Prenatal/Birthing Classes - There are options!!!

When I was pregnant with Carter Kris and I registered for a 6 week prenatal course offered through Alberta Health Services. While this class was pretty good in terms to the who, what, where, when etc etc of having a baby I thought that these were the only classes available within the city of Edmonton.. (hindsight right?!?!)  
Whether you want to attend a large group, smaller group, or even a one on one there are are options. My hope is that this list will be a starting point for you and that you as a soon to be parent get the best information for you! (be it with your first, second, or twentieth child)
Happy searching! 

North
Mommy Connections Edmonton North 
http://www.mommyconnections.ca/edmonton-north/

South 
Full Circle Birth Collective
http://www.fullcirclebirthcollective.com/
587.521.2717

Mommy Connections Edmonton South
http://www.mommyconnections.ca/edmonton-south/

Primary Care Network South
www.edmontonsouthsidepcn.ca
780.395.2626

West 
Baby Bump Doula & Birth Services
780.918.9359
http://www.babybumpdoula.com/

Lucina Centre 
http://www.lucinacentre.ca/wellness/wellness
780.481.8446

Mommy Connections Edmonton West
http://www.mommyconnections.ca/edmonton-west/

Gentle Touch Doula Services 
780.440.6105
http://www.gentletouchdoula.com/

Sacred Births Edmonton
780.953.73-037
www.sacredbirthsedmonton.com 

St.Albert 
Mommy Connections St.Albert 
http://www.mommyconnections.ca/st-albert/

Spruce Grove/Stony Plain
Mommy Connections Spruce Grove 
http://www.mommyconnections.ca/spruce-grove/

Sherwood Park 
Mommy Connections Sherwood Park 
http://www.mommyconnections.ca/sherwood-park/

Leduc
Mommy Connections Leduc 
http://www.mommyconnections.ca/leduc/


Do you know Doula's or other places that offer pre-natal classes? 
Please share them with me so I can update this list. 

An epic camping trip, a parade, rocking the minivan, and growing by 2 feet. What a whirlwind of the last few weeks.

A few weeks ago we had our 2nd annual mom's group camping trip and it was so much fun.
Let me say how much I love my mom friends.. I said it before in a previous blog post here, but seriously I love these ladies!!! I really am lucky to have such a great group of friends..who also have great husbands, and between us all we have a pretty kick ass group of kids too. Who could ask for much more??  I feel blessed...and am tearing up as I write this.

10 chairs, 11 kids. 

This brings me to my next topic.... are you ready for it??????? Baby # 3 will grace us with it's presence in March 2015! How far along am I you ask?? Well 7 weeks.. Ya ya ya I know some people are probably cringing at the news before the 3 month mark, but you know what I am kind of a glass half full kind of gal. To me not wanting to talk about it is anticipating something bad, and I know its going to be good, so this is me shouting it from the mountain tops.
I AM PREGNANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(p.s. if you are a half glass full kind of gal or guy...but still wait for the 3 month mark, awesome, no judgement here, to each their own!! )



And now to minivans.. I drive a Dodge Caravan. I love it. I hear the radio commercial about the parents getting the news about having twins and about them needing to get a minivan and their utter despair. NOOOOOO NOT A MINI VAN.. I laugh and you know what they are awesome! Here is why..

1. You don't have to push down a middle seat to get to the 3rd row like in cross overs. And this makes life a whole lot easier for people who have 3 kids in carseats, which I will. 
2. I can fit 16 Steralite bins in my car when going to shows for Bun in the Oven Consignment. 
3. 2 adults, 3 kids, 2 dogs, and a cargo roof carrier. All things that make a successful and comfortable trip. In a minivan
4. Stow and go seating. More places to put stuff when traveling!

Waiting for the parade to start

The truck pulling our float

Lastly...the K-Days parade! First of all guess who won
BEST NON-PROFIT ENTRY!!!!!
Second, Carter was in his element. This year he chose to ride on the float and use his bubble gun to blow bubbles into the crowd, but he still told me it was the best day of his life. And you know what, this is a great childhood memory. Some people have dreams to be in a parade...and this kids has been in it 2 years in a row. Seriously aside from all the awesome work we do as an agency, it is also pretty great that we can participate in things like this. #staffmoral
(And a shout out to Rosenau Transport, cause their driver is amazing!!)

So thats all folks, for now that is! :) :)

P.S.
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Maternity leave in Alberta

The nursery has been decorated, you are nesting, done work and it's time to figure out your Maternity EI benefits. However, the process of applying for Maternity EI benefits in Alberta may be overwhelming. Hopefully after reading this post you will have a pretty good idea of how and where to go - and will have successfully applied for your EI benefits. 

In Alberta you are entitled to 52 weeks off of work for Maternity leave from your place of employment.  **Some situations are different and could depend on if a position is a contract or if there are different agreements made.**

If you are not sure what your rights are- or if you feel that your rights are being infringed upon you can always call labor standards (anonymously if need be) @ 1.877.427.3731

Do you Qualify:

In order to qualify for Maternity benefits you must have worked at least 600 hours of employment and have paid into EI benefits. You are eligible to apply and take your Maternity leave starting on your 8^th week before your due date.   

Maternity benefits are the first 15 weeks of your year off, the following weeks are technically refereed to as Parental leave and you or your partner is eligible to take the Parental leave.

Putting in an Application:

On your last day of work is technically when you should apply for Maternity benefits. Applying too early could effect your weeks that you are entitled to.

• If you are receiving the full Maternity and Parental benefits you will only need to apply once which is at the beginning.
• If your partner is applying for parental leave they will have to apply for it
• Parental leave can be the entire 35 weeks or it can be taken for less time, to a minimum of 2 weeks.

You can apply for your Maternity benefits here

Your work will either give you a Record of Employment (ROE) or if you are lucky they will submit your ROE on your behalf. This will be on your last day before going on leave (ideally)  

If you have to submit the ROE yourself you will need to go to a Service Canada Branch to drop it off or send it via mail.

You can find the location closest to you here

Maternity benefits payments:

Your benefits are only paid out for 50 of your 52 weeks that you have off. That means you will not receive your benefits right away, as there is a 2-week waiting period. You however should have received your login information to log onto the Service Canada website to check and see how the processing of your Maternity benefits are proceeding. 

**If it has been over 2 weeks, call and inquire. With my second child it took a month for my benefits to be deposited into my account, and it was due to some miniscule piece of information that was quickly entered within seconds. **

(The great thing is that my money was deposited into my account within 24hours)

If you have questions you can call this number - 1.800.206.7218

**HINT** Try calling first thing in the morning when they open. So many people call this number that they generally don’t even have enough room for people to wait on hold.

You will receive 55% of your of insurable earnings up to a maximum of $514 per week.

MAKE SURE THEY ARE TAKING TAXES OFF OF YOUR EI BENEFITS!!!

I unfortunately didn’t catch this during my first Maternity leave and I ended up owing in taxes, which is a big deal when you are only receiving 55% of your regular wage.

Hopefully this post has been informative and has helped you along the process of applying for your benefits.  If this post was helpful to you, please leave a comment. Thanks for reading and congrats to you :)

Until next time
~Christine~

*The information that is included in this post has been taken from the Service Canada webite and also  taken from my personal experiences. If there is anything that I have missed please let me know and it will be added*