Mother and baby unit says goodbye

This week not only did we say goodbye to the summer, but we also said our goodbyes to one of our first mother and baby placements here at project 43. I still remember picking her up and putting a little baby in to his car seat. The mother was nervous and unsure of her future.  During their 4 months stay we have watched mother and baby grow and learn some new skills to able for them to leave and move into there our flat. Mother successfully participated in many support sessions including, budgeting, cleaning, self-care and organisation domestic abuse and risk management. Mother also participated in group activities such as Bingo, Art therapy, Quiz and pamper nights organised by staff which she said she enjoyed because she was able to have some ‘me’ time whilst baby was sleeping. Mother formed good relationships with the other mothers at the project, where she opened up about her life journey and struggles. We feel this gave her a sense of belonging, as she could relate to their experiences, and didn’t feel alone.  Mother also felt secure enough to open up to staff about how she was feeling, and express any worries that she had. Staff were on hand to support Mother with the transition of leaving and living independently. Coming from a cultured background Mother loved to cook, she would often volunteer to cook one of her famous curries for the entire house, which always went down a treat.  Babies time with us seen him achieve on how to sit unaided, crawl, to standing up. Mother already had some great habits with baby routine, any problems she might have had where very minor. We were on hand to guide her through them.  Within our staff team we have multiple staff members who hold Early Years qualifications and therefore, baby’s development was frequently tracked against the EYFS. Both Mother and Baby participated in various creche sessions in our onsite creche room / activities at the project some including, messy, sensory and water play, music sessions, trips to the beach. Through these activities we watched their bond blossom.  I personally have seen Mother and baby achieve great things whilst being with us. Mother is able to have difficult and important conversations with professionals and peers without becoming irate, she is now able to step back and think about her response and actions. Not only that Mother has become a social butterfly, learning how to trust and respect others.  Since their departure to their own flat. We have kept in regular contact with Mother and Baby via telephone calls. Mother will ring us for advice or just for a friendly chat. The Mother has also kept in contact with a other mothers she built a strong bond with at the project, and they often spent their evenings on the phone to each other catching up.  We wish Mother and baby all the luck in the world, and are sure they will both continue on to great things. It was nice to receive some messages form the social workers and the L.A thanking us for our hard working in guiding this young mum and baby to achieve her goal to get her own place. Mother did this with her own actions and determination with a little bit of guidance from us here at the project. ‘I will miss you all immensely. Thank you for everything you have done for us’