The First Steps program is pleased to announce the arrival of its latest parent education classes Baby H.U.G.S. (Help Us Grow Safely). These fun and interactive classes are available to any parent of children from birth through 1 year of age. The purpose of these classes is to help reduce the isolation often felt by new families and provide a meaningful tool to ensure parent & child bonding and to stimulate the healthy growth & development of infants. There are a total of 12 stand alone topics ranging from sleep to nutrition.

We are excited to offer these fun, interactive, baby/child-friendly classes at the Ronald McDonald Hospitality Room located on the 4th floor of the Life Care Building at Candler Hospital. Classes will be offered two times a month and many of the classes will provide parents free books to take home to build their child's library.

This program is an extension of the support that the First Steps-Parents of Newborns program already offers the parents who participate in this program. We hope to extend to the support to as many parents of newborns as we can with this new addition.

The First Steps program is a primary child abuse prevention program that uses trained volunteers to offer emotional support, parenting education, and referrals to community services to all parents. It is the only parent support program in Chatham County that is hospital based and volunteer driven. Initial contact is made in the hospital setting shortly after baby's birth. Follow-up telephone contact and support continues for a minimum of three months after delivery. In Chatham County, the First Steps program operates as a partnership between the Coastal Empire R.O.C.K. Group (Raising Our Children Kindly) as the program sponsor, and the St. Joseph's/Candler Health System as the partner agency and host site.

We will hold our first class-"Goodnight Baby" featuring the book, Goodnight Moon on January 22 at 10:00AM.