On a Wednesday morning in May, a dozen moms and their babies, ranging from a few weeks to just over a year old, gather in a private room at Princeton Fitness & Wellness in Montgomery, N.J. It is a regular weekly session of Bright Beginnings, a free, baby-friendly group hosted by Princeton Health Community Wellness.
Yet it is also a special occasion. Mother’s Day being only days away, the attendees are in for an early celebration. Instead of sitting on floor mats with their babies, the moms are at tables, enjoying a buffet breakfast and sampling tea, which ties in nicely to the day’s educational topic: the health benefits of tea, as presented by Alyssa Luning, a registered dietitian nutritionist with Princeton Health.
Part brunch social and part mommy masterclass, Bright Beginnings is a staple of Princeton Health’s family education programming that dates back to 2005.
For the past 12 years, the group has been facilitated by Bernadette Flynn-Kelton, RN, a health educator and board certified lactation consultant.
A core group of mothers — along with some fathers —consistently attend, though the group changes over time as babies grow, Flynn-Kelton said. Each session includes an educational presentation geared toward new families. Topics have included breast health, lactation, nutrition, safe sleep, how to perform CPR, car seat laws, and vaccines. Guest speakers include nutritionists, therapists, physicians, and other professionals who give information on the most up-to-date, evidence-based parenting practices. Extended family members and nannies are welcome to attend each session.
The social gathering is just as important as the educational component.
“Many years ago, new parents were usually surrounded by extended family,” Flynn-Kelton said. “But now families are often separated by distance because of employment opportunities, school, whatever the reason might be. So we are trying to create a welcoming, baby-friendly environment where parents can connect with other parents and fill a void from family and friends who are far away.”
Engaging with new parents also can help ensure they are managing parenthood well. If Flynn-Kelton sees parents at Bright Beginnings who seem to be struggling, she can refer them to the postpartum adjustment support group that she also facilitates.
Flynn-Kelton still has friends she met in a moms’ group 26 years ago, and she sees the same dynamic at Bright Beginnings. Families form play groups, plan day trips and nights out, and start social media groups. Long-term relationships are established.
Kristin Isaacs — who attended the pre-Mother’s Day session along with her son Ulysses, now 8 months old — said all of her new friends are parents she met at either Bright Beginnings or the breastfeeding support group that Princeton Health offers twice weekly.
“I first went to Bright Beginnings when Ulysses was 3 weeks old,” Isaacs said. “I was a half-hour late because it was so hard to get out of the house back then!”
Flynn-Kelton said late arrivals are common, particularly for families with newborns, and are accepted without judgment.
“Our group runs on ‘baby time,’” she said. “We know how difficult it can be to get out of the house some days, and I always let families know they are free to join us whenever they can. I also let them know it gets easier as the baby gets older.”
Isaacs said she and Ulysses attended Bright Beginnings regularly until recently, when she returned to work. Now, she said, they are able to attend perhaps once a month.
“I needed the social aspect and I was interested in many of the topics,” she said. “But even if I wasn't particularly interested in a topic I would sometimes still attend because I know I'll see my friends there.”
Ulysses, she added, loves seeing other babies and having room to crawl around at Bright Beginnings.
Flynn-Kelton said Bright Beginnings regularly incorporates interactive play time and music, movement, and dance activities for the babies and toddlers, with assistance from local child development programs.
The educational portion can also be child-friendly, such as the times that nutritionists demonstrate recipes for homemade baby food and the kids get to sample the results.
“In my experience, babies get very bored of the four walls inside their homes,” Flynn-Kelton said. “They love to see new things, new spaces, and new faces. It socializes them, and I think babies enjoy interacting with each other. It helps with their development.”
Older siblings are welcome at Bright Beginnings, too. Most mothers in the group are first-timers, Flynn-Kelton said, but moms occasionally return to the group with baby No. 2 — or even No. 3 and No. 4.
“It’s so great when families return, because we get a chance to see how baby No. 1 has grown,” Flynn-Kelton said. “We also get to see how much more confident the parents are, thanks to the knowledge we share and the support they get from others in the group. You see it happening with first-time parents, too, as we watch their babies literally grow up in the program. We get to see a lot of milestones — babies rolling, crawling, walking or talking for the first time.”
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Bright Beginnings —
Wednesdays, 10:30 – 11:30 am, at Princeton Fitness & Wellness, 1225 State Road, Princeton, NJ. To learn more, visit PrincetonHCS.org/Calendar and search the keywords Bright Beginnings.
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