Ready Set Grow

Join us for another clothing swap!! Try on clothes, donate, and connect with other parents! Drop in, or register with the link below!

February 15 from 3-5pm at Ready Set Grow!

We are in need of 32 gallon clear plastic tubs to make Refugee Restart Kits with our diaper, wipe, & baby item donations!

Link in our bio!

See list of classes and register via clicking the link below! Or go to our website and CLASSES > CLASS SCHEDULE from the drop down menu!
https://bit.ly/RSGclasses

In this 60 minute class you’ll be guided through a juicy, all levels Vinyasa flow that will help you build strength and mobility.
More challenging than our other postpartum yoga offerings, with a focus on the areas in need of the most attention while caring for an ever-growing baby.
If you have less help at home or have returned to work, this class will provide a quick reset midweek and midday so you can get through the challenging job of parenting and juggling all the things!

This short-series class goes for a few more Mondays! Sign up for the series and get a prorated rate, which is an even greater discount than signing up as a drop in!
We'd love to keep this going for another round, so your participation creates opportunities for us to grow the supportive community we believe in and need!

See list of classes and register via clicking the link below! Or go to our website and CLASSES > CLASS SCHEDULE from the drop down menu!
https://bit.ly/RSGclasses

Class runs from April 13th until May 18th.

A group support series for LGBTQIA+ pregnant people to receive somatic care, peer connection, and prepare the body and spirit for the expanse of birth and q***r parenthood. This 6-week somatic support circle for q***r+trans pregnant people will offer gentle movement, breath work, body attunement and more, so your body and mind can feel held through this sacred and wild experience of growing a baby. Build your q***r family community, get connected with perinatal resources, and get support navigating the transition into parenthood amongst peers. Each week we'll center together with a connection prompt, lean into our intuition with a gently guided embodiment practice, and have space to open up about our experiences.

This space is held by Jane Flanagan, perinatal mental health specialist (PMH-C), somatic expressive arts therapist, q***r family community organizer, and fellow q***r parent. *Though Jane is a qualified mental health professional, this is not a therapy group*
***rspaces

Ever feel inadequate raising your kids, like you can’t quite get it right? Ever feel like you are out of balance and you aren’t sure how to tip the scales to find those elusive moments of equanimity?

Maybe it’s just me - but I don’t think I’m alone. The exhaustion and confusion of being a parent in the early years (Or maybe forever? I don’t know… I’m still in the early years.) can be overwhelming. I often find myself not meeting my own expectations and left feeling deficient.

I often find myself lacking warmth, humor, and kindness as I fumble through learning how to parent these amazing and challenging little humans who call me “Mom.” I often judge myself against a pre-parenthood version of me when my well runs dry. The days can feel long without self-compassion.

Self-compassion helps me be kinder to myself as I navigate the challenges of raising children. And this is good for me and good for my children. When I’m self-compassionate, I’m a good role model for my kids. By role modeling kindness to myself, I’m helping my kids learn that it’s okay to make mistakes, forgive myself and try to do better next time.

It’s a work in progress. I’m a work in progress.

May we all give ourselves the compassion we need as we try to care for our children.

If you are interested in exploring some self-compassion practices, check out Prenatal + Postpartum Yoga Wind Down in our class offerings!

𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐚𝐲. ⁣
It is also an important day for me and my family as we lost my mother on this day 11 years ago. Two of my children never got to meet her and my oldest for only his first year or so. I was her only child so it’s mostly on me to keep her memory alive. Being a motherless mother has its own challenges, mainly that I don’t get to share my beautiful children with their Nona who would’ve found such joy in them. Sharing a poem I wrote a few years ago. ⁣
⁣
𝐏𝐨𝐞𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬⁣
Sometimes when I lie in my bed and close my eyes to take a quick recharging nap⁣
⁣
my children quietly (finally) themselves, napping⁣
⁣
I can see my mom’s face⁣
her freckled olive skin⁣
as if it were inches from mine... ⁣
⁣
and I remember what she looked like when she was alive,⁣
⁣
and I remember what she looked like when she was dying, that in between alive and not alive look that your skin gets,⁣
and I remember what she looked like dead.⁣
⁣
She was beautiful (although she probably wouldn’t have thought so), in every stage from here to gone,⁣
⁣
from present to illusory,⁣
⁣
from breath, to mist, to cold, to ash.⁣
⁣
I can feel the soft skin of her neck as I nuzzle in to breathe deeply her smell.⁣
⁣
I can remember her smell,⁣
as if she were lying next to me⁣
right this very minute.⁣
⁣
My beautiful mama, who I hugged and snuggled not nearly enough;⁣
⁣
Who I appreciated so much less than I should have,⁣
⁣
and who loved me no matter how ungrateful and naively unaware I was⁣
⁣
of her gift⁣
of motherhood⁣
and unconditional love.⁣
⁣

**You can find more writing about motherhood as well as documentation of my pregnancy at 46 via short dance videos (the best ones shot by through the first year of the pandemic at matrescencemonologues.com⁣ or at the link in our bio.
Xo, Daniele

Reposted
Today I heard someone say, “This is how you get your body back after birth.” I threw up in my mouth a little bit.

Can we just stop with this harmful narrative about birthing bodies and bodies that menstruate?!? That some other version of this body is better or more worthy of love and care?!?! This body - THIS BODY HERE AND NOW - is beautiful, is worthy, is enough.

Let go of the past: There is no going back to my previous body.

Embrace the now: This is the body I have.

Hope for the future: Care for this body so it will serve my daily movements as long as possible.

I’m actively doing this work for myself so that my children might have a chance to opt out this stupid cycle of self-hatred and not-enoughness. Don’t talk about dieting in front of my kids. Don’t talk negatively about your body in front of my kids. I’m working so hard to give them a foundation of love and appreciation for their bodies. Every night I sing, “You are so big, so strong and so mighty! There’s nothing that you cannot do!” I better live like this is the truth for me too.

“Love your hands! Love them. Raise them up and kiss them. Touch others with them, pat them together, stroke them on your face… Love your mouth… This is flesh… Flesh that needs to be loved. Feet that need to rest and to dance; backs that need support; shoulders that need arms, strong arms… Love your neck; put a hand on it, grace it, stroke it and hold it up. And all your inside parts that they’d just as soon slop for hogs, you got to love them. The dark, dark liver — love it, love it, and the beat and beating heart, love that too. More than eyes or feet. More than lungs that have yet to draw free air. More than your life-holding womb and your life-giving private parts… love your heart. For this is the prize.” Toni Morrison, Beloved

A breastfeeding parent on vacation…WITHOUT THEIR BABY.⁣
⁣
Yes, this is possible my friends (and necessary at times for mental health). ⁣
⁣
A few things to consider: ⁣
• How established is your BFing relationship?⁣
• How important is it to you that it continues?⁣
• Do you have a good supply?⁣
• Do you have enough of a stash to get baby through however long you’re gone?⁣
• How old is your baby?⁣
• Are they eating solids?⁣
• Do you have someone you trust who can handle 24+ hours of baby?⁣
• Do you enjoy kid-free fun?⁣
⁣
Now, I breastfed for over 8 1/2 years. I was confident in my supply BUT I had donated almost my entire stash, so I had to plan ahead because I’m committed to (and lucky enough to) continue nursing until my kid(s) are ready to stop. Plus, my little one was a “straight from the tap” kinda baby. She hadn’t taken a bottle more than a few times in 10 months.⁣
⁣
So for two weeks, I pumped (which I hate). ⁣
Our regular sitter (who was going to be with baby while we were away) offered a bottle every day they were around. ⁣
We laid some groundwork and did some prep.⁣
⁣
I hadn’t left my first two kids this young for this long, but it had been a hell of pandemic and mama needed a grown-up break like whoa. ⁣
My partner was at a work convention in Vegas and well…we made it work. ⁣
⁣
I pumped and dumped, not because of the Corona (the beer, not the virus); I’m all about busting that myth. ⁣
⁣
I pumped and dumped because dealing with storing and traveling with breastmilk is a huge pain in the ass and I was on VACATION. ⁣
⁣
It was only three days and two nights but we made the best of it and we had a blast…and my babe latched right on when we were reunited. Our two older kids had a fun adventure at grandma’s and my partner and I felt rejuvenated (and perhaps a bit hungover). ⁣
⁣
It’s possible. Life after kids is different but with some planning, some trusted help, and a small leap of faith, it IS possible to revisit the free-spirited time before parenthood. If only for a short little while. ⁣
Cheers! 🍻

The perfection that is a sleeping baby. Makes the months of pregnancy-related discomforts and the months (years?) of postpartum recovery all worth it. The sleepless night melts away when you look at this beautiful sight (before falling asleep sitting up in your chair). We can help with both the pregnancy AND the postpartum recovery in our many classes just for parents (and their babes).
Schedule link in bio

Repost from
•
As with so many things in this country, race plays a role in the experiences black mothers have with breastfeeding.⁠
⁠
Racial biases as both from medical professionals, long-standing fear and frustrations passed down generationally and socioeconomic status of communities at large all play their part.⁠
⁠
There is still work to do. I encourage you to do research and find a black breastfeeding organization local to you and support them tangibly— be it a financial or product-based donation. Those on the ground grassroots organizations are ALWAYS our country's biggest change-makers.⁠
⁠
to find who they are in your local area and do what you can to support them year-round.⁠
⁠
Do me a favor: please list the city you are in and the name of the organization you found so others in your area can add it to their list. And if you ARE a local organization focused on black maternal wellbeing and/or breastfeeding efforts please let us know so we can support!⁠
📸 ⁠
⁠
⁠
⁠
⁠

This workshop is designed for those intending to breast/chest feed their little one but also provides valuable information for those who are unsure about their feeding goals. Feel prepared to feed your baby with confidence!

Sign up before spots fill up! Click the link below, or go to our website and click on CLASSES > WORKSHOPS + BUNDLES from the dropdown menu.
https://bit.ly/47P9abm

Melissa Curry, an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), will cover the basics of lactation to get you and your baby off to a great start, including:
*Exploring the fascinating biology of making milk
*Recognizing your baby’s feeding cues
*Learning positions and techniques for feeding at breast/chest
*An introduction to breast pumps and other feeding tools
*Tips and tricks for common lactation issues
*When to seek professional support
*FAQs we hear from new parents
RSG Members: $175 per couple
Non-Members: $195 per couple
**Purchase one of our Workshop Bundles to attend all 3 workshops for expecting parents so you can feel PREPARED and SAVE BIG! (Members save 20%, non-members save 10%)**
*Please Note: If not using one of our money saving "workshop bundles" you can register your partner by reserving 2 spots, entering your partner's information, and then using promo code BIRTHPARTNER to register your partner for free. The amount due will reflect 50% off both bookings, or one full price registration.