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My son is a daredevil.  Just yesterday this is the statement I overheard in the backyard whilst he was playing with his friends:

“Let’s make record something with your DS. You record me while I am jumping off of THIS! It’s gonna be so cool!!!”

Of course I peeked my head around to see what he was going to jump off of, and was horrified to learn that what he was jumping off of was the play structure that was a good 15-20 feet up. After I stopped screaming something to the effect of “DON’T YOU DARE! ARE YOU CRAZY?? YOU’LL BREAK YOUR NECK!!!” I sat my 7 year old down to have a chat about the fact that he isn’t made out of steel.

Kids tend to think they are invincible, and we can’t put them in a bubble. We can, however, do what we can to educate them, and ourselves, about common ways we can harm ourselves, how to avoid it, and how to treat the emergencies when they happen. Knowing what to look for, for example, when dealing with head injuries goes a LOOOONG way to providing peace of mind when you have kids that, well, act like kids.

In our workshop on June 25, we will talk about head and spine injuries, bone muscle and joint injuries, burns, wounds, anaphylaxis, and some other common emergencies that crop up with our little ones.  Not only will we discuss signs and symptoms, we will also discuss practical solutions for avoiding some of these emergencies in the first place…..and no, it doesn’t include bubble wrap. The workshop runs from 7-9 on Tuesday June 25 and  is $30.  Please feel free to email me @ weellifecpr@gmail.com for a registration form, or call me at 519.649.4670.

Enjoy your summer, and Be Well!!

Claire
xo

Category : Blog

Today is one of those days that broke me wide open. Energy flew about in crazy crazy ways today! I spent the whole day (as I always do) with parents in various stages of their parenting journey.  Early this morning a newborn nuzzled into his mama in bed and looked the epitome of peace. His mama answered the door with her breastfeeding pillow strapped to her and he was on it, transferring milk in gulps so loud I heard them before I stepped into the house.  It was early, early, and here she was the picture of a nursing goddess. Her baby, this first baby of hers, was born on Sunday.  He had had a rough day yesterday and only slept when swaddled. She asked me if he had been swaddled too much and I explained that swaddling can affect nursing cues, but that she could swaddle him less today. She looked right into my eyes and pleaded “I haven’t damaged him, have I? ” and I assured her (as he continued to gulp his breakfast) that no, she hadn’t damaged or harmed him.

My next mama wondered if letting her baby sleep on her chest would turn him into a “mama’s boy” and I must have looked pathetic because she said “Why do you look so sad? Have I already done it? Will he always have to sleep on me?”  Once again I reiterated that her baby needed her, that there was no damage to be had in holding her 11 day old baby and that in fact, he needed to sleep on her like he was.

A brand new mama had her daughter weighed at a clinic and left crying, being told that her baby wasn’t feeding frequently enough. Her babe, at 2 weeks, was one pound over her birth weight! I again reassured the mama that she was doing everything right, yet she had been absolutely convinced that she done her baby harm by not setting her alarm and waking her baby every 3 hours at night.

Mamas, listen, please listen. You know more than you think you do about your baby. You are your baby’s expert. You will not be a perfect parent and that is okay. You will lose your shit on more occasions than you will remember. You will feel like that, on some days, it is a battle to maintain any sense of calm. You will question everything about your existence. You will fall prey to the thoughts in your head (I have to be doing something wrong, he is not sitting up like all of the other kids in mommy group, my baby is not ready to eat solids at six months, he refuses them! my three month old only catnaps for twenty minutes and my sister’s kids slept for two hours at this stage…and on and on) but please don’t. Don’t let yourself battle with the thoughts that are never right.

Parenting is not a verb. It is not something you do. You are a parent. You exist within yourself and the relationship you have with your child. Think of it this way…”Spousing” is not a verb….you are in a relationship with your partner and you find ways to make your relationship work. It is no different with your baby, child, teenager (well….) or adult child. It is always a relationship. You would not expect your partner to be perfect, so why put that pressure on yourself?  No matter what, we are going to mess it up. Eff it up royally. We are humans. We are born hard wired to love and to forgive.

There are things that happen with/to our children that we are sure will cause  really big issues. Leaving your child at home while you go to Canadian Tire (because you are a new sleep deprived parent and forgot, honestly that your sleeping baby was actually there) is sure to leave a mark, right? Nope, not if they are still sleeping when you get back home, your heart in your throat, your blood pumping in your ears so you can’t hear them breathing as you lean down to the bassinet. You might choose to not even tell them about the “episode” if you so choose.  Throwing your child up into the air and hitting their head on a bird cage will a) scare them off all things avian and metal, right? Not to the best of my knowledge…she is adamant she has no memory of it – and she loves birds and went into civil engineering (they work with all kinds of structures…like metal) so who knows?  Leaving your child unattended on the bed for 1.325714 seconds as you pick up a wipe off the floor and having her land on your slippers, screaming, turning blue might have an impact (but then again she loves roller coasters) but certainly won’t damage our children in the way we think.

I really believe that it is the little things we never even think about that have the biggest impact. I totally mess up parenting on a regular basis. Have for 23 years. I have said the wrong thing at the right time, said the right thing at the wrong time, looked at them when they didn’t want me to, didn’t look at them when they wanted me to, and forgot to pick them up. I have raised my voice when one decided to “throttle” (read choke tightly around the neck) her brother and threatened her within an inch of her life. I have been guilty of telling them that they could have tried harder. I have set hard limits and they have pushed back with what I thought was a lot of disrespect but with what actually turned out to be them making sure I would respect them enough to maintain said limits.  I have screamed at them for fighting with each other, nagged them to the ends of the earth to clean up after themselves yet again and pushed them when I most definitely should not have.

Can they be damaged? I can prove that you can certainly injure them unintentionally, both physically and emotionally. If you are asking questions like “Have I damaged my child?” then chances are that the fact you possess the awareness to ask this question means that you most probably have not damaged them. Accidents happen. We speak out of turn, we feel that we want to get off the mummy bus, we wonder if we will ever get a break to pee on our own, how long we will have to wipe someone else’s bum and nose and when we will put food down on the table and not have it land directly on the floor.  We will mess up our children to some extent simply because we inherit traits, actions and attitudes that can be messed up. Don’t feel that your children will not have issues to deal with because they most certainly will. You will also not want to try too hard to make everything easy, attainable and easy for your child. The real world is not like that. Love your child for who they are, right in front of you. Cut yourself some slack.

Do not compare yourself or your experience to anyone or anything else. You know that you are putting your child’s needs before your own. You know you love them and that you are doing everything in your power to have them not only know they are loved but to feel loved. That is truly all that is important. To feel loved and have a loving connection means that you accept the whole realm of this parenting gig. All the poop that you accidentally lick off your hand, all the breastmilk that ends up curdled in your hair, all the sleep that you won’t get. You will forget most of these little things. You will be informed, as your children grow, of things that happened that really affected them..and you have no recollection at all of the occurrence. You will feel guilt. Guilt is good. A wise therapist said “If it comes down to guilt or resentment, go with the guilt. Resentment is soul suicide…guilt means that you are doing something aligned with what you truly need.”

So mamas, we mess up. Big time. Embrace it. Move forward in love – for your family, for yourself. Speak your truth. You love your child. Connect with them at a heart level and revel in the good and not so good.

With much love,

Carol xoxo

Category : Blog

I am at the point where, come September, I will have two children in school. Registering my children for school hasn’t been an easy journey for me, although I am so delighted by the excitement my oldest son has to go to school every day. His love of learning is amazing, and I hope I can continue to foster that in him for as long as possible.

I believe in traditional school. And by that I mean I know I’m not cut out for homeschooling. I so love the idea of homeschooling, and the people I know who homeschool are amazing and are doing it so well. I would fail miserably. I am not organized or disciplined enough to have “school time”. I would want it all to be play time, and thus would be doing a grave disservice to my children. So, traditional school it is. Of course, there are tons of traditional school options…did you know this? Catholic or Public, French Immersion or full French, private school (which open up other options like Montessori and Christian education)…the options can be confusing and overwhelming. After much research, we decided on our local public elementary school for our children (it helps that we can’t afford private and that we aren’t Catholic…cuts down on the options).
But then came the decision on when to send the kids. Did you know that junior kindergarten (JK) and senior kindergarten (SK) are optional? You are only required to have your children enrolled in an education program starting in grade 1. I didn’t feel good about holding my kids back until they were 6. I felt they needed some introduction to going to school, formalized learning, etc. But I also didn’t feel good about sending them at 4. So, for the first child, I didn’t.

When asked why, my short answer is that I have a real problem sending a 4 year old child to kindergarten all day, every day (our school has had full day kindergarten (FDK) since the fall of 2012). The long answer is this: I believe in the play-based learning that the Thames Valley board has (finally) adopted. There are lots of studies out there that talk about how play-based learning is the most effective way to teach children, and to foster a love of learning. I agree with this. What I don’t agree with is FDK. More importantly, I have a fundamental belief that building and establishing a strong emotional foundation BEFORE sending them to school is extremely important. Our children will be in school a long time. I have them at home for such a short period, I want this time to be meaningful. I want to give them the time to bond together. I want them to bond to me. I want to build their confidence so that when they do go to school, that they are able to be successful – whatever “success” looks like to them. We have built our life around this fundamental belief.

None of my reasons revolve around my child’s “readiness”. It bothers me when people assume I’m concerned that my children aren’t “ready” to be in a school setting. If you know my children at all, you will know that they are extremely social, love to be involved with other kids, have no fear or shyness in new situations, and have zero problem being left somewhere by me (or dad). So, on that scale, they are all “ready” for school. But school will be a major part of their lives (and by extension, mine) for a long time. I’m in no hurry to rush them there. So, the decision to keep my oldest son home one more year was an easy one. And, he has done amazing this year in SK, and is in no way behind any of his peers who have had the benefit of 2 years in kindergarten. In fact, it has been quite the opposite.

This afternoon I will attend an Open House for the junior kindergarten class for my middle son. I’m sure my friends are tired of me talking about this, because the decision to register him for school has been weighing heavily on me since September. I knew, even then, that the decisions that factored in to keeping son #1 home, wouldn’t apply to son #2. Yet again, he is showing me that he is a different child with different needs. And we’re in a different point in our lives than we were 2 years ago. But, the February deadline to register for school came and went. I had the form, not filled out, on my kitchen counter for months. I explored alternate preschool options. I’ve thought of everything else possible, and still was refusing to consider school as a real, viable option for him. After a particularly eye opening conversation with his current preschool teacher, I realized that not sending him to school because of MY reasons was doing him a disservice. He needs to be in school, and I know he’ll thrive there. I feel a bit heartsick to not have him with me for just one more year, like I had his brother. But after I registered him I felt relief, so that tells me it was the right move (after registering my oldest son, I cried).

Ultimately, my desire is to my best for my children. As they grow, I’m learning their personalities. I am trying hard to find the best way to “speak” their language to them, knowing all the time that they are so different from one another that I need to be as flexible as possible with my approach. This hasn’t changed since they were babies, I’m not really sure why I thought I could impose a “one size fits all” approach to this major milestone in their lives.

The same should hold true for the wee ones who just aren’t ready – for whatever reason – for the big change that school will represent in their lives. Even if they’ve been in daycare all day, every day, school is different. The environment is different, the ratio of kids to teachers is different, and the expectations are certainly different. Just because a child is 4, doesn’t mean they have to go to JK. Explore the options that best suit your child, and be prepared to change the plan if it isn’t working (like, pull your child from JK the third week in September if they aren’t coping with the new structure , or register them for January enrollment if the fall has helped them mature). Nothing needs to be set in stone. I’m learning this as I go as well. I think far too often we as moms succumb to the peer pressure of what everyone else is doing, and forget that we can make the own rules for our own family. And that those rules can change as we go. So, I know going forward that even though my son will be in school full days, I am fully within my rights to keep him home when he’s tired. Or send him only for the morning because he needs some afternoon downtime. Or to go pick him up early “just because”.

So, wish me luck today. I know that my wee man will love every minute of it. If you see me, I’ll be the mom trying not to cry and trying really hard to focus on the roots I’ve managed to give him so far so that he can use his beautiful wings to fly.

Anyone else struggling with the school decision?

With much love,
Shannon

Category : Blog

As mums, we all know what it is like to try and stay calm with our children. This innovative program teaches you how to do exactly that – no matter the age of your child. Explore ways to deepen your connection with your child as they grow AND as you grow as a mum. Maintain your own identity, feed your soul and enjoy motherhood every step of the way as a CALM MUM.

From pre-conception to adulthood, our children need us to guide them, accept them, love them and help them learn. If we cannot step aside with our own issues, we perpetuate cycles of behaviour that then become learned, and our children inherit our life dramas. Break the cycles and live a new life story- it is never too late.

Class Fee: $75

Saturday June 8th, 10am -2pm. email carol@babiesnaturally.ca to register

Category : Blog

We are super excited to work with the incredible Amanda Dumouchel…here is a little bit about her and the great classes she is offering!

We all neglect our health from time to time. We make bad choices, eat crappy, put off exercising, work way too hard and find that at the end of the day we are giving our all to our family and nothing to ourselves. Taking time to nurture and care for yourself is the most precious gift that you can give yourself and your family. A healthier and happier mommy makes for a happier family. For some of us, this “wake up” call doesn’t come until we are faced with a real health crisis, physical, mental or emotional. A few years back I found myself in this position. It wasn’t until I realized that my failing health was really a result of my choices in eating and my failure to give myself the time that I needed to nurture my soul and dreams. I am a part-time secondary teacher and a busy mom of two adorable little boys that are two and four. I love them to pieces but any of you who are working moms know how hard it is to balance working and time for yourself while running after little ones and meeting their needs. It definitely wasn’t an easy realization for me to take a step back and acknowledge that I was working too much, I was stressed out, I was eating to deal with my stress and I really wasn’t happy. No one “likes” to own that they are in part the cause of their own misery but it was exactly what I needed to do. I started working less, eating better, exercising better, doing more Yoga and taking more time to nurture the things that really fed my soul. In the past 6 years I have really worked at taking courses and gaining knowledge and experience in the areas of exercise, nutrition and labour and breastfeeding support. I am super passionate about helping other women to feel good, have more energy, eat better and learn to look at life in a different way. I am super excited about working with Babies Naturally this summer to offer some really great programs that will help accomplish these things. These are just a few of the things that I am working on for July:
1) Stroller Fit: Starts Tues July 2nd Runs Tuesday and Thursdays 9-10 am. Meadowgate Park in Summerside. A combination of cardio, weight training and yoga with your babies. This runs rain or shine. Runs 12 classes for 6 weeks $100.00. This class is rain or shine. You will need a stroller with a rain shield for baby.
2) Strong and Beautiful Women’s only Boot camp: Runs Thursday evenings 7-8 Meadowgate Park in Summerside. Runs 6 Weeks for $60.00.
3) Lean Mean Clean and Green: This program starts Tuesday July 2nd @ 7:30pm Location TBA and it runs for 4 weeks. This program is for anyone who knows they need to clean up their eating, get off the sugar and get moving. With the support of a group of fabulous likeminded women you will do a gentle detox from all the crappy eating, learn principals of clean eating, rid some of chemicals in your home environment and find other options and nix the negative thinking. In this program you will attend a one hour informational session that will give you all the answers to the questions that you need to embark on this 4 week journey. You will join a face book group to support each other and ask questions, You will receive an E-book to be your guide for the 4 weeks, several workouts to do on your own, you will attend a boot camp class and most importantly you will feel different. Most people report that find that they have more energy and just feel better all around. The program runs until Tuesday June 30. The Cost of the Program including the e-book, workouts and 1 boot camp class is $120.00.
4) Labour Support: I’m currently taking births for the summer and fall. If you are interested in having labour support for your awesome birth and would like some more information please feel free to contact me. I look forward to seeing all the new moms and babes at the Breastfeeding clinics over the summer.
Questions? Comments? Interested in signing up for any of these programs? You can contact Amanda Dumouchel @amandamariehines@yahoo.ca. Looking forward to working with all you lovely ladies!
Much Love,
Amanda Dumouchel
B.A. B.ED, Certified Personal Trainer, Pre and Postnatal fitness certified, Labour and Breastfeeding Support Practitioner.

Category : Blog

Last night, I was at a local sports complex watching my middle son play blastball (intro to baseball). As I walked around, I saw two teams of young girls warming up for their baseball game. They were about 12-13 years old, and as I watched them I was immediately transported back to when I was that age, doing the exact same thing. The same drills. The same warms ups.

I remember the exact moment I fell in love with the game of baseball. I was 8 years old, watching my younger brother play t-ball. I remember wishing that I could play. The next year my parents enrolled me, and so began my love affair with the sport.

As I continued my walk around the complex, I saw 4 teams of girls playing soccer. These girls were slightly older than the baseball girls…maybe 15-16. I’ve never understood soccer (too much running for someone as lazy as me), but it was amazing to watch these girls play so hard, despite the heat.

As I watched all these teams around me, I was struck by the fact that I really want my kids to play sports for a long time. There are amazing life lessons to be learned when playing a team sport, but there is also something special that happens when your competitive spirit takes over and pushes you to achieve something on the field. Or the court. Or the ice.

In these years, the ones where our children are small, we seem to be inundated with pressure to get our kids involved in extracurricular activities. There seems (to me) to be an unspoken rule that the more things your kid does, the better they’ll be. The smarter they’ll be. The more well rounded they’ll be. I struggle with this. While I want to expose my children to different activities so that they can find their love (as I was allowed to do), I’m also very conscious of our family time because I feel that is just as important. Almost more so. Even though they are only involved in one thing a season, it already seems like we’re overscheduled. (Although, that might be my own fault for having three children in three different activities). I want to try and preserve our family time while encouraging my children to explore the things that they may be good at. I also want to expose them to things that may help them as they get older. And, selfishly, I want to expose them to things that I love. I also want to make sure that every child in this family is able to shine. I want to make sure we balance their participation in things, as well as our parental involvement. I really want to make sure that one child’s passion doesn’t become the family’s passion (like, I don’t feel it is fair to drag two children to the ball diamond all summer if only one child is is playing/loving the sport. The other two deserve time too). They all deserve to find their “love”, whatever that is. It’s finding the right balance for all of these things that is proving challenging, and I know will only get more challenging as they get older.

I still play baseball once a week. I love the 6 months of the year when I can still get out on the field. This sport is absolutely in my blood, and I can’t imagine not playing anymore. I also know that I my husband and I are models for our children, and it’s important to show them that we are as active as we expect them to be. To me, this is a non-negotiable. I believe that active children stay out of trouble. But more importantly, while most days it feels like all I’m doing is teaching my children to be polite, I know that I’m also teaching them how to be involved, responsible adults. And committing to a team, participating with a group of people and learning how to cooperate and work together, are some of the best ways to show them how the world works beyond the playground.

I am looking forward to taking my folding chair to the ball diamond/soccer field/indoor court/music studio/etc and cheering my children on. My only wish is that they find something that feeds their soul, as I have been able to do for the last 30 years.

So what is your wish?

With much love,
Shannon

Category : Blog

I admire many, many people. I am privileged and blessed to work every single day of my life with women who require me to self-reflect. I watch women interact with their newborns FOR THE VERY FIRST time. Last Monday a mama kneeled in her birthing pool and very gently coaxed her daughter earthside by gently saying “come on baby, come on” and brought her outside of her body. As she brought her up to her chest, she was charged with love. The energy in the room literally lit everything right up. The connection to her new daughter was more than obvious – it was palpable. This mama is blessed with two daughters and her older one is still very energetically connected to her mama. The environment of this family’s home is like a balm. I love to visit, snuggle and bask in the peace that is nothing but pure love.

Here’s a key piece I have discovered in working with families in many roles for over 30 years – this peaceful parenting is learned. It is passed down, modeled and engrained. Both grandmas in this very loved family are heart charged individuals. Hugs, kisses and honesty are paramount. Authentic, open feelings are allowed. Negotiations are transparent…and there is peace. I yearn to visit this family because, as I stated, it is a balm for the soul to share space with them. Each member of the family holds emotional space for each other so beautifully. Are they human and fallible? Yes. Are their lives perfect? I am sure they are not. Are they living in the moment? Absolutely.

Peace in parenting is work. Every single day it is mindful work. The first step in parenting in peace is to get outside of our heads. How does that look to you? How would it feel to get outside of your head? How can we find our way back to accepting the realities in front of us without following the script that has been written for us in our families of origin? Do we believe the conditioning we were subjected to in our early years and continue to pass it on to our own children? What are our parenting truths?

These questions may seem completely off base to you, but you will over time encounter the query of the mind in your parenting journey. You have to if you strive to stay connected to your children. It is THE WORK. Of our lifetimes.

“If what you have been doing has yet to produce the results you desire, find the courage to flip the script.” Flipping the script, as Joe Donnelly, a man of many life experiences says, takes courage. You can flip the parenting script. You can change the thought patterns engrained in you through your family of origin. You can question your feelings and learn to work from a place of love. A heart connection with your children is absolutely possible. It really is imperative. Once you authentically understand your own feelings about yourself, how you want to parent and what it takes and means to parent in peace, it becomes so much easier to hold space for others. Being mindful in your parenting is the first step to parenting in peace, freeing up the energy of your heart to change thought patterns and accept what is right in front of you. Join us…we can help you on your journey.

Our Parenting in Peace class is Saturday June 22nd from 10am-4pm. It is $125 per couple and includes an in home visit for your family after the class…to help you change the script. Email carol@babiesnaturally.ca to register.

With much love,
Carol xoxo

Category : Blog

I’ve often been accused of having a bias against the medical profession. I know I’ve (unintentionally) offended people in my child birth ed classes because of my perceived bias against doctors. Let me be clear: I think doctors are wonderful. I really and truly do. I absolutely love my family doctor. He has been with my family for the last 20 years and has seen me through some pretty traumatic events. He trusts me, and respects me. My son has been in the care of a specialist for the last 3 years, and will likely be with this doctor for the rest of his childhood. I really respect this man. He is caring and thorough, and responds when I page him with “frantic mom” questions, even on a Friday at 4pm. I never feel rushed when in his office (and we see him A LOT), and I trust that he cares about my son’s well being. Every time I feel my c-section scar, I’m grateful for the OB that was there for me and my daughter.

So what’s my problem? Ultimately, my problem is in how we talk to each other. How we as moms talk to each other. How doctors speak to us when we’re in labour. What the nurses say to us and our babies after they’re born. What our doctors say to us when we go in for routine check-ups. What the public health nurses say to us when we choose an “alternate” path for child rearing. My list is endless.

No one will ever accuse me of not having an opinion. And I know I’ve hurt people by sharing my opinion. I can guarantee it’s never intentional, and I carry guilt over it for weeks (sometimes years). But here’s the thing – I’ve been the recipient of and the witness to judgement, disdain, accusatory remarks, threatening language/ behavior and lies. It makes me sad. It makes me angry. And it makes me distrustful of our medical system when it comes to moms and babies.

When someone out and out lies to a laboring mom, how are we supposed to trust that they have our best interests at heart? When a person, in a position of authority, is rude to a woman in her most vulnerable state, how does that make the delivery room a place of safety?

But our place of vulnerability extends beyond birth. As a new mom, we spend much of our child’s first few years agonizing over every decision, big or small. Are we doing this right? Am I feeding them enough? When will they sleep? Are they teething and do they need meds? The language used to speak to us in this vulnerable state can often make or break us. We want…no we need people around us to support us, build us up, encourage us. This includes our health care providers. I had a public health nurse lecture me on the “dangers” of amber teething necklaces. Fortunately, I was a third time mom and had some confidence (and experience) behind me, so I just smiled and nodded and went on my merry way. But if I had been slightly more sleep deprived, or not as knowledgeable on the healing “powers” of the amber, I might have taken her tone and words to heart. Did she not think that I was an intelligent mom, capable of doing my own research? Did she not think I was capable of taking care of my most precious gift?

Often, medical professionals have things they need to say. A “side” of the argument they need to be on, as dictated by their place of work. Or, a position they need to uphold because of their education. The nurse practitioner in my doctor’s office has said to me on multiple occasions that she knows nothing about naturopathic care, or natural healing remedies. She doesn’t understand me at all, and it’s made my care with her somewhat challenging at times because I’m not always willing to take the most medical route to get somewhere. Do I think she cares for me and my family? Absolutely. Do I feel she’s doing her absolute best to care for me? For sure. She goes above and beyond for her patients. And ultimately, I really respect the fact that she’s honest with me. I often wish obstetrical doctors and nurses could be as honest. Tell me that the epidural will affect my baby and then we know we’re making an informed choice. Tell me the catheter you’re about to insert will hurt so I can prepare myself. I would have a lot respect for that kind of honesty in the delivery room.

I think we could all use a reminder that how we speak to each other matters. While we may not know or understand what someone else is going through, our interaction with them at that moment can impact them for days, weeks, months or years. Telling the truth, even when it’s not convenient, is important. Being gentle in our approach, no matter what, is always what we should be striving for. We talk a lot about gentle approach when dealing with our children, but what about the moms and people around us? This is a lesson I need to learn as well. So this is my blanket apology. If my approach has hurt you, I apologize. And know that my interaction with you is shaping me to be a better person, mom, wife and friend.

With much love,
Shannon

Category : Blog

The other day I punctured my hand with a steak knife. Of course I should have known better than to hold it the way I was but I was frustrated, (it was a coconut) and I wasn’t thinking like a First Aid Instructor in the least. It hurt, and I learned an important lesson that day….thanks to my son. I was rinsing the wound for as long as I could stand it, which as it turns out was not the 5 minutes the First Aid manual suggests. As I am muttering under my breath,tears flowing freely because it really hurt, “ow ow ow dammit ow” he walks in and he says “See Mommy, I TOLD you it really hurts when you rinse it.” Flashback to a week earlier when he came home with a small scrape on his hand that he wouldn’t let anyone clean because it HURT. Of course I told him he had to do it anyhow even though it hurt. And of course I had to force him to wash the scrape. The boy screamed like I was amputating his limbs with butter knives. (He is a very dramatic young thing. No idea where he gets that.) But the look on his face said it all: He was incredibly happy to have the last word where rinsing was concerned. I told him he was right and I would never tell him “oh it couldn’t possibly hurt that MUCH” ever again.

Ah- ‘tis Springtime – time of the springtime mishaps. Falls off bikes, bee stings, campfire burns, sun burns, heat exhaustion…..and the list goes on. If you want to get a rundown of some of the common Spring and Summer emergencies and what to do, then the next workshop is for you! I’ll be covering Head and Spine Injuries, Anaphylaxis, Bone, Muscle and Joint Injuries, (including some splinting), burns and Heat related emergencies. I won’t be giving away bubbles for us to put our little ones into, but we will discuss practical advice for avoiding all the above catastrophes’ in waiting.

The workshop will run on June 27 from 7-9. Class will be held at Babies Naturally Kilworth Location. The cost of the workshop is $30. Please email me at WellLifeCPR@gmail.com or call 519.649.4670 to get a registration form and secure your spot.

If there is a demand for a weekend class I will open up a Saturday workshop at my London Studio as well.

Be Well!

Claire Brown

Category : Blog

Email shanno@babiesnaturally.ca to register!
June Session
Saturday June 15th 2013 from 10:00 to 4:00 AND
Thursday June 20th 2013 from 7:00 to 9:00 (Breastfeeding Education)

July Session
Saturday July 20th 2013 from 10:00 to 4:00 AND
Thursday July 25th 2013 from 7:00 to 9:00 (Breastfeeding Education)

September Session
Saturday September 7th 2013 from 10:00 to 4:00 AND
Thursday September 12th 2013 from 7:00 to 9:00 (Breastfeeding Education)

October Session
Saturday October 5th 2013 from 10:00 to 4:00 AND
Thursday October 10th 2013 from 7:00 to 9:00 (Breastfeeding Education)

November Session
Saturday November 16th 2013 from 10:00 to 4:00 AND
Thursday November 21st 2013 from 7:00 to 9:00 (Breastfeeding Education)

At Our New Kilworth Location (shared with Talbot Creek Midwives)

Call or email Shannon to register for our conscious birth classes.

Contact us to learn about private childbirth education held in your home – fee $200.00.

Category : Blog