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With the Cape Cod Parent Resource Fair rapidly approaching we will be sharing blog posts on our participating sponsors, vendors and nonprofits. You will find out more about these amazing businesses and what they offer to our community. They will be sharing their services, advice, what challenges face our community as well as upcoming events they will be having. Make sure to check out our virtual program and resource guide ahead of the event so you can plan for what you want to see including our famous speaker panels. If you preregister for the speakers you will earn extra raffle tickets. You also earn them by attending any of our entertainment sessions! Just email us and you will receive tickets at the door! We hope to see you at the Resource Fair!
Upon Arrival Doula
1. Tell us about your business/non profit and how it benefits local families?
I am a trained postpartum maternal care specialist (doula) through CAPPA and Bengkung-style bellybind artist through Positive Body Mind and Baby, LLC, as well as a mother of four children, ages 5 and under. Through Upon Arrival, I "mother the new mother" and her family by providing support services that gently guide them through the life-changing experience of early postpartum parenthood and beyond. In addition to my own personal mothering/breastfeeding experiences and formal education in both post-birth doula work and bellybinding, I also have extensive training in infant/toddler sleep shaping and coaching, lactation education, and maternal mental health support. This background, in addition to my previous work in both the early intervention and education fields, and several years spent working as a nanny, have prepared me greatly for the role as your postpartum support person. I personally understand the difficult, overwhelming, yet absolutely magical experiences that the postpartum period brings, whether it be your first, second, or fifth addition! This is a special time to really slow down and cherish every minute, free of stress or exhaustion - I'm happy to help. My services include but are not limited to: postpartum planning, emotional support, meal prep/grocery shopping, laundry and light housework, newborn care demos, diapering (cloth or disposable) and baby wearing demos, tummy time, bathing newborns, time for extra rest, birth story processing, sibling adjustment, lactation/pumping/formula feeding support, physical postpartum recovery, traditional postpartum support (Bengkung bellybinding, herbal techniques, steam services, etc.), errands, accompaniment to appointments, time management/family logistics, and much more. I will do my best each day to make sure that Upon Arrival’s postpartum care makes you and your family feel supported, comforted, well rested, well fed, and confident in your parenting abilities - fully prepared and ready for your “new normal.” 2. Where is it located? I am located in Kingston, but I travel to meet my clients to provide in-home support throughout Plymouth county, the Cape, and surrounding areas. 3. What is your favorite thing about our community? I love how family-friendly the whole area is. I moved here with my husband from another area of Massachusetts and fell in love with how many things there are to do year round with my 4 children, and how nice people are to families with kids! I've always wanted to live near the ocean, and to have found my little oasis by the sea in which to raise my children in a friendly environment means the world to me. 4. How else do you get involved with the community? I love to network with other "mom-preneurs" like me, and to promote local businesses. I use holistic products in my practice - I try them myself and, if I like them enough, I prefer to procure them from local sources so that my clients know where they came from and can give their business to someone nearby if they would like to. I also refer my clients to many other post-birth specialists in the area, so I am always on the lookout to make new connections to benefit both my clients and other local businesses. 5. What do you think are the biggest challenges facing parents in our community? I think the Cape can appear "cut off" from the rest of Massachusetts at times, and often forgotten. People think of the Cape as a vacation spot rather than somewhere to live. However, with the right resources, the Cape can be a beautiful place to raise a family full-time, if you know where to look! 6. What is your favorite memory or story over the years involving you and your business? My very first client was someone who contacted me before the birth of their baby. We planned everything from postpartum meals to how to walk her dogs while she was resting with the baby to how to work the washer and dryer so I could help with laundry. She also expressed interest in learning several newborn care techniques as this was to be her and her husband's first child, so we made a list of those so I could put together a curriculum of sorts. When the time finally came for the birth, I arrived for my first shift, and what my client needed was someone to sit and listen to her birth story. So I made tea and she talked, and suddenly it had been the total 3 hour shift. The next session, she wanted someone to hold baby while she showered, and then chit chat with her about how hard it was to get out of the house, so we made a travel plan - again, suddenly time had flown. The next session, we put our plan into action: she took me and baby to her doctor's appointment (her first time out with baby without her husband) and then out to lunch. I didn't feel like I was helping much - after all, I was prepared for many physical jobs, like dog walking, cooking, and cleaning, and here I was enjoying tea and chatting about motherhood over lunch! - but she showed me what she needed and I provided that emotional support. After a few weeks, I learned through the grapevine that she had recommended me to many of her friends because I had "kept her postpartum time from becoming lonely," and made her feel "confident in her birth and mothering abilities by answering questions and calming anxieties." It was one of the nicest compliments I have received as a doula to date! Now I no longer take emotional support for granted - it's a large part of what I do, and I do it proudly! 7. What advice would you give parents and caregivers in our community? Join Facebook mom groups! I find so many events and activities through local mom groups - there are plenty for the Cape and south shore. Also, if you need help, please ask for it. Parenting is hard, but there are many resources out there for people who go looking for them. You're not alone! 8. Do you have any specials, events, or anything else taking place this upcoming year that our parents should know about? I run flash sales on my packages all the time - anything from percentages off to free add-ons - so check my Facebook page often (www.facebook.com/pg/uponarrivaldoula). Also, my services make an excellent baby shower gift - consider gifting an expectant friend a shift or two! 
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