How our birth order and sibling relationships shape us

Ever wonder what your life would have been like if you'd never had siblings? Or if you were an only child and had had siblings? Or how the blending of families later in life might have affected you?
Or if you had been born earlier or later with respect to your siblings?
How do we learn about interacting with others through our intimate family relationships?

Dr. Rene Hackney of Parenting by Dr. Rene will shed light on the fascinating question of how our family relationships and our position in the family shape our personality.

Please note that this meeting will begin at the earlier start time of 6:30 p.m. in order to give Dr. Rene time to address both topics fully and take questions. Please arrange to arrive on time if at all possible.

Please also note that this meeting date -- April 24 -- is the fourth Thursday of the month rather than our usual third due to spring break and holy week.

We anticipate that this will be our last meeting at the AUMC, 716 S. Glebe Rd. Arlington, VA 22204. The church is undergoing changes and will no longer be able to host us after April (and please check this space the night of the meeting to make sure there are no last-minute changes).

If you have any ideas about a possible new location for our chapter evening meetings (must be able to accommodate at least 40 people comfortably and allow us to stay to 9:30 p.m.), please email our chapter leadership at HolisticMomsArlAlex (at) gmail (dot) com

Thyroid Health special daytime meeting packs the house!

The thyroid is an important part of our endocrine system that gets a real workout during pregnancy and the postpartum period! If you don't have a history of thyroid issues, years of not sleeping well and of breastfeeding might put enough stress on your system to cause problems. If you have been diagnosed with a thyroid condition, chances are your endocrinologist might not have explained to you how your issues are connected with the rest of your health in a holistic way.

At a special daytime meeting, Shep Saltzman, R.N. of Vienna Complementary Medicine and Vital Mind/Body Therapies gave a fabulous presentation on Thyroid Health. We learned a lot about hormones, the endocrine system and how inflammation plays a (very important!) role in autoimmune disease. Everyone had the chance to complete a metabolic self-assessment and then learn what symptoms relate to which organ systems or issues like low/high blood sugar, low/high cortisol, and various gut issues.

We had a great turnout with lots of mamas, and little ones, too! Thanks to all who joined and spread the word about this important topic. And thank you to Shep for a wonderful presentation!

For an introduction to the topic, see Shep's videos on his website, http://www.vcmedicine.com/http://www.vcmedicine.com/