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JBSA News
NEWS | July 27, 2016

‘Bundles’ of information give expectant parents head start

Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Public Affairs

The Air Force Aid Society exemplifies the wingman concept, supporting Airmen and their families by providing them with emergency financial aid, education programs and community programs that improve their quality of life.

One of those community programs specifically assists expectant parents as well as parents with young children.

Bundles for Babies is a four-hour informational session that brings together multiple agencies for expectant parents, said Kelli Franklin, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Military & Family Readiness Center community readiness consultant. The next session is set for 8:30 a.m. Aug. 5 at the M&FRC, building 693.

“It’s a great opportunity for active-duty members and their spouses to get all the information they need in one place,” she said. “There’s always something new out there.”

Bundles for Babies features presentations by representatives of TRICARE, the health care program for uniformed service members and their families; the New Parent Support Program, which helps expectant parents and parents of newborn and young children under the age of three learn and improve parenting skills; Baby Café, a network of drop-in centers that support breastfeeding mothers; and the Women, Infants and Children special supplemental nutrition program.

The session also includes a presentation on finances by a M&FRC community readiness consultant and dental and medical briefings by 359th Medical Group representatives.

Parents can find the financial presentation eye-opening, Franklin said, because the average cost of rearing a child exceeds $300,000.

“We try to help our parents understand how much it will cost to raise a child,” she said. “It’s very interesting when people see that big number.”

Parents see how expensive child-rearing can be when they play Bundles for Babies’ own version of “The Price of Right” television game show. They are asked to guess the price of items required for babies as well as big-picture items such as housing, health care, education, clothing and transportation.

“Most of the time they underestimate the cost of those items,” Franklin said. “It’s interesting to watch them play.”

The Family Advocacy Office’s New Parent Support Program will focus on the NPSP’s services, which include home visitations, classes that help expectant and new parents and other resources. The presentation will also feature a discussion of child car seat safety, another component of the NPSP.

NPSP nurse Audrey Thompson will offer advice on parenting issues such as “purple crying,” Franklin said. That’s the period of time when babies, typically three to five months old, cry more often than at any other time.

“The program helps give parents a head start,” she said.

A variety of parents typically attend Bundles for Babies sessions, Franklin said.

“Some are first-time parents, some have had two or more children and others may have gone several years since their last child,” she said. “They have a good time and are able to build a system of support by meeting other parents.”

In addition to the “bundles” of information they receive at Bundles for Babies, Air Force attendees will receive a $50 Army and Air Force Exchange Service gift card and an AFAS tote bag.

The event is open to members of all armed services and their spouses.

“It’s totally worth the information,” she said. “We will also try to give everybody something – whether it’s pacifiers, rattles, blankets or toys.”

Bundles for Babies helps make military members and their spouses better parents, enabling them to focus on the mission, Franklin said.

The event can also serve as an introduction to the M&FRC’s services and classes and to other Air Force resources.

“We’re here to help them,” Franklin said. “We want people to feel comfortable coming to us.”

For more information, call 652-5321.