Baby & Maternity Issue 2017
Yoga Teacher Susan Cline Lucey Supports Moms and Babies; Bringing Home Baby #2; Raising 5 Boys; Building a Basement Playhouse; Summer Camp Guide
Erica & Mira
Mom: Erica Loren, 37 I will never forget calling my 91-year-old grandmother the morning after Mira’s birth. Our baby had been born, and we were all doing great. I asked her if we could have her permission to use her middle name, Angelina, as the baby’s middle name. Long pause on the other end of…
Going Big: A Mother Reflects on a Surprise Addition to Her Family
My husband and I have always shared an abiding love of adventure. It has served us well for our 23 years as a couple. After 12 years together, we were ready for the adventure of having children. Our first child’s birth ushered us into parenthood with a grueling 52-hour labor that veered toward a cesarean…
The Art Of… Making a Record
Kids usually sing songs in music class, but they don’t often write them. This year, the fourth and fifth graders of Burlington’s Champlain Elementary School had a chance to compose and sing their own original anthem. Titled “School, City, and Our State,” it details a litany of the kids’ favorite things, from winter sports to…
How Do I Respond to Unwanted Attention Around My Pregnancy?
When I was eight months pregnant, someone commented on a vein on my chest. She touched my skin and said, “Well, that vein’s new. Wasn’t there before you were pregnant.” I was stupefied. How do you respond to a comment like that? “Thank you so much for keeping an inventory of my veins! I was…
Switching It Up: An Electrician/Musician and Conservationist on Role Reversals and Resilience
Before they were married, Marisa Riggi and Chris Gibbo talked about who might be the primary caregiver if they had a baby. The vivacious and professionally driven Marisa knew that she would want to continue working full-time. Chris, a musician who also works at his father’s company as an electrician, was excited to be a…
Double Trouble
I remember the first time I solo-parented both of my kids. My son, Theo, was about five days old, and my daughter, Mira, was a few months shy of 3. My husband, Jeff, was taking some time off from his teaching job, but he asked me if it would be all right if he went…
A Dino-Mite Duo
Dinosaurs no longer roam the earth, but they live on in countless children’s books. The recently released Dinosaur Detective: Thomas “T” Rex and the Case of the Angry Ankylosaurus stands out because of its unusual authors — a mother-son pair from Dorset, Vt. Former Cosmopolitan magazine associate publisher Nicole Mills and her 7-year-old son Henry…
Parenting Hacks: Road Trip Traveling Tricks
This month, parents share traveling tricks they use to make their road trips a little less rocky. Send your parenting hacks to ideas@kidsvt.com We go to the library a few days before a trip so the kids can pick out books. The new books are only opened to read when we start the trip. We…
Bringing Home (Another) Baby: Six Months In, A Mom Reflects on Double-duty Parenting
I was putting a fresh diaper on 5-day-old George when I heard the front door bang open. “We’re okay!” my husband, John, called from the living room. I scooped up the baby and ran to find John in the doorway cradling our 3-year-old, Levi. Both of them were covered in blood. A rag John held…
Trending — May 2017
Mega-chain Target is testing public breastfeeding lounges with comfy seats in its stores. “I love that it’s by the bras!” says one Facebook commenter. “Now that’s some brilliant marketing right there.” St. Louis toddler Audrey gets her wish for a poop-themed birthday party with a “pin the poop” game, piñata filled with Tootsie Rolls and…
What Do You Like Best About Camp?
For the last installment of our 2017 camp guide, we went right to the experts — the kids. After all, they’re the ones who can speak with authority about the day and sleepaway programs they attend. We asked a handful of happy campers to tell us about (and, in some cases, write about) what they…
Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation and Why It’s Important
While pregnancy and childbirth can be wonderful experiences for many women, they take a toll on the body, especially on the pelvic floor. Pelvic floor damage is very common in both vaginal and cesarean-section deliveries, and can lead to urinary incontinence, prolapse, and pelvic and lower back pain. These symptoms can be isolating and embarrassing.…
Family Art Night at Davis Studio
Davis Studio, 916 Shelburne Rd., South Burlington Friday night in my house usually means collapsing on the couch for takeout pizza and a movie. But in April, my family kick-started our weekend with a more ambitious, and creative, pursuit: painting pottery at the Davis Studio. Several times a month, the stately building on Shelburne Road…
Basement Playhouse
When Hatley turned 1, her parents, Meghan and Josh Dishaw of Middlebury, wanted to mark the occasion with an enduring gift that would encourage her imagination. So they decided to build her a special play space. Their plans quickly evolved beyond a simple nook. Together they constructed an elaborate playhouse in the space beneath their…
Spanish Tortilla: Small Bites For Small Hands — and Big ones, Too
Don’t assume your young children aren’t going to like unusual spices and ingredients — you never know until you try. One of my son’s first table foods was curried peas, and he gobbled them up! Once a baby is ready to move beyond purées to table food — usually at around 8 to 12 months…
Parenting From a United Front
Moms and dads who need a little help getting on the same page as their partners can turn to a new book from Vicki Hoefle. In Parenting As Partners: How to Launch Your Kids Without Ejecting Your Spouse, the popular author and parenting coach provides a step-by-step approach to creating a plan that will help…
Going Green For Crêpes
Since the 1970s, Vermonters have picked up trash from public spaces, roadsides and waterways on the first Saturday in May, known as Green Up Day. In honor of the event, the nonprofit that organizes it — Green Up Vermont — holds several contests for young people. The winner of this year’s Green Up Vermont Writing…
Screen Test For Freedom and Unity
Fledgling filmmakers from across the state compete in the annual Freedom & Unity Youth Film Contest, which invites Vermonters ages 10 to 30 to create original films that explore life in the Green Mountain State. This year’s entrants have already submitted their work; the winners will be announced at a free festival on May 6…
Spelling on Stage For Single Parents
Kids aren’t the only ones who compete in spelling bees. Adults can enter the Community Spelling Bee on May 24 at Champlain College. The event is a fundraiser for the school’s Single Parents Program, which has helped more than 600 single-parent students access workshops, scholarships and resources since its inception in 1987. Each team of…
From the Green Mountains to the Great White Way: A Young Teen Experiences the Bright Lights of Broadway
Name: Oscar Williams Age: 13 Town: Charlotte You may have already heard of Oscar Williams. The Vermont teen was just 11 years old in December 2014 when he got a part in Fun Home, the Broadway musical based on the graphic memoir by Alison Bechdel. Oscar played Alison’s brother, Christian. The show went on to…
Heart Opener: Susan Cline Lucey Helps New Moms Care for Themselves, Not Just Their Babies
Susan Cline Lucey was in the middle of demonstrating goddess pose in front of a postnatal yoga class when she glanced at her shoulder and noticed a wet spot. Was it spit-up? Tears? A mark left by a baby’s sweaty head? Whatever it was, she shrugged it off and continued teaching. Cline Lucey, 42, embraces…
