What to expect in a Mommy and Me class

Therapist Julie Wright, MFT explains what to expect from a mommy and me class
First Year Parenting Advice | What to expect in a mommy and me class
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What to expect in a Mommy and Me class

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Mommy & Me classes are weekly classes where moms with babies come together, and usually the babies are around the same age. And, the way I like to think about Mommy & Me classes is like you're artificially creating a village. We humans are social creatures and we're communal creatures, but more and more in today's world-especially after our baby is born-we live a very isolated life, and this lends to a lot of increased anxiety and depression among new moms. So, Mommy & Me classes are places for moms to come. The first thing they do there is share their experiences as a new mom, their transition into motherhood, their adjustment to this profound role change; all the changes in their relationships. They share these experiences with each other. They learn. They learn a lot of information about raising a baby-everything from sleep, to food, to praise, to discipline. I mean, typical Mommy & Me can have a structured curriculum that can last as long as 40 weeks. And the third thing that they do, which is probably one of the most lasting, is that they create a community of support for each other. They listen to each other, they give each other advice, they connect outside of the class and lot of the moms in the groups that I've led over the years have stayed together over the years. I even know a woman who still connected with her Mommy & Me group from 30 years ago. So, the support and the bonding and the community that they create, takes the place of that village, or that Clan that we no longer have really in our society.

Therapist Julie Wright, MFT explains what to expect from a mommy and me class

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Julie Wright, MFT

Psychotherapist & Author

Julie Wright, MFT is a marriage and family therapist with an extensive background in infant mental health and early childhood development.  She trained at Cedars Sinai Early Childhood Center and co-developed a program for parents and babies from 0-3 at LA Child Guidance Clinic. Julie specializes in mindful parenting, sleep issues and attachment theory.  She also works in private practice with infants, children, parents and adults.  Julie lives in Los Angeles with her son and often visits family on the east coast.

Julie has written the book, "The Happy Sleeper," Penguin 2014 with her colleague, Heather Turgeon, MFT. The Happy Sleeper gives the topic of baby sleep a fresh perspective. Their approach moves beyond old school ideas like “sleep training”—it’s grounded in research and shaped by new thinking. The Happy Sleeper gives you a clear, easy-to-follow system for transferring the role of independent sleep to your capable child, as they have done for thousands of families in their clinical practice.

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