Ithaca is a land of constant change – people moving to and away from town, buildings going up and coming down, and even the landscape is in flux, with waterfalls subtly changing our scenery as we go about our day-to-day lives.
I spent my first year as an Ithaca resident in flux as well, traveling to and from my job in New York City every other week. By the time I stood still and looked down, I was 7 months pregnant with no local OBGYN, friends in town, or mama mentors to help point me toward resources.
After my son was born and I got my feet back under me, I started teaching prenatal yoga at Jillian’s Drawers. That was seven years ago and I’ve taught almost every Monday evening since then (hey, maybe some things do stay the same around here! ;). I’ve had more than 300 mamas come through my class and we’ve spent a lot of time each week talking about resources and recommendations. Over the years there have been a good handful of resources, classes, and organizations that have come and gone, but I’ve developed a list of tried-and-true, highly recommended resources to share with my students.
Here are my recommendations, broken down by the topics that come up during my class. If I could go back in time, this is the list that new-mama Mariellen would have liked to have! It is by no means an all-inclusive list, so feel free to add your own recommendations in the comments section below.
