A few helpful tools I'm thankful for this week

For those of us in New York, we’ve just started week 9 of lockdown. Our kids are getting antsy, but we still have a month and a half of homeschool to go. The weather is getting nicer and we want to be outside more, but we can’t always safely do that. Just when you crack and start to put the pieces of yourself back together, your kid or partner starts cracking. No matter where you are, I think it’s safe to assume that emotions are running high.
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I’m sorry to say I don’t have a band-aid or cure-all. It’s only human to be shaking under the weight of this. But I will share with you a few small things that have given me sanity and a modicum of answers for dealing with the daily grind now.
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First, I got an email on Friday morning with the subject line “Explosive emotions.” The email was from Kirsten and Kathy at the Institute of Curiosity and for me, it came at exactly the right time. It not only granted me the space to feel the things I needed to feel, but it gave me perspective and the tools needed to handle the day and the variety of my kids’ emotions that day. I’ve come to cherish getting these emails, so I highly recommend them (sign up here). I also recommend following Dr. Becky Kennedy, a clinical psychologist and mother of three, on Instagram. She’s been giving insightful advice on handling the stress of lockdown with not only your kids but your partner too.

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That’s all I got this week, but my hope is that you also find those tools useful in this time.
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Until next week, be well and safe,
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Kate

P.S. HuffPost wants to hear your stories about how you’re coping amid the coronavirus crisis. Send us stories, photos and videos to quarantine.diaries@huffpost.com. Your response could end up in a future story.

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I highly encourage you to watch this hysterical video of moms profusely thanking their kids’ teachers if you haven’t already. It’s a winner.

Watch it here

For when your kid is keeping you awake...

I love, love, love this story from senior reporter Catherine Pearson. Over the course of many weeks, she spoke with people on all ends of the childbirth chain in America -- moms, dads, nurses, midwives -- and revealed how the virus and lockdown policies around birth have traumatized the process of having a baby right now. It's a touching piece that shows what’s really happening in homes and delivery rooms across America.

How coronavirus has changed giving birth in America