From the WBWC Blog:

News

Latest news non-related to individual births.

Help the WBWC with Goodshop To-Go

Women’s Birth & Wellness Center receives funds when you search or buy items through Good Search and/or Good Shop.  Please consider setting Good Search as your computer home page or download the browser add on.  All you have to do is type Women’s Birth and Wellness Center in the box when it asks.  We get donations when you make a purchase through Amazon, Vistaprint, Staples, Target, Quill, Orbitz, Land’s End, etc.  You can also find coupons on the site.  Below is a list of some of the most popular retailers and a link to add the Goodsearch Browser.  Thanks for helping support Women’s Birth & Wellness Center as you search and shop! www.goodsearch.com/goodto-go/womens-birth-and-wellness-center

Free Workshop: Healthy Mama, Healthy Baby

What: Healthy Mama, Healthy Baby Workshop Where: WBWC When: January 15, 2013 at 6 pm Who: Leah Gibbons          Want to feel great during pregnancy and have the healthiest pregnancy and baby possible? Join Leah Gibbons, MS, CHHC, for this FREE workshop. Learn what the best food and lifestyle choices are for you during this important time in your life and your baby’s life as well as how to implement them. Please RSVP to Leah at leahgibbons@fullpotentialhw.com or 919-869-7424.            Hello! I am Leah Gibbons, MS, Certified Holistic Health Coach. I am excited to be connected to the Women’s Birth and Wellness Center and to be able to help support you in being as healthy as possible and having the healthiest pregnancy and baby possible! I recently moved here with my family—my husband, Brandon; my three daughters, Anlon (6), Nylah (3) and Riell (2); and our dog, Haley. All three of my children were born with a midwife. All of my pregnancies and births were amazing. I was always very healthy and felt great. My births were relatively fast and easy. My children are healthy, smart, fun, engaging, and beautiful. It is my sincere desire to help all women and children have wonderful pregnancies and births and be as healthy as possible. Keep reading to find out how I do that, how you can attend a free Healthy Mama, Healthy Baby workshop, and how to get a free health coaching session with me.           I am a Certified Holistic Health Coach. What is a health coach? In a nutshell, I look at how all areas of your life work together to create your overall health. I work with my clients to create a happy, healthy life in a way that is flexible, fun and sustainable. I guide my clients to find the food and lifestyle choices that best support them so they can be optimally healthy. I also help my clients make gradual, lifelong changes that enable them to reach their current and future health goals. This is important in any phase of one’s life but especially important during pregnancy, when nutrition and lifestyle choices form the basis for the health of child and mother and dramatically impact how birth and recovery will go. I work with women, couples, and families from preconception and pregnancy through postpartum, early childhood, and beyond to help women, children, and families be as … Read More

Boutique News

January 1st and 2nd — Closed for inventory Come in and see what’s on sale in January!

New Arrivals

*Kai Alexander Law – 9 lbs., 3 oz. – August 17 *Maja Kharis Miller – 7 lbs., 1 oz. – August 21 *Siena Rose Robson – 9 lbs., 6 oz. – September 7 Ever Bloom Lubenow – 9 lbs., 14 oz. – October 1 Ian Maxwell Cox – 6 lbs., 5 oz. – October 2 Olen Joseph Taylor – 8 lbs., 14 oz. – October 2 Leo Robert Joyce – 7 lbs., 7 oz. – October 3 Abdou Mason Mbaye – 8 lbs. – October 5 Finneas David Reynolds Bartlett – 7 lbs., 4 oz. – October 6 Westley Francis Meints – 7 lbs., 12 oz. – October 7 Nels Eero Swanson – 9 lbs., 8 oz. – October 10 Aadhirai Niranjankumar – 6 lbs., 9 oz. – October 10 Josiah David Butcher – 8 lbs., 9 oz. – October 10 *Neil Smith Wright – 8 lbs., 8 oz. – October 10 *Nariah Janea Freeman – 7 lbs., 15 oz. – October 11 Caroline Hazel Spencer – 6 lbs., 4 oz. – October 12 *Blair Marie Levine – 7 lbs., 6 oz. – October 13 Kaito Achille Deleruyelle – 6 lbs., 14 oz. –  October 14 Aviela Dawson – 10 lbs., 3 oz. – October 16 Philip James Ball – 7 lbs., 8 oz. – October 17 Robert Avery Marron – 8 lbs., 6 oz. – October 17 Julien August Everitt – 7 lbs., 6 oz. – October 19 Emmons Mayer Golub – 8 lbs., 15 oz. – October 22 Sadie Monroe High – 8 lbs., 8 oz. – October 26 *Oliver William Swanson – 8 lbs., 1 oz.- October 26 Darius Zia Damghani – 8 lbs., 2 oz. – October 28 Cailyn Louis Farris – 9 lbs. – October 29 Owen Thomas Patterson – 8 lbs., 15 oz. – October 29 Polly Jean Shelly – 7 lbs., 2 oz. – October 30 Jolie Cate Michaelson – 8 lbs., 3 oz. – October 31 Jahnavi Devi Hill – 9 lbs., 3 oz. – October 31 Elli Faith Bishop – 7 lbs., 10 oz. – October 31 Welcome to the world, Little Ones!      If you’d like your baby’s birth announced in the next newsletter, send an email to cmckiernan@yahoo.com with baby’s name, weight, and date of birth. Feel free to include a photo. We’d like to hear from all WBWC moms, whether your baby was born at the birth center or UNC!

Love that Mommy Body!

by Claire C. McKiernan Spider veins, muffin tops, stretch marks, loose, stretched out skin, extra weight, all this and more! How come superstar moms don’t have all this? Answer: They do (or did), but they have access to personal chefs, nutritionists, trainers, beauticians, and full-time nannies so they can devote hours a day to their bodies. And when that doesn’t work, they have cosmetic surgery and they still have Photoshop used on many, if not all, the photos you see, which, by the way, have been taken by professional photographers at the right angle and in perfect lighting. Meanwhile, you, selfish thing that you are, spend your time nursing, cuddling, feeding, rocking, playing, teaching, reading, bathing, dressing, and wiping up spills, runny noses, tears, and adorable but stinky behinds. And when you are waiting at the hair salon to indulge in having your bangs cut for the first time in three months so you don’t resemble an English sheepdog, you pick up a magazine describing a superstar getting her body back two weeks postpartum. She looks amazing! Why can’t I look like that?  (Hint: because you spend more time raising your children, you ninny!) Do you think your kids would prefer a mom who lets them blow raspberries on her pudgy dough-like belly or a sexy mom? Don’t be so hard on yourself. Every mother goes through this. And just about every mother winces about something that changed on her body. As a mother of four, I can tell you that your body will change in predictable and non-predictable ways. Some changes will be temporary, some permanent, some you’ll get accustomed to and even stop noticing, some things you will actually like, and other things, well, that’s where you need to employ some mind over matter.   Mind Trick 1: See yourself through the eyes of your partner   You’re not just a mom, you’re a woman! You want to feel good about yourself and you want to feel attractive to your husband/s.o. Who says that you aren’t attractive? Probably only you. Think about it: at which times do you feel most attracted to/in love with your partner? Chances are, it is after he has done or said something particularly sweet/funny/thoughtful. Your attraction to his physical body is definitely a part of it, but flaws disappear in the eyes of love. He most likely feels the same way. Mind Trick 2: … Read More

News from the WBWC Board

by Kaaren Haldeman     Hello from the board! This past month, we have met in committee in order to plan, strategize, and envision our future at the birth center. Our planning committee chair, Jane Brown, and committee members Connie Semans, Brianna Honea, Rebecca Swartz, Bruce Nelson, Maureen Darcey and Lisa Fedele have done a great deal of work in conducting a business review of WBWC. Thank you, committee members for your time and effort in this very important process.     Have a warm, healthy, and happy holiday season with friends and family!  

Birth of My Sister!

by Sanjusri Niranjankumar     Editors note: The following birth story was submitted by the 8-year-old big sister to newborn Aadhirai. 

WBWC Now Offering Massage and Acupuncture

Come relax and renew your spirit! Nicole Splenda RN, LMBT and Kim Calandra L.AC          Massage is a wonderful way to ease the discomforts of pregnancy. It has been used for centuries to improve overall health, reduce stress, and relieve muscle tension. Studies indicate that massage therapy performed during pregnancy can reduce anxiety, decrease symptoms of depression, relieve muscle aches and joint pains, and improve labor outcomes and newborn health.     Nicole Splenda RN, LMBT specializes in pre- and postnatal massage, aromatherapy, reflexology and labor stimulation massage.  She loves to work on pregnant women, but is also happy to work on non-pregnant family members.     Kim Calandra L.AC is our new acupuncturist. Acupuncture is a holistic health care system that can treat many conditions, including gynecologic and intra-partum (such as breech presentation, morning sickness, and other common pregnancy related conditions). During your postpartum period, acupuncture can be helpful for depression, mastitis, insufficient or excessive lactation.  Acupuncture is also a great tool for induction of labor. Gift Certificates Available at the boutique or call:  Nicole 919-699-0980 or Kim 919-971-3934

WBWC October Birthday Party!

    This year’s annual WBWC birthday party was held on October 21, 2012 at the Sertoma Arts Center in Raleigh. We are a 501 (c)3 charitable organization and all contributions to our center are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law. To make a donation, go to www.ncbirthcenter.com and scroll down to “donate”.    We enjoyed seeing all those precious babies and want to thank all the wonderful folks who shared in the celebration!

Tell Me About Your Mommy Body!

by Claire C. McKiernan     I am working on a follow-up to my Celebrate Yourself article for next month. Tell me in which expected and unexpected ways your body changed during or after pregnancy. Please email me at cmckiernan@yahoo.com with the subject title “WBWC: Body” (or something similar, so I know it’s not spam). I will not use any names in the article! Thanks!