Baby & Maternity Issue 2014
Learn How to ‘Wear’ Your Baby; A ‘Natural Mom Comes to Terms With Her C-Section; Inside Vermont’s Hospital Birthing Centers; What to Eat & Avoid When Breast-Feeding
Seasonal Reads
This month Kids VT asked local parents to recommend books that inspired them when they first had children. Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son’s First Year by Anne Lamott Novelist Anne Lamott gives an honest account of her experience becoming a single mother at the age of 35. The best seller chronicles Lamott’s pregnancy,…
Carbo-Loading for a Cause
For the Munson-Warnkens of Burlington, the Vermont City Marathon is a family affair. Dad Wayne is running the whole race — accompanied for the first 5K by Luca, 5, who will be riding on his balance bike. Mom Megan and sons Mark, 11, and Fisher, 8, are part of a relay team supporting Outright Vermont.…
Hoop It Up
Perfecting Hula-Hoop routines in the basement helped you survive the winter. But now it’s time to show them off — and maybe even win a prize — at HOOPAPALOOZA V. In this fun-for-all-ages fundraiser, teams of five compete by performing a two-to-four-minute-long choreographed hoop dance to their favorite song. Organizers from the Rotary Club of…
Au Pair Extraordinaire
Truly great caregivers deserve to be celebrated. So we’re tipping our hats to Marlene Nys, the 2014 Vermont Au Pair of the Year. The competition is sponsored by Massachusetts-based Culture Care Au Pair, an organization that helps place international caregivers with American families. Nys, a 21-year-old French citizen, was nominated by host mom Suzanne Johnson…
Ride the Rails
There are only a few days a year when you can actually catch a train at Burlington’s Union Station, and two of them are coming up in May. The Champlain Valley Flyer makes four round trips to Shelburne on Kids Day, May 10, which also happens to be National Train Day. You can hop aboard…
The Art of… Robotics
The word “sumo” typically conjures up images of large, scantily-clad men pushing each other around a ring. But it was robots — not wrestlers — fighting for supremacy during a Sumo Bots class on a recent Saturday afternoon in the Shaw’s community space in South Burlington. Husband-and-wife team Christine and Kevin Braun were leading the…
Science in the Stacks
This summer, 14 Vermont libraries turn into science labs, where kids can build solar-powered plastic creatures and make electrical circuits from conductive play dough. The Spark a Culture of Innovation program is responsible for the transformation. This Vermont Department of Libraries initiative is aimed at introducing kids to Vermont’s DIY “maker” movement. Representatives from Vermont…
What should breast-feeding moms eat, drink and avoid?
The research is overwhelming: Breast-feeding is the ideal way to give infants a healthy start in life, provide them with balanced nutrition, boost their immune systems and create bonds between mother and child. But which foods and beverages should breast-feeding moms seek out or avoid? This month, Dr. Lewis First, head of pediatrics at Vermont…
Rock Dunder
“Drawing on History” is a monthly feature about a notable Vermont person, place or event from days of yore. Want to suggest a future topic? Email us at ideas@kidsvt.com. This article was originally published in Seven Days’ monthly parenting magazine, Kids VT.
‘Wearing’ Your Baby
New parents: Looking for a great way to multitask while simultaneously showing your baby some love? Strap that little one onto your body! Babywearing is common practice all over the world — and for good reason. Wearing your baby is beneficial to both of you, says Vermont-based child-and-family therapist Shauna Silva. “Babywearing has been empirically…
Prepared for Arrival: Comparing Vermont’s Hospital Birthing Centers
Choosing where to deliver your baby is unlike any other medical decision. Break your arm and you’ll likely end up in the closest emergency room. Women expecting new babies can start browsing their options months in advance. Some Vermont women — about 2 percent — deliver at home; the state has one of the highest…
Bringing Home Baby
I wasn’t supposed to write the editor’s note for this issue. Managing editor Megan James had planned to; she’s been blogging about her first pregnancy for the last four months, and had hoped to sign off here and on the blog before she delivered. Her due date wasn’t until May 4, so it seemed like…
Free-Range Toddlers: A Farm-Based Childcare Program Counters the Overprotective Parenting Trend
“Looking for art supplies” plays out a little differently at Elephant in the Field Holistic Education & Childcare. Instead of rummaging through a plastic bin on an early spring day that was cold enough to keep some inside, five toddlers don snow pants and boots. Their project is to create a bogolan, or West African…
Running Strong
When coach Jeane Kadmiri says “Girls on the run!” an emphatic cheer rises from the group of girls gathered in Newport City Elementary’s gym. They whoop and clap their hands. It’s 3 p.m., the end of another school day, but their energy is palpable. After stretching and working through interval stations, they’re ready to run.…
Risky Business: A Middlebury Filmmaker Visits a UK “Adventure Playground”
In 2012, Middlebury filmmaker Erin Davis visited the Land, an “adventure playground” in Wales where kids are free to climb trees, hammer nails, build fires and take risks — all with minimal adult supervision. What looks to most adults like a junkyard — tire piles, wood pallets, fire pits, old mattresses — is actually a…
How did you prepare your child for a new sibling?
John Meli, South Burlington Director, WCAX-TV Son Harper, 12; daughter Lena, 2 Our son Harper wanted a sibling for a very long time — I think he started asking for one when he was around 4. He was 10 when our daughter Lena was born, and he was really excited when we told him we…
Baby Nursery
Preparing for her baby’s arrival at the end of last year, Jen Reardon of Williston knew she wanted to create a charming and personalized space without breaking the bank. The accomplished artist used her creativity to craft a budget-friendly nursery that combines baby-room functionality with the wanderlust that she and her partner Brennan want to…
Hunger Games: The Mysteries of Eating While Pregnant
In the first days after my positive pregnancy test, I threw myself headlong into the world of healthy eating. Good-bye, chocolate-chip cookies; hello, superfoods. I even started a food journal, giddily chronicling my daily servings of protein, whole grains and leafy greens. Veteran moms know where this is headed: That journal lasted all of two…
Rebirth Plan: A “natural” mom comes to terms with her C-section
The moment my baby finally came out, I held my breath while he gasped his first. His cries elicited tears of relief. He was here. I was alive. We made it. Still, I hesitate to say that I gave birth. Technically, my role was more passive. He emerged from a deep incision made by a…
Posting Pregancy Selfies and Ultrasound Pics on Facebook
Q: I’m expecting my first baby this summer, and I know I’m not alone: My Facebook news feed has been inundated lately with pregnancy selfies — moms-to-be standing in front of their bathroom mirrors documenting their growing bump. Then, of course, there are the ubiquitous ultrasound pics. How much is too much for parents-to-be to…
Book-Review Winners (May 2014)
Congratulations to these enthusiastic young critics who shared their reading recommendations with us in April. Each wins a $25 gift certificate from Crow Bookshop in Burlington. We loved reading about all the entrants’ literary adventures, and have included some excerpts below. The End of the Beginning by Avi “My favorite part of the story was…
