Baby Bump offers new slate of classes to give mothers a sense of community

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This article was published 03/01/2024 (734 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Natasha Leonard remembers how alone she felt after having her first baby, and now as the new owner of Baby Bump, she wants to create the community of support she didn’t have then.

“I came here (from Ireland) and I had my first child, and I didn’t have any family around me,” Leonard said.

“I really struggled with postpartum anxiety. I really, really, really struggled. I spent a year quite isolated. And there were certain classes I did go to, but nothing gave me this sense of community.

“When you come out of class, there was no one hanging around and I didn’t really make a whole load of friends. When I had my second (baby), I had a five-week-old and I came to a class (at Baby Bump). I created this mom group, and we’re still friends to this day. The difference in my postpartum journey was monumental.”

Leonard said she wants to help create that support for other moms, and she is relaunching many popular Baby Bump classes that had been cancelled during COVID and adding a few new ones as well. She said she is hoping the classes will bring back that community of women that moms need.

“It’s great having your baby. You get all the support for your medical needs and things like that. Women just need the support of other women. We are stronger when we support each other. And sometimes family isn’t enough,” Leonard said.

“If you’re in a collective group of women who have the same struggles as you, I think you just find that group of women can genuinely support you.”

Baby Bump has a retail store at 728 18th St. and a large space in the back of the store where the classes will take place.

Classes being offered include prenatal and postnatal yoga (a mom and baby class), Pilates (open to women of all ages and stages), infant massage, infant CPR and a newer baby sign language class called “More Sign and Play.”

Leonard said the infant massage class is for babies from three weeks to six months old, before they start moving much. She says she is still using the massage techniques she learned on her two-year-old and seven-year-old children today.

“There’s absolutely so many benefits (to infant massage),” Leonard said. “Colic is the main one that we talk about that babies seem to suffer with. Constipation, restlessness, and even just down to kind of trauma of birth that newborns have.”

Other classes Leonard will introduce in a few months are Stroll and Roll (an outdoor mom and baby fitness class), Mama Time (a postpartum group led by postpartum doulas) and something new delivered by a doula and maternity nurses, called the “Deets on Delivery.”

“It’s not going to give you the ins and outs of the medical side of giving birth. This is basically just bringing a group of women together who are at the same stage and talking about the reality of giving birth. And the reality of going into the hospital and kind of the nitty gritty of what to expect,” Leonard said, explaining this program and Mama Time are non-medical classes and offer support and information in a holistic sense.

“We will talk about mood disorder. And we talk about sex and relationships. And in a very tame, fun and non-confrontational way. We talk about nutrition and sleep deprivation. All those things that happen once you have your baby, and the reality of what happens when you have your baby.”

As spring turns into summer, Leonard says she has family events planned like teddy bear picnics. Other classes include potty training and sleep training, as well as seasonal themed crafts for little ones around Valentine’s Day and Easter.

Find out more about Baby Bump’s classes at thebabybump.ca/.

» khenderson@brandonsun.com