Every season comes with its own specific set of safety concerns. Winter is no different, when people across the county have to contend with colder weather and close quarters. This is especially true up here in the Northeast, where winters can be particularly cold (and let’s face it, feel way too long).
 
To stay safe all winter long, it’s important that you and your family approach things as a team. And keep in mind the following safety tips:
 
Keep an Eye on the Air
 
With all the windows in your house closed against the cold, there will be less opportunity to naturally bring in fresh air or vent any harmful gases. But you can still keep your indoor air clean with:

• Carbon monoxide detectors. Make sure that you have at least one carbon monoxide detector on each floor of your home to monitor for that harmful, odorless gas. 

 

• Air purifiers. Allergens, cooking odors and other airborne particles can also get trapped inside. Installation of a good air purifier will help reduce the bad things floating through the air, and can help everyone feel healthier. 

 
Check Your Heat Sources
 
To combat the cold, you probably have things in place inside to stay warmer. Routine maintenance and monitoring will help make the use of such methods safer.

• Fireplaces & other open flames. Never leave any fire unattended. Before going to bed or leaving the house, make sure everything is out and cold.

 

• Space heaters. As supplemental heating devices, space heaters can be quite useful and cost effective. However, certain models can pull a lot of electricity. So, be sure to keep an eye on them and the outlet into which they're plugged.

 

• Air filters. If you have a central heating system or furnace, be sure to check and replace the system's air filters regularly for the most efficient and clean use. (And cleaner air, as a bonus.)

 
Winterproof Your Car
 
Your need to drive probably doesn't stop just because the weather is bad. But before heading out, and especially before going on any longer trips, some automotive prep is a good idea.

• Check tires. Depending on the road conditions, you want to make sure that you have the right kind of tires (all-weather, snow and ice, etc.), and that they are inflated to the recommended pressure. Bring chains, if needed.

 

• Check fluids. Gas is pretty obvious. But you should also check the oil, antifreeze and windshield wiper fluid levels. 

 

• Road trip kit. If you end up stuck in an inconvenient location, you can hold out for a while with water, snacks, and a couple of blankets. A folding shovel, kitty litter or gravel, road flares, cell phone signal booster, and portable cell phone charger can help you get out of your predicament.

​Prepare for Power Outages 
 
Snow, fallen tree limbs and skidding cars have a tendency to compromise electrical lines in the wintertime. But, while certainly inconvenient, temporary power losses do not have to fill you with fear. Just make sure you're prepared with:
 

• Alternate light & heat sources. Just in case, it's smart to have a stash of candles, a lighter/matches, and flashlights/lanterns (with fresh batteries) available.

 

• Non-perishables. Stock up ahead of time with provisions that don’t require refrigeration or cooking. Drinking water, canned goods, and some of your family's favorite bagged snacks are essential. 

 

• Games, books & other entertainment. Yes, you can survive without TV or the internet. And you show your kids just how much fun boardgames, playing cards or reading a real book can be.

 

• Team up with neighbors. Power outages, especially ones that go on for a while, can potentially compromise your security. Communicating with neighbors, or even having a formal neighborhood watch in place, can help you all keep an eye out for each other.

 
Not too hard, really. Best of all, by working together your family will stay safer, and might even have fun in the process.

​Written by Erica Maltz, Founder & CEO of WhizKidz Tutoring LLC.
​Parenting is hard.  Parenting a kid who struggles with executive function skills is very hard.  Living as an individual whose executive function skills are lacking is no picnic either. You might be thinking: this phrase executive function skills is all abuzz lately, but what the heck are they anyway? Let’s break it down.
​

What are Executive Function Skills?

A child who is struggling with executive function might have trouble controlling emotions or make impulsive decisions. He might have trouble following multi-step directions, listening, or paying attention. You may hear from his teacher and see at home that he has trouble organizing himself to start an assignment or task, much less complete it.
 
If your child has EF struggles, school mornings can often feel like a disaster.  Are you having to constantly question your child: Do you have your homework? Your lunch? Your instrument? Your backpack? And then still receive a phone call from him at school having forgotten something?  Then, of course, the famous internal struggle follows – do you bring it or let them “learn the lesson the hard way”?  
 
Do you find that when you give your child two step directions: brush your teeth and get dressed, for example, you’ll find them 15 minutes later with one sock on, staring aimlessly into their closet, thinking about what is happening after school?
​

How can you help your child? ​

There are things that we can do as parents to help our children– and if that is not working, then there are professionals, like those at local Westchester County EF coaching expert WhizKidz Tutoring, who can help work with your child and YOU to best help and strategize ways to learn executive functions.

There are some easy (and fun!) ways for parents to help their children to strengthen their working memory.  A few examples: 

• Card games like Crazy Eights, Uno, Go Fish, and War.
• Strategy games like crossword puzzles, Sodoku, Jigsaw Puzzles, Concentration, Chess, Memory.  Remembering the rules of the games can be challenging for kids with EF issues and great practice for them.
• Repetition/fluency of math facts and letter/sound recognition for younger kids using flashcards or apps like Quizlet.
• Mnemonic Devices, like the Method of Loci, can be made a fun game at home – have the child look around a room and memorize what objects are present, close her eyes and recall what she saw.
  ​
  

Parents can help children who struggle with emotion regulation and impulsivity in a variety of ways:

• Do an emotion vocabulary study with your child where they label their emotions.
• Emotion reflection cards ask a child to recall an extreme emotion, label it, and reflect on their response.  And yes, Amazon sells them here: Mood-Cards.
• Emoji Cue Cards are a fun and easy way to help younger students assign their feelings about school, academics, chores, and tasks at home. Yep, Amazon sells them too! Click HERE to see them.
• Model positive emotion regulation to your child during role-play scenarios or in daily life situations - children mostly learn this skill from observing how we react, anyway!
• Set intentions - and write them down - to create clear goals to accomplish during the day.
• Practice mindfulness and meditation activities using apps like Calm or Headspace.

 
Organizational skills are key for any child struggling with executive functions. A few ideas:

• Keep a large desk calendar and desk organizers to help older children.
• Post a daily schedule in your home on a large dry erase board. 
• Have clear and consistent routines and procedures that offer structure in place as often as possible.  They will not only help your child, but make things much easier for you!
• Homework charts or planners from school with columns showing subject, task, and materials can be manipulated to add “materials packed in backpack” and “materials turned in.”  
• Put backpacks in the same place - by the front door - every night, packed and ready to go.  You will be thankful for this in the morning!

 

 Task Completion is another area of struggle for kids with EF trouble.  

• Have your older child create a checklist for a homework routine (look at planner, gather materials needed, break the assignments into smaller pieces, etc).  You can either have the checklist on a large dry erase board in the area where your child does homework, or simply type, print, and have it laminated.  Give it to your child at the beginning of daily homework time to make sure that routines are smooth and consistent.
• Timers are very helpful for children to foster their time management skills. Consider setting a timer for short breaks between tasks to keep them focused and motivated (think: work for 20 minutes, break for 5).
• Velcro Task Calendars are helpful with younger children. You can also get crafty and create a door hanger that has tasks to complete with clips that move from one side to the next when the task is completed.

Should you call in a professional?

If you’re finding that these strategies are not making the cut in affecting real change, you may need an Executive Function Coach who can help your child get organized.  Take a look at this helpful list of observations and concerns of children who may lack executive function skills by the National Center for Learning Disabilities to help decide whether or not you should call in a professional:
 


​
In the past six months my child has... 

• had difficulty paying attention 
• been easily distracted 
• required many reminders to stay on task 
• had difficulty setting goals 
• struggled with making decisions 
• had trouble identifying where to start on assignments 
• focused on either details or the big picture at the expense of the other 
• had difficulty getting started on tasks, often seems to procrastinate 
• struggled to comprehend how much time a project will take to complete 
• taken longer than peers to complete homework and other tasks 
• needed numerous prompts from adults to stay on task 
• lost track of time or assignment due dates 
• forgotten to turn in completed work 
• struggled with keeping track of needed materials; often leaves materials at home or school 
• found checking his/her work very difficult (and may not do it at all) 
• had trouble following multiple-step directions 
• forgotten what he/she is saying or doing in the middle of a task 
• forgotten the details of a text while reading or soon after finishing 
• gotten frustrated with changes in schedule or usual routines 
• had difficulty shifting from one activity to another (especially when the rules/task demands change) 
• struggled with shifting between information that is literal vs. figurative, past vs. present, etc. 
• gotten stuck on parts of tasks and can’t move forward 
• had difficulty controlling impulses—will say or do things without thinking about them first 
• been easily frustrated 
• often spoken out of turn and/or interrupted others’ conversations​

​WhizKidz Tutoring can help

At WhizKidz Tutoring, we get calls for EF Coaches + Math support, EF Coaches + ELA support, EF Coaches with all homework and school help, and just plain old EF Coaches who help with the four areas described above.  We hire professionals who can do it all as well as those with specific niches. Our coaches are NYS Certified Teachers, many of whom have special education degrees and almost all have at least one Masters Degree (if not 2 or 3!).  They are full time educators spending real time in schools and also serve private clients to help kids get organized, boost confidence, raise grades, and enjoy school. What are some of the strategies we use?
 
WhizKidz Coaches
All WhizKidz EF coaches implement the following:

1. Homework charts AND study skills priority charts to keep track of assignments, exams, and manage multi-subjects.
2. Minimize clutter and create clearly defined areas in the workspace at home.  
3. Set up weekly schedules with daily and weekly goals.
4. Scaffold learning to move students towards strong understanding with temporary support.
5. Practice and implement repetition of facts.
6. Conference with students.
7. Seek to understand the accommodations and modifications given to students with 504s and IEPs AND teach students to self-monitor progress goals for their IEPs.
8. Help students manage emotions and impulsivity.  Mindfulness and meditation activities are often part of sessions.
9. Success through the productive struggle where the students “fail” under a controlled setting, allowing them to practice regulating their emotions. Coaches also model positive emotion regulation to the student during role-plays or modeling.
10. Check ins!  Coaches check in with students (or parents for younger clients) during the week via text and email.  They will also help set up reminders in phones or calendar apps for older students.

 
WhizKidz EF Coaches & Math 

• Coaches center around giving students concrete anchoring in manipulatives before stretching them to abstract thought.  When they move into abstract thought, they can rely on the concrete examples or the visual image in their minds of the concrete example.
• When students are performing operations with decimals, coaches have them use graph paper to help students align numbers.
• They use patty paper to teach transformations.
• Coaches create foldables for notes.  Students will take more ownership in their notes and tend to use them more than when simply writing in a notebook.

 
WhizKidz EF Coaches & ELA

• Coaches help with the entire process of writing from prewriting to drafting, revising, and editing.  Many of our EF Coaches who specialize in writing are one or more of the following: Windward/PAF trained, Orton Gillingham and/or Wilson’s trained or certified, literacy specialists with training and practice in The Writing Revolution and Teacher’s College Reading & Writing Project.
• Coaches use clear prompts and methods to help students keep organized.
• Writing is broken down into pieces. (i.e. writing topic sentences and practicing repeatedly)
• Coaches use sentence frames, continually scaffolding until the student can write the full sentence without prompting.
• Coaches use graphic organizers, break down writing into small chunks, use sentence starters, reminders, conferences, and modeling.

And, if you’re finding those aren’t enough, then there are professionals at WhizKidz Tutoring who can work one-on-one with your child - and you! - to help them manage life and school in a productive, confidence boosting, fun way.

It's showtime! This winter we have a lot of family-friendly shows coming up for Westchester kids. The Royal Hanneford Circus, Peter Pan & Cinderella on Ice and Pout-Pout Fish, to name a new. Book your tickets in advance before they are sold out.

Did we miss one? As always, you can find a full listing of things to do this weekend, recurring events and other upcoming events on our Community Calendar. Events are free to add so we encourage our readers and local businesses to post great family events.

​Rosie Revere, Engineer
Sat Jan 18th
Emelin Theatre, 153 Library Ln, Mamaroneck

Pete The Cat
Sat Feb 29th
Emelin Theatre, 153 Library Ln, Mamaroneck, NY

The Spinning Tales of Peter Pan and Cinderella on Ice
Sat Feb 29th 
The Palace Theatre, 61 Atlantic St, Stamford, CT​

The Very Hungry Caterpillar & Other Eric Carle Favorites
 Sun Mar 1st 
The Performing Arts Center Purchase College, 735 Anderson Hill Rd, Purchase, NY

The Pout-Pout Fish 
Sat Mar 28th
Emelin Theatre, 153 Library Ln, Mamaroneck

Seussical the Musical​
Sat Jan 18th - Sun 26th 
Play Group Theatre, 1 N Broadway #111, White Plains, NY

Peekskill Middle School Drama Club's Disney's Frozen Jr. Sneak Peek
Sat Jan 18th 2:30pm - 3:30pm
The Field Library Children's Room, 4 Nelson Ave, Peekskill, NY

Legally Blonde, The Musical
Fri Jan 24th - Sat 25th 
Irvington Town Hall Theater, 85 Main St, Irvington

Random Farms Kids' Theater presents Urinetown
Fri Jan 24th - Sun 26th 
Tarrytown Music Hall, 13 Main St, Tarrytown, NY

1 2 3 Andres
Sat Mar 14th
Emelin Theatre, 153 Library Ln, Mamaroneck

Treehouse Shakers: The Boy Who Grew Flowers
Sun Mar 22nd 3:00pm
The Performing Arts Center Purchase College, 735 Anderson Hill Rd, Purchase, NY

​The Amazing Max
Sun Jan 26th 
The Palace Theatre, 61 Atlantic St, Stamford, CT

Garry Krinsky Toying with Science
Sat Feb 1st 
Emelin Theatre, 153 Library Ln, Mamaroneck, NY

Flip Flop Circus
Sun Feb 9th 
The Palace Theatre, 61 Atlantic St, Stamford, CT

The Royal Hanneford Circus
Sat Feb 15th - Mon 17th 
Westchester County Center, 198 Central Ave, White Plains, NY

Playtime at The Palace Mr. Fish "Fabulous Forces"
Sun Feb 16th 
The Palace Theatre, 61 Atlantic St, Stamford, CT

MUMMENSCHANZ: you & me
Sun Feb 23rd 
The Performing Arts Center Purchase College, 735 Anderson Hill Road Purchase, NY

Air Play
Feb 28th 
The Performing Arts Center Purchase College, 735 Anderson Hill Rd, Purchase, NY

The Peking Acrobats
Sun Mar 29th
Emelin Theatre, 153 Library Ln, Mamaroneck

Dinosaurs, planets, trains, masterpieces, sharks, illusions, ice cream, water experimentation... these are just a few things your child can experience and learn about at nearby museums and aquariums in Westchester County, NY.

When the weather is not conducive to outdoor activities, museums and aquariums are a hands-on, real-life way to engage your child in learning and fun. Museums are always changing exhibits so there is always something new to see. With some of the best museums in the world in our backyard, we are very fortunate. Kids can enjoy playrooms, maker labs, world-renown art and science exhibits, touch tanks, planetariums and so much more.

One concern parents have about museums is that they can get expensive. Here are some ideas to keep costs low, while keeping your child's spirits high!

Here are some tips to enjoy museums without breaking the bank:

• Become a Museum Member- Museums offer memberships which can be cost-effective if you plan to visit multiple times in a year. This can be huge if there is a museum nearby that your child enjoys again and again. There are typically other perks to memberships like special exhibit access, food & parking discounts and guest passes.
• Invest in a Reciprocal Membership- Reciprocal memberships give you free or discounted admission to a number of attractions, which is a great way to see a lot on a budget. For example, The Association of Children's Museums Reciprocal Network gives discounted admissions to a vast list of member museums across the US and Canada- a great way to see a lot, especially when traveling. Learn more about  reciprocal programs and see a comprehensive list here.
• Visit your library- Did you know that local Westchester County libraries offer museum passes that provide free or discounted admissions to local museums in Westchester, Connecticut and New York City? Offers vary by library so contact yours and find out what's available.
• Museums for All- Through Museums for All, people receiving food assistance (SNAP benefits) can gain free or reduced admission to more than 400 museums throughout the US.
• Do Your Research to Find Freebies- Many museums offer free admission to young children. Must Read: Keep Your Money: How to Get in Free at 20 NYC Museums. And even better, here is a list of 19 Awesome Museums in NYC That Are Totally Free.

Hot off the press!

The only borough in New York City without a children’s museum will be getting one this year. The Bronx Chidren's Museum will be geared toward young children, especially those children and families who are not typically able to visit a museum.

The Museum of Ice Cream opened in late fall 2019 and features imaginative, multi-sensory installations that bring to life guests’ delightful dreams: savor the sweetest treats on a floating table, slide down an epic three-story slide, see a spectacular hall of giant scoops, and follow the sound of a buzz that will lead you to a giant “Queen Bee hive. Tickets include ice cream tastings and signature treats.

Open until April 2020, the Sloomoo Institute is a sensory playground centered around slime. The unique museum provides an engaging slime experience with a variety of textures, colors and consistencies that evoke joy and excitement. From a slime step-and-repeat to a slime waterfall, and everything in between, this is worth checking out before it is gone!
​

Experience under the sea attractions at these aquatic-centered destinations.

​The Hudson River Museum is small, but offers weekend programming for children including art & science projects as well as planetarium shows. Children can learn about the Hudson River with a beautiful view.

Not To Miss: Kids Week Feb 15-22 at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum! During Kids Week, visitors will have the opportunity to participate in dozens of fun-filled activities, live animal shows, hands-on workshops, performances, special guests, 3D experiences and interactive demonstrations that the whole family will enjoy.  All Kids Week activities are free with Museum admission.

Moms in the community love the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, CT, featuring  75 live exhibits featuring more than 2,700 marine animals of 300 species. Plus plenty of room for young children to play and explore.

If you have not been to Coney Island to the New York Aquarium, it is worth the trip! The aquarium was completely rebuilt after the devastation of Hurricane Sandy and offers an incredible experience-- see the sharks!

According to the Association of Children's Museums, "Children’s museums are places where children learn through play and exploration in environments designed just for them. Reflecting their diverse communities, children’s museums create playful, interactive learning experiences. In an increasingly complex world, children’s museums provide a place where all kids can learn through play with the caring adults in their lives."

​Opened just a few years ago, the nearby Westchester Children's Museum is a smaller museum comparatively, but a great destination to spend a couple of hours. They offer offer drop-in science, engineering, arts, and crafts programs throughout the week. Coming soon: a bunch of brand new exhibits, including a whole Makerspace dedicated to older children ages 7 and up that will feature woodwork and other more complex STEAM activities, as well as a Shadow Puppet Theater, a Sound Room, and a new Gift Shop, to name a few.

Moms in our community love Stepping Stones in Norwalk, CT. There is so much to touch and explore for young children including the energy lab, tot town and color coaster. Just outside is a beautiful playground with a lighthouse and small spray area, if you visit on a beautiful day.

Children's museums in general offer a lot of drop-in and scheduled programming so it is worthwhile to check their websites and plan your visits accordingly. Which is your favorite?

If you are looking for a local science museum that is not too far, we recommend checking out the Hall of Science in Queens. There are 450 exhibits, events, and workshops.

​If you are willing to venture into Manhattan, then you will want to go to the Museum of Natural History, the largest natural history museum in the world. Dinosaur and space-loving youngsters will be in heaven!

If you are interested in local history, you could visit on the of historic sites in the river towns. They are open seasonally and offer child-friendly events and programming, it's best to check their websites in advance for the optimal time to visit.

Budding artists and creative minds can get inspired at these art museums. Offering camps, events, special programming and more, these destinations are more than just spectator experiences.

If you have a child who is curious about firefighting, trains or math, these museums are for you!

Did we miss any? Please tell us in the comments below!
​

Imagine a futuristic wonderland designed just for kids. A world full of endless possibilities and adventure, where kids can explore and experiment with advanced, cutting-edge technology. A place where today’s kids invent tomorrow. 

Introducing Codeverse, the world’s first fully interactive coding studio for kids ages 6-13. Opening at The Westchester this summer, Codeverse will be offering weeklong summer camps, weekday coding classes, and weekend parties. 
​
Codeverse's ~3,000 sq ft space at The Westchester will boast a wide range of high-tech features contributing to a completely immersive and collaborative learning environment. The studio will be riddled with cutting-edge gadgets, including a 20ft TV wall and professional-grade lights and speakers, which can be programmed by kids using real code! 

Codeverse teaches kids how to code using KidScript - a proprietary language that enables children to build mobile games, projects and apps, as well as program dozens of objects within the state-of-the-art studio. KidScript draws inspiration from, and acts as a gateway to, many other languages, including JavaScript, Ruby, Python and Visual Basic.

Who teaches kids how to code at Codeverse?
All Codeverse camps and classes are led by Guides. 

Guides are a collective of K-12 certified teachers, improv comedians, seasoned designers, engineers and game developers. This diverse mix of backgrounds, skill-sets, and experiences creates a dynamic, fun, and engaging learning environment for the children. 

Guides are equipped with iPads that display real stats on how every student is progressing through the curriculum. Tracking every interactive, milestone, and mistake gives Codeverse Guides an unprecedented amount of rich data that is then used to craft a personalized approach to learning to code.

2020 Summer Camps at Codeverse Westchester
From video game creation and robotics, to 3D printing and circuitry, Codeverse camps are packed with hands-on STEM activities designed for beginner and pro coders, alike.

Each day of camp is assigned a theme and is comprised of fun, engaging, and educational adventures, including:

• Studio programming - Learn how to program cutting-edge gadgets (such as lights and speakers) using real code.
• Robotics - Build a real robot. Compete in high-speed robot races on obstacle courses designed by fellow campers.
• Coding - Learn all the core fundamentals universal to any programming language.
• 3D Printing - Create jaw-dropping 3D printed designs.
• Circuitry - Learn all about circuits and sensors.
• Game Development - Design multi-level, multi-player video games.

To cap it off, kids show off their coding creations to family and friends during Demo Day, a fun celebration that is held every Friday afternoon during camp.

Summer camps run Monday-Friday from 9AM-3PM throughout the months of June, July, and August. All allergy-free meals and snacks are included. Complimentary early drop-off and pick-up options are available.

Be one of the first to experience Codeverse Westchester! Parents can sign kids up for summer camp at codeverse.com/camps. Early bird special is $399 until June 1st, 2020. (Regular price: $499) 

Codeverse Westchester
125 Westchester Ave, #1160 (next to KidZania and Neiman Marcus)
White Plains, NY 10601
(914) 461-5914

Many articles and blogs have written about the benefits of musical instruction, you may have read some of them. The instructors at New York Piano School want you to know these 5 ways that their students and their families have benefited from lessons.

​Proper and consistent musical teaching can:

1. Develop and improve your child’s fine motor skills:
   Proper technique for two hands to work separately but together, for fingers to press lightly or with more weight, for eyes to follow the written music while following notes and rests will develop motor skills that will be transferrable to many things later in life. Whether your child becomes a poet or a surgeon, an athlete or, we couldn’t leave this one off the list, a musician, they will forever benefit from learning to engage their fingers, hands, arms and bodies earlier in life.
   
   
2. Help them learn creative problem solving:
   Mistakes happen. A good music teacher will help your child address the wrong notes and help them assess the situation and work toward fixing it – creative problem solving. For beginners, this can be as simple as change a finger placement to hit the right note. Wrong notes happen. With more advanced students, the teacher will work on helping the student find the essence and form of the piece, dissect the beginning, middle and end, and find the right personal approach to the piece’s structure for each student.
   
   
3. Reinforce self-discipline and patience:
   We all wish we had more self-discipline and patience, why not help you child reinforce these while learning a new skill in a nurturing environment. Learning to play the piano will help with objective setting, keeping accountability, following through on pre-set plan, adapting to mishaps, building patience and self-confidence, all while working toward achieving a goal.
   
   
4. Boost your child’s imagination
   What is a piece of music? Objectively speaking it is a set of notes and rests with instruction on how to play it. Subjectively speaking it is a bird song, a rush of a river, a love ballad, a freedom dance, an exciting adventure from beginning to end. Great instructors will inspire your child to think about what each piece means to them and to write their own adventure.
   
   
5. Make it a cherished family activity: 
   Many a morning, day and night is spent planning social activities for our kids. While playing music can greatly improve their social skills when playing with others (listening, waiting and harmonizing with fellow musicians), it can also bring you closer as a family. Your child will love showing off their new learned skills and showing off progress as they practice at home. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, neighbors alike will come together to see your child find joy in music.​

Help your child and you enjoy these benefits at New York Piano School.

Click the links below for more information about its programs and instructors.
www.nypianoschool.com
www.nypianoschool.com/about-new-york-piano-school

​Breastfeeding has tons of benefits for mom and baby, but one thing it doesn’t have is predictability. Your new baby may be nursing just fine while at the hospital, and it may only be when you get home that problems start to crop up. 
 
Maybe she is no longer latching right, or you’re too sore, or you’re sick or depressed or utterly exhausted. Maybe your baby was born premature and you’re having to pump and carefully measure baby’s consumption. Or dozens of other very valid medical or personal reasons.
 
“Mothers need support during the postpartum period as they adjust to the breastfeeding lifestyle,” says Ann Cunillera, a registered nurse and coordinator of the lactation program at White Plains Hospital. “Many moms are discharged from the hospital before the baby is latching effectively, or before they’ve established an adequate milk supply.” 
 
As lactation coordinator, Cunillera has been supporting new moms in their breastfeeding efforts for nearly 20 years at White Plains Hospital. In addition to the lactation team, the mother-baby unit is staffed with highly trained registered nurses – all of them are also certified lactation counselors. 
 
White Plains Hospital offers a family-centered birthing approach: families are supported from the prenatal period through discharge and beyond. For instance, expectant mothers can sign up for the Breastfeeding Basics class to learn about the benefits of nursing, proper positioning, establishing a good milk supply and other common concerns. After delivery, the nurses guide and counsel new mothers one on one through the proper technique, achieving a good latch, as well as helping to facilitate skin-to-skin contact and bonding. 

After discharge, moms are invited to attend a breastfeeding support group, run by International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (the most expert level available), for as long as they want or need. These specialists work with mothers on breastfeeding specific issues, in addition to creating feeding plans and providing baby weigh-ins. Women connect, share general parenting tips, laugh, make new friends and enjoy being part of a robust and welcoming community that is a critical part of the parenting journey.
 
This support that new mothers get from friends and others who have faced the same challenges they are experiencing is one of the biggest predictors of breastfeeding success. 
 
Want to learn more? Click to learn more about White Plains Hospital and its Maternity Support Programs.