BCBS of Mississippi Supports Babypalooza

As a sponsor of the Mississippi Gulfcoast Babypalooza and the Jackson, Mississippi Babypalooza, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi provides health, exercise, and cooking demonstrates at the events.

Educational sessions were hosted by Joanna Dixon, Licensed Wellness Coach, Tameka Johnson, RD, LD, CLC, and Pebbles Counts, MS, RD, CLC.

Pebbles graduated from Mississippi State University with her B.S. in Nutrition in 2012 and her M.S. in Health Promotion in 2015. She had been a Registered Dietitian with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Mississippi since 2016 and has since been able to also become a Certified Lactation Counselor. Pebbles enjoys reading, being outdoors and spending time with her husband and two children.

Joanna graduated from Mississippi State University with her B.S. in Fitness Management in 2007. She has worked in the Health and Wellness field for 15 years and has been with Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi since 2010. Joanna is a board-certified Health and Wellness Coach. Joanna loves helping people reach their health goals, teaching classed and spending time with her husband and daughter.

• The Golden Hour – Discussion about the importance of the Golden Hour, benefits of skin-to-skin bonding, and how to initiate breastfeeding after delivery.
• Latching Techniques – Address different breastfeeding positions and the benefits of each position. We will also go over how to know if baby is getting enough breastmilk and how to hand express.
• Pumping at Work – Getting prepared to go back to work after baby including building a small breastmilk supply, pumping schedules, what to pack and how to pump in different workplaces.
• Cooking Demo – How to make energy bites and discuss the health benefits of each ingredient.
• Nutrition After Baby & Meal Planning – Discussion about easy grab and go snack ideas while on the run and how to meal prep for the week.
• Infant Nutrition – Choosing formula, proper formula mixing and storage as well as how to store breastmilk. We will also go over signs baby is ready for solid food, the benefits of homemade and jarred baby food and how to make homemade baby food.
• Exercise Q&A – Exercise Q&A and discussion of healthy posture during pregnancy, exercising while pregnant and postpartum exercise.