A spring in our step!

With 2012 well underway and spring just around the corner, we have been busy as ever at Best Beginnings.

Last week I was in the recording studio with the marvellous Nimmy March, who has done the voiceover for our upcoming 'Small wonders' DVD. The DVD will help parents of sick and premature babies be at the heart of their baby's care and I was touched by Nimmy's support for the project and speedy professionalism in the studio. The voiceover files are now with the sound editor before we combine them with the film images and get it sent off to the authoring house and then the duplication house. Three years work finally coming to fruition!

Whilst in the studio, Nimmy also re-recorded the voiceover for the 'From bump to breastfeeding' DVD. The script has been reviewed by a group of healthcare professionals, including a representative from UNICEF Baby Friendly, and a few tweaks have brought it up to date with recent infant feeding developments. The new commentary version will be available soon!

We have created several different versions of our 'From bump to breastfeeding' DVD at the request of different regions. Harrow & Brent had their own bespoke cover made, whilst NHS Health Scotland have had the 9 specific sections of the DVD that their midwives used most created into website videos for their Ready Steady Baby campaign. If you would like to discuss a bespoke version of 'From bump to breastfeeding' for your area, please contact [email protected].

Our first 'Small Wonders' Champions event is due to take place on March 1st and my team and I are looking forward to travelling up to Manchester for the event. It promises to be an information-packed and inspiring day where our Champions can learn from each other, hear from one of the mother's features in the DVD and recieve "top-tips" on how to use the DVD resource most effectively. There are still a few places available for this event and our Champions pre-launch event in London on March 14. If you'd like to book a place, please email [email protected].

Alison and Alan at 10 Downing Street On Thursday 23rd February I was asked to go to 10 Downing Street to talk about our upcoming phone apps project. I went to the meeting yesterday along with our Chair of Trustees, Prof. Alan Maryon-Davis. Our app project looks set to be our biggest and most influential yet and that is saying something as 'From bump to breastfeeding' has reached over 1.7 million families across the UK!

The drive of my small but dedicated team to help parents give their children the best start is as great as ever. Funding is a rate-limiting factor and with your help we can do more.

The Asics British 10k London Run is fast approaching and as always we have a team taking part. If you'd like to get involved and help us give UK babies the healthiest start, please email [email protected]. Every year we have a lot of fun, meeting before and after the event at the lovely Royal Horseguards hotel where all our runners get breakfast and lunch. We thank Royal Horseguards for their continued support. Click here to check-out the film from a previous run. It would be great if you'd like to join Team Best Beginnings.

If running isn't your thing, there are many other ways to get involved - click here to find out more.

That's all for this blogpost but I look forward to updating you soon. In the meantime you can follow me on Twitter @alisonbaum

Very best wishes
Alison

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