Abbotsford Prenatal

My favourite thing about talking to expectant parents about what their labour and delivery could look like is unpacking how the process of labour makes us into parents; how it’s not something to ‘get through’ in order to get to the ‘easy part,’ but something to submit to in order to be ready for the next challenge of parenting. Each step prepares us for the next. As a parent of two teen girls, I’m so grateful for each of the painful steps along the way. Each one has made me ...ready for this crazy, day-to-day, rewriting-the-playbook-for-the-child-and-the-situation crazy stage of guiding adolescence to adulthood, so eventually they’re ready to do what you’re about to do right now. The book in this post was one of my favourite reads of the last year, and made me even more convinced that prepping for labour preps us for parenthood. No matter how you’re planning to labour, our labour and birth class will help prepare you for your upcoming transition. Our March class is SOLD OUT, but our April class still has a few spots left, if you’re wondering how to deliver a baby in Abbotsford and the Fraser Valley in the midst of a global pandemic. DM me for more details, or see www.abbotsfordprenatal.com for registration. Look forward to seeing you all there!

I love referring new mamas to those who can help them meaningfully on their journey! Many of you have been referred to @simplynourishlactation for any questions or challenges that may arise in those early weeks and months of newborn feeding. Becoming a mom is a vulnerable time and I only feel comfortable recommending those who will honour that transition with grace and empathy and competent, supportive advice. This gift is is just one of the many reasons I trust my friend Kat...y to take care of you all. She heard I was having a rough week and wanted to make me feel heard and special - and today this beautiful package arrived from this amazing local company I’d not heard of @hellogiftsca! I can’t describe what a pick-me-up this was and it’s why I know if you need help feeding your newborn while maintaining your sense of self, Katy is your girl. She’ll do everything in her power to make sure you know what power you already have to be the very best for your little one. And maybe laugh a little along the way. #prenatalclasses #postnatal #breastfeeding #lactation #lactationconsultant #newmoms See more

My favourite thing about my job is that sometimes the littlest things make the biggest differences. Take this birthing ball that one of our teachers - and local nurses - is holding here. It’s called a peanut ball - named for its shape being the same shape as a peanut shell - and it’s designed to keep your body in an ideal position for making progress in labour. It’s been proven to decrease the rates of C-sections in women labouring with epidurals, and I saw that first hand on... one of my night shifts this week. Want to know more? Check out our interactive, online class this Saturday May 9th. Come with all your questions - or even if you just want to hear from someone who’s working the front lines in this field. We will do our best to provide evidence-based, common sense, optimistic answers, so you can walk into a pandemic hospital birth with as little nerves as possible! Message me for more details, or go to www.abbotsfordprenatal.com to register. Side note - the grainy-ness of these photos is COVID-related and one of the ways we are working to keep everybody safe right now! I can explain more in class. @ Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre

If I have to be stuck anywhere in a pandemic, I’m so grateful to be right where I am. British Columbia, I’m so grateful for your beauty and your space and your health care system. I’m grateful to have this view post night shift and to see my youngest run into the forest with giggles. Im grateful for your willingness to adapt in times of crisis and to work with people who are still trying everything they can to make birth something to cheer about. I’m grateful to get to connec...t with all you expectant parents online and help you feel less afraid about what’s coming. In the middle of worldwide chaos I’m so glad to be able to say this is a good day and we can do this. One gracious, socially-distanced-because-we-love-each-other, day at a time. And if you or someone you know is expecting a baby in Abbotsford in the next few months, I’d love to answer any questions you have about what it’s really like to deliver a baby in a hospital in a pandemic. Hint: I t’s a lot better than you think Next class is May 9th and you can sign up at www.abbotsfordprenatal.com. ‘See’ you there! See more

If you deliver a baby in Abbotsford in the coming weeks, there’s a very good chance that your labour nurse might look something like this. And while you can’t see it here, this picture was taken right after I got to attend the delivery of an amazing baby girl and was fighting back the tears, because, guess what, y’all? Birth is STILL magical, COVID or no. So while we may LOOK like aliens, know we still deliver stunning little HUMANS at this hospital, and we will do everyt...hing in our power to make you feel like one too. Questions? Wondering how to do birth in the midst of a pandemic? Just want to talk to someone who’s on the front lines of this particular field? We’ve got a live, online, interactive class this Saturday, April 4th, 9:30-12:30 that still has a couple spots in it. Register at www.abbotsfordprenatal.com, or message me for more details. #labouranddelivery #birthincovidtimes #prenataleducation See more

My new pre-class view: Our 3-hour, up-to-date, COVID-19-informed labour and birth classes will continue in a live online format starting tonight. If you e already signed up for a class, you’ll receive further instructions via email of how to log in to the online forum within 24-48 hours of your class time. If you’ve not yet signed up, or know some who’d be interested in a current, online labour and birth class taught by nurses also working in the front lines at Abbotsford Maternity unit, go to abbotsfordprenatal.com. There’s a couple spots in our March 21 and April 4 classes and we will add more spots as we have them! We’re working hard to catch up to the changes and are SO thankful for your patience! Let’s #flattenthecurve while still learning how to do birth well. Message me with any questions and I’ll see you online! -Lana

FaceTiming with Grandma and Grandpa in Oregon for the win. In this age of social distancing let’s not socially isolate Also, more news about our move to online classes coming in the next few hours

‘Gezellig’ is a Dutch word that some say is undefinable. It can mean everything from cozy to quaint to nice, and it calls up memories of gathering with loved ones and embracing each other with warmth and a general spirit of community. So as I sit on my couch and contemplate the ebbs and flows of the past few days it seems fitting that this is the pillow next to me. As the virus spreads, unfortunately, so can fear. And it makes me feel sick inside that the instruction from the... head health officer is for us to literally distance ourselves from each other. While warranted for the situation, It’s the opposite of what a new mom needs and it’s already been a growing and unfortunate outcome of how the rise of technology and the ease of travel have made it possible - though I’d dare to say, not ideal - to live in isolation. But at times, temporary responses to current issues must be made. My family has chosen to cancel our trip to visit family in Oregon this weekend in order to help stop the spread of Covid-19, and to maintain my ability to continue to go to work and offer those in need safe access to health care. Many of my colleagues are making the same difficult sacrifices. @abbotsfordprenatal wants to offer our clients the same standard of safety and health while also maintaining a sense of ‘gezellig.’ So stay tuned in the coming days and weeks as we work to offer the same standard of our classes within the current public health concerns. If you’ve signed up for one of our classes, you’ll receive an email from us this weekend with plans for our upcoming classes. If not, there’s still room to sign up, and we are committed to making everyone’s experience safe, fun, and valuable. Follow us here for more updates as we have them, and we all encourage you to find a way to spread warmth in the middle of this crisis. -Lana

Eight hours in to a twelve hour shift, and I’d been to two of these six deliveries, and what a privilege it was! Both were first time moms who could give a class on how to labour, both were shocked at how strong they were, and both were willing to trust their bodies to do the work they were built to do. The best was when I realized I’d gotten to teach them in prenatal and THEN be there for delivery. Nothing beats that! If you’re interested in learning more about what delivering in Abbotsford looks like, head over to www.abbotsfordprenatal.com and click on ‘classes/events.’ There’s plenty of room left in our March classes and we’d love to see you there! #firsttimemoms #labour #labourandbirth #labournurse #prenatal #prenatalclasses #abbotsford

Throwback to that time we brought a human home with no instructions Nurse or not, I had no idea what I was doing! Fortunately, she’s gently and persistently taught us every step of the way, and regularly reminds us that if we don’t know what we’re doing, it’s best to just be honest about it. For any of you soon-to-be parents who’ve realized you have no idea what you’re doing and you’d be interested in talking to someone who ‘gets it,’ would love to meet you at one of our upcoming classes in which we walk through what that first step of parenting looks like - hint: it’s labour! - and what to DO about it. We still have a couple of free spots this Saturday, Feb 8th, in our classes in both Abbotsford and Mission! Sign up at www.abbotsfordprenatal.com and message us for more details!

If you deliver a baby in Abbotsford in the coming weeks, there’s a very good chance that your labour nurse might look something like this. And while you can’t see it here, this picture was taken right after I got to attend the delivery of an amazing baby girl and was fighting back the tears, because, guess what, y’all? Birth is STILL magical, COVID or no. So while we may LOOK like aliens, know we still deliver stunning little HUMANS at this hospital, and we will do everyt...hing in our power to make you feel like one too. Questions? Wondering how to do birth in the midst of a pandemic? Just want to talk to someone who’s on the front lines of this particular field? We’ve got a live, online, interactive class this Saturday, April 4th, 9:30-12:30 that still has a couple spots in it. Register at www.abbotsfordprenatal.com, or message me for more details. #labouranddelivery #birthincovidtimes #prenataleducation See more

My new pre-class view: Our 3-hour, up-to-date, COVID-19-informed labour and birth classes will continue in a live online format starting tonight. If you e already signed up for a class, you’ll receive further instructions via email of how to log in to the online forum within 24-48 hours of your class time. If you’ve not yet signed up, or know some who’d be interested in a current, online labour and birth class taught by nurses also working in the front lines at Abbotsford Maternity unit, go to abbotsfordprenatal.com. There’s a couple spots in our March 21 and April 4 classes and we will add more spots as we have them! We’re working hard to catch up to the changes and are SO thankful for your patience! Let’s #flattenthecurve while still learning how to do birth well. Message me with any questions and I’ll see you online! -Lana

FaceTiming with Grandma and Grandpa in Oregon for the win. In this age of social distancing let’s not socially isolate Also, more news about our move to online classes coming in the next few hours

Our family attempts to answer the question ‘what is essential social interaction’ in the age of COVID-19 and what that means for us as a population.

‘Gezellig’ is a Dutch word that some say is undefinable. It can mean everything from cozy to quaint to nice, and it calls up memories of gathering with loved ones and embracing each other with warmth and a general spirit of community. So as I sit on my couch and contemplate the ebbs and flows of the past few days it seems fitting that this is the pillow next to me. As the virus spreads, unfortunately, so can fear. And it makes me feel sick inside that the instruction from the... head health officer is for us to literally distance ourselves from each other. While warranted for the situation, It’s the opposite of what a new mom needs and it’s already been a growing and unfortunate outcome of how the rise of technology and the ease of travel have made it possible - though I’d dare to say, not ideal - to live in isolation. But at times, temporary responses to current issues must be made. My family has chosen to cancel our trip to visit family in Oregon this weekend in order to help stop the spread of Covid-19, and to maintain my ability to continue to go to work and offer those in need safe access to health care. Many of my colleagues are making the same difficult sacrifices. @abbotsfordprenatal wants to offer our clients the same standard of safety and health while also maintaining a sense of ‘gezellig.’ So stay tuned in the coming days and weeks as we work to offer the same standard of our classes within the current public health concerns. If you’ve signed up for one of our classes, you’ll receive an email from us this weekend with plans for our upcoming classes. If not, there’s still room to sign up, and we are committed to making everyone’s experience safe, fun, and valuable. Follow us here for more updates as we have them, and we all encourage you to find a way to spread warmth in the middle of this crisis. -Lana