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Volume 3 |
~ News
From "Your Birthing Family" ~ |
Issue 2 |
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In This Issue
About Babies
Daddy Play With Me
The Secret Power
Part Seven, by Todd Rawlings
Question of the Month
Your Questions Answered
Charis Cuisine
Eggplant Spaghetti
Sauce
Kids Korner
Oh, I Have a Baby in my tummy!
Letters To The Editor
Comments From Our Readers
Our Charis Family
Anne Sokol
Charis Around The World
Our Missionaries
Newsletter Archives ~
Aug.
2006
Sept.
2006
Oct.
2006
Nov.
2006
Dec. 2006 Jan. 2007
Feb. 2007 Mar. 2007
Apr. 2007
May 2007 Jun. 2007
July 2007
Aug. 2007
Sept. 2007
Oct. 2007
Nov. 2007
Dec.
2007
Jan. 2008
Updates

Charis
Course
for Childbirth Professionals
Want to become a Childbirth Educator, Doula, or Midwife? Charis
offers excellent education for birth professionals from a Christian
perspective.
The Charis Course for Childbirth Professionals is a two-part
course. The first part is “Foundations for Childbirth
Professionals”. In addition to this being the beginning of our
Midwifery Academics Course, those who desire to become Childbirth
Educators and Doulas will be fully equipped at the end of
“Foundations” to take the exam to become Charis Certified Childbirth
Educators and Doulas.
Part Two is “Advanced Midwifery Academics”, which builds upon
“Foundations” to provide aspiring midwives an extremely
comprehensive academic course. The two parts combined are designed
to prepare midwives well for the NARM exam, but you will find that
it far exceeds that standard.
For more information, contact
administration@CharisChildbirth.org
Volunteer
Needed
Charis is in need of a volunteer in the North
Port area of Florida to serve up to 4 hours each week as
Administrative Assistant to Kristin Schuchmann, our International
Director. The volunteer would receive free Life Coaching from
Kristin for the duration of his or her service. Computer and
organizational skills are necessary. Contact Kristin at
941-426-7197 or
Kristin@CharisChildbirth.org to learn more
about this opportunity. (Please forward this newsletter to anyone
you know in or around North Port, FL, who may be interested in this
position.)
Job Opportunity
Charis Childbirth Services is currently seeking an individual with
experience in fundraising and/or grant-writing to serve as
part-time fundraising coordinator. The job can be done from anywhere
in the US; relocating is not necessary. If you are interested in
interviewing for this position, please send your resume to:
administration@charischildbirth.org
or 149 Business Park Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23462,
attn: Charis Administration.
Our
Newsletter
Charis
values your
contributions to our
growing newsletter. Post your Charis workshops and
gatherings. Enjoy and reflect your own views in our
various columns. Announce your baby's births. Share your thoughts and
comments in
our "Letters To The Editor" section.
Do you have questions that our readers might benefit from? Submit questions you would like
answers to. Editorials, such as "Question of the Month", are areas where many
points of view can be reflected. We invite you to share your opinions and
ideas as well.
Submissions should be made by the 5th
of each month for that month's publication.
Send Newsletter contributions to:
Mark Your Calendars
Charis "Teaching Birth" Workshop
Our 2008 annual “Teaching Birth” Workshop will be held
on Saturday, April 5,
from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
at New Life of Virginia Beach (149 Business Park Drive Virginia
Beach, VA 23462).
Rather than just focusing on “what” to teach, this newly updated
workshop for childbirth educators, doulas, and midwives explores
“how” to cast vision and to coach your students/clients so that even
the most fearful will be able to embrace and benefit from your
message. A delicious lunch is provided and, in addition to
obtaining valuable skills for presenting with confidence, all
attendees will take home new ideas, tips, and great gifts to assist
in teaching birth to any audience.
The cost is $200 for Charis
members and $230 for non-members (includes 1 year membership).
Contact Hours available for Charis CE/doula recertification.
Deadline for registration is March 20.
Registration Form
Christian Midwives International
4th Annual Conference
The Joy of the Lord!
April 30 – May 3, 2008
Indianapolis, Indiana
http://www.christianmidwives.org
Register online, advertise or have a table/booth
CEU’s available through MEAC
Why is this conference different than all the rest?
Spiritual Uplifting ~ Biblical Instruction
Godly Fellowship
Need more reasons? Just come and see for yourself –
You will leave renewed and ready to continue serving God in the
childbearing realm!
Breastfeeding: Your "How to" Class,
$35
When: 2nd
Tuesday of every month from 6:30-8:30pm
Where: Now Showing, Your Belly Boutique located at 741 First
Colonial Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23451
Visit our site:
MoriartyChildbirthEducation
for class outline and to register. Registration is required.

Prayer Points
·
Grants and other funding for the expansion of the Charis ministry
· For the Charis Childbirth Educator, Doula, and Midwifery students:
sharp minds to learn, opportunities for lots of hands-on learning
· For the Charis CE’s, doulas, and midwives: rest, peace,
protection, wisdom, discernment
· For the Charis missionaries: protection, peace, divine guidance,
financial provision
· Our 2008 missions trip to Madagascar: details to be ironed out,
funding
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Our
Director's Heart

Hello Friends,
Last month I talked a little about how to prevent a child from
becoming a picky eater. I mentioned that if anyone was interested
in learning about a healthy way to introduce foods into your
baby’s/toddler’s diet to let me know. Some of you have said,
“Tell us!” So I will.
You will likely agree that most
advice given to parents around the world concerning infant feeding
is based in large part on culture. Since we eat mainly to nourish
our bodies, however, it would make more sense to look at what
would best nourish our babies and base our infant/toddler feeding
practices on that.
That
realization came to me when I was pregnant with my second child.
The following recommendations are a result of my research during
that time. I went back into the textbooks I used in college and
revisited the sections on child development, the digestive system,
the immune system, and much more. I also learned a huge amount
from George Wootan, M.D., who confirmed what I was learning. (I
attended his course “Pediatrics: A Course for Parents” and read
his book Take Charge of Your Child’s Health.) I
successfully put what I learned into practice and have happy,
healthy children to show for it.
Much is known
today about a baby’s digestive system. The following suggestions
are based on what is known about the
enzymes present in
babies’ gastrointestinal tracts at the different stages of
development. Enzymes are the specific protein catalysts that
assist in the chemical reactions necessary for digestion to take
place. (If you want a topic for interesting research, learning
about enzymes is fascinating!)
Breast milk
is all a baby needs to thrive for the first year of life. A
normal, healthy mother has no problem producing enough quality
milk to completely sustain a child for the first one to two years
as long as breast feeding is not rigidly scheduled and Mom is
adequately nourished and hydrated. Breast milk comes with its own
enzymes, so it can be easily digested, making the nutrients in the
milk completely bio-available for the baby’s nourishment. You
just can’t improve on God’s design!!!
Supplemental
formula, baby cereal, and baby food are not necessary. Babies are
not able to digest it well because babies do not produce enough
enzymes of their own to adequately break it down into useable
parts. Water and juice are also not needed until baby is over one
year old if feeding is done according to the following plan:
-
Begin with
protein foods (not
eggs, cheese, peanuts, beef, pork, or chicken meat) at around 11
or 12 months of age. Fresh fish such as salmon or red lentils
are some examples. Believe it or not, baby’s digestive system
can digest proteins before it can digest carbohydrates.
-
Add one new food a week
and watch for allergy symptoms.
-
After protein
foods, add vegetables.
Babies usually love
vegetables if they are introduced prior to fruit. The closer to
raw a food is, the more active enzymes that food packs. Raw
food is more digestible than cooked food because of those
enzymes, so don’t be tempted to cook your baby’s food to a
mush. Instead, put your food processor to work! Again, no more
than 1 new food a week!
-
Once baby is
enjoying some protein foods and a wide variety of vegetables,
grains and fruits,
both high in carbohydrates, can be introduced. Babies have a
harder time digesting carbohydrates, so they should be
introduced as late as possible. Remember, only 1 new food a
week!
-
Babies (and
many children and adults, for that matter) can not adequately
digest cow’s milk and cheese. It causes much tummy trouble even
for those who are not allergic. If a white liquid is needed,
good alternatives are goat’s milk or rice milk.
-
Continue breast feeding as baby’s primary source of nutrition.
It should take about six months to transition from breast milk
as the primary food to solids as the primary food.
Some people
will notice babies showing signs that they want to participate in
mealtime around 5 or 6 months. This desire is often interpreted
as hunger. According to Dr. Wootan, babies at that age are
becoming super social and are only showing interest in the social
aspect of sitting around the table and putting interesting toys in
their mouths like the rest of the family. His advice is to give
each family member a toy for use only at mealtime to share with
baby while the rest of the family eats. We even let our little
ones play with a plastic cup like the grown-ups. When they feel
like part of that daily ritual of “playing with mouth toys at the
table”, they stop acting so “hungry” and have great fun.
It is important
to note that some exclusively breast fed babies who have been
sleeping through the night may begin to wake for an extra nursing
in the middle of the night around 8 months of age. That is
perfectly normal. They are becoming much more active at that age
and are in need of more calories to support their growing, active
bodies. Their little tummies are no longer able to hold enough
breast milk to make it all the way through the night, so they will
temporarily need that night nursing. The temptation is to give
the baby rice cereal at night to hold them over until morning.
This is a big mistake. The rice cereal is not easily digested and
fills the tummy with inadequate nutrition in place of the perfect
breast milk nutrition baby needs so much (all that extra effort
and energy needed for digestion causes the baby to sleep longer).
They do eventually grow out of their need for that night nursing
when they are older and eating table food.
As you begin to
introduce table food to your baby, don’t be surprised that much of
it will end up in the hair, on the bib, or on the floor. At
first, only some will actually be swallowed! That’s OK!!! Your
child is learning and developing, and feeding himself is an
important part of his development. In time, more will be eaten
and less mess will be made.
Remember that
every baby is unique and you will need to take into consideration
your own baby’s needs when making decisions concerning feeding.
Here’s to Happy
Babies and Healthy Bodies!
~Kristin
Charis Vision and Mission Statement
Charis Membership Application
Part One: Foundations for Birth Professionals Application
Contact Us
Charis Childbirth
Services
149 Business Park Drive
Virginia Beach, Virginia 23462
www.CharisChildbirth.org
Our Charis Web Site is
currently Under Re-Construction
Kristin Schuchmann ~
International Director
(757)639-5325 Fax (757)497-2398
Susan Oshel ~ Director of Midwifery Studies
(321)206-3464
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The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only
and is not intended to take the place of medical care and advice
from your health care provider. |
'Behold, I will bring them from the north country, And gather them
from the ends of the earth,
Among them the blind and the lame,
The woman with child and The one who labors with child, together,
A
great throng shall return there...And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the LORD.'
Jeremiah 31:8, 14
~~~
©2008 Charis Childbirth
Services, All Rights Reserved
Feel free to forward this newsletter to friends in its entirety,
leaving all attribution intact.
February 2008
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