WORLD'S GREATEST BABY SHOWER COMING TO MIRACLE CITY MALL, TITUSVILLE
The World's Greatest Baby Shower is coming to a new venue, the convenient, air conditioned Miracle City Mall, on Saturday, April 30 from 10 am to 2 pm. The free event targets new and expectant parents with over forty informational exhibitors covering all aspects of parenthood, from bottles to car seats. In addition to the resource booths, there will be seminars covering topics such as "How to Make Your Own Baby Food," Child Car Seat Safety, "Ask a Doc" panel, and Calming Your Baby. There will be lots of wonderful door prizes and light refreshments, promises Gayle Whitworth, Chair for exhibits. Organizational members of the event are University of Florida/Brevard County Extension Service, Kiwanis Club of Titusville, The Children's Center, Parrish Medical Center, B.E.T.A. of Titusville, Inc., Brevard County Health Department/WIC and University of Central Florida Cornerstone. The World's Greatest Baby Shower is sponsored by The Children's Center, a program of Parrish Medical Center, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida in the pursuit of health and Kiwanis Club of Titusville.
Headliners for the mini-seminars for the 2011 Shower include returning experts Reggie Belle and Gayle Whitworth, both Certified Child Safety instructors. They will offer safety issues involved with car seats, including proper installation, how to check to see that your baby's car seat is properly installed, and where to take classes on infant car seat safety. Whitworth, who has been with the University of Florida Brevard County Extension for fifteen years, 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. In addition to serving as chair for exhibits for the World's Greatest Baby Shower, she works with Brevard County residents in the areas of Housing, Child Passenger Safety and Family Financial Management and is co-chair of the Brevard County Safe Kids organization. Reggie Belle is a twenty-nine year employee of the City of Titusville, and The City's Public Education Safety Specialist. Belle is part of the Florida Minority Task Force on Occupant Protection, serves on the Commission of Traffic Safety Team and Safe Kids of Brevard.
A tender, loving touch will be demonstrated by Marcel Horn-Mandiola, who brings over twenty-five years experience in the session Calming Your Baby. 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 US certification as an Occupational Therapist with Board Certification in Pediatrics, and is on staff of Parrish Medical Center Pediatric Rehab as one of the original Children's Center partners when it was established twelve years ago.
The "Ask a Doc" panel will present the opportunity to meet medical experts in North Brevard and gather a wealth of information about pre-natal, delivery and infant care. There will be a representative from Advanced Care for Women, the practice of Manuel R. Quintana, MD and Denis A. Perez, MD. Covering delivery aspect will be Peter DeBalli, M.D., Board Certified in Anesthesiology. His credentials include Medical School at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Residency at Duke University Medical Center, North Carolina. Dr. DeBalli will discuss options for pain relief during labor and delivery. Addressing pediatric care will be a member of the North Brevard Children's Medical Center.
Eileen Lo Presti, who holds Board Certification from the International Board of Lactation Consultants, has her Bachelor of Science degree from Loretta Heights College, Denver, Colorado, with certification in lactation education from UCLA. She has been working in the field for more than fourteen years supporting breastfeeding
"Make Your Own Baby Food" has returned by popular request as explained by Beth Shephard, nutritionist with the Brevard County University of Florida Extension, and co-chair of the World's Greatest Baby Shower. Shephard covers procedures to ensure safety of babies in simple yet effective ways. Her degrees include Bachelor of Arts in Child and Family Development plus Food and Nutrition from Carson Newman, Tennessee, and Master of Arts in Public Administration from University of Central Florida. Mrs. Shephard has specialized in nutrition and food safety with the Extension Service for the past eleven years.
The World's Greatest Baby Shower offers not only a wealth of information to those parents attending, but a fantastic number of door prizes, including a special prize offered under a new incentive program to encourage pre-registration for the event by going online at http://brevard.ifas.ufl.edu. Barbara Iwanicki, Kiwanis Club of Titusville Door Prize chair, revealed that gifts received at last year's World's Greatest Baby Shower totaled over $5,000.
For additional information call (321) 633-1702 Extension 230 or (321) 952-4536 Extension 25.
