APConnect!

Yes — now you can attend a La Leche League conference right here in the metroplex!

La Leche League of Texas will hold its biannual area conference in Irving on July 19-20. Special speakers will include Dr. Jack Newman, Thomas Hale Ph.D., Lysa Parker, Barbara Nicholson, Linda Worzer, Marian Thompson, Amy Vickers and many others. The conference offers continuing education credits for health care providers, informational sessions for families and interactive play sessions for children.

Eddy Coker will perform a special concert open to the public on Sat, July 19th. Tickets are available online and are $3 for all over the age of three.

La Leche League’s goal is to educate and empower families and their communities as we work together to “Change Our World, One Texan at a Time”! Register online registration La Leche League Texas.

Check out the June roster at Peppermint Baby Boutique, 1778 N. Plano Rd., Suite 100 in Richardson. Register at Peppermint or call (214) 623-5080.

Babywearing Class: Every Tuesday at 10 a.m. and Wednesday at 3 p.m.
Instruction in how to use several different baby carriers. Focuses on comfort for the mom & proper support for the baby. You will have the opportunity to try on various baby slings.
FREE

Elimination Communication/Infant Potty Training Workshop: June 5 and July 3 at 5:30 p.m. and every first Thursday of the month.
Elimination Communication is a natural approach to responding to your baby’s elimination needs. The ancient art of Elimination Communication involves observing one’s baby’s signs and signals, providing cue sounds and elimination-place associations, and can be done with or without any diaper use. The rewards of closer communication and understanding your baby are very much worth it.
FREE

Baby Sign Language 2-Hour Workshop: June 21, 3 – 5 p.m. and every third Saturday of the month.
Learning to sign with your baby is giving your baby the gift to communicate. Baby sign language eases your child’s frustration, builds their self confidence, increases I.Q., language skills and the ability to pay attention, fosters a love of books and more sophisticated play and strengthens the family bond. Parents will learn 50 signs.
$40 per person or $60 per couple

Cloth Diapering Workshop: Saturday, July 12 at 10 a.m. and every 2nd Saturday of the month.
Topics covered: Why you should use cloth diapers; an overview of the different types of diapers; how many you’ll really need; how to clean for both clean and dirty diapers; and troubleshooting issues - everything from diaper stink to stripping diapers to leaking.
FREE

Prenatal Yoga Saturdays at 9 a.m.
Cost: $60 for 6 weeks

Postnatal Yoga Saturdays at 10:30 a.m.
Cost: $60 for 6 weeks

Baby Care, Bonding & Breastfeeding
Saturday, August 16, 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Gain confidence and learn to care for your baby. Practice holding, diapering, swaddling and bathing a baby (doll). Learn about effective ways to calm a fussy baby, feeding choices, and health concerns of newborns through infancy.
Cost: $35

APConnect! recently received this note from a master’s degree student at the University of Amsterdam:

I am a researcher from the University of Amsterdam and I am interested in talking to parents in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area about their “parent/infant” bedsharing experiences as part of a project I am working on  for my Master’s degree.  I found your site through Google and it seems that many of your users would be perfect for my project.  Is it possible to post an announcement about my project on your your site?

I am interested in talking to anyone who sleeps with their baby in the same bed, whether it be all the time or just once in a while.  This isn’t a survey.  I am interested in hearing their stories about how it is for them to share their bed with their baby.  The format would be personal interviews or possibly small group discussion, if enough people were interested.   I will be in the area from May 13th until June 21st, but also invite contact via email prior to that.  Anyone interested in sharing their experiences can contact me at  bedsharing@hotmail.com .

If you have any questions or require any further information, please feel free to contact me.

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Margaret Hermel

It’s spring class time at Peppermint Baby Boutique.

Baby Sign Language
Learning to sign with your baby is giving your baby the gift to communicate. Baby sign language eases your child’s frustration, builds their self confidence, increases I.Q., language skills and the ability to pay attention, fosters a love of books and more sophisticated play and strengthens the family bond.
Mondays at 3 p.m. starting March 31 (8 week session)
Cost: $80 per person or $120/couple

Prepared Childbirth
(12 hours) Topics include: late pregnancy, labor, birth, postpartum and newborn characteristics. Common hospital routines, medications, and labor management are discussed in depth.
Tuesdays at 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. starting March 25 – April 15
Mondays at 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. starting April 28 – May 19
Cost: $85

Fast Track Prepared Childbirth (6 hours)
Saturday, April 5, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Cost: $85
Baby Care, Bonding & Breastfeeding
Gain confidence and learn to care for your baby. Practice holding, diapering, swaddling and bathing a baby (doll). Learn about effective ways to calm a fussy baby, feeding choices, and health concerns of newborns through infancy.
Saturday, April 19, 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. or Saturday, May 31, 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Cost: $35
Peppermint Baby Boutique is located at 1778 N. Plano Rd., Suite 100 in Richardson, 75081, (214) 623-5080.

Dallas/Fort Worth Holistic Parenting

Bree Penninger, owner of Bree’s Bums in Richardson, will speak to the group about cloth diapering. See sample products, and ask all those questions you’ve been wondering about cloth diapering.

2 p.m. Sunday, March 9
Family First Chiropractic
3885 Irving Mall
Irving, TX 75062

Located at 183 and Beltline in the Irving Mall, on the lower level next to Dillard’s. It’s easiest to enter through the lower level of Dillard’s or at the Food Court mall entrance both facing 183.
As always, admission is free and children are welcome.

DFW Holistic Parenting
February Meeting

Sam Shay, chiropractic intern at Parker College of Chiropractic on holistic nutrition. Sam is considered by many at Parker as a nutrition guru. Come and learn about holistic nutrition and have your nutrition questions answered.

2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 10
Family First Chiropractic
3880 Irving Mall
Irving 75062
Located at 183 and Betline in the Irving Mall on the lower level next to Dillard’s; easiest to enter at the “Food Court” mall entrance facing 183.

As always, admission is free and children are welcome.

Ready to heal and live again? Come experience the power, healing, reconnection and strength of ReBirth, for women who have experienced a disappointing pregnancy or birth (unplanned cesarean, unplanned birth outcome, loss of baby, difficult pregnancy or birth, etc.).

ReBirth Healing Retreat
Saturday, March 29, 2008
9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

For more information and to register go to:
ReBirth Healing Retreat

Or contact:
Leigh Anne DuChene, HLC, CBE, BC, doula, LMT
(254) 214-4645

From a local AP mom and college student:

I am looking for several moms and babies (age 4-15 months) to participate in an AP-supportive parenting video I am creating with a colleague at UTD.  If you are interested, please email me directly and I will tell you more about the project. You can help make a difference in the lives of future parents and children! 

It’s one day only for a babywearing clearance event at Peppermint.

Wednesday, Jan. 30
12-6 p.m. ONLY
Crazy clearance prices!

We will be clearing out merchandise that is not available for sale on The Sling Station or Peppermint.com, including discontinued items, customer returns, open packages
and some in-store demo models. Most are in new condition, but are not sellable as new because they have been taken out of the package, tried on and possibly washed a time or two. Some are brand new but have been discontinued.

Come help us clear out the old to make room for the new merchandise in our retail store. Keep reading for more on what’s available, after the break. (more…)

Peppermint, a new baby boutique in Richardson, will celebrate its recent birth with the city’s largest baby shower! Life doesn’t stop when baby arrives. Peppermint offers solutions for parents struggling with the following: a baby who wants to be held all day long, a mom with a bad back, a toddler to also chase after, a newborn to nurse. And for parents who believe babies belong close to caregivers, we provide an extensive and ever-growing database of the many different ways to wear a baby, including video tutorials and instructional sheets.

Peppermint Grand Opening
11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23
1778 N. Plano Rd., Suite 100, Richardson

• The Business of Being Born special sneak preview. This new film from Ricki Lake is creating buzz wherever it goes. Show times at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Admission $5, or free with a baby item donation.
• Donation drive to support The Network of Community Ministries. Peppermint seeks donations of baby items including diapers, wipes, toiletries and baby food to support local infants in need.
• Baby fair with demonstration classes such as pre/postnatal yoga, baby sign language and sling demonstrations.
• Peppermint Baby mascot contest Get creative with dolls and/or craft supplies to create the Peppermint Baby. The top three most creative entries will win a $100 gift certificate. (more…)

Interested in homeschooling, preschooling, or some kind of fun activities for you and your kiddos? Check out DFW Fun Family Learning, offering support and encouragement for homeschooling families in Dallas/Fort Worth — especially for those just starting homeschooling and for those with very young children (under 6 years old).

DFW Fun Family Learning gathers regularly to swap ideas, go (book) shopping, mom’s nights, park days and nature studies. We are beginning to have parent-organized events — so if there is something specific you want to do, just make it happen. (more…)

As part of a fundraiser for the the Children’s Room at the Quaker Meeting House, Dallas Friends are hosting a storytelling event at 1 p.m. on Sunday, February 3, at the meeting house at 5828 Worth St. in Dallas, 75214. Storytellers for this event will be Ann Marie Newman, SteveMcCluer and Twice Upon a Time Storytellers Gene and Peggy Helmick-Richardson. A $5 donation is requested for adults. Children with adults are FREE!