As of January 24, 2012, I will no longer be charging a fee for my Christ Centered Childbirth Classes. God has put it on my heart to offer these classes as a ministry to whoever requests them. I will accept a love offering at the end of each series if anyone feels led to help support this ministry, but it is totally optional. Please see my Childbirth Class Page for more information about my classes, and contact me with any questions.

The newest series of Christ Centered Childbirth Classes will start on Tuesday, January 31st and run on Tuesdays for 8 weeks from 6:30-9:00 PM in Schertz. This will be my 4th time to teach this series, and I have had nothing but positive reviews of the information and the class so far. I believe this class is the only Christian childbirth class in the area, so please help me spread the word to others that you know who might be interested. You can find out more information here and you can contact me here to ask questions or to reserve your spot. Thank you!

We are going to be participating in a Walk for Life on Saturday, January 21, 2012 to benefit The Refuge Pregnancy Care Center in Pleasanton, TX. The Refuge is a pro-life pregnancy care center serving Atascosa County, TX and surrounding areas. They are non-denominational, and their policy is to present the gospel to everyone who walks in the door needing help. They have seen many babies saved from abortion since they have been open. Please take a look at the links below and consider helping The Refuge in whatever way you can. Thank you!

The Refuge Website

The Minica Family’s Walk for Life Donation Page

An entire book on how to calm down a crying baby? When I read the back of this book, I wasn’t too sure if I would like it or not. All in all, I’m usually pretty good at getting our babies to stop crying. But I started reading, and I have to say that I’m mostly very impressed with this book. After having 8 babies, I have figured out many of the techniques given on my own by trial and error over the years. But it sure would have been nice to have this book in my hands 14 years ago when my first baby was tiny and I wasn’t sure what to do with him!

Unfortunately, our current culture is one in which most young men and women don’t have the experience they really need when they become parents for the first time. Families are smaller, and girls and women are encouraged to be away from the home and family much more than in previous generations. Because of this, when many new babies are born, their parents feel unsure in how to take care of them, and especially how to soothe their cries. This book is very straightforward and easy to read and understand, giving new parents the techniques and therefore the confidence they need to care for their newborns.

Being a Christian myself, I don’t agree with the perspective that the author comes from when he talks about the evolution of man and babies being born 3 months too soon. Personally, I know from the Bible that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, and God’s plan for each baby’s birth is in His perfect time. I do agree with the author’s belief that newborn babies handle the first 3 months of their lives much better when the transition from womb to the outside world is a gentle one. The utter helplessness of my newborn daughter is God’s way of drawing me close to her. I have discovered through my experience that babies cannot be spoiled for the first 3 months of their lives, but rather they simply need to be with their mothers as much as possible during this special time that goes by so quickly.

I really like the 5 S’s that the author gives – Swaddling, Side/Stomach, Shushing, Swinging, and Sucking. They are very easy to remember, and that is important for me when I’m up with a baby in the middle of the night and too foggy-headed to remember what I read in the parenting books about that night’s particular problem. Each baby is different, and there are no cure-all solutions that will work for every baby, but the techniques in this book do work. Patience is needed to find out what works best for your baby.

I highly recommend this book for parents having a new baby, whether or not this is your first child. The only caution I would give is for Christians who might be offended by the references to evolution, but these are overlooked fairly easily.

You can buy this book here, and if you use this link a small amount of the sale will be donated to Doula San Antonio, who uses the donated funds to help moms in crisis pregnancies around the San Antonio area. Thank you!

Author: Brenda Minica, CD (CBI)