Ellie Russell had always wanted to work with children, feeling passionately that every child is unique and develops at their own pace and with their own character. Growing up in a large family, she learned early on how important support is when a baby comes along. It was her experience in early years education and nannying that reinforced her belief that a supportive ‘village’ is essential for both baby and parents, yet sadly, most parents don’t get enough advice or hands-on help. She was inspired to follow her heart and became a postnatal care and newborn specialist based in North London. At Ellie May Maternity, she spends her time providing guidance and support, in-person and remotely, helping every growing family she works with get the best possible start.
The passion: What inspired you to set up your business?
I have always been drawn to babies and young children from a very young age. In fact, as a child, not even hitting my teenage years yet, I would go back to my pre-preparatory school when term dates allowed, to ‘help out’ with the littlest ones in the nursery. Inevitably, I also began babysitting as soon as family friends and neighbours felt comfortable leaving their most precious children in my youthful hands. It felt inevitable, therefore, that somewhere in the future, my path would take me into working with babies and young children in some form or another.
Via a meandering path through a gap year and a singular term of an English Literature degree at a London university, I ended up, at the suggestion of my wonderful mother, training in Montessori Early Years and Pedagogy. I had attended a Montessori myself aged two. What came from this was years of coming to truly understand what I believed in: in terms of how babies and children should be treated, how important those early years experiences are to their development, and how important it is to support the individual in front of you rather than apply blanket approaches, blanket statements, blanket teachings over everyone. We’re all unique. I took these values out of college and into a nannying job that inspired me even more to follow my passion for supporting families and their littlest ones. The final inspiration, if you like, was being told, in the summer of 2020, during a brief return to my job amidst some periods of Furlough, that the family were expecting another baby.
That was it! I was off on the path to my inevitable future! I spent the rest of the summer doing a Maternity Nurse/Postnatal Care course (virtually of course…pandemic life), I was there the day the tiniest, most perfect bundle came home from hospital to his big sister and grandparents, his mum pretty shaken from a difficult birth, and I stayed, continuing to support the family unit, until just after that newborn turned two years old and started nursery.
Now, what I could have done is gone onto another nannying job – starting with a baby and watching them grow and head off to nursery and school, just the same as I’d done before. Instead, I decided: I want to just focus on the babies. The tiny humans arriving home, new and fresh, parents entering a whole new world (whether they’ve already had a baby or not because, as we’ve established, all babies are unique so all parenting journeys are too). So…that’s exactly what I did.
The launch: How did you start out in the beginning?
It was in the November just before the February that I left that my nanny family and I decided our journey was drawing to an end. It was from that moment that I began planning for my future, not really sure what it would be but knowing it would (hopefully) involve many, many families and babies.
The course that I’d initially done, just over two years previously, was with a company that offered unpaid placement opportunities to students and families – no more than four shifts (day, night, 24 hours) – in return for a reference. While also job hunting for paid work, I decided this was a good place to start building my confidence. I ended up supporting two families through this placement scheme: one for four nights starting when their first baby was just four weeks old; the other a family with twins (as well as a young toddler) already three months by the time I met them. Both families asked me for more support, paying this time, after my placement sessions were over….Mostly, I worked days and I quickly realised this was what I preferred and, surprisingly, despite what agencies would have me believe, it’s what plenty of families out there really want! Anyway, I digress…
Meanwhile, on the job-hunt front, I’d found the perfect starting point: a family expecting their second baby, simply wanting some part-time help to provide an extra pair of hands in the afternoon and evenings (see, I told you!) as they prepared for the juggle of two young children with very different needs, and mum prepared for her partner to have very limited paternity leave and evenings to be a bit…busy.
As I connected with families of newborns and young babies of various weeks and months, I gained more and more experience: of different families, different parenting styles, different postpartum experiences.
I decided to add to my qualifications, and the support I could offer, by training in Gentle Sleep Coaching (something I recently upgraded…should I say…to Holistic Sleep Coaching), and from September to December 2023, certifying as an Infant Feeding Coach. In January, I found a course to advance my skills in babywearing (something I use a lot and am very passionate about, especially in the 4th trimester, but also far, far beyond!).
The innovation: What was the biggest breakthrough for you with your business?
I guess my biggest breakthrough would be discovering that, despite what everyone around me (fellow Maternity/Postpartum Support Workers and even agencies) were saying, there was, and is, a call for more daily support, more part-time support, more adhoc support. Not everyone who wants or needs help after having a baby has the space, the funds or the desire to have the ‘traditional’ Maternity Nurse that moves in and works 24/6. Not every family wants an extra person in their home, in their family bubble, day and night continuously.
There is, in fact, a place for what I felt, and still feel, able and willing to provide to families. Rather than placing myself neatly in a box, I kept my past experience as a Montessori-trained nanny top of my CV so families would know they had support with their older children as well as their baby, and that I would be adaptable to the needs of each unique family unit I joined. I do still offer nights and 24 hours but I see them as respite for parents who simply need a break – maybe as a one-off, maybe once or twice a week. Mostly, however, the families I support want daytime help.
