Our Classes

We are proud to offer

Bringing Baby Home

The OCEA Bringing Baby Home class was developed in 2004 by Erin Shaheen to fill an information gap for expectant families on the transition to parenting after birth.  With a strong background in mental health counselling, post-partum Doula support and a variety of additional certifications (CPR, Car seat Installation, Breastfeeding counsellor, Infant Sleep Educator, Circle of Security Training, and Self-Reg with Stuart Shanker), Erin brought all of this information into a six evening session or four mornings across two weekends (9am-12pm)

As our other classes have shifted back to in-person or online, the BBH class remains exclusively online. This has allowed us to present resources, websites and videos in ways not possible in person. We acknowledge that this also increases inclusivity for those who face barriers to in-person attendance due to transportation limitations, for participants outside the City of Ottawa, and for those who may be on bed rest or have an immunocompromised condition.

This is not your average online class!
With over 25 years of experience supporting expectant and new families, Erin brings a wealth of knowledge to every session. From her work as a postpartum doula and parent coach to her deep understanding of community resources, Erin’s approach is grounded, supportive, and always delivered with a gentle sense of humour.

This class welcomes all families, including families giving birth to babies, or having babies join through adoption or surrogacy.

We ask that all participants keep their video on throughout the small online class. Like an in-person class, this creates a sense of community and safety. If you prefer not to be seen, we recommend a private one-on-one session with one of our instructors.  Online classes are accessible to anyone across Canada and run over four weekend mornings from 9 am-12 pm or online over six evenings.

Our Bringing Baby Home class is a hands-on parenting class for expectant parents, including
  • Choosing daycare and managing the wait list
  • Building your after-birth support system, including filling in service gaps when you do not have a Family Doctor
  • How to decide what items to purchase for life with a baby
  • Basic baby care, including bathing, swaddling, and holding the baby
  • The difference between cloth diapers, disposable diapers and diaper service and the diaper loaner program
  • Benefits of babywearing and how to pick baby carriers for ergonomics
  • Infant Feeding and Introducing Solids
  • What you need to know when purchasing a car seat for your baby
  • Learn how to properly and safely install your car seat
  • How to properly restrain newborns in car seats
  • How to deal with choking
  • Babyproofing: how to make your home safer for your baby
  • Learn the most common causes of injuries and how they can be prevented
  • Where to purchase home safety products

The cost of the class is $230 (CAD) (per couple). 
*A couple is defined as a pregnant person and one support person (which can be a spouse, partner, friend or family member)

Refund Policy: Classes cancelled from the time of booking until 14 days before the class start incur a $25 administration fee. Classes cancelled between 7-14 days; 50% cancellation fee. Classes cancelled with less than 7 days’ notice; no refund

People who took our class had this to say:


We dearly want to support the health of expectant families.

Amazing class for new parents to be. Very informative and we both feel more prepared for the birth of our baby

Pre Natal – with Brandie Lekovic

Bringing Baby Home provided us with much needed information and then confidence in becoming parents. We feel less anxious now that we have taken the class. We loved the session on what products to buy! We especially loved all of the community resources that were shared. I am going to recommend this class to anyone who is about to become a parent!

Bringing Baby Home – with Erin Shaheen

OCEA has made a huge difference - we are pregnant during the COVID 19 pandemic and these online classes really helped us feel more prepared and gave us a sense of community and support. Highly recommend all of their courses. I don’t know what I would do without them.

Pre Natal – with Brandie Lekovic

Yes - Couldn't recommend these classes more. After taking the Pre Natal and Bringing Home Baby Classes, myself and I my partner both feel more prepared for the unexpected and to welcome our baby home. We now have many tools and resources specific to our area to help us through the process.

Pre Natal – with Brandie Lekovic

Bring Baby Home presented important information that helped my husband and I feel more prepared for our baby's arrival. The class set expectations accordingly around "stuff" baby will need and cleared up any old wives tales that surrounded topics such as: breastfeeding, solids, food allergies and swaddling.

Bringing Baby Home – with Erin Shaheen

We had a great 6 week online Prenatal class with Julia! My husband and I really enjoyed the facilitation of the class and topics/information presented and discussed. It was very helpful and informative. We also really appreciated Julia's down-to-earth nature and very realistic views and presentation of the topics. Julia was very detailed but kept it light and realistic with no sugar coating, which is just what we needed! - thank you!!

Pre Natal – with Julia Wykes

My partner and I took a one-day condensed class and feel more prepared to recognize the stages of labour and techniques to cope when the time comes. I would suggest the course for anyone who wants to better understand the birthing process!

Pre Natal – with Brandie Lekovic

The virtual class provided by OCEA was very informative and a great way to prepare for labour as well as childbirth. Especially during a global pandemic/lockdown/stay-at-home order this was more than beneficial for mommy and daddy-to-be! We are extremely grateful for this opportunity and feel much more confident bringing our little bundle of joy into this world!

Pre Natal – with Julia Wykes

I had no idea what doing the class over Zoom would be like but Brandie was excellent!

Pre Natal One Day – with Brandie Lekovic

We highly recommend taking classes with OCEA. Instructors are beyond knowledgeable and so warm and helpful. We learned SO much and now have a wealth of resources to tap into when needed!

Bringing Baby Home – with Erin Shaheen

We would highly recommend this course to any new parents. I thought I knew a fair bit going in, but came away with a ton of new information. We feel more excited and more reassured about our ability to manage our new arrival than we did before the course. It really increased our confidence.

Bringing Baby Home – with Erin Shaheen

If you are in the fence about taking this class just do it! You will not regret your decision. Highly informative class that is great for both mother and partner. We are definitely more confident as first time parents! Thank you:)

Pre Natal – with Julia Wykes


 
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  • Online

    Bringing Baby Home
    weekend
    FULL
    Sat, Nov. 1 · Nov. 2 · Nov. 8 & Nov. 9, 2025
    09:00 AM - 12:00 PM
    Online Class Using Zoom
    Waitlist

  • Online

    Bringing Baby Home
    6 weekday evenings
    Tue, Nov. 4 · Nov. 11 · Nov. 18 · Nov. 25 ·
    Dec. 2 & Dec. 9, 2025

    07:00 PM - 09:15 PM
    Online Class Using Zoom
    Register now

  • Online

    Bringing Baby Home
    weekend
    Sat, Nov. 15 · Nov. 16 · Nov. 22 & Nov. 23, 2025
    09:00 AM - 12:00 PM
    Online Class Using Zoom
    Register now

  • Online

    Bringing Baby Home
    6 weekday evenings
    Thu, Dec. 4 · Dec. 11 · Dec. 18 · Dec. 25 ·
    Jan. 1 · Jan. 8 · Jan. 15 & Jan. 22, 2026

    07:00 PM - 09:15 PM
    Online Class Using Zoom
    Register now

  • Online

    Bringing Baby Home
    weekend
    Sat, Dec. 6 · Dec. 7 · Dec. 13 & Dec. 14, 2025
    09:00 AM - 12:00 PM
    Online Class Using Zoom
    Register now

  • Online

    Bringing Baby Home
    weekend
    Sat, Jan. 3 · Jan. 4 · Jan. 10 & Jan. 11, 2026
    09:00 AM - 12:00 PM
    Online Class Using Zoom
    Register now

  • Online

    Bringing Baby Home
    6 weekday evenings
    Tue, Jan. 13 · Jan. 20 · Jan. 27 · Feb. 3 ·
    Feb. 10 & Feb. 17, 2026

    07:00 PM - 09:15 PM
    Online Class Using Zoom
    Register now

  • Online

    Bringing Baby Home
    weekend
    Sat, Jan. 17 · Jan. 18 · Jan. 24 & Jan. 25, 2026
    09:00 AM - 12:00 PM
    Online Class Using Zoom
    Register now

  • Online

    Bringing Baby Home
    6 weekday evenings
    Thu, Feb. 12 · Feb. 19 · Feb. 26 · March 5 ·
    March 12 & March 19, 2026

    07:00 PM - 09:15 PM
    Online Class Using Zoom
    Register now

  • Online

    Bringing Baby Home
    6 weekday evenings
    Tue, March 10 · March 17 · March 24 · March 31 ·
    April 7 & April 14, 2026

    07:00 PM - 09:15 PM
    Online Class Using Zoom
    Register now