I highly recommend these classes for first time expectant parents. I felt fully prepared for what…read moreto expect and what my options were during the recent labor and delivery of our son. We had the easiest most stress free delivery possible and I attribute this to what we learned in our classes. We are putting the information from the baby care classes to use every day now that we are parents. I found these classes much more helpful than other classes I've taken or books I've read.

From the owner: Held in a private room within the store Magic Bean, it is known for all things baby. The Parent…read moreCollective prenatal classes are designed to provide couples a support network of people living in close proximity and delivering babies at the same time. The idea being that along with learning what you need to about labor and caring for your newborn, you are also fostering friendships that will be invaluable to you during this next chapter in your lives.   In addition to a class series for first time parents, we will also be launching for 2nd and 3rd time parents. This series will tackle different topics, but will still provide the social support expectant parents so need. Our aim is for The Parent Collective classes to provide an invaluable service to new parents - helping manage the isolation that can come with new babies, making connections that create a safety net for post natal depression, and a judgement free opportunity to learn about the childbirth experience. Classes are held in three locations, GoFigure Barre studio in New Canaan, INTENSITY in Norwalk and here in Magic Beans in Fairfield. See our website for more information and to meet the TPC team.

Linda helped me and my husband greatly when we got home from the hospital with our newborn son…read more Linda has all of the qualities you could wish for in a doula. She is sweet, warm, caring, knowledgeable, energetic, and she truly loves her work. We are so happy we hired Linda and we we definitely plan to rehire her in the future.

Thanks Gd for Linda. She helped us in so many ways, it's amazing. We hired her as a postpartum…read moredoula and newborn care specialist (which is special in itself, because not many people can do both). She nursed me back to health after my c section while caring so lovingly for my little boy. She taught us how to organize baby things, gave great recommendations on baby items, and taught us how to care for our baby. She helped me learn how to nurse as well, including recommending a bottle that solved my breastfeeding problem. She also helped with my nieces and did an amazing job getting them on a sleep schedule and sleeping through the night by 4 months. Having Linda felt like having a aunt, a friend, a nurse, and a therapist here at a time when I needed them all most. I honestly can't recommend her enough.

I had a deeply disturbing experience with this therapist. Instead of fostering a healthy…read moreenvironment for family healing, she acted with a complete lack of professional boundaries. I discovered she was leaving private notes for my husband behind my back, effectively driving a wedge between us. When I confronted her about this, she not only denied it but resorted to name-calling.This is manipulative and the opposite of what family therapy should be. Avoid at all costs.

The so-called CEO of this organization wasted time in sessions with anecdotes about her life that…read morewere totally irrelevant and was not an objective or neutral or supportive therapist in the context of couples counseling. Even worse, she recommended antidepressants, and her own colleague who does the actual prescribing determined they were totally unnecessary. Avoid at all costs!

I am so grateful for the Nesting Place…read more I found the Nesting Place on Instagram when I was pregnant. I was excited to enroll in prenatal education classes here and was even more excited to take my little one to classes after my baby was born. Prenatally: My husband and I took "newborn care 101" and partner yoga for birth. My husband and I loved the partner yoga with Jen. It really opened my eyes on what I wanted for my birth and helped me change my birth goals and plan. I loved the prenatal yoga classes with Jen as well. I also found my doula through the Nesting Place website. I am so grateful to have found the Nesting Place to help me prepare, as best I could, for my birth through education, support and movement. Postpartum - I was even more grateful for the Nesting Place. I saw that it offered "Fourth Trimester groups" at all three locations - Farmingdale, Merrick and Yaphank. I enrolled in a fourth trimester group in Merrick and received an email saying "come as you are." It was very comforting as it was the first place I took my baby alone. I felt supported with other moms going through the same things at the same time. As moms, we are usually the last ones supported and taken care of, and the Nesting place really offers that space for us to be supported in this new chapter as we are also born as mothers. We have utilized so many resources through the Nesting Place - our lactation consultant, Bella, was instrumental on helping us with feeding/latching issues, baby and me yoga, postnatal strength classes, baby and me music and developmental play with PTs, OTs and SLPs. My baby and I look forward to the classes as we can be ourselves, meet other parents and feel so welcomed. I am really truly grateful that the Nesting Place exists during the time I became a mom. I don't know what I would've done without it. I hope others will "come as you are" and try a class here prenatally or postpartum. It really is a wonderful community.

My husband and I took the 4-hour Childbirth Preparation class with Laura and Marissa and absolutely…read moreloved it. We both learned so much and took away so many helpful tools. Laura did an amazing job keeping everyone engaged and incorporated hands-on techniques that my husband will be able to use during our birth. We left the class feeling so much more prepared and confident about what to expect. I highly recommend this class, especially for first-time parents like us!

If you have a child that needs someone to talk to Alana DiMario can help. She has a great way with…read morechildren and she is a talented counselor. I brought my 14 year old to her and in a short time it went from a very bad situation (having to drag her there and her walking out of the office) to an appointment she looks forward to. Alana has been a great asset and has helped our family tremendously. I wish I could give her more than 5 stars!

We had such a wonderful experience with this service. The HFA team was incredibly responsive and…read moreproactive in connecting us with those who may be on our night nurse team which allowed for me to chat with each one ahead of time. It was our first time working with a night nurse and the whole experience made us feel at ease and in very good hands. Our night nurse, Janette, was wonderful and made us feel so confident that our newborn was in good hands that we could get some sleep back! Definitely recommend!

I am so glad to have worked with postpartum doulas through Happy Family After. We had peace of mind…read moreworking through this agency, knowing the doulas were vetted. We worked with Janice and Sara who were wonderful! On the admin side, Devon, Sondra, and Sara were all so kind and easy to work with. I was able to use my Carrot benefits with ease.

The Path 2 Potential team is amazing, they know how to work with kids of all kinds…read more They are also great at supporting parents navigating IEP meetings and IEP documents. I highly recommend talking with the team there if you are looking for support and help!

I'm not sure if I'll have enough space to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation for all you…read moreall have done . All the hope you've instilled in us with our daughter's future and development. All the hard work has definitely paid off and then some. Each therapist brought their strengths to our daughter and over the years she has grown that much. Each morning I wake up seeing all of you in her smile and demeanor and determination to face the day each day. Thank you P2P

what is currently happening at the Meriden Humane Society needs to be brought to light…read more Recently, volunteers have been dismissed simply for questioning leadership and not aligning with the organization's current ideology and decision-making. This followed the annual membership meeting on the 17th, which itself was deeply troubling--but that's a separate issue. What's most upsetting is that volunteers who have dedicated years of their lives to this shelter are being removed for speaking up. One individual who was recently dismissed volunteered for over a decade, fostered dogs, cleaned kennels, and served as an intake coordinator. These are people who give their time freely, who care deeply about the animals, and who are essential to the shelter's daily operations. Instead of valuing experience, dedication, and concern for animal welfare, leadership appears to be prioritizing ego and internal politics--things that have no place in a humane society. This lack of integrity and leadership ultimately harms the animals most, as volunteers are fired or leave in frustration, leaving fewer hands to care for dogs and cats who depend on them. I'm sharing this because people are being silenced and removed for making their voices heard. Transparency and accountability matter--especially in an organization entrusted with the care of vulnerable animals. Do better.

We had been searching for kittens to rescue for what felt like forever - every kitten we fell in…read morelove with was adopted by the time our application was marked as received. We are newly weds who just purchased a new home & couldn't wait to add to our growing family. We ended up adopting 2 adorable kittens from the same litter - brother and sister I saw photos of these rescued kittens from the Meriden humane society & my gut told me to call immediately and be persistent. I knew it was meant to be. The place is run strictly by volunteers & they were so wonderful and helpful - expediting my application & personally spending 20+ minutes speaking with me on the phone on the process & all the ways we can ensure our application is completed quickly. The kittens were living with a foster mama & papa (who were incredible). They raised such amazing, well-mannered, loving, polite, friendly, and snuggly kittens. I felt supported from the start & continue to feel supported as we transition. The kittens have transitioned so well. We truly feel like a family.