Bringing Baby Home —
completely free.
Three sessions online for expectant and new-parent couples — free in the community round when funding allows, or privately for one couple whenever you are ready. Practical, evidence-based, and designed to help couples protect connection, manage conflict, and parent as a team — proudly funded for local families.
This isn't therapy.
It's preparation.
Based on decades of Gottman Institute research — one of the most studied approaches to relationships in the world — this workshop gives couples real, practical tools for one of life's biggest transitions. It's the workshop we wish every couple had access to before baby arrives.
A deeper friendship with your partner
The foundation of everything. Couples who know each other deeply — their dreams, fears, and daily worlds — are far more resilient when the pressure hits. We help you stay curious about each other, even when life gets loud.
Communication that works under pressure
Not just "use I statements." Real skills for navigating conflict without it turning into a war — so you can disagree without damaging the relationship.
Co-parenting — finding your rhythm together
Who does what? How do you make decisions together? How do you support each other when you're both running on empty? We help you build a team before the game begins.
Keeping romance alive in the chaos
It doesn't disappear — it just needs tending. We give you simple, evidence-based ways to stay close even in the blur of new parenthood.
How stress affects your relationship — and your baby
Stress is inevitable. But understanding what it does to you — and to each other — changes everything. Knowledge is protection.
Free, for the first time, for local families
Thanks to Macedon Ranges Shire Council and Kyneton Community House, Bringing Baby Home is available — for the first time — to soon-to-be and new parents across the Ranges. Completely free.
Compare the two formats →Three evenings. Six practical modules.
Built on the Gottman Institute's Bringing Baby Home program — 40 years of couples research, delivered in a warm, practical group format.
1. The transition — why the arrival of a baby places pressure on even strong relationships. 2. Maintaining connection — friendship, bids for connection, fondness and everyday appreciation.
3. Managing conflict — escalation patterns, repair, soft start-up and de-escalation. 4. Father engagement — making active fathering visible, practical and supported from the start.
5. Shared meaning — rituals, values and expectations for the family culture you are building. 6. Intimacy and recovery — closeness, rest, support and repair after the baby arrives.
You don't need to be struggling to benefit.
The program is most useful before a relationship is under pressure. Couples do not need to be in crisis to benefit.
Expecting couples
Prepare together before sleep, roles and routines change. The most powerful window — arrive ready rather than reacting.
New parents
Get shared language and tools while the early pressure is still fresh and the patterns are still forming.
Second-time parents
Enter the next transition with a clearer partnership plan — and the benefit of knowing what last time taught you.
Made possible by our community.
This program is offered at no cost thanks to the support of Macedon Ranges Shire Council and Kyneton Community House — local organisations investing in the wellbeing of new families across the Ranges.
Their funding means every expectant and new-parent couple in our community can access a gold-standard, evidence-based relationship program — regardless of budget. No payment is required, ever.
Two ways to do the same trusted program.
Both use the full Gottman Bringing Baby Home curriculum and cover all six modules. The difference is timing, privacy and how much of the attention is on your relationship specifically.
Three live online group sessions for expectant and new-parent couples, funded by Macedon Ranges Shire Council and Kyneton Community House. Limited places, and it only runs when funding allows.
Registration is currently closed. The last funded round has finished and dates for the next one are not yet confirmed. Email us with the subject “next free round” and roughly when your baby is due or was born, and we will let you know as soon as places open.
The complete program delivered privately for one couple, scheduled around you, with full clinical attention on your relationship rather than a group.
If you would rather not wait for the next funded round, this is the same curriculum without the queue. Start with a free 20-minute consultation to check it is the right fit.
Both formats are educational and skills-based, not crisis counselling. Ranges Counselling is not a crisis service — if you need support right now, the numbers at the bottom of this page are free and available 24/7.