Maine Families Newsletter, October 2024

Happy Fall!

We are doing some fun things at Maine Families Mid-Coast and couldn’t wait to share it with you all.

Island Visiting

In our efforts to be accessible to all families in our community we offer both in person and Zoom visits. For island dwelling families who want to participate in person we travel to them by ferry boat, sailboat, and car. Currently, we visit with families who live on Vinalhaven, North Haven, Morse Island, and Bailey Island. If you are a provider who serves families living on islands, don’t hesitate to refer to us! We will partner with families to decide what type of visit is best.

Prenatal Activities

While many of our referrals come after a baby is born, we also accept and encourage prenatal visits. When we meet with families prenatally we are able to focus on thoughts, questions, and concepts before the birth. Topics can include practicing diapering and swaddling (pictured below), prenatal baby games, facilitated conversations around expectations, hopes, and fears, and anything in between! Meeting prenatally allows families to get used to the rhythm of visits and get a head start on developing deep relationships with visitors.

Professional Development: Annual Staff Retreat and Maine Families Conference

Each year our Maine Families visitors and supervisors participate in over 20 hours of professional development focused on parenting topics, child development, infant mental health, infant feeding and lactation support, motivational interviewing, DEIA, and family well being. We also plan and host collaborative meetings to learn more about local services and ways we can partner with providers to best support families. 

In June we held our second annual Maine Families staff retreat at the Boothbay Botanical Gardens. The retreat included time for team building, touring the gardens, and celebrating staff. 

In September we hosted a collaborative meeting and information session with the Community Doula Program to learn more about their birth and postpartum support. This was an opportunity  to share program updates, referral processes, and ways we can work together to ensure families have all the resources and support they need. 

Most recently our team participated in a statewide annual Maine Families and Prevention Council Conference that took place in Auburn. The two-day event focused on connection, community and change and included speakers from the Brazelton Touchpoints Center, Cross Cultural Community Services and Parents as Teachers National Center. There were also opportunities for resource sharing and our team was excited to bring back new ideas for home visits and group connections.

Community Outreach

This summer Maine Families Midcoast participated with other University of Maine Extension programs in hosting a booth at the Rockland Farmers Market. In addition to sharing information about our programming, we brought bubbles for everyone to play with and enjoy. Dozens of families, individuals and even dogs participated in the bubble play. Some said that they saw the bubbles from the other side of the market and followed them over, others said made up stories about the bubbles as they floated by. One participant who was vacationing in Knox County with family enjoyed the experience so much that she sent us a message afterward.

Making bubbles at Rockland Farmers Market

“Thank you again for making the Farmer’s Market such a magical place for our littles ones (and the adults too)- that was so much fun!”

It was such a joy to bring some of the connection we build with the families with whom we work, to the Farmer’s Market.