After reading good reviews I decided to take some classes here. The breastfeeding class with Tamara had a lot of good information and she was very knowledgeable. Every piece of information was useful, including brands she recommends for various things. She also had props to do demos. So far this was my favorite class, and I highly recommend it. Book with Tamara only. Also, the Yogi Beans location is so much more comfortable than the one on 33 & Madison, you sit on the floor here with lots of pillows and blankets. Many women came by themselves, but two of us brought our husbands along and I am glad I did. Its a lot of info, so it helps if someone else can remember. Also, men need to know the trouble we women go through!
I took the child care and safety class with Maureen. The location was 33 & Madison, very uncomfortable to sit on the chairs for such a long time. The class was okay. Someone else I spoke to also took the child care class and liked it a lot (not sure if she took Maureen's class), for me it was very disappointing. First of all, it was very repetitive, a lot of information could have been condensed. The first hour passed by like that. We did learn how to tie a diaper, swaddle, bathe the baby, and the process at hospitals after the baby is born. A lot of the information about hospitals is online and I didn't find it that necessary to take a class for it. In addition, I come from a different country and swaddling, bathing, and other styles shown here are so standard in my country that having my mother over is enough for me to learn. I guess if someone is not expecting help from say a parent, it makes sense to learn these things, but for me I already knew all this information. As for diapers, the nurse in the hospital can teach you that as well. So overall the class didn't deliver as much as I expected. The person conducting didn't have that much knowledge outside of the topics she had prepared, and didn't really give recommendations on brands, etc. For example, Tamara knew everything about breastfeeding including brands for nursing pads, bottles, she also gave recommendations on nanny agencies, etc. This teacher didn't really know much beyond the topics she had prepared. Since she herself is a post-partum nurse, her knowledge was more about the hospital process. So overall I was disappointed with this class and in hindsight could have skipped it or taken one that Tamara conducts if any.
I also took the twins class. The location again was 33 & Madison, but slightly more comfortable than child care because we were given pillows and extra chairs to put up our feet. It was good - Tamara has a wealth of knowledge and each time I attend her class I feel like there is so much good information and its hard to keep track. She touched upon medications, premies, birthing aspects related to twins and multiples, postpartum, breastfeeding, etc.
I really liked Tamara's classes and highly recommend signing up with her. They get sold out VERY quickly, I had to book well in advance. In fact, I waited for the weekend to book one class and when I checked two days later, it was completely sold out. So book fast!
I didn't get a chance to do the childbirth class so cannot speak to it. read more
