First Time Parents Workshop Series: What to Know Before Giving Birth

I am so happy with the turnout of the first ever First Time Parents workshop series entitled “What to Know Before Giving Birth”. This was an idea that I had when I was pregnant with Baby Zeeka. I wanted to create a workshop that would guide parents as they went through the whole experience of pregnancy, labor, and delivery, taking care of a newborn, then eventually, taking care of a toddler. This idea was then made possible by a partnership between ManilaWorkshops.com, Medela Moms, Inc. and The Learning Basket.

Last June 1, 2013, the day started early for me. I had to feed Zeeka early in the morning so that she wouldn’t be fussy on the ride going to Medela House. For those who are wondering where Medela House is, it is at #29 1st Street, New Manila, Quezon City. We got there at exactly 8:00 am. We had enough time to set up for the event.

Our sponsors started arriving, too! 🙂 St. Patrick though already gave us the free socks to be included in the kit days before the event. These are really very cute socks.

This is the booth of Mama Chows of Raquel. They gave free yummy lactation cookies to our workshop participants. They also served our lunch for the event.

Indigo Baby and Mamaste Art were also there to showcase their products and services. It was great to finally have met Mimsy of Mamaste Art. I find her services so cool! My sister-in-law availed of her belly casting services when she was pregnant with Noah.

And of course, our Co-sponsor, StemCord Philippines, Inc. was also there to talk about Cord Blood Banking and explain their services to the attendees.

This is me, welcoming the guests to the First Time Parents Workshop. I had a wonderful time explaining to the attendees where the idea came from.

Our first speaker was Dr. Diana Liu Sarmiento. She is actually my OB and I really love her! She takes time to answer our questions all the time, which I thought made her a good speaker for the workshop. I was right!

Dra. Sarmiento is a graduate of the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Medicine and Surgery. She completed her internship and residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the UP-PGH and proceeded with her fellowship in Trophoblastic Diseases also at the same institution. She is a consultant at the Asian Hospital Medical Center. She is also a writer for the Women’s Health and Wellness section of Yahoo! South East Asia. I love that she has her own website where she entertains questions from readers. This section is called “Magtanong Kay Doc”. Her website is www.filipinamd.com.

During the workshop, she discussed the pre-natal check up and creating a birth plan. The attendees asked a lot of questions and they were all answered by doc.

The next speaker was also very impressive. She was Ms. Cecile Bayaga, who is a registered nutritionist-dietitian and a full-time faculty at the College of Home Economics, University of the Philippines-Diliman. She has been teaching Principles of Nutrition, Nutrition for the Lifecycle, and Medical Nutrition Therapy for the past 12 years. She has published scientific articles on glycemic index, essential fatty acids for brain development, and clinical nutrition. In 2005, the Nutritionists-Dietitians’ Association of the Philippines awarded her as The Most Promising Nutritionist-Dietitian.

Miss Ces discussed Nutrition during Pregnancy. I learned a lot from her. She discussed the vitamins and nutrients that are essential for a pregnant lady. She also discussed exercises that you can do while pregnant.

Lunch was then send served by Mama Chows of Raquel. Mama Chows sells lactation cookies that are so addicting! I am about to finish one box already!

After lunch, Ms. Phoebe Tsai-Te, President and COO of StemCord Philippines, discussed Cord Blood Banking. I actually availed of their services when I gave birth to Zeeka. I was really happy with their fast and reliable service.

Mimsy of Mamaste Art then came up to share her belly casting services with the attendees. I love her work and I think that she is so creative! She can help pregnant women create belly casts that they can keep to remind them of their pregnancy. They can show these casts to their kids when they grow up. She also shared the products of Indigo Baby, since Denise couldn’t make it (congratulations on your baby, Denise!).

Polly Fong of Oh Happy Day Birth Photography couldn’t make it, but she shared a video with all those who attended. It was about Birth Photography. Here it is:

And last but not the least, we had Daisy Lauron of Peek-a-boo Yaya Training Services discuss the topic maintaining a good relationship with yaya. She also discussed the Kasambahay Law.

All in all, there were a lot of useful information that was taken from the workshop. I’m glad that the attendees liked that run of the First Time Parents Workshop Series. Sharing with you the blog post of one of the attendees! http://musingsanddoings.wordpress.com/2013/06/02/parental-and-baby-prep-what-to-know-before-giving-birth/ Thank you Musings and Doings for sharing this with us. 🙂

For those who want to sign up for the second workshop under the First Time Parents Series entitled Delivery and New Born Care, please sign up by visiting this link: http://manilaworkshops.com/2013/05/first-time-parents-new-born-care.html

I hope that you spread the word about this workshop, and I hope to see and meet you in one of these workshops!

Love lots,

PS. Feel Free to join the group that we created called Parenting Pals on Facebook.