Parenting ClassesIn Portland, Oregon

We offer in-person parenting classes including Newborn Care and Breastfeeding classes at the Birth First Education Center in SW Portland, just off of the I-5. Check out our class descriptions below!

Parenting Classes, Portland Oregon
Parenting Classes, Portland Oregon

Newborn Care 101: The First Month

In-Person Parenting Class In Portland

This 3 hour parenting class is taught by an experienced postpartum doula and explains how to care for your newborn baby including diapering, swaddling, soothing, infant bathing, baby wearing, and much more! While there is no official handbook on babies, this parenting class is the cliff notes version – with hands-on practice! Taught by Bridgetown Baby Postpartum Doulas.

*Price includes two people.
*Masks are required during this in-person class.
*Space is limited to 8 couples.   

Teacher: Bridgetown Baby Doulas

Fee: $95 for 2 people

Sex After Birth

Online Postpartum Class

This class is appropriate for any pregnant or postpartum body, who has sex in any way. In this class we will cover the changes in your body throughout pregnancy, what to expect postpartum, and safe and fun ways to re-introduce sex into your life after you have birthed a human. We will share our fears, we will laugh, and we will take some of the unknowns out of this next chapter in your sexual journey.

Teacher: Dr. Emily Spaeth

Location: Zoom

Fee: $45

Newborn Care Essentials: Taught By A Pediatrician

In-Person Parenting Class In Portland

This 2 hour class provides an overview of what to expect in the first days and weeks of life with your new little one! You’ll learn the basics of feeding, diapering, sleeping, and development from a board-certified pediatrician, with a special focus on building your village and fostering communication with your partner.

Dr. Iverson is a board-certified pediatrician with a decade of experience in newborn care, with special interests in evidence-based gentle parenting and postpartum mental health care. A full time working mother of two, she is currently employed as a pediatric and newborn hospitalist at Randall Children’s Hospital in Portland, OR.

*Price is for two people.
*Masks are required to attend this in-person class.
*Space is limited to 8 couples.

Teacher: Arija Iverson

Location: 7800 SW Barbur Blvd.#3, Portland Oregon 97219

Fee: $85 for 2 people

CPR First Aid For Infants, Children & Adults

In-Person Parenting Class with Videos & Ebook

This CPR AED First Aid class for infants, children, and adults has a blended format: there are a few hours of online instructional videos that must be completed before attending the in-person skills session that you register for. The 45 minute skills session will be hosted at the Birth First Education Center and will provide you with an opportunity to practice skills on manikins and using CPR equipment. Online instructional videos and an ebook are included in this course, along with the in-person skills session.

*Price is for one person.

*Masks are required during the in-person portion of this class.
*Space is limited to 6 people.   

Teacher: Lisa Appel

Location: 7800 SW Barbur Blvd.#3, Portland Oregon 97219

Fee: $110 per person

Breastfeeding & Bottle Feeding Basics

In-Person Parenting Class In Portland

This 3 hour parenting class will prepare you and your partner to feed your baby with confidence! An experienced International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) will cover the basics to get you and your baby off to a great start, including: the biology of making milk, learning your baby’s feeding cues, positions and techniques for feeding at breast/chest and by bottle, introduction to breast pumps, when to get professional support, and all the most frequently asked questions we hear from new parents.

*Price includes two people.
*Masks are required during this in-person class.
*Space is limited to 8 couples.  

Teacher: Melissa Curry, Bridgetown Baby IBCLC

Location: 7800 SW Barbur Blvd.#3, Portland Oregon 97219

Fee: $110 for 2 people

Parent & Feeding Support Circle

FREE In-Person Parenting Group In Portland

This free in-person support circle is offered every Tuesday and is a welcoming and non-judgmental place to gather with other parents and infants to share the joys and challenges of this season of life! While this group is not feeding specific, meetings are facilitated by a Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) who will have a hospital grade scale to weigh babies if you are interested. Drop ins are welcome! 

*Registration is not required to attend and drop ins are welcome.
*Masks are required during this in-person group.
*Space is limited to 8 families.  

Teachers: Ashley Treadwell, Koali Blumer-Buell, and Brianna Grisham from Cascadia Lactation IBCLCs

Location: 7800 SW Barbur Blvd.#3, Portland Oregon 97219

Fee: $20 per family

Nurture & Play: 5 Week Parent-Infant Playgroup

In-Person Parent-Infant Playgroup

Build community with other parents and babies as we delve into the parenting journey and explore infant development in a supported learning environment. Each week, we’ll share what we’re observing about ourselves and our babies, and make connections between our babies’ developmental needs and the ways we parent and play. Designed for infants 0-6 months (or older, if not yet crawling) and their caregivers.

Session 1: Setting our Course Together
We’ll spend this first session sharing a bit about who we are, and how our stories have shaped the parenting journey so far. As we get to know each other, we’ll set our course together for community, exploration and support throughout the remaining sessions of the class.
Session 2: The Emotional Landscape of the Postpartum Period
“No one ever told me…” Becoming a parent changes us in ways we couldn’t have expected. We’ll talk through the highs and lows and how to find (and create) the support you need to thrive as a parent.
Session 3: Newborn and Infant Sleep
What sleep patterns should we expect, and when? We’ll take a look at where each of us is in the arc of developing infant sleep, talk about what our babies’ patterns represent, and leave with a toolkit of tips for getting through the tough spots as our little ones’ sleep needs change.
Session 4: Infant Behavior and Play
What does “normal” infant development look like, and how can you use the signals your baby is giving you to engage in play that supports their development? We’ll take time to share observations about the ways our babies “talk” to us, and co-create a library of age-appropriate play activities.

Session 5: Self-Care and Future Connections

Parenting is one of the hardest jobs you’ll ever do. Finding ways to fill your cup can ease the journey and help you trust you are just the parent your baby needs. We’ll strategize together, share perspectives, put together a list of future explorations, and identify supportive resources for the next phases of your baby’s development. We’ll end the session with a small gift to remind you to take time to recharge.

Teacher: Brita Johnson

Location: Birth First Education Center

Fee: $250 for parents and infant

Postpartum Self-Care & Baby Development, 6 Week Zoom Series For Babies 0-12 weeks

Online Postpartum & Baby Series Class

A hands-on skills class where you and your baby will learn together about self-care and newborn communication and development. The aim of this group is to build community, connect with other parents, and learn a little something along the way. We will share birth stories, challenges, and successes, and each week will have a general theme:
Week 1: Feeding Your Baby
We will cover birth stories, and how feeding your baby is going: breastfeeding, chestfeeding, bottle feeding, pumping, lactation support, you name it! 
Week 2: Infant Massage
This is a wonderful tool for bonding and attachment, improving sleep, feeding outcomes, and much much more. We will review alll the benefits of infant massage and go through an introduction to performing infant massage on your baby. This is my expertise and I’m excited to share it with you! 
Week 3: Caregiving Activities
Have at the ready: your wrap, your carrier(s), your car seat, your stroller- whatever you have questions about! We will go over baby wearing, swaddled bathing, and more. 
Week 4: Postpartum Activity 
How can you safely strengthen your body after birth? Tips to empower you to find strength in your everyday activities, and keep your body safe if you are returning to athletic activities.
Week 5: Newborn Sleep & Play
What does typical sleep for a newborn? A 3 month old? A 6 month old? Today we will also cover swaddling, safety, and getting rest as a family. What is a developmentally appropriate way to play with a newborn?
Week 6: Postpartum Emotions
A new baby in your life is an enormous change, birth is an incredible feat, breastfeeding is really hard, how can you even think about returning to work? We will cover whatever comes up.
Emily Spaeth is a doctor of physical therapy specializing in infant neuromotor development, and mama of two babies. She is a certified breastfeeding specialist, trauma informed professional and certified in neonatal massage. As a prenatal and postpartum yoga teacher, Emily has experienced the incredible benefits of community in the fourth trimester- the simple act of new mamas coming together to share their fears, sorrows, joys, and successes. She is honored to have the opportunity to stand by your side throughout this journey. 

Teacher: Dr. Emily Spaeth

Location: Zoom

Fee: $250 for one adult and infant

Baby Developmental Milestones, 0-6 Months

Online Baby Development Class

Join Emily Spaeth, a neonatal physical therapist with a whole lot of other tools in her tool bag as she guides you through the stages of fine motor, gross motor, cognitive, sensory, and feeding milestones for the first 6 months of development! Set your baby up for success in their environment with gentle reminders to do with your baby, rather than doing to when fostering development.

Teacher: Dr. Emily Spaeth

Location: Zoom

Fee: $45

Do I Even Need Lactation Support? Come And Find Out!

FREE Zoom Event

This is a chance for you to meet with Lactation Consultants, Ashley Treadwell & Koali Blumer-Buell, to find out what lactation support is all about, and why you might want to work with a lactation consultant. There will be a slideshow and time for questions. Join us!

*This is a FREE Zoom event that repeats on the first Monday of each month.
*Registration is required to attend.

Ashley Treadwell is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), blogger on the topic of breast/chestfeeding, and advocate for judgment-free feeding support for all parents. Ashley completed her lactation consultant training and certification at University of California, San Diego, including clinical training at the Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women and Newborns and the outpatient clinic at Kaiser Family Health Services.

Koali Blumer-Buell is an Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC).  She has spent more than 20 years counseling parents and supporting them to build their parenting skills.  She has worked with teen parents at Outside In, visited families in their homes with Albina Early Head Start, taught parenting classes and prenatal yoga, and provided support to parents as a birth doula.

Teachers: Ashley Treadwell & Koali Blumer-Buell, Cascadia Lactation IBCLCs

Location: Zoom

Fee: FREE

Sex, Intimacy, and Connection During the 4th Trimester

In-Person Postpartum Class

This workshop has been cultivated from many years of working with postpartum couples and hearing their stories. After we have a baby everything changes, for everyone involved but especially the birthing parent. This workshop aims to identify and honor the changes that are going on in the body and then wok on widening the couple’s understanding of connection and intimacy in relationship to their new reality. We will talk in detail about how to create connection, and intimacy during those hard first months and how to incorporate sex when ready. This workshop will leave couples with knowledge they can use to strengthen and build their relationship, so they can thrive during the 4th Trimester.

THE WHO:
This workshop is for people in a relationship that want to work on keeping their connection and
intimacy alive after the baby is born. They can be pregnant or postpartum. The workshop will be
flexible to where they are in their journey. They can bring infants in arms, no problem.

THE WHAT:
Focus or Objectives:
● Come away with better understanding of intimacy, connection and sex
● How to create a continuum of connection through the whole postpartum period
● Broader sense of connection leading to sustainability in relationship
● Have a tool box and resources to use

Teachers: Krystle Gard

Location: Birth First Education Center

Fee: 

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