Dear Friends:

Summer is here bringing heat and sweat. When it’s so very hot outside, it’s great to seek the coolness of water, the solace of shade, perhaps an indoor class or two? Our Summer Schedule starts July 1. We’re excited about a couple of things we’re doing this summer to shake things up a little.

But before we go any further, we offer our deep gratitude to the sponsors, vendors, in-kind donors, and attendees of our Birth & Baby Fair on May 8th. Your support helped us slightly exceed our fundraising goal of $5000 for Midwives For Haiti. Contributors to our Honor Your Local Midwife Campaign, the on-line fundraising arm of that event, raised over $1770 in tribute to the local midwives who have improved the culture of birth in our own community. These funds will enable Midwives For Haiti to employ a Haitian midwife for one year, providing prenatal care and skilled birth attendance in an extremely underserved area. THANK YOU!

Changes to Itsy Bitsy Yoga Classes
Based on discussions with moms at the focus groups we held back in April, we heard that folks want more flexibility with the Itsy Bitsy Yoga® classes. So we’re changing the way we offer them. For our summer schedule, which runs July 1 – September 30, we’re offering the Itsy Bitsy Yoga classes for 10 weeks. You may now purchase single, 4-class, or 8-class passes for IBY, and class passes that are interchangeable with the Baby & Me Yoga and Pilates classes, as well as our Hatha Yoga class (for moms who are just dying to get out without baby!). We’ve also created a Tots & Tykes combined class on Saturdays – a great class for those of you who’d like to bring two children to class. And prices for packages are going down as well! We hope that these changes will make the classes more flexible and accessible for you. If this model works, we’ll continue with it for our fall schedule. Itsy Bitsy Yoga® classes can now be found on the main page of our on-line scheduler.

Happy Pack Classes
Last fall, Jennifer Kyzer’s class on introducing your dog to your new baby was one of the most popular sessions we had in our Expert Speakers Series. So we’re excited to welcome Jennifer back for a two part series: Dogs and Babies: Fostering a Happy Pack. Part I is a humans only seminar where Jennifer will answer your questions and guide you toward smooth interactions between your canine and human children. Part II is a dog training session where you’ll put into practice what you’ve learned. I can’t say enough about Jennifer’s wisdom in working with dogs – she helped my family address some issues with our dog in a matter of minutes. She truly is a “dog whisperer.” You can take either class or receive a 10% discount if you sign up for both at the same time.

Birth Stories
We got so busy with our Birth & Baby Fair that we dropped the ball on publishing birth stories from our students. So this month we’re catching up, and the stories are bountiful. Read Stacy B’s story in this newsletter for a wonderful example of someone who followed her instincts in the face of a lot of conflicting information, and went on to have a wonderful birth. “Birth,” Moon S says in her birth story, “is an open and honest ordeal.” Her story, found on the Inspiration page of our website, chronicles a birth that turned out differently than she expected, but led her to some big discoveries about herself. You’ll find many more birth stories in all sizes and variations on this site – from women you may know personally from prenatal yoga class. Read them when you have a moment and be amazed at how women birth themselves as they’re bringing their children into the world. Many thanks to all who have shared your stories with us. And don’t forget to send in your own birth story or announcement when your time comes – this is THE most visited page of our website, and abounds with examples of real women facing real-life choices and challenges.

In love, light - and hopefully - coolness,

Leslie

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Birth Announcements

Congratulations to the following mothers and their babies:

Eleanor Mabel (Kat O) born June 7, 2010	Duncan Creed (Lisa G), born May 23, 2010
Isla Gail (Stacy B) born May 3, 2010	Sienna Kristine (Shelley S) born April 19, 2010
William Leland (Emily B) born April 13, 2010	Harrison Taylor (Julie S), born March 25, 2010
Owen Edward (Donna J) born March 23, 2010	James Reges (Jen R) March 15, 2010
Freyja Diane Ming-Har (Shelley D), born February 28, 2010	Maya Claire (Jeanne H), born February 20, 2010
Eva Zelda (Moon S) born December 24, 2009	Benjamin Slate (Dvora B) born December 17, 2009

What's New

• 2010 Summer Schedule Starts July 1. Registration is now available on our on-line scheduler for any of our series classes and workshops in the summer schedule
• Summer Itsy Bitsy Yoga classes start the week of July 5th. These classes are now found on our main schedule page. Don’t forget to check out our new pricing for these classes. Now located on the main schedule page.
• Tots – Wednesdays 9:30 – 10:30 am
• Babies – Wednesdays 10:45 – 11:45 am
• Tots & Tykes Combined – Saturdays, 9:30 – 10:30 am
• Dogs & Babies: Fostering A Happy Pack Part I: Seminar – Thursday July 22 6:30 – 7:30 pm
• Dogs & Babies: Fostering a Happy Pack Part II: Dog Training Session – Saturday, July 24, 9:00 – 10:30 am
• Conscious Birthing Workshop: Sunday, July 18 1:30 – 5:30 pm. Register on-line here.
• Please note – the studio will be closed Saturday July 3rd for the 4th of July holiday and August 23 – September 6 for summer holiday.
• Gift Certificates for OmMama classes make great shower gifts. Click here to purchase.

OmMama Work/Trade Program

OmMama is looking for enthusiastic, reliable folks to help us expand our services. Work/Trade gives you an opportunity to earn some credit for any of our classes or workshops, while giving us a pool of talented folks to turn to when we need some extra help.
How do I apply?

• Send an email to info@OmMama.com with Work/Trade in the subject line, and your name, address, phone number, and email in the body of the email. If you have any special expertise, please be sure to let us know. Resumes are always welcome. You’ll then be entered in our Work/Trade contact list.
• We’ll periodically send out emails to Work/Trade contacts regarding work-trade opportunities as they arise. If you want to take advantage of the opportunity, just follow the instructions to apply.
• When you have completed the task, we’ll note your credit in your account.
• Trade credit is typically $12/hour in credit. Credits may be used toward any OmMama class pass, series class, or workshop purchase. Your credit never expires!

Thank you for trading your time for classes!

Referral Rewards Program

Our students have always been our biggest promoters. Please help us grow our business by referring your friends and acquaintances to our classes. Existing OmMama students earn a $5 credit toward future classes for each new student who registers for any of our programs. Thank you for your support!

Birth Story

Isla Gail, born May 3, 2010

Our daughter Isla Gail (silent "s", pronounced eye-la) was born Monday, May 3rd at 9:42AM...just 10 days past her "due date."  She weighed 7lbs 1oz and measured 19.75in long. 

Here is the story of how she came to join our family.  I'm beginning the story with our 37week doctor's appointment, because as many of you know, that's when the "drama" began...

Read Full Birth Story

Article

Recession Benefit: Flexible Work Schedules

It’s not just the warmer days that are giving people a little more pep in their step. There is something in the air and you might not even know it’s there. Changes are coming, maybe not as quickly as the blooms of summer flowers, but change is occurring – right before our eyes.

A “work-time revolution” which experts have liked to the industrial revolution, is taking place. It wasn’t that long ago a report American Women published in 1963, said that the role for women is the “making of a home, the rearing of children, and the transmission to them in their earliest years of the values of the American heritage” (as cited in the Shriver Report).

Thank goodness for the hard work of our mothers and grandmothers, sisters and friends who have changed the perception and definition of what women can do. We are no longer locked into a predefined role. We have the opportunity to do it all, try everything and adjust as it makes sense for our families. 

The working world is finally catching up and this work-place revolution is taking the focus off of a rigid 9-5 schedule with a face-time culture and placing more emphasis on getting the job done.

With a strong emphasis on the bottom-line and workers at every level eyeing the P&L, it suddenly doesn't matter how or when or where work gets done. So long as the work is done right, on time, customers are happy, sales are up and costs are down.  Managers are increasingly approving flexible arrangements. 

The recent economic recession has in many ways been a blessing for working mothers. Over the past 18-24 months, employers have been forced to think about work differently and through that new lens, they are seeing the value in building a strong team of experts, regardless of the desired work schedule.

Traditional works schedules will never become obsolete. Thank goodness, as it takes all types of schedules to make a successful business sustainable.  But there is hope. There is hope for all of us who are struggling with decision between work and home. Doors are opening and there are more options for us to focus on work and life outside of work.

And the smart companies get it.

Whitney Forstner from Momentum Resources

Balanced Careers. Successful Lives. Momentum Resources™ connects educated, experienced, and super-productive individuals with flexible employment opportunities.  You don’t have to sacrifice your life outside of work to succeed at work.

www.mom-entum.com
www.mom-entum.blogspot.com

The Pregnancy Connection Directory

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

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