Blanket Babies

This is a FREE group which hosts speakers of interest to new moms. It is geared towards precrawlers, but all are welcome. We meet on alternative Thursdays 12:00- 1:30pm at Blossom; speakers start at 12:30. If you would like to be on the list to receive upcoming speaker announcements, please email bbbabies@gmail.com.

Upcoming Speakers:

• August 26: Au pair 101

  Join us for a discussion on everything you always wanted to know about this affordable, 'live-in nanny' childcare option that provides you with an extra pair of hands for about $8/hr, and introduces you and your children to another language and culture.

  Susan Wildeboer is a childcare expert, working with families interested in the au pair program for the past 13 years. She has helped hundreds of families find carefully screened childcare that is affordable and a personalized fit for your family. She will share with us, from her years of experience, how families qualify for this US State Department program, how au pairs are chosen, how to set yourself up for success with this (and any) childcare option and how to make an excellent au pair choice. Susan is recognized in the top 3% of nationwide coordinators for excellence in working with Host Families and Au Pairs.

  www.swildeboer.aupairnews.com

• September 9: Chiropractic Wellness Care for Babies and New Moms with Dr. Erica Martin

  Join Dr. Erica Martin an expert in baby wellness in a discuss on chiropractic wellness care for infants and new mothers. Dr. Martin will be covering topics such as: ear infections, the effects of the birth process on infants, the immune system, baby wellness, benefits of chiropractic care for new moms, and more. Erica will also be happy to answer questions you might have about chiropractic wellness care for your baby.
  
  Dr. Erica Martin is a local Palo Alto chiropractor who specializes in pediatric chiropractic and as well as family wellness. Dr. Martin, who was first adjusted when she was just hours old by her father who is also a chiropractor, has adjusted thousands of babies starting as young as four days old. Dr. Martin has a passion for educating the local community about the benefits of chiropractic wellness for children of all ages.
  

  http://universitychiroca.com

• September 23: Creating a Safe Home for Baby with Larry Mitchell

  Larry Mitchell, owner of Larry's Baby Safety in Palo Alto, will discuss how to prepare a safer home for your baby. As quoted in an article in The Chronicle, "Mitchell's safety philosophy is less about products and more about modifying the living space to make it comfortable for kids to explore."

  www.sfgate.com

• October 14: Anjali Aggarwal of Family Chiropractor

  losaltoschiropractor.com

• October 28: Your Value as a Laborer of Love with Lee Zulman

  Lee Zulman, Integral Coach will facilitate a discussion on how to articulate your value at home and in the workplace, whether you do paid or unpaid work.

  Women on maternity often feel a tug and pull, when they return to paid work. Comparing themselves to "SuperMoms", they feel inadequate to the tasks ahead. The longer the absence from paid work, the surer they are that their skills and knowledge is rusty and that they have been absent, while on maternity leave. Language they use reflects gaps in their knowledge, skills, and expertise. Questions asked by others don't help, e.g. "How will you leave your baby?" "How will you manage?" They feed your doubts. The answers you give are key.

  You will learn how to strengthen your communication about who you are and what you do, now that you have taken on a labor of love, parenting. You will identify terms which present a positive image of yourself as a woman who juggles more and more tasks and responsibilities with all her heart. As you change your language you will reveal your true worth.

  Born in South Africa, Lee lived, worked and raised her children on 3 continents. She continues to juggle roles as grandma, mom, and busy bee. She has an M.A. in English and is educated in Computer Programming. She worked for 20 years in the technology industry, most recently as an engineering manager at Sun Microsystems, Inc. She was certified as an Integral Coach, through New Ventures West, accredited by the International Coaches Federation, 2007.

  www.Reach4u.com

Recent Talks:

• August 12: The First Bites

  Join Blossom Moms Laurie and Lisa as they share their wealth of info on first bites! At First Bites Blanket Babies you will learn recipes and information on how to make your child’s first bites of solid food as nutrient dense as possible to foster optimal growth and development. Through trial and error, experimenting with each of our babies likes and dislikes, we have compiled a list of recipes to help you get started!

  Lisa's bio:
  Lisa became aware of Weston A Price when she first became pregnant. The nutrient dense foods made perfect sense to her, since she wanted to give her baby the best start possible. Eliminating ‘white foods’ such as sugar, white flour and white rice was and still is hard for her, but the detrimental effects on the baby and herself made her cut back quite a bit. She readily admits to not being perfect though, with a particular fondness for a good chocolate croissant! As Lisa says, “There’s always a choice of what to eat! My goal is to eat more whole foods that are nutrient dense and do the same for my family. So far, it’s easy with the baby…she loves it!”

  Laurie's bio:
  After learning about Weston A. Price from her midwife during her first pregnancy, Laurie was committed to making dietary and nutritional changes. When learning about the damaging effects of highly processed, preservative-filled foods, it was essential to her to provide a healthy and nutritious diet for her daughter. After five and a half months Laurie introduced solids, starting with a soft-boiled egg yolk every morning, as described in Nourishing Traditions. She slowly introduced avocado, yogurt, pears, and started adding coconut oil, high-vitamin butter oil, and cod liver oil to her daughter's diet. Eventually Laurie was cooking, pureeing and freezing nutrient-rich, preservative-free, and economically sound foods.

  www.thefirstbites.com

• July 8: Holistic Remedies for Common Childhood Illnesses

  Join Dr. Newmark for his popular Blanket Babies session, an informal opportunity to learn about holistic ways to address some of the common illnesses that trouble our babies.

  Dr. Sanford C. Newmark is a board-certified pediatrician who joined Whole Child Wellness (Belmont, CA) in February 2009 after 23 years of experience as a pediatrician in Tucson. Dr. Newmark uses an integrative approach to pediatric care, combining the best of both conventional and alternative medicine to provide holistic well-child care and to treat children with autism, ADHD, chronic pain, gastrointestinal issues, allergies, asthma, and a variety of other problems. He is currently writing a book for parents and families on the integrative treatment of children with ADHD. It is expected to be published in 2010.

  www.wholechildwellness.com

• July 22: How to Hold your Baby Best

  Insights from pre-industrial cultures on how to ensure your child grows up with good posture - and not break your back in the process! The interactive workshop will be lead by Esther Gokhlae, author of 8 Steps to a Pain Free Back and creator of the Gokhale MethodSM.

  Esther Gokhale founded her Palo Alto, CA-based center 20 years ago and has helped thousands of people get free of pain through her application of the Gokhale MethodSM – a systematic process of restoring pain-free posture and movement. Esther graduated from Princeton with a degree in biochemistry. After personal struggles with back pain during her first pregnancy, unsuccessful back surgery, and a dismal prognosis, she began what would become a lifelong dedication to understanding and addressing the root causes of pain. After a five-year study and certification in Aplomb®, a French movement re-education technique, Esther traveled to Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America to study posture and movement in populations with a low incidence of back pain. Her education, training, and research enabled her to develop a unique, systematic method of restoring pain-free posture and movement.

  www.egwellness.com