Wednesday, March 28, 2012

An Outstanding Local Resource for Parents!

Babes in the Woods: Hiking/Backpacking
Saturday, April 28, 2012 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Providence Hospital - Entrance 5: Maternity Center Education Room

Registration is required by going online to this link or calling the number below.

 This is a highly informative class that many of us have taken. I've been to this class a couple of times myself and learn something new each time. Jen Aist, local author of Babes in the Woods, an AOFN member & sponsor teaches the class. Whether you've always lived and adventured in Alaska or are brand new to the state, she has a wealth of knowledge to share about making any family outdoor endeavor successful.

Learn how to stay safe, sane, dry and relatively bug free on the trails of Alaska's backcountry.  Learn where to go, what to bring, and how long to stay. $30 per person/couple

This class fills up quickly so if you're interested register and get it on your calendar now.

Providence employee & Military Discounts and Scholarships are available for all parenting and childbirth classes! Please call the Providence Maternity Center at 212-8474 for Scholarship information.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Mark your calendars!

Mark your calendars - April 12th is our 2 year anniversary hike! Bring a treat to share and we'll celebrate 2 years of fresh air, exercise, and good friends after we hike! RSVP here: http://www.meetup.com/Anchorage-Outdoor-Family-Network/events/54213542/  Can it be?! Our babies are getting so big and many of us have had or are having our second generation Trekkers since then!
This year's anniversary we are honoring and celebrating our dear friend Casey who is currently receiving treatment in Texas and kicking cancer's butt! Casey was the only other parent with me on the very first Taiga Trekkers hike. We bonded over the cosleeping patterns we fell into but never imagined we would, and our love for Alaska, as our little ones slept in their strollers on the thawing Coastal Trail from Earthquake Park. We hope to send some postitive energy her way during the Trek. We can't wait till she and her now 2 beautiful munchkins can join us on the trail again!  Some of Casey's friends have formed Team Casey, part of Team in Training, to raise money for cancer research. If you feel compelled you can donate to to their efforts here.
Here's a look back down memory lane of some of our Treks! 



























Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Kids These Days!


Kids These Days!, a fairly new and exciting radio show focusing on Alaska's kids & families, on Alaska Public Radio, hosted a show on Springtime in Alaska this week. In-studio guests were: Dr. Matthew Benson, a local pediatric endocrinologists, and our own Jen Aist, Anchorage Outdoor Family Member member, sponsor, lactation consultant extraordinaire, director or parent education at The Children's Hospital of Providence, and author of Babes in the Woods: Hiking, Camping and Boating with Babies and Young Children

The focus of this week's show was the importance of getting kids outside, a cause near and dear to our hearts. Topics such as vitamin D intake were discussed, as well as postpartum depression, gardening with your family, ideas for getting outside with your brood, ways to trouble shoot some of the obstacles and of course the health benefits associated with being outdoors.  

One of our mamas, Emily was interviewed while at Storytime with the Flowers and Jen Aist mentioned both Skedaddle and  Taiga Trekkers as example of ways to get out and connect with other families.

Click here to listen to the whole podcast.


Monday, March 19, 2012

The Returning of Light


We often discuss the vast array of benefits that our children receive from regular time spent outdoors and in nature. What we routinely neglect to mention or focus on is how important it is for us, the parents/caregivers! Not just to provide positive role modeling, but to meet our physical and emotional needs, in order to be the happy and healthy people our kids need us to be.

This is true no matter where you live, but it is paramount in a place like Alaska. This is a territory known for its remoteness and isolation, way up in the north, disconnected from the "Lower 48." Even here in Anchorage, the state's largest city, isolation is a very common experience. It is a land of transplants, with one of the highest, if not the highest rates of transiency. Few are born, raised and stay here. Even when you are, you become accustomed to making close bonds with others only to see good friends move away. Most have no local family support system to rely on. Combine this isolation with an extreme climate and drastic shifts in daylight and you have a recipe that can make even the most positive and educated people unexpectedly fall into a bout of depression. Now add kids into he mix - all the emotional, physical, hormonal and schedule changes that happen when you become a parent or add a new family member. For both parents depression, whether it be postpartum or S.A.D. (seasonal affective disorder) is a concern not to be taken lightly. Suicide rates in Alaska are exponentially higher than other places in the world, especially this time of the year.

What can you do to avoid this potentially dangerous situation? Well go on a Trek of course!

Part of the reason I started Taiga Trekkers was a need to get out, but I have a very lively imagination that bears around every corner. (There have been very few bear attacks on parties more than 4.) I know, the more active I am, the happier I am. My son and I were growing out of the Cuddlers and Cruisers groups at Providence Hospital, and I knew I needed something to combine my need for exercise with continuing to network with other moms who had kids my child's age. I had so many questions and the best resources are always peers. There is not a single thing that is better for a parent's sanity than other parents to share with and relate to. Nothing. Fortunately at that time the meetup.com group Anchorage Parents of Infants, Toddlers, and Young Children was just getting off the ground and I started organizing and posting hikes there. The idea caught on and at the same time, my good friend Lia started organizing Skedaddle. Together we came up with the Anchorage Outdoor Family Network. The combination of exercising, networking and organizing, kept me from a place I though for sure I would go at some point after the birth of my son - postpartum depression land. I never found it... then. My life was a dream. I don't want to rock the boat.


Fast forward 2 years. My son is now 3 and I'm 34 weeks pregnant, my husband is out of town for work for weeks at a time, our impending birth is not a planned one. My plate is a little full and I know I'm already heading down the trail of full on postpartum, before I'm even in the post. I'm not good at being slowed down physically. I'm a mover. I'm not one who can run a half-marathon when pregnant... well I did but that was before I knew I was pregnant and it kicked my butt. I go dormant in the sleepy stages of the first trimester and don't really recover until the baby pops out. I can usually eat what ever my heart desires because I'm always on the go burning calories. When there's a bun in the oven, this mama gets huge. I am depressed. I start going to counseling while my son is at preschool. She suggest getting together with other mamas, Check. Finding something I can focus on. Organizing a non-profit should qualify. Check. Exercise. Check... well kind of. I've been skipping out on the very hikes I organize. While yes I can afford to cut my Type A personality a little slack, HOWEVER when I do get to the hikes... those days are the best. I get my endorphins going, I've conquered my own road blocks and got my butt out of the sedentary rut it was in. Getting my testy toddler with an OPINION out the door is its own great victory. We both get exercise, fresh air, camaraderie and stunning Alaska views. If I remember that sense of satisfaction of breaking through a barrier I can break through just about any funk. 

Like they say, what's good for the goose is good for the gander. Taking care of your needs first, usually means taking care of your family's needs. That easily gets lost when you get disoriented by the vortex of your love for your children. I know. When you're hiking with your kid you are doing both.

A Healthy Parent = A Healthy Kid


My hiking friends are my surrogate Alaskan family. Many of us have had or are having our second kiddos and we are supporting each other through meal trains, mama's nights out, swapping child care, passing down our children's outgrown clothes. 


Ways to keep up moral:
  • Surround yourself with peers, other parents. They are your best resource, their shared successes help solve your own problems and their failures make you feel human.
  • Get outside and moving. It doesn't matter how long, just get out. Have reasonable expectations for whatever fitness level you are at. One of the beautiful things about this group is we have so many parent/kid combos that go at different speeds. On any given hike there are bound to be the babywearers steaming up ahead with the independent toddlers and their parents in the back of the pack with a bunch somewhere in between the two.
  • Remember how it feels when you push past the roadblocks. Hard to do, but when you can conjure that sense of satisfaction, new goals seem more attainable. Some of my favorite hikes have been on rainy days when I just don't want to go but we do it anyway.
  • Give yourself a project - organize a playdate, a hike, a craft time. People who organize events get to pick the times, activities and settings that work best for their families' needs. You control the parameters. I didn't miss my classroom or teaching, when I decided to stay home, but I did miss having an adult project to wrap my mind around. You can do so through Anchorage Outdoor Family Network, or any meetup like group... or start your own from scratch. It can be a one time outing or a regularly scheduled affair.
  • Look at life from another perspective - One of our mamas is battling cancer and proving to the rest of us that life is something to grab a hold of and treasure. It's hard to get lost in petty grievances when you see a powerhouse of a woman and an amazing mother take on chemo and other drastic medical procedures with a positive attitude, mental strength, humility and grace.
Lots of people get caught up in New Year's resolutions that fall flat right away. To me this is the time of year to give change the momentum it needs to take root. The return of light and lengthening of the days is obvious now and the energy is palpable. 

Do something good for yourself and your family.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

New Sponsors

Check out our sponsor page and visit the links to some of our new and returning sponsors! They have supported both Taiga Trekkers and the Anchorage Outdoor Family Network with their generosity! They have either donated gear to our lending library, provided giveaway items or helped with the start up fees to make the Anchorage Outdoor Family Network an official non-profit group.

THANK YOU!

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Sublime Snowy Sunshine!


Alaskan days don't get better than this! 10 parents, 12 kiddos and 1 baby due soon, took off from the Upper O'Malley trailhead today and headed up the Gas Line Trail. Everyone contentedly going their own pace. A pack of fast moving, baby wearing parents led the group, while many of us with mobile toddlers hung back, while they jumped in and out of the sleds we brought along. Being 8 months pregnant with a toddler in tow, we didn't expect to go far, but spent a good 45 minutes outside. Today is one of those days it is hard to go back inside. We're heading out for round two with a walk to the park as soon as I'm done with this post.

The sun was warm and bright. I only wore a light fleece over a polypro shirt and fleece pants. My little bear has been suffering from croup the last couple of days and like with most ailments being outside in the fresh air is so beneficial. One of the great things about this group is you don't need to worry about staying home if you, or your little one is feeling under the weather. Unless the kiddos are sharing snacks or toys, there isn't much you can do to contaminate one another with icky germs.