Summer Classes for New Parents!

Beautiful BoyAll June/July classes are at Kinected, 151 W19th Street, 2nd Floor.

Returning to Work Workshop

Monday 7/12 2:30-4:30

Finding and keeping great childcare for your baby • Negotiating appropriate work schedules and boundaries • Pumping and storing breast milk • Nighttime parenting when both parents are employed.

We will also address logistics and common concerns, such as:  ”When will I ever get to the gym?!” “Will my baby know I’m her mom?!” and “How will I get it all done?!”  

$50, moms only (purchase button at left; pre-registration required).  Bring your baby, or come solo.

New Moms’ Discussion Group

Wednesdays in July from 2:30-4 pm

Dealing with crying and fussy behavior  •  Establishing routines •
 Getting your body back  •  Co-parenting with your partner
 • “Myths” of motherhood •  Sex and Intimacy and Parenting 
• Sleep Issues  •  Dealing with Grandparents

Drop-in cost (text ahead of time to 917.412.3247 to RSVP), $25, cash.  Bring your baby!

 

Sleep Clinic

Monday 6/21 2:30-4:30 
Learn normal developmental sleep patterns, establish appropriate routines, sort out conflicting advice.  Open to parents of babies under age 1 and to expectant parents looking for a head start. 

$65 per person or $75 per couple (purchase button at left, pre-registration required).  Babies-in-arms welcome.

Older Baby Workshop

Monday 6/28 2:30-4:30 

Cognitive and physical milestones from 6-15 months • Nutrition, solids and weaning • Baby-proofing • Appropriate play for your older baby • Beginning discipline issues • Repetitive and annoying behaviors •  Nap transitions • Separation and stranger anxiety, and one-parent-preference

$50 per person or $60 per couple (purchase button at left, pre-registration required).  Bring your baby, or come solo.

Sleep Counseling Program

 Sleeping BabyMaybe you’re wondering how to ensure your child becomes a “good sleeper.”

Maybe you’ve been bombarded with conflicting sleep advice.

Maybe the “expert” advice you’ve heard doesn’t work on your baby or just doesn’t feel right to you.

Maybe you and your partner don’t agree on how sleep “ought to” happen.

Or maybe you just find it hard to think clearly and be consistent in the middle of the night!

There is no one simple method that fits every family’s needs. There is no one way for infants to sleep.  There is no magical number of hours they, or you, must sleep at a certain age. 

Let’s get away from sleep advice that should be in the fiction section of the bookstore!  Babies are real people; they have needs. Parents are real people with real needs, too. Learning to put those things in balance will help you make sense of your chaotic, tired situation.  We will develop real-life habits and solutions that work best for your family; you will feel more confident that everyone’s needs are getting met.

Private Sessions in Manhattan, or via Skype, contact me at meredith @ amotherisborn (dot) com.  

Parenting and Breastfeeding Consults

HandsYou’re taking care of the baby; who’s taking care of you?

You’re probably an expert at lots of things, but as a brand new Mom, or Mom-To-Be, you’re a new beginner. And unlike things that ease in gradually, this is something you do 24/7, without a guidebook.  (Well, there are hundreds of guidebooks but they all say different things, and none of them was written just for you). 

You know there’s not one “right way” to do everything, but … you want to get it right.

And you’re tired.

It can get intense.

As you figure out breastfeeding and infant care and logistics — and later on, as you sort out naps and playtime and your parenting style — you deserve pragmatic, non-generic assistance, and reassuring company. I’ll have my eye on you to make sure you’re not falling through the cracks – that you’re being taken care of as you learn to mother your baby.

Options:

  • FOR EXPECTANT PARENTS:  one or more pre-natal home visits (fee depends on number of visits).
  • FOR NEW PARENTS:  series of one-hour Parenting Consults — at any time during the first year — in your home or workplace, to discuss feeding, sleep, transitions, coping with colic, acclimating to motherhood, self-care, weaning, spousal issues, guilt, coping with relatives, introducing solid foods … what have you!  (fee depends on number of visits)
  • FOR NEW PARENTS OUTSIDE NYC: one-hour Skype consults are available for all parenting issues above except those that require a clinical breastfeeding assessment.  (I can help you locate an IBCLC to see locally.)

My goal is to help you find your sea legs. As you figure out who you are as a Mom, I will support your choices with guidance, advice and mentoring, so that you gain confidence to move through the postpartum period.

Back-to-Work-Doula™ Support

Shoulder BabyPerhaps you had lots of support and attention during those first weeks postpartum, but now you’re going back to work and you’re feeling all alone against a mountainous change.

Through a series of home, office or phone visits during the transition, I will guide you through childcare decisions, time management concerns, pumping breast milk, and sleep issues. We focus on practical problem-solving as well as meditation techniques for patience and sanity. Drawing on my background as an employment lawyer, I will help you develop strong negotiation tools to achieve your best work arrangement.

You deserve gentle encouragement as you move through the transition into this next phase of your life.

Infant Care and Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding

Hard as it is to imagine, after this pregnancy, they’re going to let you loose with a baby!

To help you deal with that, I offer group and private classes in breastfeeding and infant care.  FAQ, scroll down.

Group Classes, two formats:

One Saturday per month, “combo” class at Pregnancy & Parenting 10-3pm (locations vary — I teach this on E 62 St. and in Chelsea and sometimes in TriBeCa depending on the month, please contact me at meredith (at) amotherisborn (dot) com to find my upcoming schedule). 

First Sunday of the month, stand-alone class at City Births, 370 W 58 ST, 10-1 or 2-5, scheduled the day after my childbirth series so you can take them sequentially.

(Note:  You can register for these classes without taking childbirth, but I strongly suggest you take all of it.  It helps.)

For private classes, contact me at meredith (at) amotherisborn (dot) com.

Class Details:

Infant Care:

  • Grooming, diapering and bathing
  • When to call the pediatrician
  • Sleep issues
  • Coping with fussiness and colic
  • Finding breaks
  • Getting out
  • Setting up a nursery

Breastfeeding:

  • Establishing a proper latch
  • Ensuring that the baby is feeding well
  • Troubleshooting/Common Concerns about breastfeeding
  • What to do if you need more help
  • Emotional issues around breastfeeding