The Maternal Matters Parent Craft Manual is a step- by-step guide, explaining in full and outlining the techniques and guidelines advocated and used successfully for many years by Jennifer Hamilton within her well established parent craft home visiting service.

The goal of the Maternal Matters Manual is to educate and guide you through the changes of your baby’s first year, giving you confidence to meet all of his needs efficiently and effectively. Maternal Matters believes that through consistent actions you can successfully create a workable and realistic routine for you and your baby.

This book will empower you to be in control of your baby’s needs and will give you the confidence to implement a ‘parent directed routine’.

Maternal Matters techniques and guidelines are based on a process of elimination, rather than a set of structured rules, to aide in setting up a routine. By following these guidelines you will know when your baby is tired, hungry or bored and you will learn how to read all of his cues.

Maternal Matters will help you to understand what normal baby behaviour is, teach you how to meet all of your baby’s needs throughout his milestone changes and give you the skills to manage any issues remaining.

For example, a newborn baby whose needs have been adequately met may still cry for 30 minutes or more before falling into a nice, deep sleep. This is normal behaviour for a newborn and it is what you do and how you do it during this time that will greatly effect how he will settle, how long it will take, how long he sleeps for and how he will learn to settle as he gets older.

Some of the topics covered in the Maternal Matters parent craft manual are as follows:

• Settling techniques which can be encouraged from as early as the first few weeks.

• Settling techniques appropriate for each age group, up to 12 months.

• Flow charts covering difficulties faced when attempting to settle your baby.

• Feeding techniques for both breast and bottle feeders.

• How to gently direct your baby into a healthy routine.

• Tips on how to not over stimulate your baby.

• How much sleep your baby needs.

• Information covering the importance of resettling.

• Tips on how to resettle your baby.

• Routine suggestions for your baby as he grows through his milestones.

• Introduction of solids; when and how; suggested feeding schedules for your baby.

The Maternal Matters parent craft manual will help you feel empowered, offering an easy to follow plan of action for when you are feeling unsure, whilst at the same time respecting your parental instinct and offering you choice when making decisions regarding your baby’s care.

Maternal Matters techniques for feeding, sleeping and settling and implementing routine can make the difference between having a happy parent baby relationship or a stressful, unpredictable one.