The Woman Who Eases the Stresses of Newborn Care
WBL interviewed Erin Carroll-Manning and learned all about her and her business!
Tell us about you!
I am Erin the CEO & Founder of Gentle Giraffes Newborn & Family services. I have been in the private child care industry for well over 30yrs. I have always been drawn to caring for kids. I remember being 7yrs old feeling that pull and it never went away. I was miserable at other jobs. They just never brought the same joy to me as working with kids under 5 did. I was a professional nanny for about 20yrs and loved it. I wanted more for myself and for families. I started doing research and landed on becoming a newborn care specialist. After umteen class, training, webinars etc, I feel confident in calling myself a Master Newborn Care Specialist. That is not just because I have taken the training that allows me to use the word Master, but I truly feel that way based on all my extra training and continuing education as well as my experience and the results I have been able to foster and achieve. My goal is to bring families healthy and sustainable ways to achieve joy during the first 16 weeks postpartum while establishing a secure attachment environment to allow the newborn to acclimate to this world as slowly, healthfully in the ways that really are the best and optimal for a solid health and sustainable foundation that supports the whole baby inside and out. Slow and Steady always wins the race. I also firmly believe that one’s mental and emotional health is so important to foster from day one. I believe as a society we would have more healthy people doing it this way than waiting until they are older. I have curated a company where we can educate, guide and support families this way.
How did you start your business?
I started my business because I saw there was a huge need for qualified postpartum support. Families deserve someone to not only allow them to sleep, but also \educate, guide and support them in all areas of Newborns the first few weeks to the first several months. Families deserve someone who is highly knowledgeable and can bridge the gap between the books and the docs. I highly recommend and truly believe parents deserve to enjoy their newborn. I have found that many do not know the missing links of how to care for a baby who is having a hard time adjusting to this new world. I fully believe families deserve to know them and be guided. My whole purpose is to be the one giving them the tools and avenues that are in between the books and the Medical field. These families and babies deserve a solid foundation mentally, emotionally, physically and cognitively in order to get their feet off to the right start.
What are you most passionate about in your industry?
I am most passionate about being an advocate for the baby and children. I am there to guide parents in directions that do not need medical support but the baby needs support for situations that are not deemed Medical until they have become a medical issue. There are a plethora of other avenues we can take before things turn medical. So many situations will never turn Medical when they are being taken care of early on. Medical care is AMAZING, when they are needed. So much of a newborn’s first few weeks and months do not need medical care but need care in other avenues.
What is your favorite thing to do when you are not working?
I love traveling, my husband and I are foodies and I love remodeling homes and decorating them too. I also love sitting in nature looking out at the ocean or a lake surrounded by people enjoying it as well as the wildlife.
What do you hope for in 2024?
My hopes are to have more and more people realize how amazing setting a solid foundation rooted in curating a secure attachment environment is for the overall health and well being for the newborns and their families. How we can help and support them doing that the first 16 weeks postpartum. I also hope to increase awareness about how one’s mental, emotional and physical health really impacts the health of the baby before conception, during pregnancy and after. How we can really dive into supporting the parents in healing these areas so we set them up on the right foot before they even conceive.
Follow Erin Here:
Melissa Gilbo & Amy Pocsik
Co-Founders of WBL