August Newsletter

August Newsletter
ChildCareBirmingham.com
 
In This Issue
Thank you to our Sponsors
Ready Set Launch!
We Burned our bras. Look at us now.
Oh my It's the Weekend. What do we do now?
Naturally High Maintenance
Visit Our Sponsors

ChildCareBirmingham.com is the Birmingham Mom's Resource for  Finding the Perfect Child Care Center and so much more!
Ready Set Launch!
So far ChildCareBirmingham has been a huge success thanks to the Birmingham Moms who knew the resource that the site could be and spread the word about our launch like WILDFIRE!  Thank you so much, Moms and everyone who helped get the word out through Twitter, Face Book, and good ol' email forwarding!  YOU are the reason for our success and from the bottom of my heart, I appreciate all of your help!  I am constantly receiving emails thanking me for creating this site.
Here are a few of my favorites:
I wish I would have had something like this 13-14 years ago when I moved to Huntsville and had no idea about the area. This is helpful for locals, but think about all of the new people in Birmingham that need this help too! Thank YOU!!!
~Janelle, Birmingham Mom of 2 boys, ages  10 and 13
A friend told me about your link.  I am so glad that you have done this! You will be a much needed blessing to a lot of Moms!  That is why your site is so valuable! God Bless!
~Michele B @Momof2ChocDivas
Thanks Meredith I found your site from @luavery... the site is great, keep up the good work!
~Heather, Birmingham Mom of a 2 year old daughter

 
This Month's Giveaway
Train Gift Set from PoshPartyBox
 
 
Thank you to PoshPartyBox.com for contributing this month's giveaway!  PoshPartyBox.com is a one-stop shopping experience for busy women who want to throw a great party that is unique and fun, but who have little time to plan and shop!
Register to win at ChildCareBirmingham.com
Recommended for ages 3+
This Train Gift Box contains a Build it Yourself Steam Train.  As the wheels turn, the smoke rises and falls!  The Kit includes:
Model Train kit
Old Steam Train book
Engineer hat
Red bandana
Miniature train whistle
Train tattoos


We Burned our Bras.
 Look at us now.
Years ago, women birthed children and were solely responsible for raising them, nurturing them and teaching them while the men worked the fields or killed some buffalo. Providing for their families, that was their charge. Years later, we burned our bras. Even though I wasn't around, I probably would have been the first to do it. I know this in my heart of hearts. I probably would have been the first to demand to be allowed to work, even if that work was picking tobacco (my mom tells me horror stories about this early job of hers). So here we are. 2010. We have come so far. Women are not only raising children and nurturing them, but we are out killing some buffalo too. Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying that the men aren't doing anything - they are alongside us the whole time. But now, it takes two full incomes to survive! At least it does if you want to live in a city the size of our Birmingham. What did we do ladies? Are we happy with the result? As most Moms are, I'm conflicted. There are days that I think "7:30 am - 5:30 pm... 10 hours per day they are at day care...am I a bad Mom?" I do know however, that FOR ME I am a better mom because my kids go to day care (props for SAHMs-you rock). Do I dare admit that I'm not a good enough mom to be a SAHM? I have so many     conversations with my working Mom friends about Mommy Guilt. We make ourselves feel better by saying that they like "school" and we are ready to be Mommies from 5:30pm -7:30pm every night. The truth? We are exhausted from working all day and looking forward to when they lay those sweet heads on their pillows and we get a few moments to ourselves. So, working Moms: Knowing what you know now...where it got us...if you had been there to "burn your bra"...would you have done it?
http://www.childcarebirmingham.com/we-burned-our-bras--look-at-us-now.php
 
 
Oh My, It's the Weekend
What do we do now?
 
If you're anything like me you look forward to the weekend when you can finally spend some quality time enjoying these little creatures with which God has blessed your life.  So, Saturday morning rolls around and your 2 year old is saying "My go outside?" It's 110 degrees outside and the last thing you want to do is play in the yard.  So what do you do?  I'm starting a series in our newsletters with a Saturday morning idea each issue.  I hope you find a jewel of an idea and that our suggestions save your Saturdays! So here goes: "Oh my, it's the weekend.  What do we do now?" Entry #1:
Go to the park!  I know, I know, I said I didn't want to go outside.  But have you gone to the Park behind Bluff Park Elementary?  It's a great park with plenty of seating UP CLOSE to the playground equipment (I have found that most parks don't have this feature) and the best part?  IT'S SHADY!  There is a pavilion to hold birthday parties very close to the playground equipment.  Did I say it's SHADY? The only bad thing I can say is that a squirrel dropped an acorn on my head once while I was minding my own business on the park bench!  I hope to see you there one Saturday soon!


Naturally High Maintenance  Amy Bailey, My Scoop Media
 
by Amy Bailey, Editor, My Scoop Media 
When my husband and I decided to have a baby it wasn't that we were 100% prepared, it was just that all of a sudden being a mom did not seem so scary anymore. As we began our pregnancy adventure we learned so many things. First you count pregnancy beginning the first day of the your last period, so technically you are preggars before you are really preggars. Second, you can take a test at home that comes back 'pregnant', but the doctor's office does not want to see you until you are 8 weeks since before then you cannot hear the baby's heartbeat. Morning sickness is not just 'in the morning' it is ALL DAY and it doesn't mean you get sick all the time you simply feel like you are about to get sick all the time. I remember eating lunch at Gian Marcos with a client thinking I don't know if I can get through this without running to the bathroom, somehow the smell of fish didn't send me over the edge and I stopped and got Ginger Ale to drink on the way home. (Ginger is suppose to settle your stomach). You are tired and will nap during your first trimester, but alas at 5 months you will regain energy! You will wake up one morning and you will not have a waistline, as my grandmother eloquently called it 'broadening out'. Being that I seem to seek out challenges, it was no surprise to me or my husband when I decided to pursue natural childbirth. It wasn't that I had an inherent desire since I was young to give birth naturally, in fact I am about as far from 'crunchy' as you can get. I do not leave the house without heels which by the way I wore up until I had baby and never did my feet swell. I fix my hair everyday. I do not need a crystal ball to see botox and a boob lift in my future and the words 'high maintenance' immediately pop into my husband's mind when asked to describe me. Besides gardening and being a natural food advocate, that's as au natural as I get. What persuaded me was at 6 months I started having fainting spells, one in the parking lot of a TV station after I taped a My Scoop segment at which point I had to go to the hospital to have tests run. Since my blood pressure was normally low and being pregnant lowers it even more, I did not have that far to go to pass out. So I started educating myself about what my body was going through during pregnancy. What I learned was that the number one side effect of the epidural was that it lowers your blood pressure and you could faint disrupting the baby's heartbeat which could constitute a c-section. I wanted to experience labor and with the encouragement of a dear friend, the support of my husband, and the coaching of our Doula Virginia, I was prepared for doing it au natural. (Just FYI I had never heard the word Doula before I was pregnant and it is a natural birthing coach.) One book I read said 'be prepared for the pain'. I really liked that because I think so many women think they will be that 'one in a million' who has a little discomfort and then pops out a baby in an hour - do not think that. I remember the weeks up to labor 'thinking' I was having a contraction - well you don't 'think' you are having a contraction you 'know' when you are having a contraction. It is painful, but a productive pain. Nothing your body cannot handle and your body was made to do this.I entered the hospital with my fingers and toes painted red and even brought my own nightgowns to sleep in - why on earth wouldn't a gal try to still be comfortably chic even in the most challenging of circumstances? I could not have done it without my husband and Virginia, in fact I looked at Virginia on more than one occasion saying 'I don't know if I can do this.' I remembered reading that when you truly think you cannot do it anymore it is time to push, and that is exactly what happened and at that moment in time your entire demeanor changes - you are close to the finish line. After 5 1/2 hours of labor and 5 1/2 hours of listening to our birthing playlist, I had Marybella in my arms. She was born to The Cure's Pictures of You. It is the single most amazing day of my life and the most empowering experience I can ever imagine. Afterwards I wore my husband's grandmother's bed jacket (who Marybella Rene was named after), a beautiful peach color with lace trim, and you better believe I had a 'Baby Bauble' after all that, David Yurman pearl earrings courtesy of my tag team birthing partner Bo. My sister who now refers to me as rockstar, could not believe me the next day when I whined after I pinched my finger, she said 'Really, really...you are going to whine over a pinched finger? You just went through childbirth sans pain medication.'

 
Read more of Amy's articles about motherhood, gardening, and Southern fashion at www.MyScoop.us
 

 

Thank you to our sponsors and partners! 

PoshPartyBox.com is MY source for a PARTY in a box!  Make your Birthday Party Planning easy by calling PoshPartyBox.comUse coupon code PPBCCB and receive 15% off

 

Mountain Tots at Mountain Top Community Church
 
This month's Child Care Center Partner: Mountain Tots at Mountain Top Community Church in Vestavia

 

Nixie's Pet Boutique for all of your FABULOUS pet supply needs...'cause pets are children too! 
 

My Scoop.us The Yummiest Scoop in Town! Are you in the Scoopette Club yet?http://birmingham.myscoop.us/index.cfm?event=scoopette

 
 
Bargains on the Bluff 733 Valley Street 35226
Fall and winter Children's and Maternity clothing,
Children's Toys & Books
 Children's furniture
Public Sale Dates:September 18th
(9am-6pm) and September 19th (9am-2pm)
 bargainsonthebluff@bpumc.org

 
 
Sincerely,
 

Meredith McLaughlin
ChildCareBirmingham.com

Thank you for subscribing to ChildCareBirmingham.com.  Please tell the directors that you interview that you found them from ChildCareBirmingham.com.  To contribute articles, advertise, or participate in a giveaway, please refer to www.ChildCareBirmingham.com or email Meredith, our Founder, at mbmclaughlin1356@gmail.com