Helping all parents enter postpartum empowered & aligned

With support and strategies for both Moms and Dads in the life transition

Mom and Dad playing with newborn baby

featured guides

featured guides

Baby sleeping without a sleep sack
Solid blue square with rounded corners

Baby Sleep
Patterns Guide

Learn and implement proactive healthy sleep habits for your baby (and you as parents!) to optimize sleep sooner.

postpartum dad holding baby
solid teal circle on white background

Postpartum
Planning Toolkit

Proactive, specific tips and strategies to help support family rest, recovery, and bonding during this big life transition.

parents walking with baby in a stroller
Yellow triangular shape on white background

Money Conversations
& Family Finance

Fully understand, discuss, and plan for changes to your finances & spending to support your evolving needs & values when raising a family.

new family holding hands

There’s a better way than winging it in the fourth trimester.

When a baby is born, parents embark on a beautiful journey, but no one is immune to struggles or unexpected challenges during vulnerable life transitions. There are several areas that benefit from intentionality, alignment, and strategy: Baby sleep, family sleep, and postpartum. But as a society, we leave parents to wing it, and figure it out on their own. Plus, when parents find themselves in a period of overwhelm, sleep deprivation, and decision fatigue, their brains actually struggle to go-with-the-flow. A proactive approach as a team can help minimize potential adverse outcomes in a variety of areas beginning in the postpartum period.

We plan for the nursery & baby items, pregnancy & childbirth, and perhaps read a few baby books. We often gear information towards Moms, starting in pregnancy. But there are also additional obstacles parents can run into, at the individual, couple, and family levels, due to a variety of factors. There are many reactive businesses and support, geared towards mostly Moms, but both parents are going through a life transition, and many solutions require an aligned approach. It's time we help parents proactively, focused on all parents, beyond just the medical advice and the baby.

A little teamwork, and a little strategic planning, can go a long way.

And with that, the idea for
Plans for Parents was born.
dad playing with baby
baby crib next to parents' bed
Logo with geometric shapes and circular text "proactive support and strategies for life's greatest transitions."

Here’s why a plan for both parents changes everything.

When both partners have access to the same information & Tools, the entire family thrives.

  • Shared knowledge helps Moms: She doesn’t have to educate her partner on information society is sharing with just her.

  • Shared knowledge helps Dads: He feels supported in the life transition and his own needs, too.

  • Shared tools help the family: Everyone can focus on their rest, needs, and bonding, because they’ve aligned on a holistic strategy, without expending extra energy that’s critical for thriving in the postpartum period.

  • Knowledge = Empowerment: Understand what to expect, including common obstacles parents face and ways to navigate them (or avoid altogether!)

  • Partner Support = Emotional Safety: When dads know how to support, moms feel less alone—and vice versa.

  • Shared Tools = Alignment: Create routines that support everyone, support rest for the entire family, and implement solid communication strategies to manage ongoing needs.

  • Holistic Care = Family Bonding: Free from confusion and stress, you can focus on love, healing, and connection.

  • Align on a holistic multi-level approach to support your needs, values, and relationship, so you truly can go-with-the-flow without the overwhelm and decision fatigue.

Yellow triangle and green circle on white background

My goal is to share research-backed strategies and information to support ALL parents, proactively, and as a team, during life’s greatest transition.

Blue square next to purple semicircle on white background.

You don’t have to figure it out alone.

Support each other, together.

There’s support and guidance for Mom and baby throughout the pregnancy, and during the birth. After, there’s a standard 6-week postpartum visit to check on mental and physical recovery and healing. Beyond that, parents are left navigating it all on their own.

Our resources give you a research-backed & proactive roadmap for navigating the postpartum period with clarity and confidence—together.

Inside the resources, you’ll find:

  • Postpartum Planning Guide
    Learn realistic expectations, navigate role transitions, plus learn ways to support physical and emotional recovery for both partners, your values, and relationship. This will help you take care of you, and set up your support system in advance.

  • Baby Sleep Patterns Guide
    Understand newborn sleep patterns and plan strategic rest strategies for the whole family—so no one runs on empty. Don’t “wait and see”, because Implementing these tips from the beginning can help lead to better results!

  • Money Conversations & Family Finance
    Get clear on your goals and reset on your updated financial picture- not just the added expenses that come with a baby, but also the prioritized values and spending associated with values-based living and supporting your own needs.

Mom snuggling baby
White vertical rectangle on a black background 
we've been there before, too.

Before becoming parents, we were once in your shoes, trying to piece together information as we saw the cracks in how people are supported on their way to becoming parents. During pregnancy with our first child, I researched areas that matter once a baby is born, starting with a critical component, sleep for the entire family. I was amazed at all the proactive healthy sleep habits that can be set from week one of baby’s life, and this wealth of information that parents aren’t told.

There’s more: Drawing on many years of psychology studies, I’ve seen the research on the common obstacles parents have, from postpartum to a few years down the road, as well as the power of additional components to focus on during life transitions. I want others to have the awareness of what to expect, as well as the tools and resources to be proactive, and as a team, in their approach to parenthood and the transition.

I want all parents to feel supported and empowered to enter the postpartum phase with knowledge and strategy.

download my FREE Postpartum Checklist for 10 areas to consider

meet your new best friend

meet your new best friend

Deana postpartum educator helping parents prioritize sleep self care relationship and values

Hi, I’m Deana!

Mother. Wife. Educator. Friend.

I created Plans for Parents to help more people feel supported in their transition to adding a baby, with real strategies and tools, beginning with the critical postpartum period.

After seeing others experience the common themes and obstacles, and postpartum doulas noticing the positive outcomes we were having with our aligned, proactive, and strategic approach, I knew I wanted to share the research-based strategies and alignment tools more broadly. Using my background in applied psychology and decade of experience in strategic planning, I’ve pieced together components that help all parents in the postpartum period.

Knowledge is truly power, and so is an intentional and holistic approach as a partnership, from the beginning of life’s greatest transition.

    • Mom of three kids under age four

    • Avid traveler (with the kids!)

    • Endurance athlete who enjoys stroller walks with a podcast

    • Went from sleep anxiety with first baby to getting more sleep than pre-baby (but we also prioritize it more!)

    • Laser-focused on lifestyle design & values-based prioritization, especially in the young parenting years

    • Loves the combination of personal finance with human psychology principles

    • Master of Science in Applied Psychology

    • Bachelor of Science in Education, Mathematics, and Psychology

    • Decade of professional strategic planning experience

I’m here to support you.

family with baby and toddler
pregnant Mom and soon to be parents
family with baby and toddler

Proactive support & strategies for life’s greatest transition.

plan and prepare together

Guides and tools to help Moms and Dads plan for a holistic approach in areas that matter. Cut through the noise of parenting advice and baby books, and focus on you too! 

If you've got the baby items ready, let us help you with the rest. With integrated research from psychology and principles in education, the resources support you in a digestible and actionable way.

Let's be proactive, before we need to be reactive, and bring about the best version of your unique parenting journey.

Ready to prepare as a team? Give your future selves the gift of support, strategy, and shared strength.

Circular text featuring "Consultations, Guides, Resources, Freebies" with bullet points.
new baby

we're here to help

we're here to help

Orange triangular shape on a white background

Insightful
Guides

for a holistic approach

solid teal green circle

Helpful
Freebies

checklists and tips

Pink half-circle on a white background

Consultation
with Deana

to deep dive into strategies

baby playing next to the water
White transparent overlay image

Traveling with baby?

Heck yes, it’s 100% possible!

This FREE download is packed with tips and tricks to help you travel with your baby by car or by plane. Traveling with kids across the country or internationally is entirely possible, and we’ve gathered strategies and tips along the way. It can be a little more tiring, and require more flexibility, but the memories together are worth it! Bonus: How to handle sleep on-the-go and adjust it based on how traveling went.

  • "The most comprehensive source I have found on baby sleep."

    “I found the sleep guide incredibly concise, helpful, and informative without feeling preachy or overwhelming. While every baby is different, and therefore, every mother’s journey is different as well, I found this guide applicable for everyone! And no matter the baby, I think there are helpful nuggets to take away. This is the most comprehensive source of information I have found on baby sleep, and I would recommend it to anybody! The tips and tricks I learned are already helping me and my 6 week old daughter find our footing with sleep! Thank you Deana for doing so much work for all of us!!!”

    - H, first time Mom

  • "The conversations in this guide are so important to have."

    “This has been SO helpful! My husband read it in the hospital while I was recovering from childbirth and refers to it often. I think reading it pre-baby is SUPER important. I feel like we did not know what we were getting into with sleep and how to prepare as a couple, and the conversations in the guide are important to have. I like the "Sleep on the Go!" and other suggestions of how it actually goes in real life and encouraging people they do NOT have to be home 24-7 when they have a baby! The resources at the end are also key! Our daughter has been sleeping through the night since 2 months old.”

    - E & M, first time parents

  • "Having a strategic plan was the difference."

    “Having a strategic plan for postpartum sleep (for me too, not just my baby) was the difference for me in not experiencing postpartum depression after my second baby.”

    - J, mom of two

  • Postpartum Planning Guide for Couples (not just Moms!)

    “Following you and your tips have already helped us so much!”

    - New parents, 2 day old baby

  • "I really appreciated the tone you struck. I did not feel judged."

    Thank you for creating the resource right as I needed it! We have been referencing it as the days and weeks tick by to check in about baby and family sleep and plan ahead, especially with my return to work nearing.

    As I was reading through the guide I also really appreciated the tone you struck and the way you organized the material. As a postpartum mom reading the guide, I did not feel judged like I sometimes do from some of the content on mainstream baby websites out there.

    - A and R, first time parents

Let’s be email friends.