Laugh and Learn Review and Contest
Jun 23rd, 2008 by Kate Olson
Kate Olson is a mother of 2 toddlers and lives in rural Wisconsin. She balances motherhood & working from home in a semi-functional fashion - you can read more about Kate on our contributors page. She blogs about education and lots of business/tech stuff at Kate Says . Want more? Read all of Kate’s posts!
Read on to win a set of the Laugh and Learn DVDs!
In my never-ending quest for products that would have made my journey into motherhood easier and less scary, I was recently approached about reviewing the Laugh and Learn childcare, breastfeeding and birthing DVDs. I’m obviously a glutton for punishment, because the entire time I was watching these classes by Sheri Bayles I was kicking myself for not having these DVDs when I was pregnant for the first time.
Sheri is, according to her website, “an award winning Certified Lamaze Instructor and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant with 20 years of experience teaching at New York Presbyterian Hospital.” She has taught over 4,000 couples (including celebrities!) the methods, tips, and tricks of breastfeeding, childbirth and newborn care. You can see on her website the numerous celebrities who love this DVD series and also the magazines which reviewed the DVDs - I figured she must be doing something right! After watching the set of classes, I joined the Laugh and Learn fan club.
You may be asking why I’m so enamored of a set of DVDs that I don’t technically even need anymore - am I right? Well, when I was pregnant for the first time, my husband was really reluctant to attend childbirth classes and actually our schedule didn’t permit us to attend anything other then the weekend course that our hospital offered. This was a 2 day course that covered EVERYTHING in 2, 8-hour sessions. I wasn’t at all interested in sitting through that and neither was my husband. I thought about finding some DVDs, but didn’t know of any that were worth even checking out from the library at the time. Therefore, we didn’t do ANY childbirth preparation besides what was offered in the books that I obsessively collected at the time.
I would have absolutely LOVED it if a friend would have handed me the 2-disc set of the Laugh and Learn “About Childbirth” class! My husband and I would have been able to watch bits and pieces of the class whenever we had the time and could do so from the comfort of our own home. I never ended up taking a childbirth preparation class and really wish that I had this DVD available to me at the time.
The breastfeeding class DVD and newborn care DVD would have also been immensely helpful to me when I was a brand-new mom. As it was, I never took a breastfeeding class the first time around and ended up taking one when I was pregnant with my second child. The class wasn’t half as informative as the Laugh and Learn breastfeeding class and the DVD version offers the benefit of being able to review the material again as well as have it on hand when you actually have the baby and are having problems with nursing.
Sheri Bayles does an excellent job of presenting the material in a light, non-judgemental way. She makes it seem normal to be apprehensive about childbirth and breastfeeding and doesn’t make light of the fears that many new mothers face. She uses humor to lighten the mood and is very easy to watch and listen to.
The bottom line?
I’d definitely recommend these DVDs to expecting mothers - both first time moms and those looking for a refresher course. They’d be great baby shower or “yay, you’re finally pregnant” gifts - now I just keep wishing I would have had them when I needed them!
Buy them!
The complete set of DVDs sells for $79.95, which is a great deal compared to face-to-face classes. The DVDs retail individually for $24.95 each for the breastfeeding and newborn care classes and $39.99 for the childbirth 2-disc set. You can buy the DVDs at the Laugh and Learn website. Free shipping for U.S. orders - I LOVE free shipping!
Win a Set of Laugh and Learn DVDs!
We’re able to offer 2 sets of the Laugh and Learn DVDs to our readers - that’s great for you or any expecting mothers you might know!
To enter the contest, simply leave a comment here telling us who you’d think would most appreciate the set if you win - maybe it’s you, maybe a friend, sister, daughter, daughter-in-law - it doesn’t matter! Just tell us who would benefit from Sheri’s classes, it’s as simple as that.
This contest ends on June 30, 2008.
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One of my friends is due in January for her first child, and I’m sure she could use these DVDs.
I know that my best friend would enjoy this tremendously…she is a first time mother and I wouldn’t dream of giving her anything else.
My sister is expecting and she has already set up an appointment with me to help her research child care sites and discuss breastfeeding. My son is six and I can’t believe my younger sister is asking for my advise!! This set of DVDs would really be great for any new Mom! But really I would love to get them for my sister. I found them on Access PA and I might will be borrowing them from the local library! Laugh and Learn sound perfect for the New Mom! Thanks for the recommendation!
Mardy McGaws last blog post..Mini-Mizer Lego Avatar Maker LOVE IT
My sister is due the end of August and I think she would appreciate the set if I won. This is her second baby, she lost the first one when she miscarried at 20 weeks. Thanks for the chance to win such a nice set of DVDs!
I am due at the end of July. This is our first pregnancy, after undergoing 4 rounds of IVF (and 6 failed IUIs), after 3 years of trying. After spending all of our money on IVF, my husband doesn’t even like to hear the cost of my pre-natal vitamins, so paying for childbirth prep classes, etc. was out of the question. He thinks that we can learn everything we need to know by reading (on the internet, and books from friends and the library). I have heard about these DVDs, though, and think that the audio/visual format may make more of an impression than reading alone. We would deeply appreciate winning a set of Laugh and Learn DVDs!
To borrow a line from Drew Becker, *how come* the contest deadline was extended by a month? Is there a June winner and a July winner?
Taylor -
Oh my gosh, sorry for the typo! The contest ended on the 30th and I was JUST about to post the winners when you commented!
The winners are:
Taylor and Mardy - I’ll be emailing you to get your mailing addresses!
Congratulations!