#DearCinnaMoms Feb 22'
Winter nears its end,
A spring's bloom around the bend
Praise be blessed rains.
Fervorous this living desert be,
Mighty and tenacious are we.
Hazy the snow-peaked mountains in the distance;
Our price to pay for warm sands, cool waters, and sun filled days.
February in the Southland
February came and went, and in our short month, we celebrated Black History as well as the month of Love and Friendship. CinnaMoms continued in its commitment to offering support in a safe space during our bi-monthly support meetings. This month, we came together to interpret our love language and discuss the power of reading.
Let’s talk Love
Rhonda (though congested) would not let a cold keep her from connecting virtually with us and address a topic near and dear to her heart. With Tia at her side, they welcomed us into this session and introduced our topic: Love and Breastfeeding.
Have you heard of the Love Languages quiz?
Dr. Gary Chapman, Ph.D., published several books on how we communicate and interpret love by employing the Five Love Languages:
• Acts of service
• Receiving gifts
• Quality time
• Words of affirmation
• Physical touch
Our unique experiences force us to develop our interpretations of love. How we express it or hope to be loved may not be how our partners or loved ones experience or communicate love.
Let us imagine, our partner is coming home after a long day at work tired and hungry, out of love we decide that a hot meal that’s ready upon their arrival would be perfect (acts of service), and we timed it just right! Our significant other comes home and takes us in an embrace (physical touch) then proceeds to talk about their day (quality time). We try to direct their attention towards the five-star meal we have prepared with great care as it is becoming colder with every passing moment. As they prepare to dig in, we feel that our five-star meal is now down to one and then thrust in the microwave. Our hard work was not all in vain; mixed signals, because the attempt to communicate love was made by both sides but lost in translation.
If this topic sounds familiar, it means you have been paying attention. We have taken our love quiz before and have discussed our Love Languages. For those of you just joining us, welcome! For you returning CinnaMoms, we appreciate you and share the link once again, inviting you to take the quiz one more time.
An interesting thing happened when reviewing our results. Many of us found that our primary love language had changed. Our language changes because we change, we recognize that our loved ones have been actively expressing their love and through their actions, taught us how to love them back.
Let’s talk Love and Breastfeeding
After several families shared their experiences with breastfeeding, Rhonda being the great facilitator and amazing human that she is, offered supportive love. CinnaMoms facilitators continued and spoke about their own experiences. like when Tia shared, it “wasn't all roses." Four children and two of them tongue-tied; it was a journey of tears due to lack of knowledge, and emphasized the importance of seeking a second opinion.
Who are the people in your love circle?
Is CinnaMoms in yours?
I cannot stress enough how much of a safe place this place really is. Our experiences and traumas help us define what we experience and communicate as love. Those in our love circles help us heal and overcome life's greatest obstacles.
If your love language changed from pregnancy to now, it would stand to reason that so have your support needs. Did quality time once top your list and now what we need the most is acts of service followed by words of affirmation? Someone else changes a diaper and prepares the baby for feeding while assuring you that you are doing great and not alone might make a world of difference!
We are a team, and we are in this together.
Early Literacy with Nelly and Heather
In the second gathering of February, CinnaMoms was honored with the presence of two guest speakers: Nelly, of the Little by Little School Readiness Program, and Heather Firchow, from the Los Angeles County Library (or LACPL for short) to introduce Little by Little and the metamorphosis of the Los Angeles County Library.
Nelly shared with CinnaMoms how the Little by Little School Readiness Program has partnered with WIC and has dedicated to helping prepare infants and children for school. She also shared a few developmental fun facts and their entire catalog of Little by Little Developmental Handouts found here: www.lblreaders.org/handouts/
For more information on little by little, visit: https://lblreaders.org/
#FunFact Did you know?
Your baby will begin reacting to their name at about five to seven months of age, eight to eleven months, your baby is reacting to words like ball, mamma, and papa.
Countless educational videos exist on the internet, but it is just not the same. Nelly has said it best, "the greater exposure to vocals, the greater are their chances for success!" Our little ones stand to benefit more when we talk, read, and sing to them. They crave knowledge and a better understanding of this new world around them. Practicing the use of descriptive language with your little ones can help with their language development and improve their ability to communicate and express themselves. This is an opportunity to share what will be a fantastic gift for their future.
Reading is Power
Heather Firchow is the Youth Services Administrator with the Los Angeles County Library joined CinnaMoms this month to tell us about the LACPL. With many exciting changes, early learning services, and online resources available to all Los Angeles County residents, the LACPL has been reborn.
The Library Card
Hunter green with gold, we held the key to the Dewey Decimal Vault of knowledge. To a kid in grade school, trekking a mile across town for a school assignment was more like something out of a J.R.R. Tolkien novel. Acquiring permission to go alone on foot in an inner-city was out of the question, and my grades depended on my mother's ability to make it home from work before closing time. Luckily as we grew so did the internet and by high school, we were using search engines like Askjeeves, Yahoo, and now Google.
LA County Library is Fine Free!!
Borrowed a computer, hotspot and lost them? Kids can read away their fines! Do you live too far away and are unable to make it home in time to take the kiddos before they close? Visit www.LACountylibrary.org for unlimited access to the Library’s online resources! With a physical card in hand, we can check out up to fifty items at a time. They include books, movies, and magazines; we gain access to library computers, ten free prints or photocopies per day, and even request items from other libraries.
Preparing for Success
If you are looking for a program or services for the family, look no further. Early Literacy? Check out Smarty Pants Storytime: https://visit.lacountylibrary.org/events?r=thismonth. Looking for stimulating learning opportunities? Stop by your nearest LA County Public Library for your free take-home activity kit.
Make learning fun and visit https://readyrosie.com/measure/. Audiobooks, music, newspapers, and magazines free? LACPL online has also got you covered with no-cost learning programs like Coursera, Brainfuse, Mango, GALE Courses, and many more. If you are looking for a fun day out, reserve your free pass online today and explore SoCal Museums for FREE!
Our children are constantly watching us and do not only see value in what we eat and say but in what we do. We want to read to them and read with them. Changing our voices, giving characters a special personality not only makes it more engaging but fun!
Heather showed us exactly what she meant when she presented us with Virtual Storytime. Reading One Word from Sophia by Jim Averbeek and Yasmeen Ismail to the group, and every young little face was glued to their screen, following attentively, hanging on to every word waiting to see what happens next.
For more Virtual Storytime with the Los Angeles Public Library click here:
