Pregnancy Pampering

Pregnancy can be full of wonderful moments, but that doesn’t mean you always feel wonderful. Your back hurts, your feet ache, and you spend all day just waiting to hop into bed. When I was pregnant, I always felt like a deserved something for carrying around what felt like a watermelon that didn't let me sleep, ever. Whether it was treating myself to a little too much gelato or new makeup (because eye shadow never makes you feel fat), here are ways to ease those pesky pregnancy rites of passage and feel pampered in the process:

Indulge in a Massage: Massage is great for soothing pregnancy discomfort and boosting a mom-to-be’s mental well-being. Sip refreshing cucumber water, lounge in a fluffy robe, and then let the expert relieve sore muscles while you find your inner Zen. So take a load off and treat yourself to a prenatal massage. You deserve it, Mama!

Practice Yoga: Achieve ultimate relaxation (or let's be honest, just take a nap) in a prenatal yoga class. Especially designed for pregnant women, yoga will support your body as it grows and changes throughout your pregnancy. Aside from the physical benefits, meditation can work wonders on the wandering mind of an expectant mother. Although I was less than thrilled when I had to give a a total stranger a massage in class once, I always loved going.

Shop (But Not Till You Drop!)
So what if you feel like a beached whale? Find something to flatter your baby bump. If you’re not in the market for new maternity clothes, buy a pretty scarf or cool necklace you can enjoy now and after delivery. Treat yourself to something new that makes you feel good.

Go on a Date
When your baby arrives on the scene, you can say good-bye to dinner and a movie for awhile. Take advantage of this time now (even if you'd rather park it on the couch and watch an entire season of Downton Abbey) and have your hubby take you out on the town. Enjoy the low-key quality time together before life gets hectic.

Make Mocktails
Having to skip out on your favorite cocktails can be a real buzzkill during pregnancy. But you can still sip on something festive and delicious, sans booze. Get creative and experiment with sparkling water, fresh fruit and juices, flavored soda, even herbs and spices. Check out Preggatinis: Mixology for the Mom-to-be. Bring out the “good glasses” and toast to your little one on the way. Cheers!

Get Away
Take a “babymoon” to enjoy some quality time with your husband before baby makes three. Whether you stay local or venture out for some island time, a little pre-baby R&R outside of your normal routine is the ultimate way to pamper yourself.

Get a Makeover
Makeup doesn’t care how much weight you’ve gained during your pregnancy. From eye shadows to scented lotions, hit up your favorite cosmetics counter for a new stash of products and free makeover from a pro. You’ll need them to look camera-ready on the big day!

Attention: Chocoholics

When a recipe starts with melting a stick of butter and 2 huge bars of chocolate, you know you're in trouble. Toss in some* sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, cocoa powder and you have yourself a decadent batch of brownies. (*a shit ton)

This recipe from Real Simple is my new go-to for a chocolate fix. It's really throwing off my post-baby diet, but a girl's gotta have a brownie every now and then. Plus, I ate some kale with my dinner tonight, which has canceled it out. Enjoy!

Baby and Me Yoga: No Way or Namaste?

Sometimes being on maternity leave feels like life on another planet. So I don't go completely bonkers having 1-sided conversations with my two month old, I make sure to get us out of the house for an "activity." Sometimes that activity is as thrilling as buying fabric softener. Sometimes it's lunch with a friend. Today it was Baby & Me Yoga.

Yoga is is supposed to help you de-stress, yet I was petrified. What if my baby cries? What if she poops? What if she's hungry? (Most of those things happened, minus the poop. HURRAH!! Small victory.) Anyways...

The minute we got set up in class, my little gal pal started to cry. Did she not get the memo that the place is called Tranquil Space? I broke into a sweat and seriously considered rolling my mat up and booking it out of there. But then I looked around. There were other babies crying, fussing, spitting up, breastfeeding... it was a hot mess. I breathed a sigh of relief. The room was full of people like me -- who had high hopes of appearing to know what they were doing with their kid and maybe sneaking in a few downward dogs. 

Doing new things with a baby can be daunting. But everyday, I'm learning that you just have to let go and know that pretty much nothing will go according to plan. Babies are going to spit up all over that cute outfit, cry just as you sit down to dinner, poop at a restaurant that doesn't have a changing table. And we just have to go with it and laugh. Or cry. Depends on your mental state at the time ;) It's liberating to just assume you will be pooped on.

So, today I probably did a total of 6 minutes of yoga. I fed my little one for the first part of the class. Then I laid her down on happily on a blanket and did some of the workout. She proved to be an excellent partner for the squat sequence. Dare I try it again next week...?

What activities do you like to do with your baby?

Back in Shape After Baby

Dear Claire Danes,

How do you look like this one month after having a baby? Too busy chasing Abu Nazir to eat? Seriously. How?

Love,

Living in Yoga Pants & Over-sized Cardigans



I knew this day would come.

The gelato, bagels, and pasta I enjoyed a little too much during pregnancy have stuck around to haunt me. And now, it's time to deal with it ... the dreaded post pregnancy weight gain. When everyone's focusing on the cute baby bump, it's easy to overlook the pounds packing on everywhere else. But now it's time to get my act together. So how to shed those post baby pounds? Here are a few tips I plan to try myself:

Walk, Walk, Walk: Being cooped up in the house all day is enough to make anyone on maternity leave go insane. So why not take your baby and that massive stroller out on the town? Explore different neighborhoods, find areas that are uphill, and invite another mom to join for company. Power walking is perfect for easing your way back into exercising. Check out this stroller workout featured on Fit Pregnancy.

Go to Yoga: Most yoga studios offer post-natal classes for moms and babies. Sure, you'll probably have to squeeze in a diaper change or feeding between those downward dogs, but it's a great way to meet potential play-dates and start re-toning your core (yes, it's still there...).

Use Your Weekends: Take advantage of when your hubby is home during weekend days to hit the gym. It's great for spending some time solo and clearing your head. Plus, it's waaaaay better than always going late at night during the week when your energy is zapped from the day.

Workout With Your Baby: Who needs free weights when you could do a set of squats while holding your little one for added resistance? Or wear your baby in a sling or a baby carrier while you do things around the house. There are tons of videos and articles online with ways to workout with baby, like this one from Babble.

Ditch the Diet: When you need every last drop of energy to take care of a newborn and handle sleepy night feedings, the last thing you need is an extreme diet. Especially if you're breastfeeding, it's important to eat right and often. But, it's time to say goodbye to those days of carefree, unaccounted for carb overload. Many new moms swear by Weight Watchers to help them get on track the healthy way.

Claire Danes, you look amazing but you're really pissing the rest of us pudgy post-preggers people off.

What are your new baby slim down secrets?

New Baby Essentials

In between getting pooped on and watching morning talk show segments about important things like grandmothers who weight lift, I'm sneaking in a little freelance writing for WEtv.com. One of my most recent posts shares 10 New Baby Buys. When I was pregnant, I didn't even know where to begin. So, I asked my friends for their tried and true baby must-haves so I could stock up on the right stuff. Here are some of things that work for us:

Aden and Anais Swaddles
These swaddle blankets are super cute and cozy. I wish they made them for grown ups. Aside from using them to wrap your little one at bedtime, the soft, breathable muslin blanket does double duty as a stroller cover, nursing shield, tummy time blanket, or burp cloth. I take these everywhere!

Cloud b Sound Machine Soother
It's "sheepy" time! This sound machine has 4 different sounds to help soothe your sweet baby to sleep. Not going to lie ... I kinda like it too.

 

3 Sprouts Hooded Towel
After bath time, babies look SO cute in hooded towels - especially ones that have ears. I love the 3 Sprouts hooded towels. We have the chicken and the elephant.




Ergo Baby Performance Carrier
Hang out with your baby, hands-free. Especially if you live in a city, the Ergo is perfect for running nearby errands and even getting things done around the house with your baby in tow.

Mustela Bathtime Essential Set
This smells AMAZING - different than the Johnson & Johnson we grew up with (which I still love). Perfect for a brand new baby, all Mustela products are free of parabens, phthalates and phenoxyethanol. (This sweet smelling set makes a great gift too.)

Tiny Love Soothe and Groove Mobile 
At around 6 weeks or so, newborns start to become much more interested in their surroundings. This mobile gets us a lot of smiles and cute squeals these days. Plus it's easy to attach to the side of your crib.



I also LOVED the Nap Nanny and the Rock n' Play which sadly both got recalled. Definitely fill out those forms so that companies have your info and can alert you to issues.

What are your newborn essentials?

Diary of a Mom in One Line a Day

Many moms have grand plans of chronicling the life of their new baby. But when your days are full of diaper changes, feedings, laundry, stroller walks, and sneaking in some "me" time, that baby journal easily gets overlooked.

Before my baby was born, a friend got me this great book, Mom's One Line a Day. Just like the title says, all you have to do is write one line to document that day. So, since it takes all of 12 seconds to jot down a one-liner, it's easy to keep up.

"Today you had your first bath. You hated every second of it and Mommy cried." 

"You met your great grandparents and went to your first happy hour at their hotel." 

"The Nap Nanny that you love to sleep in was recalled. Shit." 

"You did Tummy Time for 15 seconds. We took 45 pictures."

Good times.

Newborn 101

Guess what? I'm a mom!

Three weeks ago I gave birth to an adorable baby girl (OMG still in shock that this really happened). My husband and I are totally smitten. We've never spent so much time watching someone sleep (and taking pictures of her sleeping). But even though she spends most of the day snoozing, there's still a ton to learn, do, and Google ("newborn and weird breathing", "how many times should newborns poop?"...).

In the whirlwind of the past three weeks, here's what I've learned so far: (I'm not an expert and spend my days bewildered so take this with a grain of salt.)

They make weird noises when they sleep:
"Sleeping like a baby" has taken on a whole new meaning. A more accurate term would be "Sleeping like an 80 year old grandpa and/or barnyard animal." From grunts to snores, squeals to sighs... newborns are very busy, loud sleepers. According to our pediatrician this is normal and we don't need to hover over her crib to make sure she's breathing. But this means while she's sleeping, oftentimes we're not. In addition to the noises, sometimes she flails her arms around like she's doing baby Tae Bo. Billy Blanks would be proud.

They poop a LOT:
The amount of diapers and wipes we've gone through in just a few weeks is astounding. And this little lady is full of surprises. It's mind boggling that someone who is so sweet and tiny makes sounds comparable to gunfire when going #2. We literally thought someone got shot outside our house the other night. I've just realized that she's going to hate me when she's old enough to read this blog. And with that, I'll conclude the poop section.

They need a lot of seating/sleeping options:
The couch in our living room is now in the good company of a Lamb Swing, a Rock 'n Play, and a Nap Nanny. We spend most of our day moving her to different sleeping contraptions to see which "infant recliner" she will be happiest in.  Babies really have it made.

They eat a LOT:
Newborns need to eat 8-12 times a day. Much like her food-obsessed parents, our little gal has quite an appetite. I think she'll be a great brunch buddy once she moves onto solid foods. Feedings are when we spend our best quality time. During our morning feeding today, she agreed that Kathie Lee and Hoda need to lay off the booze. She also told me (via spitting up) that she's not a fan of the kimono style nightgowns we've been having her sleep in.

They can make your heart melt in an instant:
There's nothing like having a teeny, tiny newborn sleep on your chest while you hold them. Or seeing your husband read her The Belly Button book. Or listening to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star play from the mobile while she sleeps and puffs her lips out like a mini Angelina Jolie. Or wrapping her up in a swaddle and then scooping up that tiny baby burrito to rock her to sleep. I could go on and on...

Newborns are just too damn cute. Sigh.  :)