Lilly Schott is a labor and delivery nurse at the MV Hospital.

Dardanella Slavin, doctor of chiropractic and doula, talks about introducing foods to you baby.

Grief counselor Susan Desmarais shares her personal story of courage, loss and the importance of reproductive choice. 

Meet The Parents is a series of interviews with Island moms and dads in which we learn about the first year of parenthood from a variety of perspectives. 

Meet The Parents is a new VBC series in which we learn about the first year of parenthood from Island moms and dads. 

What is a doula? What services do they provide? How much does a doula cost? Certified Birth Doula Elissa Lash answers some commonly asked questions about doulas and what to consider when deciding if using a doula is right for you. 

Elissa Lash has worked as a prenatal yoga instructor, doula and childbirth educator for over ten years in New York, Boston and on Martha's Vineyard. She teaches a free prenatal yoga class every Monday night at the YMCA (membership not required) and can be reached at eelash@hotmail.com. 

Like parenting in general, how we approach sleep is very personal. Parents must decide for themselves what they feel comfortable with, what meshes with their values and philosophy, and what works for their baby’s unique temperament and needs. With young babies, almost everything revolves around feeding, including sleep. Making sure their feeding needs are being met is essential to their health and growth, as well as any early sleep success.

Rebekah Thomson is a Gentle Sleep Coach, trained and certified by Kim West (AKA The Sleep Lady), author of Good Night Sleep Tight. She works individually with families struggling with sleep challenges and offers workshops regularly. Rebekah and her husband live in West Tisbury with their three children, who offer her ongoing professional development opportunities. She can be reached at www.countingsheepmv.com.