The number TWO has particular significance for me this year. Of course, the second Everest Challenge for First Steps Pregnancy Support in May - almost two years since the inaugural Everest Challenge, but even more so going from zero children straight to two with the arrival of our identical twin girls in July. Becoming parents this year represents years of struggle for my wife Rebekah and I, but also immense joy.

The construction work was completed just in time for our First Steps Birthing intensive weekend in early December, and the Baby Boutique also had its first customers during this time. It has been so exciting to begin to use the place for its intended purpose almost 6 months after signing the lease back in June.

We are looking for small groups of people (eg. ladies' groups, Youth Groups, workplaces etc) who would like to get together to support one expectant woman and her baby during pregnancy with a Pregnancy Support Package. We have a growing number of women who have been referred to us already, and these packages would provide practical solutions to help meet her needs.

We had several customers over the weekend fill their baskets with gorgeous outfits during the recent First Steps Birthing intensive weekend held at our new premises. They were delighted by the quality and the price, with one customer donating the equivalent value of their purchase to FSPS because it was such a great service we were offering and they wanted to give more.

At FSPS, we are hoping to grow a library of beautiful children’s books and need your help to do so. These will fill our shelves and will be available for women to come and use at any time to read to their growing bump or the baby in their arms. We will have comfortable chairs, nibbles and drinks available and baby change facilities so a Mama can stay as long as she likes.

We are hoping to raise $10,000 to help with the expense of creating a beautiful and welcoming space for our women to access care. There are many things we need to buy in regard to furniture, medical equipment, electronics and administration items not to mention day-to-day products like tea, coffee, cleaning equipment and storage containers.

The purpose of First Steps Pregnancy Support is to provide wraparound care for women in challenging circumstances.

The inaugural series of First Steps Birthing took place over six weeks in November/December 2022. Sixteen pregnant women and their partners and support people met together on Monday evenings, eating delicious home-baked treats while learning about all things related to birth and parenting. There were laughs and the occasional tear as we journeyed together, with presentations from a diverse team of professionals who made this an informative and entertaining experience.

October 2020 was the first time a small group of us met together to discuss how pregnant women facing challenging situations in our community could be better supported. Now two years on, we have established First Steps Pregnancy Support as a registered tax-deductible charity and are laying the groundwork that is needed to be effective and sustainable as an organisation, with plans underway to open a centre in Queanbeyan NSW in the not-too-distant future. 

First Steps Birthing is an educational arm of First Steps Pregnancy Support that seeks to see women and their partners informed and equipped for birth and parenting. There are currently very few hospitals in the Canberra and Queanbeyan Region that offer face-to-face birth classes, largely due to their cessation as a result of Covid. While there are a few privately run courses, the costs of these are quite prohibitive to many women. 

Unsurprisingly, the most common question I have been asked after the Everest Challenge has been 'So how was that ride you did?' I think the answer many were expecting was something along the lines of 'oh it was hell', 'I almost died', 'So glad it’s over', 'I'm never doing something like that again'.

June 15^th 2022 was our first public event as a new organisation. We held a Fundraising and Information Drinks evening at Bean Central Café in Queanbeyan, NSW to begin to raise awareness in the local community of First Steps Pregnancy Support.