WOW!  (Women of Wonder)

Led by Sally Sago           

'Women of Wonder'

This term’s meetings will be held in the lounge area at Burlington Baptist Church on the following Wednesday evenings from 7:30pm till 9.30pm.

January 4th
January 18th
February 1st
February 22nd
March 7th
March 21st  

Please just come along
Or
If you would like more information you can speak to Sally Sago or one of the team on 07547 514572
Or
Email Sally: wow@burlingtonbaptist.org.uk

Sometimes mums cannot get to the group. You may or may not have a faith but like the idea that someone will pray for you and/or your baby.
If you can’t join us at our evenings but you would like someone to contact you or you would like someone to pray for you. Send us your information and/or prayer requests by contacting wow@burlingtonbaptist.org.uk  

·       For women to meet with other pregnant mums and share their experiences of being pregnant
·       To offer and receive practical support from the team and the other mums-to-be
·       Where requested to offer prayer support for the family and unborn baby.
·       To provide an opportunity to talk to experienced mums and grand mums
·       To discuss a range of relevant topics eg breast feeding, labour, being a parent, new born behaviour, sibling rivalry

The vision for the WOW! antenatal group is to see pregnant mums from all over Ipswich meeting together and sharing the joys and difficulties of pregnancy and the early days after birth.

We really hope that women will tell others and bring them along so that we would have a constant group of pregnant mums and babies.

There are very few opportunities for women to meet together antenatally to make new friends, ask questions and receive support and reassurance for what is often a roller coaster ride! 

Sally Sago: The group is facilitated by Sally who was a midwife for over 25 years. She herself is a mother and more recently became a grandmother.
‘I have spent many years working with different groups, many with pregnant women. I never cease to be amazed at how much support women offer to each other and how much enjoyment we all get from being in each other’s company. The WOW! group has been a fantastic group to be involved with and my hope is that many more will come along to our meetings. I received loads of support when my daughter was pregnant last year. Being a grandma is a very different experience.... when your own baby is having a baby well all I can say is...WOW!’

Charraine Chandler: Charraine is mum to Rebecca and Rachel. She attended our first WOW group and found it really helpful when she was expecting Rachel. Charraine has been involved in the group ever since.
‘It was while I was pregnant with my second baby that I was told about a new pregnancy group called Women of Wonder. I must admit I wasn’t sure when I first heard about the group whether it was going to be for me. I also worried it would be boring and above me but thankfully that has turned out not to be the case. I soon found it easy to relax as I formed new and strengthened old friendships, as we talked nonstop about all things baby.’
‘Even though my group is finished now I still meet up regularly with some of the other ladies and all our babies enjoy playing together!’

Amanda Reeves: Like Charraine, Amanda attended our first WOW! group a few years ago when she was expecting her 3rd son, Noah.
‘I was about 3 months pregnant with my third child when the WOW! group started to meet. People asked me ‘What do you want to go there for?’ ‘Surely you must know all there is to know about pregnancy the third time round’.....and I did!I knew exactly how it made me feel. Tired and fat, for starters. I also knew how I felt inside, anxious, excited and hormonal.
In the past in my other two pregnancies, I had never come across an opportunity to join anything similar so I was quite excited. Feeling very positive about this group I decided that it was for me and I went along.
It turned out that by joining this group it enabled me to support and be supported by other pregnant ladies in the same position as myself and all the "side effects" of being pregnant could (if wished) be discussed and shared, therefore I was not alone.
Although it didn't make this child any more special than my other two, the whole experience of pregnancy, labour and birth was far more positive.
The fact that Sally, the group leader is a Christian and was a midwife for many years makes this a special opportunity that I wouldn’t want others to miss. I found this group was so important to me that I am now on the WOW! team.'

Dianna Swale: Again Dianna was a member of WOW! when she was expecting her first son, Tristan. She is also step-mum to teenagers Bethany and Isaac. She says...
‘My experience joining the WOW Group has been a great help to me when I was pregnant with Tristan as it offered me support and reassurance not only spirituality but practically for example breast feeding, giving birth etc. Joining the group has also helped me build strong friendships with other new Mums on a regular basis’

Helen Reavill: Helen joined our team last year. This is what she had to say when she joined...
‘Hello, my name is Helen, I am married to Stuart and we have two children – Joshua and Lauren.
I am currently training to become a breastfeeding helper with the Breastfeeding Network - so any questions, just ask!
I started helping out at WOW only a few months ago, but can see that its a great group for friendship, support and advice about anything pregnancy and baby related, with an emphasis on christian views and values that are bypassed in other support groups.
I just wish WOW had been around when I was pregnant!’

The amazing thing is Helen is now pregnant with her 3rd baby, expected early in December 2011 so she is looking forward to meeting mums that will come to the group this time around. She is also working as a breast feeding helper in a local children’s centre.

Linda Blackburn: Linda has supported our group since we started in 2009. As we used to meet in the morning, Linda helped with our crèche which enabled mums to meet together whilst the older children played. As we are now going to meet in the evenings we will not have a crèche so Linda will now join us for the whole meeting. She is a mother and Grand mum to Emily Rose who is expecting a baby sister in April! Very exciting. Linda’s daughter lives away and so we do WOW! by long distance via Grandma!

 

NEW TEAM MEMBER
Linda Morris: It’s great to have Linda joining us a new team member this term. She is mum to Luke, Rhianna and Jack. In the past Linda’s experience includes working with families and she really wants to see women supported through their pregnancy. She says...
‘women need to be valued and encouraged in their role as mother’s.’
We really look forward to Linda being part of the team.