Growing healthy babies…naturally Workshop!

I am excited to announce that I will be running a new 2 part workshop series on growing healthy babies naturally. I will be co-presenting with Dr Chloe Baxter, paediatric doctor at the Sydney Children’s Hospital, and mother of 2 young children. Chloe embraces the importance of nourishing traditional wholefoods for prospective parents and children, and is a living and breathing advocate of attachment parenting, breastfeeding and co-sleeping.

Also co-presenting on various topics will be close friend and mother of 2 children Roni Rutland – baby carrier expert and a wealth of information especially on Aware Parenting practices.

As mothers of young children, Chloe, Roni and I will be talking from personal and practical experience.

Topics to be covered include:

Part 1 (pre-childbirth):

• Nutrition for prospective parents and pregnant mothers
• Conception (detoxification from contraceptive pill, ovulation cycle, natural fertility management)
• The role of supplements during pregnancy
• Nausea / morning sickness (causes and treatment)
• Preparing for labour (vaginal preparation, hypnobirthing, yoga and other physical activity)
• Birthing options (hospital, home birth, birthing centre, role of doulas)
• Child spacing and relevance of mothers’ age

Part 2 (post-childbirth):

• Breastfeeding vs formula
• Babywearing and baby carriers
• Co-sleeping – should you do it and how?
• Crying – what it means and how to deal with it
• Introducing solids (what and when)
• Lotions, potions and the world of baby product marketing
• Baby equipment – what’s necessary and what’s not? (prams, cots, breastfeeding pillows, high chairs, nappies)
• Immunisation - are vaccines necessary?
• Child-proofing - is it necessary?
• Additional support (ABA, mothers groups, playgroups, health care professions eg dentists, osteopaths, psychologists)
• Discussion of highly recommended books and websites

This workshop will be run in a very casual and relaxed manner with opportunities to ask plenty of questions and provide comments. We will demonstrate the practical application of various baby carriers and other pregnancy/parenting aids. You will be given handouts of topics covered and a listing of highly recommended parenting books and resources.

I appreciate that everyone has a different view on pregnancy and parenting– few topics can generate such heated debate! Even Chloe, Roni and I have slightly different views on various topics. This shows that there is plenty of room for differences of opinion and what works for one parent (or child) may not work for another. And that’s OK!

This workshop is ideal for:

• Prospective parents
• Parents who already have children and are contemplating having another
• Parents who wish to meet and connect with other like-minded parents.

Workshop details set out below:

Date: Saturday 16 June 2012 and Saturday 23 June 2012

Time: 10am-12pm

Venue: 77A Hewlett Street Bronte 2024.

Cost:  $90 for both sessions (4 hours in total) or $50 for a single session. Special price of $55 for both sessions (a 40% discount!) for those who have booked or plan to book into my October Blue Mountains retreat.

A light morning tea will be provided. Babes in arms welcome but please leave crawlers and older children with loved ones.

Due to space constraints, numbers will be limited. To secure a space you will need to pre-pay by direct deposit into my bank account (details provided in due course after you email me confirmation of attendance).