Hello friendly faces! It’s a new Chicago North Shore Moms spotlight brought to you in part by Mary Gifford of Gifford Law. In this Meet a Mom spotlight we’re introducing you to a really cool Winnetka mom of two children with an impressive resume: certified doula, childbirth educator, lactation trained specialist and leader of a brand new expecting and new mom meet-up through The Alliance of Early Childhood, Mindful Beginnings, Kassie Leachman!
Kassie Leachman is one cool cat. Not only is she the doula that you want on your birth team and beyond, she’s a liaison with The Alliance for Early Childhood, leading mindful play for families and expecting and new moms alike! We had the pleasure of hearing from this bright and cheerful soul who gushes about the wonderful resources we have in our backyard with The Alliance. You won’t want to miss her daughter’s super chill and relevant advice for teens (and parents, too), the importance of being present over perfect, an impressive list of never-before-mentioned North Shore hangs, reads to add to your Amazon Unlimited list and, last but not least, information about the Alliance’s newest program for expecting and new moms, Mindful Beginnings. Welcome, Kassie!
Hi Kassie! Tell us about yourself.
Hi, I’m Kassie Leachman! I’m a certified doula, childbirth educator and lactation trained specialist. I was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri (go Chiefs!) specifically a little town north of the city called Smithville.
I am the very lucky mother of two wonderful children; Edie who is eight and Gus who is six. Edie is my avid reader who loves theater, dance, writing, horse riding, riding her bike and water skiing. She is absolutely spectacular, creative, funny, wise beyond her years and one of the kindest and most empathic children I’ve ever met. Gus is my silly guy on the move with such a thoughtful and tender heart. He loves soccer, baseball, football, building the most well thought out structures and creating new art any chance he gets, he can beat his Dad at chess and racing around on his bicycle. They are both huge nature lovers and such magical individuals, we couldn’t be prouder.
What city do you live in now? What brought you here?
I live in Winnetka with my husband and two children. We’re so happy to have found our forever town and couldn’t love Winnetka more. I spent about a decade in Phoenix, Arizona while Jon (my husband) was in San Francisco. When work took him to New York City I made the move and we spent several years there where we welcomed our first child which then gave us the pull to move back to the midwest and closer to family.
What are one or two fun facts to know about you?
If you invite me to karaoke I will give nothing less than 110%.
I do a pretty solid Katherine Hepburn impression.
What are your favorite North Shore places, spaces and eats to frequent?
Too many to name! Here goes:
- You can oftentimes find my family at Erickson Woods enjoying a nature day.
- Maple and Tower beach swimming and enjoying mom’s “beach burritos.”
- Biking on Green Bay Trail.
- Winnetka Public Library where my kids fill totes until they runneth over.
- The Bookstall in Winnetka for their latest staff picks (they never go wrong).
- I absolutely love Three Tarts in Northfield, it’s my go to find items to fill for baskets for friends, grab a quick dessert for a party or just a coffee and a slice of quiche.
- Green Bay Cafe is our “one-on-one” kid go to spot for breakfast.
- Pomeroy for roast chicken and the best baguette with butter.
- Pizza by Sal for a slice or a whole pie and arcade games while we wait.
- I’m also eager to get everyone I know to go to Corner Banh Mi because their food is so fresh and excellent. I highly recommend their pho especially as the cold and flu season approaches – add tons of hot sauce and clear those sinuses!
What are you reading and watching?
I’m usually reading about three – four books at a time (two fiction and one – two audio nonfiction) I’m currently reading God of the Woods by Liz Moore, Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave, listening to Eve by Cat Bohannon and This Is So Awkward by Cara Natterson. I read Sandwich this summer by Catherine Newman and I still can’t get it out of my head.
I don’t watch as much tv as I used to, because at the end of the day once everyone is tucked and drifting to sleep I just want to get in bed and read!
What’s one piece of advice you’ve gotten that’s guided you?
A friend recently said to me in regards to your kids arguing “I’m your coach, not your referee” and it really spoke to me. I think it’s very age specific, my kids are at this cool (though bittersweet) age now where they are beginning to need me less and I can step back and let them work through things more than they used to be able to. I’m always amazed at what they’re able to sort out on their own.
Also, my daughter’s go to quotes are “you can’t control the wind but you can control your sails” and “ships don’t follow other ships, they follow the stars,” which has served her well as she navigates social situations. I love that she’s her own person, which can be hard to do especially where we live.
Your go to family-friendly dinners… go!
I went to culinary school and I absolutely love cooking, baking, entertaining so dinners are really special to my family. We are strict on always eating at the table together and connecting with “rose, thorn and something you learned” during our dinner time discussions. The range of what I make really depends on what I’m inspired by at the moment but some of my go-tos involve braised meats and comforting grains in the fall/winter months and big hearty salads in the spring/summertime.
We’re also a big veggie family and have lots of veggie forward meals. I’m lucky that my kids have always been really good eaters. I count on the Wednesday farmers market in Northbrook and Saturday market in Winnetka to guide me on my meals for the week and spark my interest with what is fresh!
Your mantra?
“Be present over perfect”
Let’s get down to business. Please introduce The Alliance for Early Childhood.
The Alliance for Early Childhood is a collaborative, community organization that supports and guides families and educators to nurture the healthy, well-rounded development of children from birth to eight years old.
Tell us about your background and how you became involved with The Alliance for Early Childhood.
I have worked with families for a very long time in some capacity, from my early years of babysitting, working at a daycare, nannying on and off and then starting my private doula practice – but my journey to The Alliance for Early Childhood came with the search for things to do with my own small children. I attended my first Alliance “Let’s Play” event maybe four years ago in the winter in a town we weren’t familiar with called Winnetka. I remember my children in their snowsuits running through a dreamy Crow Island Woods, where we met several nice families, one with whom we really connected, discussing one of my favorite quotes “there is no bad weather only bad clothing.” A year or so later when we moved to Winnetka that nice family ended up being one of our neighbors!
Then a year ago, a friend who had been The Alliance liaison for Crow Island Elementary mentioned how she thought I would really enjoy the role, especially since my family already attended all the Alliance activities. I signed up and am now in my second year as the Crow Island liaison and absolutely love the role and singing the praises of the incredible work The Alliance does.
How does The Alliance support and guide families and educators in nurturing the development of young children?
The Alliance for Early Childhood serves as a collaborative, community organization that supports and guides families and educators to nurture the healthy, well-rounded development of children from birth to eight years old. The Alliance offers several “Let’s Play” events where parents and caregivers are invited to engage with their children in child-directed free play through a variety of programs that are free and open to the public during the school year. They also offer free educational programs and resources, providing parents and caregivers information and confidence to be successful in their role as first teachers.
For Educators the Alliance offers ongoing professional development and networking opportunities and the latest research relevant to young children, in order to foster greater alignment and common understanding of developmentally appropriate practice in our community. They support a community dialogue about how adults can work together to appropriately support early childhood education and defend good practice.
The Alliance for Early Childhood pays tribute to these extraordinary individuals and thanks them for the exceptional education and care that they have provided to the youngest members of our community through the yearly Teacher Tributes. Nominations of educators from parents, caregivers and other educators with a donation are honored at reception in their honor.
Do you offer professional development opportunities for educators?
The Alliance also offers for educators a yearly Pre-K Summit. This annual professional development conference brings together local and national early childhood educators to discuss best practice and emerging research that promotes optimal development for our youngest learners, fosters a common understanding of developmentally appropriate practice, and provides resources for advocacy and continuing education.
You are also a doula. We’d love to know more about your journey in this career.
I came to birthwork after attending childbirth education classes while pregnant with my daughter in NYC. I couldn’t get enough of the shared experience of pregnancy, labor and postpartum and the changes that come – I just couldn’t believe it wasn’t the only thing people were talking about! After the birth of my son in Chicago I was ready to begin my training and once I was certified I began supporting expecting families in these transformative stages of their lives. It has been such a rewarding experience that I feel so lucky to be trusted in.
We’re so excited to tell our expecting and new moms about this next program, a new mom’s group called Mindful Beginnings. We’d love to know the details about these meet ups and what
Yes, we’re very excited about Mindful Beginnings. Mindful Beginnings is an outdoor meet-up for new and expecting parents that will launch this month. We’ll meet monthly on the third Wednesday of each month from 10am – 11:30am at different trails to walk together and connect with nature. Bring your baby (carriers encouraged) and join us for a walk led by myself. This is a great opportunity to connect with other parents and share your experiences. As well as an “office hours” of sorts to ask me any questions you have, be it about feeding, sleeping, healing, or just to help normalize this phase of life. Our first meet-up will be on Wednesday, October 16, 10am – 11:30am at Erickson Woods. Sign up for meet-up emails here.
How will the outdoor meet-ups be structured? Can you give us an idea of what a typical session might look like?
The outdoor meet-ups will be consistent in the structure – we’ll meet at the outdoor trail, do some introductions and then head out on a casual walk in nature together. Our walks will last generally last 90 minutes, but there is great flexibility in what that walk looks like – if you have a newborn and you need to stop and feed, or a little one who is getting worn out and you need to take a pause or turn back… we really want this to be a low stakes but consistent monthly meet up where you can connect, discuss, be in community and embrace the forgiving space of nature together.
Kassie, as the leader of Mindful Beginnings, what are your goals for this group, and what impact do you hope it will have on the participants?
My great goal for this group is that it reaches those parents that are looking to connect with their community and have a constant for the month that they know they’re going to honor for themselves – “I can take this hour, hour and half to be outside with myself/my baby/my toddler”. I am also the biggest believer in getting outside no matter the weather and I would love to see a group really embrace that and get out in their wool and layers and bundle their babies to themselves and take that walk through the woods to admire the beauty of the seasons.
How can interested parents get involved with Mindful Beginnings and The Alliance for Early Childhood?
If you’re interested in joining Mindful Beginnings you can sign up for the meet emails to be notified of the meet up space for our monthly walks. The Alliance for Early Childhood’s website is a great resource for all the upcoming events including the beloved Let’s Play events. Follow The Alliance for Early Childhood on Instagram for upcoming events!
Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know about Mindful Beginnings, The Alliance for Early Childhood, or your work as a doula?
Please know that The Alliance has something for every stage of your child’s age and you can’t believe the magic of the Let’s Play events when you go as a family and really embrace the child’s work of play – and let yourself play as well! We have the Fort Building event coming up at Lloyd Park on October 5th and 6th and when you see a little kid confidently using a saw and the pride of a kid tucked into their fort they’ve built you can’t deny the impact and core memory that it’s making on them!
Mindful Beginnings is a really intentional creation of a gap in some of that support that we noticed and I’m really eager to see it come to fruition and meet all the wonderful expecting or new parents that join!
As for my work as a doula and educator I really want people to know that for me birthwork is a continuous support space. I have the privilege of being able to create my own schedule and only take as many clients as I’d like a month but when I do I am very dedicated to the continuous support I provide and always tell my clients and students – you essentially have me for life to reach out to. This is my passion and my favorite thing to talk about. So to anyone in our community please don’t hesitate to reach out, I am always happy to chat or share my resources and referrals.
Lastly, your contact details please.
Email : [email protected] Instagram : @kassieleachmandoula Website : kassieleachmandoula.com
The Alliance for Early Childhood Instagram : @theallianceforec Website : theallianceforec.org
About our Meet of Mom Sponsor
A very heartfelt thank you to CNSMoms’ Meet a Mom sponsor, Lake Forest mom of three and owner of Gifford Law, a solo Estate Planning Firm (wills and trusts). Mary, we appreciate your support of local moms in our North Shore communities! Learn more about Mary by visiting her Meet a Mom spotlight here! Contact Mary directly here: [email protected].
