Dear Friends,

We have lots of exciting things happening around OmMama this summer. First of all, we are pleased to announce our summer schedule, which goes into effect June 1 and continues through August 24.

With the new schedule, I’d like to welcome Melissa Calkins to OmMama. Melissa started working as our administrative assistant in February and will add prenatal yoga instructor to her job description in June. She completed the Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training through OmMama in 2005 and went on to practice prenatal yoga throughout her own pregnancies, postnatal yoga after her births, and Itsy Bitsy® Yoga with her two daughters. She will complete her yoga certification through Sun and Moon Yoga Studio in Northern Virginia in later this year. Melissa majored in Women’s Studies at Duke University and uses this academic foundation to work toward baby-friendly and mother-friendly initiatives. She is active in a local support group for parents and is an advocate for informed choices in childbirth, breastfeeding support, and attachment parenting. Welcome Melissa!

We are also very excited to announce a new class in Southside! We are partnering with The Goddard School at 2361 Robious Station Circle to offer prenatal yoga classes in their facility. Starting June 7th, we will hold Sunday afternoon classes there. If this initiative takes off, we will look to add more Southside classes in the fall. Please see the schedule for further details.

In another collaboration with the Lewis Ginter Recreation Association, in whose building our classes are held in Northside, starting June 1st we are able to offer current OmMama students up to 5 pool passes each over the summer. If you’re pregnant, the pool is a wonderful way to help reduce leg swelling and improve overall comfort – especially during the heat of summer! If you’ve got a little one, splashing around in a pool is a great way to encourage a lengthy nap! See below for more details.

As always, it is a privilege and an honor to serve you and your families. All of us at OmMama wish you a fun-filled summer full of joy and wonder and just the least little bit of laziness.

Namaste,

Leslie

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What's New

• Summer schedule starts June 1st. Download a .pdf here. Please note there are a few tweaks to the schedule. We are taking the Tuesday 4:30 Prenatal Yoga class off the schedule for the summer, and shifting the 6:15 pm class to 6:00 pm.
• New class on Southside starts June 7th. The new class will take place on Sundays from 4 – 5:30 pm at The Goddard School, 2361 Robious Station Circle, in Midlothian. Class passes may be used at either our Southside or Northside locations, so now you have even more opportunities to take class.
• Itsy Bitsy Yoga for Babies, Tots, and Tykes Summer Mini-series start June 9th. We’re offering 3-week mini-sessions to help accommodate summer vacation schedules. A great way to introduce your child to the benefits of yoga, sign up for one session or sign up for the whole summer! Northside.
• Conscious Birthing Workshops: May 31 and July 19th, 1:30 – 5:30 pm.
• Pool Pass Tuesdays and Thursdays: Come take a class at our Northside location and stay for a swim. Pool passes will be available on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays and Thursdays of the month. Cost: $7 per adult (children free).
• Beginning Hatha Yoga Series: Tuesdays, 4:30 – 5:45 pm, June 16 – August 4. This 8-week series is a great way to begin or renew a yoga practice. Appropriate for beginners with little or no prior experience with yoga as well as those seeking a refresher course. Northside.
• Yoga Props Sale: We’re ordering yoga props for our new location in Southside and would like to give you the opportunity to purchase them at a discounted rate. Bolsters: $55.00 ea; Blocks: $12 ea; Straps: $9 ea. Purchase on line or call in your order to 804-612-6366. Deadline for ordering is Monday, May 25th. We will call to confirm pick-up when the order comes in. Pick up will be at either our Northside or Southside locations.
• Send a free class to a friend. Between now and August 31, you can send a friend a free class by clicking this link. Current OmMama students will receive a $5 credit toward classes and workshops for each new student they refer to us.
• Birth Talk – a group for women and their partners interested in an unmedicated hospital birth, meets at OmMama Northside on the 1st 3rd Monday of the month. For more information contact Jennifer Kyzer at 804-440-2498.
  

Birth Story

Ana Sierra

Ana Sierra Lockhart T. was born at 3:20 p.m. on Saturday, April 25. She was 7 lbs. 4 oz. and 18 inches long.
  
Labor started the previous night. I had gone to the midwife on Friday at 41 weeks, exhausted and disgruntled. I had convinced myself that if I did yoga and walked during my entire pregnancy that I wouldn't have an "overdue" baby...

Read Full Birth Story

Prenatal Article

Top Ten Delivery Secrets Experienced Doulas Share with Expectant Fathers

1. Be an advocate for your partner. Attend childbirth classes, attend as many prenatal appointments as possible, and help co-author the birth plan. Dads who are intimately aware of Mom's desires regarding birth are wonderful support partners.
2. Make sure mom eats prior to heading to the hospital (she will receive NO food in the hospital). Encourage her to eat small meals preferably something with protein for energy. NOTE: moms should avoid dairy and spicy foods while in labor; these foods often have a way of returning (if you know what I mean).
3. Be a guardian of your hospital environment. Labor and delivery units are often full of energy and noise. Dads should take charge of creating a "birthing ambience" in the hospital room. Dim the lights, set up soft soothing music and make sure the door to the room is shut at all times. Sometimes distracted staff can accidentally leave the door of the room open allowing noise from the nurse's station, other birthing women, or baby cries to affect mom's birthing experience.
4. Encourage moms to change positions in labor every 20-30 minutes. Once mom gets comfortable in labor, baby gets comfortable; we want the baby out, not comfortable. Changes in mom's position help shift the pelvis, thus allowing the baby the space he/she needs to move through the birth canal.
5. Take care of yourself so that you can take care of mom in labor. Bring food and drink for energy and/or take a quick stretch break if necessary during the labor to clear your head.
6. Record the experience. Write brief notes during labor, i.e. when did her water break, what positions seemed to work best for labor, when did she begin to push and for how long, etc. These written notes will assist in the development of your child's birth story.
7. Develop a tough skin. Women in labor are "refreshingly honest". You may think you are the most sensitive, supportive partner ever when you begin massaging her feet in labor only to find that she recoils from your touch. Women in labor don't always want to be touched. This recoil should not be interpreted as, "I hate you don't touch me". Instead you need to recognize as a support partner that women in labor do not have the energy for normal pleasantries such as, "thank you so much for massaging my feet honey, but it does not feel as good as I had hoped could you please get me ice chips instead." They may only be able to grunt, "Stop that!" A tough skin will help you not take these little scenarios personally.
8. Be your partner's biggest cheerleader. Saying, "I am so proud of you, you are having our baby, it looks like you are doing some very difficult work and I am so thankful for you, etc. . . . "
9. Recognize that transition is a challenging part of labor. Transition is the shortest and most difficult stage of labor. It is not uncommon for un-medicated women to feel overwhelmed, fearful, and hopeless during transition. It is very difficult for partners to see the person they love most in the world experiencing significant discomfort. They often want to fix the situation (possibly by administering the epidural anesthesia without the aid of an anesthesiologist :-)). Partners need to know that these feelings and experiences are normal and do not need to be fixed.
10. Hire a Doula! A doula will help provide physical and emotional assistance during labor and will be part of your care team by advocating for you both during the process. An experienced doula does not get interfere with your relationship, but will help bring you together as you experience the birth of your baby.

Maura Varley offers childbirth education classes in Richmond, Virginia through Birth, Bonding, and Beyond and is the creator of the childbirth education classes offered through OmMama.

Postnatal Article

Quick Facts About Potty Training
By Elizabeth Pantley, Author of The No-Cry Potty Training Solution

Potty training can be natural, easy, and peaceful. The first step is to know the facts

• The perfect age to begin potty training is different for every child. Your child's best starting age could be anywhere from eighteen to thirty-two months. Pre-potty training preparation can begin when a child is as young as ten months.
• You can begin training at any age, but your child's biology, skills, and readiness will determine when he can take over his own toileting.
• Teaching your child how to use the toilet can, and should, be as natural as teaching him to build a block tower or use a spoon.
• No matter the age that toilet training begins, most children become physically capable of independent toileting between ages two and a half and four.
• It takes three to twelve months from the start of training to daytime toilet independence. The more readiness skills that a child possesses, the quicker the process will be.
• The age that a child masters toileting has absolutely no correlation to future abilities or intelligence.
• There isn’t only one right way to potty train – any approach you use can work - if you are pleasant, positive and patient.
• Nighttime dryness is achieved only when a child's physiology supports this--you can't rush it.
• A parent's readiness to train is just as important as a child's readiness to learn.
• Potty training need not be expensive. A potty chair, a dozen pairs of training pants and a relaxed and pleasant attitude are all that you really need. Anything else is truly optional.
• Most toddlers urinate four to eight times each day, usually about every two hours or so.
• Most toddlers have one or two bowel movements each day, some have three, and others skip a day or two in between movements. In general, each child has a regular pattern.
• More than 80 percent of children experience setbacks in toilet training. This means that what we call “setbacks” are really just the usual path to mastery of toileting.
• Ninety-eight percent of children are completely daytime independent by age four.

This article is an excerpt from The No-Cry Potty Training Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Child Say Good-Bye to Diapers by Elizabeth Pantley. (McGraw-Hill, 2006)

Featured Community Service Organization

Have a fabulous dinner while you benefit your community.

William Byrd Community House is hosting a Benefit Dinner at Mama Zu’s!

Tickets are $50 per person and will allow you to sample the best Italian food in the city! There is only one seating and spaces are limited . . .

Buy Your Tickets Today!

Time: 6 – 9 pm
Date: June 7, 2009
All proceeds go directly to William Byrd Community House programming.

Ticket price includes a fabulous multi-course meal.
It does not include beverage, alcohol, or gratuity.
To sign up email Jessica Turner at jturner@wbch.org or call 643-2717 ext 324.

Prenatal & Postnatal Resources

Check out the new Pregnancy Connection Directory for local maternity care and service providers. It’s growing all the time.

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