Parenthood can be stressful, but thanks to a Parent Resource Fair held Friday in Vicksburg, first-time parents and parents of young children may be feeling more confident.

Sponsored by Merit Health River Region Hospital and the United Way of West Central Mississippi the first installment of the event offered a community-wide baby shower along with information provided by professionals.

Greg Honeycutt, the director of diagnostic imaging at River Region and organizer of the fair said resources included a pediatrician and OBGYN table, information on breastfeeding and nutrition and information on the importance to reading to toddlers. There was also information on speech schools, mental health resources for postpartum depression and fatherhood booths.

Ashley Selmon, who is expecting her first child Sept. 12, said she came to the Parent Resource Fair in an effort to prepare for motherhood.

“I learned different things about eating right, exercising and things to help my child’s father,” Selmon said.

Richard Preis, who attended the fair along with his fiancé and 6-month-old son, said he learned how to properly measure the amount of formula his son was getting and received a chart to go by. He also learned the importance of burping the baby after feeding and to not lay the baby down flat after feeding him.

The fair was also beneficial to grandparents.

Wanda Houston, who attended the fair, said she was looking for information to help her daughter-in-law with her newborn.

“My granddaughter was born Tuesday and she had to be airlifted to UMMC,” Houston said.

“She only weighed 2.9 pounds, but my daughter-in-law is still upstairs so I brought her 4-year-old to visit with her. We saw all the tables set up and it is a good thing they are doing to help out.”

More positives this week in Vicksburg:

4Men of Phi Kappa Psi made a pit stop in Vicksburg as part of the south route of the annual Journey of Hope. The 30 cyclists will ride nearly 4,000 miles across the country to raise awareness for people with disabilities. The south route is one of three routes of 30 riders each who are riding across the country this summer. Friday the riders made the 80-mile trip from Monroe, La., to Vicksburg, where they spent the night before riding 50 miles to Brandon.

4On Friday and Saturday, about 400 members of the Order of the Eastern Star from seven states met at the Vicksburg Convention for the organization’s multi-state get together.

“We meet with each other each year,” said Beth Anderson, worthy grand matron for Grand Chapter of Mississippi. “We alternate states each year, and this year was Mississippi’s turn to host, and we chose to come to Vicksburg. We hosted the get together in 2011 in Vicksburg and we decided to return to the city of Vicksburg.

The Order of the Eastern Star is the largest fraternal organization in the world with chapters worldwide, and membership is open to men and women who are Masons or are related to a Mason.