Shows, childcare, pregnancy and kids extra murals
If you haven’t discovered it yet, Jozikids.co.za is the most up to date and detailed resource for parents in the Gauteng region to find what you need including events, activities, venues, parties and lessons. You’ll also find us on your cell phone.
SHOWS
Chinese Marvels Celebration, Emperors Palace, Jan 27-29
For the first time in South Africa, the China National Acrobatic Troupe which will bring to the Palace of Dreams its brilliant Acrobatic and Chinese Gong Fu show entitled Chinese Marvels on the occasion of the Chinesse New Year.
The Phantom of the Opera Montecasino, Fourways, Jan 31
The Parlotones live Barnyard, Cresta, Jan 25
PARENTING COURSES
Child Care & First Aid,( 2dys) Nannies in Training, Jan 28
Childcare course covering Hygiene, Safety, Security, HIV Awareness, Nutrition, Playtime and our “How To” practical baby and child section from bathing and feeding to routine and how to handle a crying baby. Practical and Hands On. Zulu Co-trainer
Pregnancy Wkshps, Bright Start Early Intervention Centre in, Saxonworld runs workshops on Thursday and Saturdays in
Jan 26 – infant Massage - 3rd trimester
Jan 28 – B-Day – 3rd trimester
EXTRA MURALS
Nows the time to register your child for extra murals whether its dancing ( modern, ballet, hip hop, freestyle, latin, Spanish, irish), a musical instrument, swimming, tennis, martial arts, even archery and chess. Click on extra murals to find whats on offer in your area.
Pregnancy- take 3
by Laura-kim Allmayer, co-founder of Journey2Joy, mom to two little people, compulsive blogger and twitter addict. When she’s not blogging she’s planning baby showers and helping moms prepare for their new babies.
Being pregnant for a third time you would think I would have the hang of it.
Well you would be wrong!
Maybe if my kids were smaller it wouldn’t have been such an adjustment but my youngest is nearly 7 – so I was last pregnant 8 years ago!
Either I have a really bad memory or I blocked it out but I don’t remember it being this rough! It may also have something to do with the fact that I have 2 kids of school going age who require 110% of my time and energy.
When I manage to find the energy to actually sit and be calm I start to panic somewhat. In 6 months I will have THREE CHILDREN! The children will out number the adults! There will be more little people in my house than big people and anyone with kids knows that kids are more determined, have a stronger will that any adult and are able to reduce a grown person to tears in seconds.
Funnily enough as much as I am petrified of newborns that is not what is worrying me so much. What worries me is how I will keep control of three kids. Right now I manage to keep things going day to day – most days I barely manage to gasp for air. I won’t be able to keep doing this. I need an action plan.
I need meals made, extra muruals noted, homework sorted, school needs diarised and kids who remember their school shoes, can brush their teeth without 29 reminders, hand me letters before the morning the cupcakes/costume is needed.
I need Mary Poppins or the Nanny named Fran or someone equally capable of instilling some serious organisation into my life so that I don’t need to grab a brown paper bag every time I think of having THREE kids in the house!
How do you cope? What do you do to keep it all together?
What they don’t teach you at antenatal classes
by Tanya Kovarsky mother of baby Max, a magazine editor, and 8-time Comrades Marathon runner. Aside from her family and friends, she considers chai tea, her Blackberry, running shoes, baby jogger, Grey’s Anatomy, Glee and Twitter among the great loves of her life. Follow Tanya on Twitter @TanyaKovarsky
What to shop for, how to sterilize bottles and what to pack for the hospital are important lessons for feeling like you’re organised and leading you to believe you’ve got the whole motherhood thing sorted even before you give birth. But there are so many things that are unwritten and unsaid before you have a baby that when the ghastly does come around, you either think you’re a freak because the book never said so, or curse at the world for not having told you (though if I had a rand for every time someone said “You’ll never sleep well again”, I’d have been able to employ a fulltime night nurse!).
So if I could tell new moms-to-be or new moms what they really need to know so they don’t feel completely freaked out and alone (compactum lists and birth videos aside), the list would look something like this:
- You might battle with your new identity. You have a new job description, and it’s okay if it’s a challenging transition. No one goes from being a regular employer to a manager with huge responsibilities without difficulty.
- You might not love motherhood at first. Bear in mind that loving your child and loving motherhood are two different things. You will probably get to love it, but it’s tough, and it’s okay not to want to shout about the joys of motherhood from the rooftops.
- Your marriage might be challenged. With the hormones, added responsibility, fear, less time together and different ways of doing things, things could be a little tougher. I remember sobbing many times if my husband came home two minutes after he said he would, and shouting every swear word I knew. In hindsight, this was irrational (read: childish), but at the time, it felt like things were falling apart.
- You might not hang up those maternity pants (or anything elasticised) after you give birth. While you might have dreams of leaving the hospital ala Brooke Shields in designer jeans, your reality is more likely to involve big-waisted pants, along with a large T-shirt to go over your sore, melon-like boobs. Many months later, and I’m still not sure how that extra flap of stomach skin that one develops during pregnancy is supposed to disappear, ever, without the help of a nip or tuck.
- You’ll probably feel kak for a long time. Between the dark undereye rings, your untouched hair roots, and the still-to-be-shed pregnancy weight, you might feel more D-list than A-list and more slummy mummy than yummy mummy.
- You’ll be afraid. Very afraid. A lifetime of responsibility? Yikes! It’s very scary.
I wish I could say I had a matching list of how to get over the post-birth woes, but I don’t. What I do know is that it helps to know some stuff is normal, and that other new moms everywhere are wearing their baggies, losing sleep and fighting with their hubbies about whose turn it is to change the poo nappy. But just like a baby’s stubborn wind, it does eventually pass. Seriously.
A guide to baby showers and other weird rites of passage ceremonies
by Philippa Cross, a mother of two boys and a bulldog called Oscar. Having adjusted her approach to being an award winning author somewhat, she now just hopes her recently completed novel will be accepted for publication. She has recently started a blog called mumblings.
Every time I attend a baby shower (or a kitchen tea for that matter) I ponder these bizarre rites of passage ceremonies of the western world because that’s exactly what they are.
What else explains this strange behaviour of a group of otherwise quite normal women? Once, at a kitchen tea, (or bachelorette’s party, or whatever these things are called these days), the bride-to-be was stripped naked and wrapped up in cling film in front of the whole room. An experience I’ll never forget, but that’s a story for another day.
Anthropologists study the universal phenomenon of rites of passage ceremonies in order to better understand the society itself. These rituals are supposed to demonstrate what values and beliefs are important in that society. Oi! We’re in trouble then.
We start by sitting around and talking nonsense. There’s usually a bit about dieting. A bit more about how no-one is ready for their first child. We swap birth stories. We laugh conspiratorially at those who haven’t had children yet. We agree that we were all totally unprepared for our children. We breathe a sigh of relief when the obligatory small talk phase draws to a close, and the fat chick with swollen feet (who we either know very well, or not at all) starts opening presents.
Depending on what kind of present opener she is, this signals the end of the ordeal is in sight. If she’s a quick opener, it’s just a matter of oohing and aahing through a few 100 gifts bags filled with baby vests, socks and Elizabeth Anne’s products, and you’ll be out of here. But, there are always those women who save wrapping paper for another day, God bless ‘em. Then you’re in it for the long hall I’m afraid. \
But, like I say, it’s a trusty rite of passage ceremony, I have had two children and my dear friends and family have sat through two of these obligatory gatherings for me. They have kindly brought me gifts and supported me through the quite unique experience of bringing children into the world. And I really did appreciate it. Really. I never thought I’d say that, but when you’re the fat swollen person, it really does mean an awful lot.
So, I never turn one down, and you shouldn’t either. Just like those unfortunate Xhosa boys living in huts in circumcision villages wearing nothing but a lamb cloak, covered in white paint, you and I have a responsibility to our society.
If you say no to baby showers, the very fabric of our evolved western civilisation could disintegrate. Anthropologists in 2204 will have nothing to write about us. Just suck it up and be grateful you’re not a virgin Zulu maiden who, once a year, has to take your designer YDE top off, go to the river, collect reed and bring them back to the village where you have to dance for a pervy old king.
Preparing for a calm and happy birth
by Hailey Fudu a mother of two, a childbirth educator and labour/birth doula practicing in Johannesburg, originally from California, who loves moms and babies!:) For more information on active and natural birthing in Johannesburg, please visit the Genesis Clinic website.
In today’s busy world many mom’s rush through their lives and it all becomes a blur. This blur often begins when the pregnant mother decides she can’t wait for her baby to arrive and books in for an induction or elective C Section. I would like to share some information that women deserve to know before making a final decision regarding their birth choice.
I have had the privilege of working with mothers through their pregnancies, births and after they are settling in at home. Adjusting to a new baby is a challenge, but this challenge can be approached with tranquillity, or chaos. When a mom lets her labour happen naturally her baby is best prepared to enter this world. Few women know that 35 out of every 1000 babies born by caesarean suffer from breathing difficulties, while only 5 out of every 1000 babies born naturally.( National Collaborating Centre for Women’s and Children’s Health. Caesarean Section: Clinical Guideline. London: RCOG Press; 2004). Babies with breathing difficulties end up in high care and lose out on the essential first hours of breastfeeding and skin to skin contact (which ironically helps the baby absorb any access fluid in their lungs). My hope is not to spend a lot of time going through the statistical benefits of letting babies come into this world without the rush. I only want to encourage mom’s to do their homework and if they do, they will find that the World Health Organization, National Childbirth Trust and other highly reputable sources of research, overwhelmingly show the benefits to mother and child of birthing naturally unless clear medical intervention is necessary.
I have assisted in many births at the Genesis Clinic in Johannesburg. This clinic is a very unique environment for birthing. More clinics like this are beginning to open in South Africa. At Genesis each woman has her own private room, bathroom and garden for her labour and birth. There is no feeling of being rushed, and the woman can listen to her body and is allowed the space to move and do whatever feels most effective. When this type of atmosphere is created, the child’s entrance is gentle and well supported. The result: a happy and calm mother, and a non-stressed baby that is ready to begin breastfeeding. Rooming in with one’s newborn should not be a privilege for the rich. When a qualified midwife delivers a baby, the cost goes down rapidly. Women don’t always know that gynecologists /obstetricians are trained in dealing with surgery and complications; they do not specialize in natural birth! The first 24 hour period after birth is critical for the establishment of the breastfeeding relationship and after nine months in the womb, shouldn’t that closeness and ability to feel mother’s loving touch and heartbeat continue?
When mothers and their babies get off to the right start and begin to work together in the calm, slow pace of the early days of motherhood, the stage can be set for a healthy and balanced lifestyle. I would like to wish all the mommies to be many blessings!
