Happy test taking to all those sitting the exam Friday! Take a deep breath (in to the count of 7, hold for a moment and release to the count of 11...works wonders for relaxing!).

You'll do fine...just remember, what is normal and you will do fine!
Colette L. Baran
CLC, LCCE, CD(CBI), CHBE
(413)652-3433

'I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I
cannot do interfere with what I can do.' (Edward Everett Hale)


------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------


No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 8.5.422 / Virus Database: 270.14.23/2448 - Release Date: 10/20/09 10:43:00
< replied-to message removed by QT >

Anyone else out there taking the exam this Friday? I am excited but nervous! I wanted to let everyone know that you can take a 7-question practice Lamaze exam at the LaserGrade/PSI website at http://65.106.153.37/

You have to be using Internet Explorer. You just click the button for Lamaze International Demo Test and then click on the Start button. Good practice!

Hello!

I've changed my email address to normalbirthadvocate@gmail.com. You can reach me there :)

Angela

On Jun 20, 2009, at 4:18 AM, QuickTopic daily digest <qtopic-38- GUnveEpaNKg@quicktopic.com> wrote:

< replied-to message removed by QT >

I'm looking for ideas on topics and activities to have a PFB-style early pregnancy class, which I've identified as being a very effective way to get students for the childbirth classes! So I thought I'd throw it out to other educators of the PFB ilk...I want the 2 hour (or so) early pregnancy class to be similar to how I teach in the childbirth classes. Ideas, ideas? What have you tried, seen, heard of?

Thanks!

Nicole

 I am on the border of Indiana and Michigan Stella..(my family lives in the Detroit area too) I am also looking for someone who can empathasize w/ my course design issues. I just attended the weekend seminar for pfb in IL. I am excited to get started- I wish I had the topics for the course design exercise Terri does.. I am currently creating the topics that are required by lamaze so wish me luck. JAnice of IN

Dear Stella,

I just received my CD via UPS today and my sweet (supportive!!) dh drove it over to Kinkos..I thought that it would be at least 24 hours since that is what I was told on the phone..but the gentleman at Kinkos told dh it would be about 15 minutes so dh waited on it and suprised me! OH..I tried to print it out from the online version but it took a LONG time and the results were not as good from what I did get printed out compared to what Kinkos could do in a much shorter time. :) It is so nice to have it all neatly printed out, right in a binder to go through..there is so much good stuff in this program. I am THOROUGHLY IMPRESSED with the stance Lamaze has taken on evidence based care..I had no idea until recently that they were such big supporters of normal birth. I guess I had a lot of ignorance and
misconceptons about what Lamaze stood for but I am so happy I
was misinformed! I know it will be a lot of work but yet I know I will feel really accomplished once I am a LCCE. I was looking through the
exam booklet sample questions and I was very comfortable with the material..I am hoping all the reading and work I have been doing for the past 10 years (nearly, wow!) will come into play and not make this as daunting as it feels in my mind at times to accomplish. I wish you the best on your journey.. a hoosier here, sorry not too close to you up in MI. I am hoping another birth worker decides on PfB locally so I will have someone closeby to network with. It is a definate possibility and I am really excited. I hope something similiar works out for you too. Are there any birth related networks or study groups in your area? Maybe something like that could help keep you motivated..and hey, you could always start something! ;)

All the best,
Jenni Shaver

Hello everyone,

I just signed up and received my CD and online information as well. I am excited! I even went to my first birth last Friday!! My question is, is there anybody who is enrolled or has graduated and who lives in Michigan? I have a pretty busy schedule and having someome to keep me on track would help (and we could talk about birth!!)

Thank you,
Stella

Thank you so much for the suggestions Stacie! I will definately keep them in mind--especially the smaller binders, etc. I have just started going through the Study Guide but WOW, am I impressed even so far. There is a LOT of information but I know it will enhance what I am able to offer to my community, so it is definately worth it. Everyone has been so kind and helpful.

All the best,
Jenni

Congratulations! The nice thing about this is you can easily do baby steps through the program.

One thing I did -- and I know others have done it, too -- was to break down the big blue binder into 3 or 4 smaller binders, if you chose the hard copy. It makes it easier to manage and flip through.

As I came across articles that I thought would be good references for classes if special issues arose, I would mark them with a Post-It. For example, one I like, off the top of my head, is about gestational diabetes.

The work in the PfB binder can be very helpful not only for your personal development, but also to get you out into your community and into your local birth world. It makes it easier to approach those involved in birth already by having it seem like a requirement. This helps as you network and get ready to fill your future classes!

Although I attended my seminar as a nursing mother, I left my nursling home, so I was more like a pumping mother, lol. We didn't have any babies at our seminar, but at my DONA training we had a baby, and although the woman and her mother attended, I would imagine, because of the group this appeals to, there would be other attendees happy to help out with a baby for a few minutes if needed.

Don't worry about the peer teaching -- the instructor gives you all the information you need to set it up in a PfB-friendly way. Essentially, if you have a topic you know a lot about or want to choose, just have the info there, and she will give you the guidelines for how you can frame it. Maybe you should choose breastfeeding? You would have a model!

You will be well-supported on this journey. Welcome!

Stacie

Edited by author 05-20-2008 02:23 PM
I just purchased the study guide and I am really excited to be on this path. Any advice for someone just enrolling? I printed out all the forms and paperwork available on the PfB website and I have it in a cute lil folder, so I can have it easily accessible as I work through things. Organization is our friend, LOL. :) I am now waiting for the study guide to arrive. I am excited to delve in. I am going to try to make it to a PfB seminar in less than a month and I am excited to learn, based on what I have read about the PfB program and have "heard" from others who have chosen this program... I admit..the peer teaching session has me a bit nervous though. I will have my in arms nursling and one of my daughters as a mothers helper for when I need hands free. Any other moms who have attended with nursing baby in arms? Tips for making it go more smoothly? Thanks in Advance.

All the best,
Jenni