBCLC/Midwife/Nurse) will be running this Mindful parenting course to provide both practical and thoughtful information about looking after your baby AND mindfulness strategies to help with looking after yourself and your family's emotional wellbeing

Mindful Bloom is a 6 week course for parents and babies (0 - 18 months). The sessions consist of formal meditation, group discussion, mindful parenting practices, education, and watching meditations with attention for your baby. Although the presence of the babies may sometimes be distracting, it also offers many learning opportunities. Stressful situations with your baby may arise during the sessions, which offers the possibility to practice on the spot with the support of Kate or Samantha. Because the babies are present during the course, parents often find that the mindfulness skills are easier to generalise.

When we have run this course in the past there have been some common barriers to attending. Naps: parents often worry about their child’s nap schedule given the group runs from 10am - 12pm. We understand that there is no perfect time for a group that includes 0-18 months but our experience suggests that unless your baby only has one nap in the day then there can be flexibility in the length and setting of naps. There is space for prams in the group room if your baby sleeps well in the pram. If this is a concern or barrier for you, please chat to Samantha or Kate to troubleshoot alternatives. Feeding: parents are encouraged to feed their babies during group, including during meditations, as we believe that responsiveness is key to healthy parent-child interactions. Crying: parents have told us that they worry about their child being particularly unsettled or crying frequently and disturbing others or making it difficult for them to concentrate. Please know that babies often cry during the class and this is something we see as normal and helpful in practising the mindfulness skills we are learning.

We will be starting our next course on 5th May 2023. Classes will be on Fridays from 10am - 12pm at The Boundary Street Rooms, 106 Boundary St, Paddington, NSW, 2021. The cost is $400 per parent-baby duo.

For further information, please do not hesitate to contact me here. To book, please follow this link to Samantha’s website, ML Sydney Classes

For more information about the original Mindful With Your Baby group please see this article: Mindful With Your Baby.