The past four months of my maternity leave have been both challenging and blissful and I would not have been able to enjoy them as much or as confidently without my place of refuge – Isis Parenting. Isis has been my second home throughout my leave and is a premier resource for Massachusetts parents and parents-to-be.
My husband and I began our journey with Isis via our birthing class. It actually happened haphazardly because the birthing class we wanted to enroll in at Mt. Auburn Hospital was booked for several months straight and the class times were inconvenient for us. So, we signed up for the Mind, Body, Birth class at Isis because we wanted to try to have a natural birth. The class really helped us to achieve our goal, nevertheless Isis offers the full spectrum of childbirth classes such as Prepared Childbirth and Refresher Childbirth for the second time around. Although I did not feel the need to take a class catered toward caring for newborns given that I had cared for infants so often while growing up, many friends of mine loved the Newborn Essentials class.
Isis really became a special place for us when I enrolled in the Great Beginnings class when my daughter was four weeks old. The class is intended for infants between 2 and 10 weeks of age. Getting out of the house with a newborn by myself for our first class and on time was a huge accomplishment! The class runs for six weeks and each week it became a little bit easier to get her out of the house on time and with certain trends in our routine. Great Beginnings really built up my confidence and it gives you so many tools for your toolkit – circle time songs, fine motor activities, gross motor activities, infant massage, and discussion with other new moms. Getting together with other brand new moms was essential to my growth as a parent. The class discussions helped us to realize that we were all struggling with similar issues and were simultaneously being delighted by our new babies. The class also gets you acquainted with a continuum of child development theories, such as the many opinions on infant sleep.
I am still getting together with some of the moms that I took this class with and many of us have already returned to work.
Right now we are wrapping up our Next Step class. I enrolled in the class right after our Great Beginnings class was over because I loved the companionship with the other moms and my daughter appeared to be enjoying herself! She is the youngest in our class, she was two and half months when we started it, whereas most of the babies were 4 or 5 months. I do wish I waited a few more weeks before we started because she typically naps through half of it (Be aware of your nap routine when booking your class!). Nevertheless, I wanted to take another class before having to return to work and being forced to use a weekend time to participate.
Next Step has added many more songs to our repertoire, helped us select her favorite toys, given us new gross motor activities, and has continued to create the rich discussion with other area moms that I crave. Like our Great Beginnings class, many in the group get together immediately after class for coffee or a quick meal. We often meet up for a walk, a Baby and Mommy movie, shopping, or a meal out.
The classes are not cheap by any standard but I do think you get your moneys worth. If they are well over your budget, I believe there are scholarships available based on need.
Next will be the Caterpillars Family class that I hope to start in October when our daughter is a month older, around 5 months. Dads, a grandparent, or another loved one are welcome to join moms in this class. I am hooked on Isis and recommend their prenatal and post natal classes to all area moms and families.
