Humboldt Childbirth

A series of six weekly classes which explore the physical, psychological, and emotional aspects of pregnancy, birth, and parenting. These in-depth classes provide the tools to help guide you through labor and birth, prepare you for breastfeeding, and approach early parenting with confidence. These classes are appropriate for couples planning either a home birth or a hospital birth. Topics covered include:

• Creating your Ideal Birth Experience
• Tools and Techniques for Working with Labor and Birth
• The Role of the Birth Partner
• Optimizing Communication in Birth
• Breastfeeding and Caring for Your Amazing Newborn

Instructor: Sommer Halligan is a Certified Professional Midwife with over ten years of experience attending births in hospitals, birth centers and at home. She is certified as a childbirth educator and as a breastfeeding counselor. She is also the mother of two children, whom she adores. For More Information, please call (707) 822-5814 or visit www.serenademidwifery.info

This relaxed and friendly class will focus on how to best prepare for conceiving and growing a baby. We will discuss fertility cycles and creating a positive environment for conception, nourishing nutrition, healthy lifestyle choices, and options for choosing a care provider. We will also have time to answer any additional questions you may have. We will meet on Tuesday, September 28, at Moonrise Herbs. The cost is $10 per person or couple. Snacks and handouts provided. Pre-registration required. Please email, sommer@humboldt1.com, or call 822-5814 for information.

Sommer Halligan is a Certified Professional Midwife with over ten years of experience attending births in hospitals, birth centers and at home. She is certified as a childbirth educator and as a breastfeeding counselor. She is also the mother of two children, whom she adores.

I was just asked for a list of homebirth midwives, I always just find the numbers and names I have on hand. So I just added a few links to the website to help everyone find a great midwife in our area.

Pregnancy Information Night at Moonrise Herbs
Monday, March 22nd, 7-9 pm. Free.
Sign up directly at Moonrise: 822-5296.

I have recently picked up my copy of SuperFoods for Babies and Children by Annabel Karmel. I had tried to make my son’s baby for but it never seemed to work out well. As she notes in her book, babies are more about the texture than the taste and I know now he is really picky about texture. This is the 3 year old who does not like pasta. A few weeks ago I made an all fruit smoothie for him and added some rice cereal and feed it to my daughter. Then I took the leftovers and froze them in a Fresh Baby So Easy Baby Food/Breast Milk Trays. I had wanted to try the covered ice cube tray since a dear friend passed it on to me last year. I never used it for milk since I always froze a few ounce at a time and the tray is pretty large to use for milk.

Ever since that strawberry, banana, pineapple smoothie, I have been blending and mashing away. So far I am in love with using pineapple and since it is high in Vitamin C, it is great when mixed with the infant cereal that has added iron. I also mixed cooked carrots and raw spinach, which turned out pretty yummy. Since I only have one Fresh Baby So Easy, I ended up freezing the carrots in a muffin pan. The muffin pan worked well since it makes the serving sizes larger but it would be great if it had a lid and if it twisted like a ice cube tray to get the food to pop out.

So I would love to hear anyone’s yummy baby friendly recipes.

Today I was walking through Target, I think it must have been the day to register for your baby shower. I saw at least four woman with the scanners in the baby section and the maternity section. I just wanted to jump out and say “Get this!” and “Oh, that is just a waste of money.” So here is some of what I would have shared with them.
The Bumbo, so we bought one of these from Target when Bryson was about 3 months old I think it cost around $30. It was great. We traveled with it and used it as a highchair when staying at relatives. This was before Bumbo offered a tray (extra $9.99) and there were many times I said, this would be great if it had a tray! We later got a used Prince Lionheart Bebe Pod. I used them both and found they were just about equal. Bryson was pretty much sitting at six month and that is when they both went into the closet. I found with a friends child that the Bumbo fit better with a larger child who was still that 3-6 month age, the

was tighter on the legs. Over time the Bumbo has faded and looks yucky even though it was kept clean and the Prince Lionheart Bebe Pod looks new.
We have been using the Lionheart for Nallia for about 4 months. I am finding it more useful for her since B can’t run buy and knock her down. She is a stable sitter but this just assures me that if I run to another room she is not going to fall back and hit her head. It is also much smaller than the other things I can put her down in, like the play mat or Excersauser.
Overall I am not sure I would buy something again that was $30 that we used for just 3-4 months but if I could find one used, it is an easy clean and worth a few dollars.

What do you think?

Bumbo
Prince Lionheart Bebe Pod

Infant Massage & Communication

Beginning Monday Jan. 25th 4:00 – 5:30

Comfort Measures for Labor & Delivery
Monday Jan. 25th 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Both classes are held at St. Joseph Hospital Conference Room #1

Please call Kim Eubanks 725-8788
for reserations or for more information

Class Schedule Fall & Winter 2009/2010

Birth Preparation 5 week series
Nov 5 – Dec 10
Thursday evenings 6:30-9 pm
For women and partners due
Late December 09, January & early Feb 2010

Birth Preparation 5 week series
Jan 7- Feb 4
Thursday evenings 6:30-9 pm
For women and partners due late Feb and March 2010

Taught by Tina George, Certified Massage Therapist, Birth Doula and Birthing From Within Mentor. Space is limited to allow for individual attention. Please call to reserve your place in class 707-498-5952 www.heartoftherose.net and check out www.birthingfromwithin.com

Classes held at Mad River Community Hospital

Hypnobirthing Oct. 16th from 7-8 pm Community Yoga Center on the
Plaza in Arcata.

Class is $10 per couple and $5 for an extra person.

Call 825-0226 for questions.

Pregnant women might want to bring a couple of pillows to get extra
cozy. Others can just bring themselves!

Celebrate Midwives’ Day picnic, Saturday, May 2, 1-4 pm, Redwood Memorial Park in Arcata, grassy lawn area by the play gym. Bring a potluck dish to share, a blanket, water, and some sunscreen. Call Monika at: 502-7440 with questions.