Our Workshops
Whether you’re preparing for birth, learning to care for your baby, building safety skills, or looking for breastfeeding support, we have a workshop for you.
This 2-hour evening workshop is designed for expectant parents who want to feel informed and prepared walking into their hospital birth. Led by an experienced labor and delivery nurse, you will learn what actually happens in a hospital labor, what decisions you may face, and you will be equipped to approach your experience with clarity and confidence.
This workshop is ideally taken around the 30-36th week of pregnancy. We encourage you to bring your birthing support person to class.
During this workshop, we will cover:
Labor: An overview of the stages of labor, what typically happens in a hospital setting, monitoring and interventions, pain management options including epidurals and non-medicated strategies, and what induction or augmentation may look like.
Delivery: What to expect with a vaginal birth and how cesarean births unfold, including common reasons for each, what the room feels like, and how to prepare mentally and practically for either outcome.
Immediate Postpartum: The first hours after birth, physical recovery, hospital routines, and newborn procedures.
Non-Birthing Partner Involvement: Clear, practical ways partners can provide physical and emotional support during labor, advocate effectively, and feel confident in their role.
We will also briefly introduce early breastfeeding basics and newborn care so you feel oriented for those first days.
You will leave with all of your questions answered, a clear understanding of what to expect, what choices you may face, and how to step into your hospital birth feeling prepared and supported.
This class is facilitated by Riley Duncan, RN, MSN, CNL. Riley has been a labor and delivery nurse for the past eight years, is a Registered Nurse with a Master of Nursing degree and a Clinical Nurse Leader certification. She is deeply passionate about women’s health and dedicated to providing safe, high-quality care for mothers and babies throughout labor and delivery. In addition, she is committed to supporting and promoting breastfeeding through her certification as a Certified Lactation Educator.
This course is $150 for a participant and their birthing support person. If you’d like to bring more than 1 support person, please reach out to us here.
This is a two-hour, hands-on class for expecting parents and caregivers. We focus on the first month or so with your baby: how newborns sleep, how to soothe a fussy baby, how feeding works, and the basics of holding, diapering, and bathing.
Everyone gets a practice baby, so you’ll try each skill yourself instead of just watching. A good chunk of the class is saved for your questions. Bring your partner or support person, too. Grandparents and other caregivers welcome!
This class covers the early weeks, not the whole first year. Sleep and feeding with older babies go much deeper in our Mommy & Me classes.
What You’ll Learn
Newborn Sleep & Soothing
What newborn sleep really looks like, how to set up for safe sleep, and how to calm a crying baby with the 5 S’s, a simple set of soothing techniques from Dr. Harvey Karp.
Swaddling & Pacifiers
Practice swaddling on a practice baby until it feels natural, and talk through whether a pacifier is right for your family.
Feeding Basics
How to read your baby’s hunger cues, what to expect in the first days, how often newborns eat, and bottle feeding basics. Whether you plan to breastfeed, bottle feed, or do both, this is a judgment-free space.
Holding, Diapering & Bathing
How to hold and pass a newborn safely, change a diaper (including around the umbilical cord stump), and give a bath, plus how often newborns really need one.
Your Questions
Open time to ask anything, from the first night home to what your partner’s job will be in week one. Topics that often come up include when to call the pediatrician, handling visitors, and the evening fussy stretch.
Cost: $90 per participant, 2 hours
Location: The Nest, 730 11th Street, Hermosa Beach, CA
This class is facilitated by Denise Curtis, Doula, New Parent Educator, Lactation Educator. Denise has spent many years supporting hundreds of parents through pregnancy, postpartum, and early parenthood, from feeding and newborn care to the emotional ups and downs of a new baby. She teaches in a warm, relaxed way, and as a mom herself, she’s right alongside you.
This course is $90 per participant. Please adjust the quantity below for the correct number of participants.
This is a two-hour, hands-on class for new and expecting parents and the people who help care for little ones. Bernadette Baker, an EMT and American Heart Association instructor, will walk you through what to do if a baby or child stops breathing or is choking. You’ll also cover the first aid basics that come up at home, from fevers to falls.
You’ll practice on manikins so the steps feel familiar instead of scary, and there’s time to ask all your questions. Everything follows the latest American Heart Association guidelines. This is an informational class, not a certification course.
Expecting? It’s a great one to take before baby arrives. Already have a crawler or a toddler? It’s just as useful now. Partners, grandparents, and nannies are welcome.
What You’ll Learn
Infant CPR (0 to 12 months)
How to check if your baby is responsive, call for help, and give compressions and rescue breaths.
Child CPR & AED Use (1 to 8 years)
How CPR changes for a bigger body, and how to use an AED, including where the pads go on a child.
Choking Relief
How to tell mild choking from severe choking, and what to do for a baby (back blows and chest thrusts) and for a child (abdominal thrusts).
Common Emergencies
Fever, croup, and breathing trouble: how to tell what’s urgent and when to call your pediatrician. Plus choking prevention and babyproofing basics.
First Aid at Home
Cuts, scrapes, and burns. Falls and head bumps, and the warning signs to watch for. Poisoning and when to call Poison Control (1-800-222-1222). Allergic reactions and when to use an EpiPen.
You’ll also take home an Emergency Reference Guide to keep handy.
Price: $90 per participant
Format: 2-hour, hands-on class
Facilitator: Bernadette Baker, CVT, MT, EMT
This class is facilitated by Riley Baker, CVT, MT, EMT. Bernadette is an EMT and an American Heart Association BLS and ACLS instructor with extensive hands-on emergency and medical training experience. She teaches through S&B CPR Training and currently leads parent-focused CPR and first aid classes for other local organizations.
This course is $90 per participant. Please adjust the quantity below for the correct number of participants.
We know that feeding your baby can feel really, really hard. We also believe that with support it doesn’t have to be that way. Our Certified Lactation Educators can help educate and support you in preparing for breastfeeding, dealing with feeding challenges that may arise, and moving through transitions in breastfeeding/pumping/bottle feeding (returning to work, starting solids, weaning, etc.)
Our Breastfeeding & Lactation Education Support Groups are appropriate for moms currently breastfeeding, pumping moms, formula/donated milk feeding families, and pregnant families with specific questions about what to expect.
Babies of any age welcome.
Group sessions are led by Denise Curtis, Lactation Educator and are held at the Nest - 730 11th Street in Hermosa Beach. We have a changing pad, baby scale, and some nursing pillows. We love when families bring their own nursing pillows so that we can help you work on positioning with the gear you’ll be using most frequently.
Groups are complimentary but do require registration so that we can keep them small and ensure you get the individual attention you need.
As a certified lactation educator, Denise's speciality is in educating moms and families about breastfeeding. Please ask any and all breastfeeding questions you have! At the Nest, we believe that information is power, and while we want to help you with current issues, we also want to educate you in order to prevent future issues from occurring. We want to make sure that you walk out of the door of our lactation group feeling more informed about your body and your baby's milk needs, and with that knowledge, you're able to enjoy feeding your baby just a little bit more.
Medical issues (fever of mom or baby, infection of the nipple or breast, failure to thrive babies, abscess, mastitis of the breast) are outside of the scope of our group support. We are happy to refer you to local IBCLCs who can support you with these issues and highly encourage you to work closely with your pediatrician and OBGyn in confronting these issues.