Patricia Reilly started Growing Up Babies, a newborn care consulting company, in November 2011 because she saw a need for support for new mothers when they return home from the hospital with their newborns.
Patricia Reilly started Growing Up Babies, a newborn care consulting company, in November 2011. She began the business because she saw a need for support for new mothers when they return home from the hospital with their newborns. “All of a sudden you get the baby home and you’re thinking, oh my goodness, what did I just do?” she says. Now new moms will be able to call Growing Up Babies.
Reilly, a nurse practitioner, mother, older sister, and experienced childcare provider, aims to provide services complimentary to those of a family’s pediatrician. She emphasizes that her services are not to be used in substitution for a child’s pediatrician, and stresses the importance of parents nurturing a strong and healthy relationship between a child and his or her doctor.
Rather, Reilly wants to provide a comfortable support system for moms who feel overwhelmed, confused, or stressed. A mother can call Growing Up Babies and have a phone consultation, wherein Reilly will assess what the mother needs help with. The process is “very individualized,” she says, “because it really depends what each mom needs.” After the consultation Reilly will visit the home, a convenience for first-time moms who want to learn new skills in their own environment and also avoid exposing their newborns to outside germs. What happens at the house calls will vary based on the needs of the new mom, but Reilly does not view her services as medical and will not diagnose or prescribe—her services are not at-home sick visits.
Growing Up Babies will follow up each visit with a phone call a few days later to make sure things are going as planned, and Reilly hopes to build ongoing relationships with new moms. “I want moms to feel comfortable calling me,” she says. “I want to be available as a resource.”
