Chicago Baby Filter
February 1, 2018 4:43 AM Subscribe
Expecting! We are First time LGBT parents in Chicagoland area, looking for resources, groups, patenting classes and hugs. Lots of hugs.
So I and PregnantSky are expecting our first child in June. We are a lesbian fairly-cis couple without immediate family in the area.
SO THINGS:
1) it is time for new birthing mom classes and parenting classes and there are options . Any recommendations?
2)Midwives, Doulas and Advocates oh my! Any names? People we should chat with?
3) Other LGBT parenting stuff that would just be good for us to know.
So I and PregnantSky are expecting our first child in June. We are a lesbian fairly-cis couple without immediate family in the area.
SO THINGS:
1) it is time for new birthing mom classes and parenting classes and there are options . Any recommendations?
2)Midwives, Doulas and Advocates oh my! Any names? People we should chat with?
3) Other LGBT parenting stuff that would just be good for us to know.
Hoping it’s not inappropriate to pop in just to say Congratulations to both of you! You’re in for the best ride of your lives!!!
posted by bookmammal at 8:11 AM on February 1, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by bookmammal at 8:11 AM on February 1, 2018 [1 favorite]
I asked my friend who works for a place that specializes in home births. She says if you are interested in a home birth, she recommends Gentle Birth Care. She's an administrator there.
If you are interested in a hospital birth, she suggests West Suburban Midwives in Oak Park or Evanston North Shore (in Evanston, natch).
She also recommends Heather or Victoria at 312 Doulas (Facebook link) for either home or hospital. Looks like they are in southern Evanston.
I'm not sure whether you're in Chicago, and if not, in which suburb, so I hope this helps.
Congratulations on the baby!
posted by zorseshoes at 9:49 AM on February 1, 2018
If you are interested in a hospital birth, she suggests West Suburban Midwives in Oak Park or Evanston North Shore (in Evanston, natch).
She also recommends Heather or Victoria at 312 Doulas (Facebook link) for either home or hospital. Looks like they are in southern Evanston.
I'm not sure whether you're in Chicago, and if not, in which suburb, so I hope this helps.
Congratulations on the baby!
posted by zorseshoes at 9:49 AM on February 1, 2018
Congratulations! Not Chicago specific, but lesbian couple specific - you may want to think about is how to make sure that the doctors and nurses at the birth realize that you are a parent as well. We kind of joked about my wife wearing some kind of “I’m mom too” shirt but figured it would be fine, we were in California and knew just about everyone would be LGBT friendly.
I ended up with a super-emergency c-section and my wife almost didn’t make it into the operating room with me. They rushed me out of the delivery room and just left her there - there was an assumption that a woman wouldn’t be a spouse or partner who’d come into the OR. Luckily she did manage to find and tell the right person and be there for the delivery, but ugh. There was no deliberate exclusion or anti-gay sentiment, just implicit bias / assumptions.
We both present in a way that people assume we are straight, YMMV if one or both of you is more obviously queer. But worth thinking about.
posted by insectosaurus at 10:33 AM on February 1, 2018
I ended up with a super-emergency c-section and my wife almost didn’t make it into the operating room with me. They rushed me out of the delivery room and just left her there - there was an assumption that a woman wouldn’t be a spouse or partner who’d come into the OR. Luckily she did manage to find and tell the right person and be there for the delivery, but ugh. There was no deliberate exclusion or anti-gay sentiment, just implicit bias / assumptions.
We both present in a way that people assume we are straight, YMMV if one or both of you is more obviously queer. But worth thinking about.
posted by insectosaurus at 10:33 AM on February 1, 2018
Congratulations!
We very much appreciated our experience at Evanston North Shore (twice a day there's a cart that comes by with cake and snacks, everybody we met was great), and would highly recommend our pediatrician if you're looking for one. If you have any questions about our experience there, please don't hesitate to me-mail me.
We attended the birthing class there, but I found it to be pretty slow paced, and it focused on things that weren't of interest to us ('natural birth'). My wife liked it, though. I think this depends on how much you like learning things from other people vs books.
My understanding is that Wiggleworms is how you make fancy Chicago parent friends.
posted by Comrade_robot at 12:35 PM on February 1, 2018
We very much appreciated our experience at Evanston North Shore (twice a day there's a cart that comes by with cake and snacks, everybody we met was great), and would highly recommend our pediatrician if you're looking for one. If you have any questions about our experience there, please don't hesitate to me-mail me.
We attended the birthing class there, but I found it to be pretty slow paced, and it focused on things that weren't of interest to us ('natural birth'). My wife liked it, though. I think this depends on how much you like learning things from other people vs books.
My understanding is that Wiggleworms is how you make fancy Chicago parent friends.
posted by Comrade_robot at 12:35 PM on February 1, 2018
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posted by typecloud at 7:24 AM on February 1, 2018 [2 favorites]