New Birth Worker Training!

We will be running our Perinatal Support Practitioner (birth and more! worker) training starting in January and running until June. The program will consist of Friday/Saturday or Friday or Saturday training usually from 10am-4pm. You will be shadowing in our breastfeeding support clinic, attending our parenting classes, receive mentorship in your labour support roles and will be part of our community based learning. In total there will be in class days with homework, self-directed learning and lots of great learning opportunities. For more information or to apply for a spot in the program, email Carol at kilty67@sympatico.ca. We will start interviews next week. Cheers and birthy love, Carol 

As Your Baby Goes To School For The First Time

September can quickly start to feel like New Year for Mamas as our babies go to school for the first time. Our minds will race - "What if he needs me at bathroom time? What if she sits beside the mean girl at circle time? What if anxiety runs so high that she won't eat her lunch?" and 9 million more thoughts flood our psyche, cause our blood pressure to spike and our guts to turn.

 

Take a breath, Mama.  Remember a time you have not felt like this? I know I always felt like this. "Should we try to get pregnant now?  How will I deal with having a winter baby? What happens if I start to bleed in the pregnancy? What if I don't get my midwife at my birth? How do I know if my baby is getting enough of my breast milk? Should we vaccinate? Do I need to sign us up for infant sign language? We start solids when? "

 

Every single second of every single day is a huge learning curve. More so, I believe, for us. These tiny little dependant souls need us to be on, to be aware, to be constantly engaging our thought processes and to be looking out for them. What they don't need is us to be fully enthralled in worrying about them. They are hard wired to connect and succeed, Mamas.  They are going to be just fine. They are more confident about change than we are. We got them this far, right?

 

Think of what you have accomplished up to this point. You grew them, you birthed them, you nurtured, loved and protected them. You have given them a firm place from which to launch and a soft place to land. That is all you need to continue to do. Breathe, respond....and by doing so you will provide acknowledgement, validation and empowerment to your school age child.

 

In those first few days, don't overwhelm them with questions about their day. There is a lot of stimulation going on for them! New environments, new people, new routines....these are big challenges for ever growing brains and amount to lots of stimulation! At the end of the school day, you are the soft place to land. A simple "I am so happy to see you" is enough to let all of the stresses of the day slide off...and when they are ready to talk, they will. Bombarding your school age child with a million questions will exhaust them - and will in fact cause them to either cry, cling to you or become even more overwhelmed.  Offer a drink (because they will probably in fact be a bit dehydrated) a snack and "gather them up" by holding space and sitting with them. Let it be relaxed for as long as your child needs it to be. This ritual can become a huge pressure valve, a great way to re-connect and an important way to confirm your child's attachment with you.  Watch what it can do for you too.

 

Be brave, Mamas. You have done stellar work. You are loved, appreciated and oh so worthy. Trust that and know we are sending you so much love on this journey that we call being a Mama.

 

 

With much love,

the Babies Naturally team. xoxoxo

Kim is teaching Mom and Baby and Prenatal Yoga for us and we are excited!

Kim took her first yoga class in 2004 and it didn't take long for her to become hooked! When she became pregnant in 2007, her love of yoga expanded along with her belly as she participated in Prenatal Yoga classes and after her baby girl arrived, Postnatal Yoga classes.

As a new mama, Kim experienced first hand how beneficial Prenatal and Postnatal Yoga was to her body and mind. She loved how these classes created a community of support where mamas-to-be, new mamas, and experienced mamas could share their growth, joys, challenges, and wisdom with one another. When she decided to become a Yoga Teacher, she specifically chose a teacher training program that included Prenatal and Postnatal Yoga so she could pass this gift on to others. Kim received her 200-hr Yoga Teacher certification in August 2012 and the following March, took Prenatal & Postnatal Yoga Teacher Training with the renowned Monica Voss, Co-Owner and Director of Esther Myers Yoga Studio.

Kim is passionate about teaching and working with women, and especially supporting moms and mamas-to-be. Her Prenatal and Postnatal Yoga classes blend Hatha Yoga with a social circle to meet mamas' physical, mental, emotional, and social needs. She teaches mamas in all stages of motherhood to be physically active in a comfortable, safe, and fun way, to create balance and find inner peace during times of transition, to connect, grow, learn, and share with other moms in a circle of support, and to reconnect with themselves after baby arrives.

As a Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance  and Owner of Kim's Yoga to You, Kim is excited to be partnering with Babies Naturally to offer Prenatal and Postnatal Yoga to local mamas! Please email her at kim@kimsyogatoyou.com to book your spot today in the Prenatal Yoga class or the Mommy & Baby class, and please feel free to visit kimsyogatoyou.com to find out more about Kim and Kim's Yoga to You!

 

 

Babies Naturally is offering Prenatal Yoga and Mom and Baby Yoga!

We are super excited to let you know that Kimberly Ellig Picken will be teaching Prenatal and Mom and Baby Yoga at our location starting this fall! Kim comes to us with a very impressive resume, experience and a lovely heart! Watch out for her bio on the website soon. In the meantime, you can contact her to register for the classes. Here is what you need to know....the class dates are as follows:

Prenatal Yoga - Wednesdays, 7-8:15 pm

Sept. 17

Sept. 24

Oct. 1

Oct. 8

Oct. 15

Oct. 22

Oct. 29

Nov. 5

 

Mommy & Baby Yoga (for precrawlers and slow/near crawlers) - Thursdays, 11-12:15 pm

Sept. 18

Sept. 25

Oct. 2

Oct. 9

Oct. 16

Oct. 23

Oct. 30

Nov. 6

The classes will be $110 (taxes in!) for the 8 week sessions and you can register with Kim by contacting her at kim@kimsyogatoyou.com to register.