Classes

Classes at Mother's Haven

Infant Massage Classes

Taught by Margaret Hildahl
Mothers Haven, Owner
Certified Infant Massage Instructor

Upcoming Classes: Please call the store for upcoming class dates
Fee: $65 per family. Pre-registration and a deposit are required
Call (208) 676-1300 to register

"My daughter is 15 months old now, and I still use the massage techniques I learned in Margaret's class. My daughter signs now, so she asks for a massage when she wants one by rubbing her hands together, as though she is putting oil on them. Both my husband and I treasure the memories we have created through the bonding experience of infant massage. I think it's something all parents should do." - Theresa R.

Mother’s Haven offers a 5-week series of Infant Massage Classes. We meet one time per week for approximately 1 to 1 ½ hours, and each week we learn to massage a different part of the baby’s body. By the time we have completed 5 weeks you will be able to complete a full massage with your baby.

The cost for these classes is $65.00 and that includes a small bottle of massage oil, many handouts and 15% off the book, "Infant Massage, A Handbook for Loving Parents".

Babies can begin the class anywhere from 3 weeks of age, all the way up to the pre-crawling stage. They can still be massaged after that age, but if your baby is crawling all over the room, while you are attempting to do a massage, it will be very hard for you to relax and enjoy doing the massage.

We only have 6 babies in each class, and mom, dad, grandparent or anyone involved with the baby’s life is welcome to attend. These gatherings can be a great opportunity for parents to meet other parents and very often the members of the class will form friendships and get together after the 5 weeks has been completed. More information about infant massage....

Baby Sign Language Classes

Taught by Sara Filanoski
Certified Baby Signs® Independent Instructor
More Information about Sara Filanoski and When to start signing with your baby

Upcoming Classes: Please call the store for upcoming class information.
Fee: $40 per family. Pre-registration and a deposit are required
Call (208) 676-1300 to register

Why wait to communicate with your baby? Baby sign language classes are being offered throughout the year at Mother’s Haven. You can help your preverbal baby use simple signs to clearly communicate their wants and needs using Joseph Garcia’s award-winning SIGN with your BABY program. Classes teach parents and caregivers how to effectively use American Sign Language with their babies.

CLASS INFO

Classes are offered throughout the year at Mother’s Haven in Coeur d’Alene. Classes are once a week for two weeks and last approximately one hour. The small and intimate setting fosters learning and provides plenty of opportunity to practice each new sign. During the two weeks of instruction, we will learn basic baby and activity signs as well as family, food, animal and color signs. We will use songs, books and games to reinforce the signing concepts presented. Learning baby sign language is a unique opportunity for you to bond with your child, reduce frustrations for the whole family and increase your child’s communication skills. Cost is $40 for the two week course.

FAQs

How soon will my child start to sign? Nearly every child, starting around 6 months, has the ability to communicate using ASL signs, including children with severe autism, ADD, ADHD, delayed speech, Down’s Syndrome or other challenges.

My child can hear. Why should they learn American Sign Language (ASL)? Most children are not developmentally ready to speak until approximately 2 years of age. Babies are developmentally able to communicate with signs as early as 8-10 months of age. The inability to communicate causes frustration and tantrums. Sign language is a wonderful tool that allows even very small children to express themselves. Most parents that sign with their babies talk about an unexplainable bond that is felt when their child communicates so early!

I have heard that signing helps with tantrums and "The Terrible Two's" Many tantrums and the "Terrible Two's" are about frustration and communication. There is less frustration when your child can communicate. The typical child's motor skills develop far faster than their verbal skills.

THE BENEFITS OF SIGNING

  • Signing empowers children because they can communicate successfully with those around them. This sense of empowerment significantly contributes to babies’ happiness.
  • Signing builds on babies’ natural tendency to use gestures.
  • Children spend less time crying and adults spend less time playing “the guessing game,” allowing more time for positive interaction.
  • Signing reduces stress and frustration for both the infant and adult.
  • The ability to communicate between the child and adult can build a much stronger bond between them.
  • Preverbal signing, when used in combination with spoken words, has been shown to accelerate the development of a child’s use of spoken language.
  • Signing won’t delay verbal language development – in fact, it may accelerate it. Research shows that babies who sign usually start to talk sooner and develop larger vocabularies than non-signing babies.
  • Signing reinforces verbal language by adding visual and kinesthetic emphasis to auditory input.
  • Signing children tend to be more interested in books.

1st Aid and Infant CPR Classes

Taught by Cathy MacCallum
Health Educator and AHA Basic Life Support Instructor

Upcoming Classes: Saturday, September 18th at 2:00 pm or Saturday, October 23rd at 2:00 pm
Fee: $10 per person. Pre-registration and prepayment are required.
Call (208) 676-1300 to register

In this one hour class, you will learn skills to relieve choking and how to perform infant and child CPR. We will address safety, injury prevention and basic first aid. Feel free to bring your baby.

Introduction to Cloth Diapering Classes

Taught by Michele Sheets
Mother of Five and Experienced Cloth Diaper User

Upcoming Classes: Friday, September 24th, 1:00 pm
Fee: Free. No pre-registration is required

Come to this free class to learn all about cloth diapering and how it can benefit you and your baby!

Topics covered include:

  • Benefits of cloth diapering
  • Types of cloth diapers available and how to use each type
  • Proper washing and maintenance
  • Tricks of the trade
  • Cloth baby wipes

Mothering Classes

Taught by La Leche League of Coeur d'Alene

Upcoming Classes: Second Thursday of every month, 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
Fee: Free. No pre-registration is required.

Class topics include: gentle discipline methods that work, night time parenting, pregnancy, breastfeeding, weaning, improving your family's diet, potty-mastery, adjusting to being a new mother, family/siblings adjusting to a new baby, siblings without rivalry, raising your spirited child, being an advocate for your child, handling unsolicited advice, green housecleaning, etc. Classes are helpful and appropriate for pregnant women, mothers with new babies, and mothers with toddlers and preschoolers. Learn a Loving way of life with your children.

An Overview of Infant Massage

Current research supports age-old traditions that link Infant Massage to many of the most critical elements of bonding: eye-to-eye and skin-to-skin contact, smiling, soothing sounds, cuddling and smell and sound reciprocity. Clinical studies show that the regular use of massage promotes faster weight gain, improves cardiac and respiratory output, promotes longer and deeper sleeping patterns, develops immunological factors and helps relieve tension.

Perhaps most importantly, for the various groupings of caregiver and baby, Infant Massage provides a language for parent/child communication. Its precepts support self-care as a means of caring for one’s child. Learning to read the physical cues which baby must use to express a full range of emotions gives caregivers a tangible sense of their own powers to help soothe, comfort and nurture their babies.

WELL PARENTS AND WELL BABIES

Well parents and their well babies face the daunting challenge of getting to know each other in a hectic, fast-paced and technologically-based world. Additional challenges include: demanding jobs, multiple children, lack of role models and personal parenting or touch histories. These challenges can all effect how parents bond and interact with their baby. Infant Massage provides an important vehicle for these parents and babies to interact in a less stressful, more relaxed way.

ADOLESCENT MOTHERS AND THEIR BABIES

Adolescent mothers face special challenges: they must learn to parent while still developing their own sense of identity; they must combat strong peer influences; they must balance their natural adolescent tendencies toward self-involvement, ambivalence and vulnerability with their infant’s need for attention, clear boundaries and security. Infant Massage provides a time and a system within which mothers become intimately acquainted with their babies’ body language and empowered to respond to babies’ cues. For these mothers, Infant Massage provides a tangible sense of their own ability to help soothe, comfort and nurture their babies, thereby helping them cope with the unique stress of their situation. Massage fosters maternal confidence and competence which teaches the basics of appropriate touch, listening and response.

ADOPTIVE PARENTS AND THEIR BABIES

In adoptive families, early bonding can be a special challenge. The adopted baby may have been in temporary care and may initially mourn the loss of his/her other caregivers. As well, adoptive parents face all the insecurities which biological parents face and may find themselves double challenged by cultural assumptions about "real" parents and "real" family ties.

PARENTS AND THEIR CHILDREN WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS

Parents of babies with developmental delays and other physical challenges are often overwhelmed by all the therapies they are expected to carry out and the double bind of grieving and bonding at the same time. Feelings of frustration, guilt and/or denial can seriously impede the bonding process.. Infant Massage can be a powerful bonding modality. While the physiological benefits accrue, the interaction and connection of these two people is the focus and goal of Infant Massage.

Prepared by the International Association of Infant Massage –US Chapter

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