THE TORONTO STAR
October 8, 2004

New baby? Here’s how…

Because babies don’t arrive with user’s
guides, a pair of enterprising mothers in Montreal decided
to produce a user-friendly instruction manual, in video
and DVD formats, for new and expectant parents. After
all, even the most maternally inclined mother and domesticated
dad don’t come automatically equipped with sponge bathing
skills.

Bringing Home Baby is the brain child
of Lianne Castelino and Andrea Howick, former broadcast
journalists and mothers who, between them, have five
children under the age of seven.
“I got started with this when I saw parenting videos
in the prenatal classes I took and couldn’t believe
how outdated they were,” says Castelino. She saw the
value of step-by-step instructions combined with tips,
hints, demonstrations and information from medical experts,
including the president-elect of the Canadian Pediatrics
Society.

The 71-minute plus production covers 120
topics affecting infants from birth to six months in
hospital and home settings, including postpartum care,
sleeping, breastfeeding and bottle feeding, vaccinations,
what to expect at the first check-up and understanding
what baby’s movements and language mean.

And to begin, there’s “Everything You
Ever Wanted To Know About A Newborn.” Explains Castelino:
“We go from head to toe and there’s an explanation for
each and every single thing.”
The video is already being used as a teaching tool by
childbirth educators in Ontario and can be
ordered from the website.

“There’s no other video like this in Canada,
or in North America for that matter,” says Castlino.
“That’s what our market research shows and what experts
have said.”

Liandraproductions Inc. plans to produce
more educational videos. Its slogan: Putting Parenting
in Focus.

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