How to birth a baby - Lamaze Jamestown, North Dakota

I can't wait to get back to my class and use some of the things I've learned. Friday at the Lamaze 2016 conference I attended a session "Design your Lamaze classes to maximize learning." It was fabulous! I have so many great ideas to put into practice and I learned a great way to structure my lessons so that my students will not only learn better but retain the information better. There is another session about the "flipped" classroom that I am excited about too. I am having some trouble deciding between certain sessions and I attended one today that I didn't get much out of and probably would have been better off going to a different one. Overall I'm gaining a lot and will need to take some time to process everything when I get home. Lamaze truly is a fabulous organization and I happy I chose this route. Here are some new friends I made including the current president Maria Brooks. She is at the end of her term and a new president will be electe...

Today was a long day at the Lamaze conference, but a good one full of wonderful stuff. I attended a breastfeeding workshop today. It had "professional" in the title, so it was targeted to a level a little beyond mine, but that didn't bother me. I enjoyed being exposed to the information and although there was some jargon and acronyms that I didn't quite follow, I liked the in depth lessons about breastfeeding that I feel I can bring back to my classes. Allison Walsh was the presenter and she did a good job of covering the multitude of information. I really enjoyed one of the last modules where she talked about challenges with breastfeeding premature infants and those who need to be cared for in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). I feel like my breastfeeding experience was fairly smooth, I mean compared to the plethora of problems I could have had. I now have a broader knowledge to give to my students that will hopefully help them overcome some challenges they ...

My first Lamaze class series is off to a great start. I have two couples in fairly different places in their pregnancies. It is wonderful to get their different perspectives on the stages they are experiencing. These people have agreed to be my guinea pigs so I can test out my material and get my rhythm established for how I will teach future classes. The biggest thing I learned from my first class session was that I planned on packing too much information into that session. Two hours is a lot of time to fill, I know this because I've had trouble filling 15 and 30 minutes for other speaking engagements I've done with my other job. Also, it is a lot of time to fill with just lecture. Luckily teaching childbirth and pregnancy information can be interactive and I've tried to incorporate those kinds of things where ever I can. But, lecture is a bit unavoidable and I'm hoping I can break things up enough to keep everyone's interest. The session tonight is all abo...

Having support during pregnancy, labor, childbirth, and breastfeeding is so important. As with other things in life, if you don't have encouragement and love behind you it will be hard to attain your goals. For me attaining my goal of becoming a childbirth educator wouldn't have been possible if my husband hadn't been behind me. Support during labor and childbirth has positive out comes that cascade into bonding and loving the baby. Having a Doula is one form of support that has benefits all around from healthy outcomes for mom and baby to economic benefits that decrease the costs of having a baby. It has been said that "If a doula were a drug it would be unethical not to offer it." Choices in Childbirth is an organization advocating for Doula care to be covered by Medicaid and private insurance. I'm in agreement with this effort. When you have someone with you advocating for your well being during labor, it can take the worry off of you so you can focu...

It is all set! My first Lamaze Childbirth Education class will begin October 6 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Jamestown, North Dakota. 6:00 to 8:00 pm, Classes will run for 7 weeks (6 classes, I have to skip a date in between), October 6, 13, 27 and November 3, 10, 17. The cost is $125 per couple. There is childcare available if you need it provided by Stepping Stones. This will be an extra charge, but it isn't much (around $4/hour). If you are interested in signing up for the class, send me an email or fill out the Google Form .  I'm in business now, I got my brochures and business cards printed up and I've been handing them out around town.

You have your lovely infant and spend 2 or 3 days in the hospital, depending on if you had a vaginal or cesarean delivery, then you are on your own. Hopefully you had some knowledgeable nurses in the hospital to help you figure out the breastfeeding thing. And if you took a Lamaze or other childbirth education class you have some pointers on how to read your infant's hunger ques, how to soothe your baby, and how to change a diaper. But there may be a significant lack of support when you bring baby home. As a new mom you could be feeling overwhelmed and unsure of your parenting skills and the decisions you are making. During this immediate postpartum time many new parents have family visiting to "help" with the baby. I say, choose wisely who you have at your home during this time. Some people feel the need to entertain these guests and keep their house clean. Well during this time you need people around you who will let you just relax and focus on baby. Those people ...

Lamaze has a great App that you can use to track your pregnancy. It gives you information on how baby is growing week to week and how your body is changing. You can log your doctor's visits, your moods, how you are feeling, and milestones like feeling your baby's first kicks. Tools you can use toward the end of pregnancy include a contraction counter and there is a breastfeeding tracker so you can remember which breast you last fed your baby on. Because that is something I never remembered. Check it out and leave me a comment to let me know how you like it.