Do you remember your favourite teachers? I bet one or two come to mind right away. Maybe a whole bunch do. I know I remember my favourite teachers. In elementary school there was the teacher who helped me love reading and writing even though I had disliked both for years and struggled with spelling. There was the music teacher who directed a school musical each year; I literally went to school sick once and threw up in the school bathroom just so I wouldn't miss a rehearsal. In grade 6, it was the teacher who finally got it through my head that "a lot" is two words, not one! In junior high it ..read more

2020. This number is heavy. This number brings up all kinds of emotions and even physical responses. This number wants to be remembered even as we beg for it to be forgotten. This number signifies a year unlike any other that I, and so many other people, have lived. And yet, we lived it. We are on the other side. How did 2020 shape you? Did it tear you down? Build you up? Completely turn your world upside down? Make you rethink your job, your relationships, your very identity? Probably. I know it did all of these things for me, and more. 2020 was hard. I learned so much about myself and I'm be ..read more

Someone tagged me on Facebook a while back; it was a link to an article about the birth of sextuplets. I took a look and then turned to the comments to see what others were saying. The majority of the comments were not about the fact that this couple had six newborns at home or even that these weren't the couple's only children (the sextuplets have 3 older siblings). No. The majority of comments were about the NAMES the couple had given their children. Ok, yes, they were definitely unconventional and definitely uncommon, but they are the names chosen by their parents. Turns out that for a lot ..read more

Birth doulas offer emotional and physical support for moms-to-be. They do this prenatally as well as during labour, delivery and after baby arrives. Studies have shown that the support of a doula offers amazing benefits to mom and baby, including shorter labours and fewer medical interventions. But what about dads and partners? Some people have the mistaken impression that hiring a birth doula means replacing dad. But in reality, the role of a doula is actually to support the entire family unit, however that may look. Just how do doulas do this? By Building a Relationship Birth doulas do pren ..read more

I had an appointment with my midwife the day I gave birth to my second baby. I spent the morning doing odds and ends around the house and trying to keep my nearly two-year-old son, Aiden, out of mischief. I had a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions from all the moving about but that was to be expected- I was 40 weeks and 4 days pregnant after all! I packed up our lunch and we headed over to the mall near the Birthing Center to eat. I had a bad craving for an iced caramel macchiato and a cookie. Of course Aiden insisted that we ride the escalators over and over and over again as well. It seemed ..read more

It's an exciting time when a couple decides to add a bundle of joy to their family. Unfortunately this excitement can become clouded by problems of infertility. Infertility issues have been on the rise in recent years with some studies citing that as many as 1 in 6 couples experience this issue. When a couple faces infertility, many things go through their minds. What is wrong with us? Why is it not working? What are we doing wrong? Issues of infertility can also happen for couples who have already had a baby without any problems but who and are having trouble conceiving once more. So what is ..read more

What is a doula? And why would I want one? If you have no idea what a doula is, you're in good company- it wasn't until I had my third baby that I even heard the term. Technically speaking, the term doula is the greek word for a female servant. In modern culture the term doula usually refers to a trained and experienced labour support person who offers women (and their partners) emotional and practical support before, during and after childbirth. It can also refer to a trained and experienced woman who supports a new family in the postpartum period. Some doulas provide both birth and postpart ..read more

"I want a long, hard, complicated labour and delivery," said no pregnant woman ever! So what can you do to help increase your chances of a short, "easy", and healthy childbirth? You can... ~ Get the facts- take a positive and informative childbirth education class. ~ Get a doula- studies show that having a birth doula helps reduce your chances of medical interventions and helps keep you (and your partner) comfortable physically and emotionally no matter where you choose to give birth. ~ Get some exercise- exercise is beneficial for you and your baby. Certain kinds of exercise are also useful f ..read more

I've read a lot of parenting books, blogs and magazine articles over the years- feeding, sleeping, discipline, you name it. I've also read a number of parenting books that are more of a "memoir" style, meant, I think, to encourage other parents in their journey. ~You are my hero. Someone needs to say it out loud, and I'm happy to be that someone.~ Lisa-Jo Baker And let's be honest here- who as a parent doesn't want to be encouraged? Who doesn't want to hear that someone else has gone through or is going through the same (or similar) stuff as we are? I know I do! But despite their pretty cover ..read more

At 28 weeks, my baby was head down so I was more than a little surprised to find out that she was breech at my next midwife appointment a few weeks later. My first two babies were head down and engaged pretty early on and I didn't think my third baby would be any different. At 32 weeks I knew I still had time for her to turn so I immediately started doing what I could to encourage her to flip based on advice from my midwife, (as per the Spinning Babies website) and booked myself for an acupuncture appointment. I was stressed. I prayed a lot. My naturopath used moxa sticks in addition to the n ..read more