Recipes from class!

Ambrosia

from John and Brynn

1 1/2 C. Raw Cashews
1/3 C. Nutritional Yeast Flakes
1/4  C. Olive Oil
1/4 C. Sunflower Oil
1/4 C. Raw Sesame Seeds
Several Pieces Roasted Red Pepper
1/4 C. Fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 C. Water
1 Tbs. Bragg Liquid Aminos
1 Tsp. Salt
1-2 Jalepenos
6 Cloves Garlic

Blend and Serve!

Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

from Maggie and Heal

1 cup chunky peanut butter
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
½ teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chunks (roughly one 4-ounce bar, chopped)

Stir together the first six ingredients. Fold in the chocolate chunks. Bake the cookies at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. They should still be quite soft and just flecked with bits of brown. Allow them to set up on the baking pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

Iowa City Babywearers March Meeting

The Iowa City Babywearers group meets the first Saturday of the month from 1:00-3:00 at Fair Grounds Coffeehouse (345 S. Dubuque St.) Next meeting is Saturday, March 5.

IC Babywearers on facebook

This group is for people in the Iowa City area who are interested in the benefits of wearing our children in cloth baby carriers. Experienced babywearers and those merely testing the babywearing waters are equally welcome. Join us for monthly meetings and learn about the art of babywearing using carriers such as slings, wraps, mei tais, and traditional carriers!

Birth Plan Workshop

For those wanting additional in-depth and personalized guidance through the process of creating a birth plan for hospital birth, Jun Nicole Matsushita of Bamboo Birth will be offering a Birth Plan Workshop at Heartland Yoga on Saturday, March 5 from 11:00-1:00.

To register: call Jun-Nicole at 319-430-6736 or email her at junnicole88@gmail.com
Cost: $25 for Mindful Birthing students
Please bring a draft of your birth plan!

Embodiment

We have begun our fourth group serving the Iowa City area's expectant parents and it was an inspirational class. I so appreciate the lively discussion during the class as well as during the breaks and afterwards. When I went home this week I was reading an excerpt from Gayle Peterson, Ph.D.'s book "Birthing Normally" and found that it had a strong link to our mindfulness practices so I thought I'd share it.

"Unhappy, dissatisfied mind states are reflected in body posture and movement. Our feelings can be read in our movements, as we physically relate to the world in context of our perception of ourselves in relation to others. the importance of getting familiar with our bodies and of making such information accessible to ourselves is reflected in the body experience of birthing. The more a woman can cooperate with her body to push her baby out, the smoother the journey through the vagina becomes. Being aware of tension, being able to relax and to let go of tension in a particular part of the body, becomes the process of yielding and working actively with the physical labor of birth."

Tips for Safe Babywearing

You may have heard some warnings in the news lately about the dangers of baby slings. What you may not be hearing is that there's one brand of sling in particular that causes problems: the bag-style sling. When wearing a baby in a sling, it's important to be aware of how to position the baby safely. The sling you use should mimic the way you would normally hold your baby in your arms.

For individualized help with babywearing, I encourage everyone to attend the Iowa City Babywearers group. They meet the first Saturday of the month at FairGrounds Coffeehouse. Here are a few other good resources:

These drawings are courtesy of Sleeping Baby:

Yes


No



And here's a nice video on how to properly position a baby in a ring sling:

Postpartum Meal Planning Tool

MealBaby is the online tool for setting up a meal registry for parents postpartum. You can set it up for yourself or have a friend set it up for you. This would make an excellent baby shower gift.
Check it out!

Interesting Article from the New York Times

A small, underfunded hospital, run by the Navajo Nation, with about 500 births per year, is out performing richer institutions in keeping Cesarean rates down. Larger more well funded institutions are taking notice. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/health/07birth.html?pagewanted=1&th&emc=th