Parent Prep 101
Parent Prep 101
Relationship & Parenting Skills for New, Expecting & Planning-to-Start-a-Family Couples
A Workshop to Strengthen Your Partnership Before Baby — or Before You Even Begin Trying
Becoming parents is one of the most meaningful transitions two people can share.
It also creates one of the biggest shifts a relationship will ever experience.
Whether you’re:
✔ caring for a newborn
✔ already pregnant, or
✔ planning to start trying soon…
One thing is true for everyone:
This transition can be stressful — but it does not have to strain your relationship.
Most couples prepare for diapers, gear, and birth plans.
Very few prepare for the relationship changes and real-life pressures that come with a baby.
I’ve seen the cycle happen over and over again:
After a baby comes, life stressors multiply. Work demands, sleepless nights, new roles, and emotional strain pull energy from every direction.
The relationship naturally slips to the background — not intentionally, but because the load is overwhelming.
That distance grows quietly.
Most couples feel it but don’t realize there’s another way. Over time, the disconnection becomes an undercurrent that slowly wears down the relationship.
Most couples go into this season hoping they will “figure it out when the time comes.”
That approach works for some things — but not for the foundation of your relationship.
✨ Upcoming Workshop
Dates: June 6, 2026 
Time: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM (with a lunch break)
Location: Inn at Saratoga, 20645 4th Street, Saratoga, CA
Price: $497
How Parent Prep 101 Can Help…
Preparing ahead of time brings steadiness, understanding, and a shared plan — long before stress or exhaustion ever set in.
This workshop helps you do exactly that.
What You Will Learn:
Parent Prep 101 teaches you how to navigate challenges and avoid the common pitfalls new parents face.
1. Communication During High-Stress Seasons
How to speak and listen in ways that prevent misunderstandings and reach common ground, especially when you have different points of view.
Practical and effective communication tools to use — including when to talk when tired and how to nurture the relationship through demanding days.
2. Conflict Repair Tools
How to repair quickly after ruptures.
Tools for keeping the relationship intact even during stressful days.
3. Emotional Needs, Identity Shifts & Partner Support
How to understand what each partner may struggle with or need during pregnancy, early postpartum, and the adjustment to parenthood.
If taking time off work, it can bring identity loss.
If working long hours, it can create guilt or feeling stretched thin.
Learn how to navigate this paradox together — while adjusting to changes in time, energy, and responsibilities.
4. Division of Labor & The Mental Load
Creating a system that feels fair — and how to navigate it when things don’t.
How to stay aligned when responsibilities shift or increase.
5. Parenting Styles & Decision-Making
Discuss your values before the baby is here.
Avoid conflict by creating shared agreements on key topics like sleep, feeding, support, routines, and boundaries.
Understand common parenting differences — and how to navigate them well.
🍼 6. Baby’s Development & Your Relationship’s Development
Your baby’s first three years follow predictable developmental stages — and your relationship moves through parallel stages at the same time. Drawing from Margaret Mahler’s early childhood framework and the Bader/Pearson Developmental Model for couples, you’ll learn how bonding, separation, exploration, frustration, and reconnection show up both in your child and in your partnership.
Understanding these overlapping developmental arcs helps you anticipate normal stress points, avoid common relational pitfalls, and stay connected as both your baby and your relationship grow.
7. Intimacy & Closeness Before & After Baby
How to maintain connection through big changes.
What is normal to expect — and how to support each other without pressure or confusion.
8. Navigating Family, In-Laws, & Support Systems
Create your own set of ground rules for family involvement.
How to set boundaries kindly and clearly.
How to stay united when outside opinions enter the picture.
9. Cultural Differences
Navigating cultural differences in early parenthood means integrating two sets of traditions, expectations, and family norms into one shared family culture.
Learn how to communicate across cultural assumptions, set boundaries with extended family, identify deeper values, and create a unified vision for raising your child.
10. Rituals You Both Value
How you imagine holidays, meals, routines, and family rituals — and how to create meaningful traditions that support connection.
Who This Workshop Is For
Parent Prep 101 is designed for couples who want to prepare their relationship — not just their home — for the next chapter:
✔ Couples expecting a baby
✔ Couples with a child under age 2
✔ Couples planning to start trying soon
✔ Couples who want proactive tools to stay connected
✔ Couples who want to avoid common pitfalls and resentment
✔ Couples with differences who want guidance navigating them
✔ Couples who want to enter this chapter aligned and confident
Whether you’re preparing for your first baby or planning ahead intentionally, these tools create stability for both partners.
Why This Preparation Matters for Your Baby
A strong partnership is one of the greatest gifts you can give your child.
When parents communicate well and feel supported, babies and toddlers experience:
• calmer environments
• more predictable routines
• greater emotional safety
• stronger attachment
Preparing now supports both your relationship and your growing family.
A More Supportive Way to Enter Parenthood
This transition doesn’t have to be overwhelming.
With the right tools and conversations now, you can:
✨ prevent resentment
✨ stay aligned as a team
✨ reduce conflict
✨ protect your connection
✨ feel more confident and grounded
✨ create a stable foundation for your baby
Parent Prep 101 gives you a roadmap so you’re not navigating this season in the dark.
You’ll feel clearer, closer, and more prepared — no matter where you are on the journey to parenthood.
About Your Instructor — Michelle Joy, MFT
Michelle Joy, MFT, has spent over 20 years working with couples through every stage of relationship and parenthood.
She is a parent herself and has witnessed firsthand the patterns couples fall into — and the tools that prevent unnecessary strain.
She created Parent Prep 101 to give couples the most practical and powerful tools to stay aligned, support one another, and work as a united team while raising a family.
Join Parent Prep 101
Prepare your relationship. Strengthen your foundation. Step into the next chapter together.