From the day she found out she was pregnant, Natalia knew there was a lot she didn’t know about being a first-time mom.
“You kind of run through the emotions,” she said. “Am I going to be a good mom? Am I going to mess him up? How do I track his development? How do I know he’s meeting his milestones?”
Natalia brought these concerns to her nurse, who recommended she reach out to Healthy Families, a voluntary home visiting program offered by Texas Home Visiting.
Growing Healthy Families
Texas Home Visiting is a free program that helps parents starting at pregnancy. Caring and well-trained home visitors make weekly visits and teach parenting skills. The program provides community services, helps with breastfeeding and teaches parents about children’s developmental milestones.
Natalia was matched with Ivory Smith-Daniels, a family support specialist. At first Natalia was worried about having someone in her home, but over time she found comfort in Smith-Daniels’ visits.
“When I met Ivory, I was three months pregnant,” Natalia said. “It provided a lot of comfort. I was very relieved to have that support system.”
Natalia was matched with Ivory Smith-Daniels, a family support specialist, and they quickly bonded.
Smith-Daniels and Natalia work together to focus on areas where Natalia needs help.
“The mom kind of leads the visits,” Smith-Daniels said. “She can pick which things she’s interested in.”
Natalia said she fills out questionnaires periodically to make sure her baby is reaching certain milestones. If those milestones aren’t met, a child development specialist is available to provide additional activities for Natalia to do with her son.
Raising Better Parents
The program isn’t just designed to help kids — it also helps raise stronger parents.
“Ivory opens my eyes to things I haven’t thought about before,” Natalia said. “She’s helping me be a better parent and have a healthier family.”
Ivory Smith-Daniels said she enjoys her time with Natalia and Luca.
Smith-Daniels builds close relationships with all her clients, but she’s especially proud of Natalia.
“She wants the best for her son, and she’s very attentive to him,” Smith-Daniels said. “She’s so driven. If she has any worries, she texts me.”
Moms Helping Moms
Natalia’s son, Luca, is 10 months old and thriving. Natalia is very proud he’s ahead of his child development milestones, and she shares her enthusiasm about the program with other new moms whenever she can.
Natalia said she sees the problems many new moms have and how stressed and anxious they can become, often expressing feelings of depression or loneliness because they don’t have a support system.
Natalia said she’s proud of her son’s child development milestones.
Find Programs Near You
Texas Home Visiting is currently available in these counties: Bastrop, Bexar, Brazos, Cameron, Dallas, Ector, Galveston, Gregg, Harris, Harrison, Hardin, Hays, Henderson, Hidalgo, Liberty, Midland, Montgomery, Nueces, Potter, Randall, San Patricio, Smith, Starr, Tarrant, Tom Green, Travis, Victoria, Wichita, Wise and Willacy. To qualify for this free child and family service, families must live in the specified service delivery county or combined service area.
Because the program is offered through local community partners, availability, eligibility and resources vary by county. To find programs in your area, use the Find Local Support search tool. For more resources, visit GetParentingTips.com.
