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Baltimore Birth Festival
here are a lot of choices to be made when you’re pregnant. Should you still work out? Should you deliver in a hospital or in a birthing center? Hire a doula? How do you make a birth plan? How can you plan for expenses? Should you breastfeed? How do you breastfeed? It can be maddening and stressful, to say the least. Thanks to the nonprofit group Maryland Families for Safe Birth, many of your pregnancy, birth and newborn questions will be answered on May 19, at the Baltimore Birth Festival in Patterson Park. The organization has worked since 2010 to deliver “evidence based, culturally sensitive maternity care for
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Maryland families through legislative action and supports legislative efforts to license midwives and to study racial disparities in neonatal death rates.” According to the group, the event “will be a place for families to discover the local support available for pregnancy, post-partum and parenting.” During this one-day, familyfriendly festival, more than 75 vendors will be on site, including doulas, midwives, photographers, pregnancy care centers, physical therapists and breastfeeding consultants. There will also be over $4,000 in giveaways, as well as fun activities for kids, like face painting, a kid-friendly DJ, balloon animals, live animals from Irvine Nature M AY 2019
Center, and family yoga demonstrations. The festival is free, though VIP tickets can be purchased for $20 on the Baltimore Birth Festival event page on Facebook. Only 100 VIP tickets will be sold, which will include extra raffle tickets, and a swag bag of amazing products for babies and moms valued at over $100. Head to the Baltimore Birth Festival on May 19 at Patterson Park from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. More details, including vendors, giveaways and raffle items can be found at marylandfamiliesforsafebirth. org or on the event’s Facebook page. —Ann Levelle
piece, and that’s rooted in fear. So the way that I teach is really focused on developing balance, developing the core skills and independence. We put all the control back on the child.” Also woven into that curriculum are lots of games and fun stuff, which helps kids develop a rapport with the instructor and to feel comfortable on their bikes. Riders also learn skills that parents might not recognize need to be taught—like how to get on and off a bike properly and how to use brakes the right way. When it comes to picking bikes for your child, Varn says developing trust in the bike is key. “I think a lot of the trouble that kids have is because their bikes are incredibly heavy, and really unwieldy.” She teaches kids almost exclusively on her fleet of Woom bikes, which range from balance bikes to beginner and big kid bikes. “But, whatever we’re doing,” she says, “we’re always going to transition them back to the bike that they’re going to ultimately be using. Now that PedalPower Kids has taken off, Varn is offering camps this summer at Pip Moyer Recreation Center in Annapolis and Kinder Farm Park in Millersville. For kids who want to become better riders, or who want an opportunity to get out and ride more often, PedalPower offers bike clubs where kids meet and ride on trails and in parks. PedalPower Kids also hosts bike rodeos at organized rides and other community and school events. Varn sets up a number of different kinds of safety and skill stations at the events, where kids can also learn about bike, traffic, and helmet safety. “It’s my goal to get out there and touch larger populations and not just the families that can afford classes and bike rodeos or a nice way to do that,” Varn says. Whether your kids are just starting to toddle along on a balance bike, need the confidence to ride on their own or are looking for a group of biking buddies, Pedal Power Kids has something for all skill levels. Check out the company’s programs at pedalpowerkids.com. —Ann Levelle
