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Jessica Heslam: Community Baby Shower a blessing for new moms

Boston Herald - 4/23/2019

April 23-- Apr. 23--Life has had its share of hardships for Jodi Weinburg, a Roxbury mother nearly eight months pregnant with a baby boy.

Jodi and her longtime boyfriend live in public housing and aren't able to work. Their car keeps breaking down. When Jodi was 3 years old, her mother was shot to death, and the aunt who raised Jodi later died. She has no family to lean on for help.

"It hasn't been an easy road but I survived," Jodi told me Monday. "It's been a struggle, but I make it."

Tomorrow, Jodi will be feted at the United Way's ninth annual Community Baby Shower, where more than 330 new and expecting parents, mostly mothers, will be celebrated at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center.

At the nursery-rhyme themed shower, parents will get a baby bin full of all the baby essentials, including diapers, wipes, onesies, bibs, burp clothes, toys, a travel changing pad and handmade blankets.

Moms will be treated to express manicures and chair massages. Parents can learn breathing exercises and how to swaddle their babies. They can learn about all the community resources available to them.

There will be an area for kids with licensed child-care providers, as well as face painting and musicians. Moms can peruse a boutique with donated baby clothes and connect with one another. Families can get their portraits taken.

A roasted chicken dinner and baby shower cake will be among the food served. There will be balloons and center-pieces.

"I'm so grateful for it," said Jodi, 38, who has two daughters, ages 20 and 13. "It really helps a lot. I can't wait. It's such a blessing. I thank God for everything. Every little help I can get is good. It's not easy these days."

The shower has grown from about 75 mothers during those first few years to more than 330 on Wednesday, the biggest shower yet. Volunteers are still needed, including people who speak Spanish or Haitian Creole.

"Parenthood can be overwhelming for anyone let alone folks who are facing economic barriers," said Dahlia Cox, one of the organizers and vice president of engagement for United Way. "We just try and make it a wonderful evening."

Romelia Webb, mother to Andre, 1, and Zora, 9, brought a half-dozen families to last year's shower. The workshops were helpful, she said, as was the massage.

"Five minutes without a crying baby on my hip and my oldest in childcare, it was awesome," said Romelia, who attends college full-time and is a parent leader volunteer at the Nurtury Learning Lab in Jamaica Plain.

One mother she brought, Romelia recalled, cried because she was so grateful. "It was a way for the moms to just get a breather from everyday life and be able to enjoy themselves, something they probably haven't done in a while," Romelia said.

Romelia plans to bring a group of new and pregnant mothers to Wednesday's shower, where she'll oversee a table for the Nurtury Learning Lab, a daycare and family resource center.

Jodi wants to be the best mother she can be for her baby. She's excited to hold him. She's been taking prenatal and parenting classes at the organization Smart from the Start. She's looking forward to the shower, telling me, "I'm going to enjoy every bit."

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