Biophilliac Mommy: Blossoming Newborns

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Blossoming Newborns

Birth Roots is a wonderful, local organization that provides substantial support for pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood. They offer a variety of prenatal and postnatal classes, groups and activities. Here is their mission and objectives

Mission:

The Birth Roots model is non-clinical, community based education and support throughout pregnancy and the first year of parenting. Our programs and events build community, encourage instincts and intuition, address social, emotional and non-clinical needs and promote our philosophy of "Community Supported Parenting".

Birth Roots is a non-profit organization devoted to removing obstacles to perinatal health by offering continuous support through pregnancy and postpartum in a community setting.

Objectives:

The work of Birth Roots is grounded in the philosophy that the way people are treated at birth (as a mother, as a newborn child and as a family unit) has lasting affects far beyond that one day.

Mothers who feel respected and self-determined in giving birth tend to view themselves as equipped to provide nurturing care as a parent.

Partners who are given tools, modeling and the opportunity for participating in the process of birth tend to be more engaged in their child's development.

Children born in an environment of confidence, awareness and intimacy tend to be more resilient and able to thrive.

I once went to a "doula tea" at birth roots while I was pregnant and was considering having a doula at my birth (click here to view post about doula tea). Now that Meo is out and about, we have been participating in some of the postnatal classes and groups. Specifically, we went to a couple of series of the Blossoming Newborns classes: buds and sprouts. Both series are once a week for four weeks, and each session is an hour and a half long. Buds was for newborns ages 0-3 months and sprouts was for babies aged 3-6 months. They also offer a seedlings series for ages 6-9 months which Meo and I are planning on taking sometime in the new year. In each series (buds, sprouts, seedlings) you discuss topics that are specific for that age group. For example, in our buds class we talked about our birth experiences, how to get enough sleep, how to deal with fussiness, how to take care of our bodies while they recover from birth, and how to adjust to being a brand new mom. In our sprouts class we talked about how to sort through all the conflicting information you are given as a new parent, postpartum depression, sleeping, how our relationships have changed, and how to maintain a sense of self and not lose one's identity. The most important aspect of the blossoming newborn classes however, is the opportunity to meet new moms and babies and hopefully make lifelong connections.

Last Buds class (minus Mattimeo because I stayed home sick with mastitis that day)

Last Sprouts class

Last sprouts class (with all the moms)

Here is the description of these classes as found on their website:

A special series for each postnatal trimester. Each class addresses the unique needs of the participants. In depth check ins and resource sharing, practice time for new skills and soothing techniques and resource referrals. This fun, casual and very baby and mom friendly class is perfect to support you as you navigate motherhood, your changing relationships and growing instincts.

Topics: Each class addresses the unique needs of the participants and usually range from the practical like sleep strategies, feeding solutions, baby and parent development, infant massage, baby signs, making baby food to the more thoughtful like understanding your birth and early parenting experience, observing how your relationships with friends, family and your partner have changed, building a filter for all the information and advice that comes your way as a parent.

Class Flow: Classes consist of a check-in for each participant with questions of the day followed by resource sharing and skill building related to the topic of the day.

Birth Roots also offers postnatal groups such as Mama Nest and Eat, Sleep, Nurse. Both are opportunities to get together and hang out with other moms and babies. Eat, Sleep, Nurse is a facilitated group and I did not go to any of those meetings yet. Mama Nest is an unfacilitated group for ages 0-12 months that meets throughout the week. I attended a lot of the Mama Nest sessions as they met directly after my blossoming newborn classes. Basically these sessions were just a nice place to eat lunch and chat with other moms while your babies get to socialize with other moms and babies. It is a wonderful opportunity to get out of the house and still feel comfortable. I loved being able to talk to other moms about what they have been doing and ask them questions, and it was so much fun seeing Meo study the other babies and start trying to interact with them.

I really loved going to both of the blossoming newborn series I have attended so far; I learned a bunch and I got to meet a lot of great people. As a person who tends to be more introverted, these classes and groups have become an important way for me and Meo to stay connected with the outside world. I hope the connections we have made will indeed last a long time; it will be wonderful for Meo to have friends we can visit at such a young age. I think this is really important for his development and overall well-being. So far some people who were in our buds class have gotten together at one of the mom's houses for "tea and tummy time". These get togethers have been great and I am so thankful that a very sweet mom has been willing to host all of us! I hope we will continue to find ways to get together every and a while, because I truly value that time together. You are all such wonderful people!