Pregnancy, Parenthood & Playtime

Doula, Birth Advocate, Aspiring Midwife, Mother, and Wife

Archive for August, 2010

Connecticut Weekend Activities

August 25, 2010 at 1:27 pm by elwood

I know if you are like me, you are always looking for weekend activities to do with my family. Things that are fun, yet educational, or healthy. I thought this weekend, since it would be so nice out I would think of some nice activities families all over the state would enjoy.

Lyman Orchards Pick Your Own – Right now not only are Apples available for picking, you can also pick Peaches, and Pears!
Beardsley Zoo- They have a ton of different things going on this weekend. Wonders of Wildlife, and Everyone is a Kid at the Zoo. I have never been disappointed by any of their program activities.
Bridgeport Blue Fish – Take a couple hours and go see a baseball game! The Bridgeport Blue Fish will be playing home games all weekend long!
Mystic Aquarium – Take the family to see all the ocean life at the Mystic Aquarium!
Open Farms Day in Orange – Teach your children about the local farms, and check out what our local growers have to offer.

You also have the typical going to the beaches, local parks, nature centers, and those awesome outdoor things that you can do. It is one of the last beautiful weekends of the summer, so instead of indoor activities, take the time to get you and your family outside and enjoy it!

elwood

Danielle A. Elwood is a Connecticut native, born and raised on the Connecticut shoreline in the Lordship community of Stratford. The Wife of a Veteran Marine, and mother of two small boys, Camden and Benjamin, she works heavily in the pregnancy and birth community, as well as the local shoreline parenting community, all while active as the head of a local nonprofit organization called ICAN, which provides support for mothers who have had cesarean section births. She is a doula by trait and hopes to become a midwife some day. For now she wants to help reach as many mothers as she can through ICAN and education.

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Polling Locals : Home Schooling

August 23, 2010 at 8:04 pm by elwood

There are so many opinions when it comes to Home Schooling, but what I am looking for today is a response to parents teaching their children at home right here in Connecticut.

While some parents have strong views and opinions on schooling, many hold a lot of unfounded, or mythical misconceptions about home schooling.

So the point of this survey, is to help me author a local informative piece on some of the misconceptions of home schooling, especially in the Connecticut area.

Please take a few moments to fill out this 4 question survey on the subject of Home Schooling in Connecticut.

elwood

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Healthy Snack Ideas for Back to School!

August 23, 2010 at 10:07 am by elwood

With school starting this week for many of the kids across our state, I only thought it would be fitting to include some healthy snack ideas that are not only easy to pack, but also great options most children don’t mind munching on. They are also super easy for us as parents to pack for a bus breakfast, or snack time in class.

Fruits :

Apples
Blueberries
Strawberries
Grapes

Pre Packed :

Yogurt
Individually wrapped Cheese’s

A little more preparation :

Black beans
Mini Sandwiches
Peanut Butter & Crackers
Trail Mix
Homemade Chex Mix

All simple and little ideas what will make life slightly easier for busy parents when it comes time to get your little one packed up and out the door!

elwood

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Backpack Safety

August 22, 2010 at 1:45 pm by elwood

With the kids going back to school over the next week, I figured I would share some backpack safety tips for the school season. It seems as though in the past decade, children’s backpacks have become more and more heavy and possibily harmful to their spine. So to help prevent your child from having a possible injury, simply follow these easy steps!

Make sure the backpack is the right size for your child. The proper size of a backpack is equal to 75% of your child’s back, meaning the space between the waste and the shoulder blades.
A child’s backpack weight should never exceed 15% of their body weight according to The Congress of Chiropractic State Association. So this little chart should be helpful.
50 pound child                                            backpack should weigh no more than 7.5 pounds
80 pound child                                          backpack should weigh no more than 12 pounds
100 pound child                                          backpack should weigh no more than 15 pounds
130 pound child                                          backpack should weigh no more than 19.5 pounds
150 pound child                                          backpack should weigh no more than 22.5 pounds
Choose a backpack with padded shoulder straps that sit on both shoulders. Backpacks with one strap such as messenger bags distribute all the weight on one shoulder instead of evenly on both shoulders. Also, backpacks without padded shoulder straps can cause pressure on the nerves that surround the child’s armpits.

When it comes to lifting and applying the backpack onto the child there are steps that you should follow to ensure there is no injury in lifting the weight.

Face the backpack before lifting it.
Bend at the knees.
Using both of your hands, check the weight of the backpack.
Lift with the legs, and not your back.
Apply one shoulder strap at a time. Never sling the backpack onto one shoulder and avoid swinging the backpack.
Use both shoulder straps at all times. Make them snug but not too tight. Carrying on one shoulder can cause long-term neck, shoulder, back, and postural problems like I discussed above.
Use the stabilizing waste strap if the backpack has one present.
Look for signs that backpack is poorly fitted or overloaded on a daily basis. A couple signs that the backpack is overloaded or not being worn properly is pain, red marks from the straps, or poor posture.

Thank you to Jenkin’s Chiropractic for providing this material for back to school safety.

Source : ICPA4kids. The article was contributed by The Founders of Backpack Safety America International TM. Visit them at www.backpacksafe.com

The International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA) endourses the use of Air Pack brand backpacks which are available at www.airpacks.com

I hope everyone has a great, happy, healthy, and safe back to school week!
Leave some comments with your favorite back to school story!

elwood

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Busy Summer, and a Small Break

August 17, 2010 at 1:22 pm by elwood

It has become an incredibly busy summer in our home and for our family.
As you have probably noticed, I have not have time to keep up writing here like I was. While I will not be able to update daily like I had been in the past, I wanted to stop by and let everyone know I will be actively to update at least twice a week from here on out.

My busy work for the summer, and many commitments that I had outside of the home are not accomplished, and I have more time to focus.

I however would love it if my readers would take a couple minutes, and leave some comments as to what they would like to read about for the end of summer, and back to school season. I will be re-posting many of my popular posts from last year (when I first started writing this Blog) Wow! It has been a year already!