Baby Basics

On Wednesday, August 21st, I taught my first official infant care and breastfeeding class to 15 moms and dads. It was at a great location--a local baby-mama consignment store called Greenberries. (If you haven't already, check this place out. They have tons of baby-mama stuff and offer free classes too).

Anyway, I walk in, 30 minutes early, and start setting up the chairs. At this point I'm nervous, but as soon as people start showing up I start getting excited to meet them. I'm an extrovert so people excite me, especially people taller than 3 feet and older than 5! I have all my gear set up and then I realize, "oh, I have to talk for 3 hours to all these people who are scrutinizing my every word". So I got nervous again, but eventually I settled in even though no one was laughing at my jokes. Come on people, baby poop jokes are funny!

About half way through, I realize that I am running short on time. We finally get to breastfeeding (my favorite topic) and I have to squeeze two hours of material into 1 very short hour. I rushed and got through most of what I wanted to say, but I was pretty disappointed in my end delivery.

So what did I learn? Teach breastfeeding first. Cut down my presentation. Try to make it more interactive. Teaching is hard.

My next "Baby Basics" Class (infant care and breastfeeding) is on September 23rd and if you're interested you can sign up at Informed Birth Choices. Am I nervous? Yes, but the desire to teach moms-and-dads-to-be how to take care of an infant and how to breastfeed far exceeds those fears!

Baby Basics: Infant Care and Breastfeeding

This course combines the best of our Infant Care class and our Breastfeeding Basics. We focus on newborn care and procedures, sleeping, communication, diapering, and dressing. Breastfeeding is covered in-depth and this portion of class will help you prepare for a comfortable start to breastfeeding. Topics include latch, position, milk production, feeding patterns, myths, avoiding common problems, and recognizing when to call for assistance.