We are Damien and Anastasia. Damien works in TV and Film and Anastasia works in Sustainability and we are parents to a girl, Mila (currently 5 months old). We took the Happy Parents Happy Baby antenatal classes in London.
It is our first child and so we were both excited and nervous at the same time. We do not have family in the UK so this course not only helped us learn but also set expectations for us physically and mentally ahead of the birth of our first child. We were most excited to meet Mila but also found it really challenging thinking about what to buy/not buy ahead of the birth. HPHB really helped us prepare for this.
Royal Free Hospital and it was a great setting with amazing midwives.
Mila was born at the Royal Free Hospital on 22 April 2025. The most special moment for us was seeing her for the first time. One of the biggest challenges we faced was resisting the urge to overbuy baby products before her arrival and mentally preparing ourselves for the sleepless nights ahead. The HPHB sessions helped us understand both the benefits of breastfeeding and the potential challenges we might encounter. It’s been a combination of a physical challenge—ensuring Mila feeds well—and a mental one, staying committed so she can fully benefit from breastfeeding without giving up.
Breathing techniques 1/5 – It was good to understand the technique, but for me, it wasn’t enough.
TENS 2/5 – Similar to breathing techniques, it was good to prepare before any more invasive methods but again it wasn’t enough.
Epidural 4/5 -It was the most effective in terms of pain management.
Absolute happiness. There were tears, laughter, and relief. We were so excited to meet Mila.
It was tough. We had difficulty feeding Mila as well as managing our own sleep. We found simple things like taking turns looking after the baby (instead of both being up at once) was useful that we learned from HPHB.
Giving birth to a healthy and happy baby.
Managing sleep between both mum and dad.
Exclusively breastfeeding Mila.
We have a great support network from couples we met during the course that we still talk to today for advice and story sharing.
Tea lights.
Vietnamese Pho Noodle Soup.
Baby carrier.
Pram or bouncer.
All babies are different and trust your gut instinct.
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