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Pregnancy & Parenting in the Valley
beyond the obvious
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Noho Family Center News
 The Northampton Parents Center is now open for the season- a wonderful place for kids and parents to connect with old friends or make new ones. M-Th 9:30-11:30 am. More info.Welcome Back Pizza and Potluck Picnic at Look Park, Sept 25th, Thursday, 4 pm at the little playground on the right (look for the NPC sandwich board.) Call 582-2636 to RSVP. |
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Help for Infertility
RESOLVE of the Bay State, Inc. is the Massachusetts
Chapter of RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, the
leading consumer nonprofit organization supporting individuals
experiencing infertility. On Sat., Oct. 25th, the annual RESOLVE Conference takes place in Marlborough, MA.
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Doula Training & Mentoring
 Registration is now open for the next Doula Training Workshop & Mentoring program! Join us for an intensive, inspiring four day workshop with lots of hands-on practice.
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Open Hearth Cooking
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It's a quintessential fall scent...slow-cooked sweet spiced apples. Imagine the intrigue of seeing this and other traditional New England dishes cooked on an open hearth. My 6- year old has lately had a fascination with how things (lots of things!) were done "in the old days," and I'm sure this demonstration at Old Deerfield Village will answer some of his questions and spawn a whole new batch!Sat. Sept. 13th and other dates at Old Deerfield Village. Remember that FREE family passes are available for checkout from the excellent Forbes Library in Northampton.
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Free Car Seat Safety Checks
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Many parents spend hours researching and purchasing the best car seat or booster they can find for their little one- but miss out on the full protection it can offer by improperly installing it. Studies show that in Western Mass, "On average, parents and
caregivers made three mistakes ranging from not securing the seat belt
tight enough to improper use of the harness strap."Free car seat checks are available by appointment at Baystate in Springfield each Thursday. More info.
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Fall! The in-between days of September can be so sweet, with one foot in summer and one in fall. Make the best of both seasons with great activities- some for families and some just for parents.
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Peace Through Productivity for Stay-at-home-parents
 As a stay-at-home parent, the concept of "productivity" may seem like a foreign concept - perhaps one that you remember fondly from your office years. Now you may frequently discover with some surprise that it's early afternoon and you haven't showered, opened the mail, or gotten out of the house. Especially with an infant or toddler in the house, the simple household routines of dressing, eating, and clean-up can easily fill much of the day. Of course you want to make some quality (and quantity!) time to enjoy playing and exploring with your children, too. That doesn't negate the fact that you may very well have other interests, goals, and responsibilities from your pre-childbearing or extra-parental life. It can be a real challenge to find the time to keep these other important projects moving along. This article will offer you some easily implemented methods of tending to these projects in small pockets of time. If you already have an efficient method of keeping track of ideas, plans, projects, and tasks, then you'll have no need for this article. However, if you find yourself plagued by 'haftas,' 'shouldas,' great ideas that are languishing, and maybe a streak of guilt, click here to read on!
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Creative Movement for Birth
 What's good for mama is good for baby! Pregnant women and partners learn the hidden anatomy & physiology of birth in this mini-workshop, with a brief but eye-opening illustrated explanation of the baby's spiral path of descent and rotation. We then dive into demonstrations and practice of practical techniques to facilitate this spiral, which result in quicker, more comfortable labors. Next Creative Movement class Sat, Oct 4, 1:00-3:30 at Inspirit Common, Hadley. Graduating students from the Doula Training Workshop will assist. Sliding scale- donations accepted to benefit MotherWoman. Call 413 586 3648 to register by 10/2. Click here to read more about the class.
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Giving Birth: Stories & Insights
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A tender evening of birth stories, laughter, heartfulness and contemplation. Come share your birth story or just listen. All are welcome. Co-facilitated by Vicki Elson, Childbirth Educator, and Michelle L'Esperance, Certified Professional Midwife.
Thursday, Sept. 25, 6:30PM.
Hadley location TBA.
More Info
Do you know a woman in her 60's, 70's, or beyond who has an amazing birth story to share? Please let her know about this event- we would be honored to hear what she has to say!
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The Pregnancy & Parenting in the Valley Newsletter is sponsored by Warm Welcome Birth Services, offering complete doula care for families, doula training workshops & mentoring, and more.
Click to read Archived Newsletters or to subscribe.
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 Peace Through Productivity, Continued- When I was home nearly full-time with my infant and preschool child, I found that it was even more important for me to keep track of ideas, plan projects, prioritize and make intelligent, practical choices
about what to do each day. With my solo adult time whittled down to a
fraction of what it had been, I wanted to be sure that I was making the
best use of those hours or minutes. Developing a workable method
contributed dramatically to both my peace of mind and my productivity.
Credit goes to Steven Covey (Seven Habits) and David Allen (Getting
Things Done) for the inspiration and much of the method below.
Supplies
you'll need: index cards, preferably colored; 5-15 small legal pads or
small notebooks, all the same style; and a block of tiny sticky notes.
See fabulous photo (thanks to my son).
PHASE ONE:
Place the legal pads or small notebooks throughout your home, so that
there is always one within sight (but out of reach of small hands-
these are sacred!). Make sure to place one in the bathroom, in your
favorite nursing spot, in your purse or diaper bag, and by the bedside. These are your 'buckets'.
EVERY time that you have an inspiration, a thought of something you
must do or even might want to do, write it down on your bucket paper.
Don't bother to phrase it just right (unless you're a poet). All that
matters is taking ten seconds as soon as you think of it to write it
down legibly. Even just implementing this first stage of the
productivity plan may well begin to clear mental space for you. Within
a few days of establishing this habit, I found that I could relax and
enjoy time with my kids so much more, knowing that I did not have to
devote any energy to hanging on to some to-do list in my head. Get it
safely on paper, out of your head, and enjoy the space (and perhaps fresh
ideas!) that you'll discover.
PHASE TWO:
Prepare your index cards. Designate each color as a 'context,' a place
where you do things. Keep it general. My contexts are Phone, Computer,
Paperwork, House, Errands. Schedule in time to regularly transfer notes
from your buckets to your cards. If it's a PROJECT- something that
requires multiple steps to complete- break it down into TASKS. Each index card should hold just one task.
(Cut your cards to smaller size if you can't stand using that much pulp
for one lil' idea.) If you have several projects in the works, you may
want to label your index cards in the upper left hand corner with the
project title, i.e. "Homeschooling" or "School Fundraiser".
PHASE THREE: To-do lists. Why not skip the first two phases and start here? Because the typical to-do list is too long
(hence, overwhelming and more likely to languish) and doesn't really
take into account true priority or the rhythm of the coming day. Most
to-do lists are somewhat stream of consciousness (or conscience).
You'll use your tiny post-it notes for these daily lists. Make a habit
each morning or evening of reviewing your index cards. Look ahead to
the day and make a realistic assessment of how much time you'll have to
accomplish things beyond your usual household routine. Choose those
things that are most important and fit with your vision of the day (is
it a good day to run errands, or are you more likely to carve out a
little time on the computer?) A realistic to-do list may have only one
or two items on it- that's okay! Barring a major unforseen disruption,
though, you commit to completing those items for that day. It's a tiny daily contract with yourself.
I use an evolving version of this productivity system. If you choose to
adopt it, you may well find ways to tweak it and make it your own.
Tech-minded folk may turn to some of the excellent software options
such as PlanPlus for Outlook or the free online Remember The Milk. My
experience has been that while it takes some time to learn and
implement, having a solid idea-capturing and productivity system
enables me to immerse myself more freely into time with my kids, and to
be more satisfied with what I've accomplished each day in my business
and personal life. At the end of the day, that feels like peace.
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