2008 WORLD'S GREATEST BABY SHOWER
Just as parents are thrilled with the arrival of a new baby, the organizers of the World's Greatest Baby Shower are thrilled with the new venue for the 2008 event. The yearly FREE event is slated for Saturday, May 3 from 10 a.m. to2 p.m. at the new Parrish Medical Healthcare Center, located at 5005 Port St. John Parkway, Port. St. John. For those coming from Titusville, the Healthcare Center is minutes away by taking I-95 and Exit.208, progressing east to the Port St. John Parkway. Those from South Brevard can use the same exit, with the short distance to the center well marked on the day of the event. PSJ locals can come Grissom to Port St. John Parkway.
Gayle Whitworth, Exhibit Chair, University of Florida Brevard County Extension Service, has a line-up of over forty agencies targeting information vital to expectant parents including adoptive parents and parents of infants one year or under. Among those displaying their services will be Brevard County Solid Waste Management, Baby Don'ts,Creative Memories, Gioia Photography, Merle Norman, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Titusville Fire and Emergency Services, La Leche League, Tupperware, Brevard Ob/Gyn, MOPS of Titusville, Baby Blossoms, Healthy Families Brevard, United Way of Brevard, United Healthcare, Space Coast Early Steps, Giggles & Bubbles the Clowns & Friends, Titusville Public Library and Florida Outreach.
These exhibit booths will offer expertise on bonding and attachments, health and nutrition, discipline, self-esteem and childcare plus multitudes of door prizes collected by Titusville Kiwanis. Every mom will receive a goodie bag filled with materials to take home and review later.
Special mini-seminars scheduled this year include a new topic, Make Your Own Baby Food/Food Safety presented by Beth Shephard, a Rockledge High graduate who has been with the University of Florida Extension Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences for eight years. Shephard holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Nutrition and Child and Family Studies from Carson Newman University and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Central Florida.
The popular "Ask a Doc" panel will feature Lactation Specialist Eileen LoPresti, Parrish Medical Center, who holds board certification from the International Board of Lactation Consultants. Her Bachelor of Science degree is from Loretto Heights College, Denver Colorado, with certification in lactation education from UCLA. Local physicians will join her as they field questions from anxious moms and dads-to-be about the coming blessed event.
Whitworth, a certified car seat safety technician, will discuss Child Passenger Safety. She has been with the University of Florida Brevard County Extension for twelve years and holds her Bachelor's degree in Child Development and Family Relations from Western Carolina University and her Master's degree in Public Administration from the University of Central Florida. She has been teaching child safety seat classes and conducting child safety seats checks since 2002.In addition, a child safety seat check by Safe Kids of Brevard outside the Conference Center will give parents the opportunity to be sure their child safety seats are correctly installed and used.
Organizers of the event are Brevard County Health Department WIC, B.E.T.A. of Titusville, Inc., The Children's Center, Parrish Medical Center, Titusville Kiwanis and the University of Florida Brevard Coounty Extension Service, For additional information contact (321) 633-1702 or (321) 952-4533 EXT 25.;
MAY 5, 2007 Shower
All parents-to-be and new parents have questions and concerns about babies and the challenges of childrearing. The World's Greatest Baby Shower, an educational resource fair for new and expectant parents, including adoptive parents, is designed to help answer those questions and put common fears to rest. It will be held Saturday, May 5, at Parrish Medical Center, 951 North Washington Avenue, Titusville, in the Atrium and Conference Center. Free and open to the public from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., this year's shower is presented by Parrish Medical Center, Kiwanis Club of Titusville and the University of Florida Brevard County Extension Service.
Designed for parents with babies one year or younger, plus expectant parents, this is the 12th annual event. Attendees may enter from either the south or main entrance and shuttle carts from the parking lots will be available.
The Shower will offer a wide variety of educational exhibits as well as scheduled presentations by medical and safety experts. Over forty exhibit booths will provide important information on bonding and attachments, health and nutrition, discipline, self-esteem and childcare. And it would not be a shower without refreshments and gifts! In addition to expert advice, there will be ample opportunity to win valuable and useful prizes.
Presentation/demonstration topics will include car seat safety, infant/toddler brain development, infant massage, infant sign language, natural diapering and an "ask a doctor" panel.
Headliners to the mini seminars for the 2007 Shower include Reggie Belle, Public Life Safety Specialist with the Titusville Fire and Emergency Services and co-coordinator of the Brevard County Safe Kids Coalition. Reggie is a certified car seat safety technician who will offer safety issues involved with car seats, including proper installation, how to check to see that your car seat is properly installed, and where to take classes on infant car seat safety.
Dr. W.J. (Wil) Blechman, a nationally and internationally known children's advocate, will be available to talk with parents, educators and others who are interested in the development of young children. Blechman, former president of Kiwanis International, was instrumental in the creation of the organization's "Young Children: Priority One" program, which focuses on preschool children. Blechman has served as director of Community Education for the Lawton and Rhea Chiles Center for Healthy Mothers and Babies, located at the University of South Florida, Miami. He has received numerous awards for his services and was specially recognized for the impact his efforts had on the increased immunization rate in Florida for children under two.
Infant massage will be demonstrated by Marcel Horn-Mandiola who brings more than 20-years experience to this session on tender, loving touch. A native of Chile, where she received her training as an occupational therapist, Mandiola then practiced in Brazil for eight years before coming to the United States. She holds U.S. certification as an occupational therapist with board certification in pediatrics, and is on staff at Parrish Medical Center pediatric rehab as one of the original Children's Center partners.
The "Ask a Doctor" panel will present the opportunity to meet medical experts in North Brevard and gather a wealth of information about prenatal, delivery and infant care. Representing Advanced Care For Women, the gynecology and obstetrics practice of Manuel R. Quintana, M.D. and Denis A. Perez, M.D., will be Certified Nurse Practitioner Andrea Williams. She holds both bachelor's and master's degrees in nursing from the University of Central Florida in adult health, with concentration in women's health. She describes her work with the physicians as a "three-way round robin" for the patients through visits, including initial exams, prenatal care, and postpartum care-all but delivery. "Each expectant mother's visit includes lots of education, medical history, nutrition, what to expect, and counseling," said Williams.
Covering the aspects of delivery will be Peter DeBalli, M.D., board-certified anesthesiologist at PMC. His received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and did a residency at Duke University Medical Center, North Carolina.
Angel D. Acevedo, M.D., with the North Brevard Children's Medical Center, is pediatric chief of staff at PMC. Board certified in Pediatrics, he graduated from medical school from the University of Puerto Rico, San Juan; interned at the University of Medicine and Dentistry, New Jersey, and did his residency at the New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey.
Encouraging new moms to breast feed will be Eileen LoPresti, PMC lactation consultant, who holds board certification from the International Board of Lactation Consultants. She received her bachelor of science degree from Loretto Heights College, Denver, Colorado, with certification in lactation education from UCLA. She has been working in the field for more than 10 years.
Presenting the advantages of Natural Diapering will be Dr. Michelle M. Collins. Collins has a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering and is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Central Florida. Just prior to the birth of her second child, she resigned from NASA, where she was a research engineer. Her children are 2 and 4 years old. Dr. Collins is a certified La Leche League Leader and leads the La Leche League of North Brevard group. Dr. Collins practices what is currently coined "Attachment Parenting" and is employing "natural" mothering techniques including breastfeeding, cloth diapers, and using a baby sling. She will be discussing the current options in cloth diapering including types of "diaper" systems, health aspects, financial trade-offs, and resources. She will bring in samples of the diapering systems she used with her two children. Dr. Collins will also touch upon the subject of "potty training" as it relates to cloth diapering and will provide a list of reading recommendations.
Organizational members of the World's Greatest Baby Shower include the University of Florida Extension Service, Titusville Kiwanis, Parrish Medical Center, Brevard County Health Department/WIC, B.E.T.A. of Titusville, Inc., The Children's Center, La Leche League and the Child Care Association.
For additional information call 321-633-1702 or 952-4536, ext.25, or contact Bert Williamson-Musco, at 321-268-1301.
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