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Category Archives: relaxation

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Relaxing into Pregnancy Week 42

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It is important to take some time to relax and pamper yourself. Your body and your baby will thank you for those ten minutes of quiet time…put your feet up, watch your favorite TV show or movie. Sit back and relax.

Other ways to relax and unwind?

  • A bubble bath, but not too hot!
  • Reading a great book. Pick up a recent best seller or give into to your favorite author.
  • Get a massage. It can help move that baby right along.
  • Exercise. Get out and go for a walk, just be careful with your balance. Bring your cell phone and a buddy along.
  • Have a hobby? Or love doing crafts? Focus on creating something and get in a zone.
  • Meditate – use some of our breathing techniques
  • Take a nap

Talk your partner into a date night.

Oooh, today is my son’s birthday! What a wonderful way to bring a smile to MY face today.

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Journaling in Pregnancy Week 39

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Start a journal or update one you already have. You’ll want to remember all of your feelings and reactions to your pregnancy. And, your child will be fascinated with it in the future.

I didn’t and wish I had.

Here are some links to some great ones:

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Learn something new before the baby arrives in Pregnancy Week 38

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You’re going to be adapting to being mom soon enough and you probably need something else to do than plan or fret for the birth of your child.

Pick up a class in a language, attend an online seminar.

Pick something and learn something new. Feed your brain. Allow yourself to be sidetracked.

Right now, you’re thinking WHAT? I can’t even think straight or all I can think about is this baby.

But it is a good time to pick up an online class or local one to perhaps learn Spanish. Take an art workshop. Meditation classes can benefit both you and the baby. They’ll definitely make for a more relaxing birth.

Pick up a book on organic baby food if you must focus on learning something about being a mom! While it’ll be some time before the baby’s ready for it, you’ll be prepared when the time is right.

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Create a space for yourself during Pregnancy Week 37

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Find a space in the house, outdoors, somewhere special where you can go and just be you.

Being a mom can be overwhelming and all-consuming, you need somewhere to remember to be YOU. This is a sacred space. It is all about you. Put things you love here. Your books, your favorite blanket, pillows. Create a nest. Even if you can only retreat here for five minutes, you will relish the time.

Too often when the baby arrives, their stuff takes over every room in the house.

I quickly learned to declare the living room to be toy free when no child was in it. Our son learned quickly that his toys needed to migrate back to the den or his room when he was no longer in the living room. Yes, there are still days I find the random car tucked between the couch cushions, but for the majority of our days, I can sink down on the couch, blissfully toy and stuffed animal free.

Friends of mine have created sacred spaces in small corners of rooms, or just declared a part of the couch as their own. Wherever it is, decorate it with pillows, blankets….something that brings you comfort and you can claim as you own.

We’ve also declared the Master Bath to be child-free zone at least when Mommy is taking a bath. It’s my down time…and how I recharge.

What are some of the places you’ve claimed as child-free zones?

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Create a bedtime ritual for yourself….Pregnancy Week 35

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Softly to Sleep

You’re getting into the weeks where we start to focus on relaxation and winding down, so you’ll be hearing a lot from me this week.

Our bodies and minds respond to things we’ve trained them to do.

Now is the time to create a ritual to teach your mind it’s time to unwind and sleep. Think about putting the baby to bed (and perhaps getting a music/MP3 to create a ritual for baby), taking a warm bath, reading a little and then gently falling asleep. You need your sleep, and it will be a challenge to get enough of it while you adapt to being mom. The ritual will help your body relax when you want and need it to.

A recent U.S. government survey of 79,000 adults found that parents, and especially mothers, were more likely than all other adults to report insufficient sleep.

About 35 percent of all moms surveyed reported not getting enough sleep. Just think of all the ones who didn’t participate in the survey! I don’t know a single mother who feels she gets enough sleep. At least, not the ones with kids still living under their roof!

Health-related problems stemming from a lack of sleep includes irritability, lack of concentration, reduced decision-making skills, and loss of emotional control. Consistent lack of sleep can impair the immune system, increase the appetite and slow metabolism, promoting weight gain.

The division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School offers these following suggestions:

  1. Avoid caffeine four to six hours before bedtime.
  2. Avoid exercising within three hours of going to bed. Exercise stimulates a hormone that triggers alertness in your brain.
  3. Limit alcohol consumption to one to two drinks per day or less, and avoid drinking alcohol within three hours of bedtime.
  4. Create a quiet, dark and cool environment for sleeping.
  5. Go to bed and wake up at around the same time daily.
  6. Avoid working in bed. Keep your lap top in another room.
  7. Avoid having emotional conversations with your partner in bed.
  8. Develop a soothing pre-bedtime routine.

Some of our recommendations include:

  1. Meditate – focusing on your breathing will help you fall asleep naturally.
  2. Try some pre-bedtime yoga.
  3. Take a warm shower or bath.

Find something that works for you now so when you need to use it as a trigger you can. What are some of the triggers you’ve used and been successful with?

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Find ways to bring a smile out..Pregnancy Week 34

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Kittens. Puppies. Babies giggling. Butterflys on flowers. The leaves dancing in the wind. The innocence of a child asleep. A silly song.

Write down a list of things that make you smile. Put it somewhere you can easily get to. It will help on those days where you feel the world is conspiring against you.

Add in some pictures for the blog. Add in some silly videos?

What are some of the things that make you smile? Post up yours, maybe it will make someone else smile today too.

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Just remember to breathe…Pregnancy Week 33

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Breathing is both a voluntary and involuntary action.

We can control our heart rate, our blood pressure and our pain thresholds. Practice the art of breathing in and up, out and down. You’ll be amazed at how much that simple action allows you to focus and listen to your body, and your baby.

A quick revisit on the Reverse Pattern Breathing we discussed in Week 13 (link back to post)

Sit up straight for the moment, so you can really feel your body following the movements. The mantra, or phrasing you want to hold in your mind, is “In and up, out and down.” You’re going to breathe in, pulling your navel into your spine. And up, allowing your lungs to expand and fill with air.

  1. Breathing out, reverse it. Allow your lungs to collapse and your belly to round.
  2. Slow and steady. Repeat it at least three times to start and work yourself up to using it as part of your relaxation sessions. That’s all there is to it! Yoga and Qi Gong will teach you alternate patterns to focus your attention as well. I find this one works for me no matter where I am. If I focus my attention on breathing in this manner, I can control my blood pressure at the doctor’s office or even calm myself before stepping in front of a large group of people to give a lecture.

Insert video example?

Whatever birthing class you’re taking or have taken, remember the simple art of breathing can make your body relax, your heart rate even out, lower your blood pressure, and help to keep the baby relaxed too.

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Clear the Clutter – Pregnancy Week 29

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Now is the time to start clearing out if you haven’t done so already.

If you wait till later, you might not have the energy. So move now, while your energy levels are high and your brain can still process multiple things at once. When the baby is born, your focus narrows, as it should.

Babies come with a lot of stuff, so much so it can be overwhelming.

Family and friends bring you SO many things. Every mom has recommendations on what helped her…so learn to pick and choose. Some babies like swings, perhaps borrow one before buying one? My son liked the vibrating papisan chair more than the swing. We had both. It took me a while to realize some things would work for us, some things wouldn’t.

Make sure you have things arranged in your own room so you don’t have to stress about clothes. Get the kitchen cleaned out of old boxed goods and make sure you’re up to date on the bills. It will overwhelm you quickly if you ignore it now.

Call a charity to come pick up the stuff you don’t need or want.

You’ll fill that space up again.

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Enough about baby! Read a NON pregnancy related book! Pregnancy Week 28

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Baby, baby, baby….enough already, you need some time away from everything baby!  If you let it, it can overwhelm you. Enough about baby. You’re going to be a mom. It will be all encompassing until you find your balance.

SO START NOW!

Seriously. Start now. Figure out a plan to remind you of who you are other than mother. Yes, you are that baby’s mother, but you are also you. What did I ask my husband to do for me once the baby was born? Let me get a bath in nightly, on my own, no worries, no issues, no interruptions.

It was a Sanctuary.  My haven.

My other haven? Reading romance books. So, you know what…whatever your favorite genre is….find a book and read it now. It might be awhile before you’re balanced enough to add your pleasure reading back into any sort of life routine.

Find a really great steamy love story or thriller and dedicate some alone time.  You could use the distraction, and there is such a thing as information overload. Give yourself a chance to read something you love and enjoy.

Some of our guilty pleasures over the past year or so?

  • Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series
  • Hush, hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
  • Anything by Nicolas Sparks – read the book first, then enjoy the total chick flick!

As far as the delivery seems it will be here before you know it! What are some of your guilty reading pleasures?

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Pillow Talk – Pregnancy Week 20

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ONE is never enough.

You’ll likely end up keeping them all well after pregnancy. I still have all mine, and you know what? My husband has been taking to curling up with one in his arms too…shhh, don’t tell him I told you that!

Resting on your side as often as possible, especially on your left side is advised, because it provides the best circulation for your baby.

Me, my natural tendency is to lie on my stomach (can I tell you how long it took me to get comfortable on my back?) or my RIGHT side. Bah. It all worked out…find your spot and add in the pillows. You will WANT them.

You can place a pillow between your legs or underneath your stomach for more comfort.  If your upper back is also bothering (due to the increased weight of the breasts) place a pillow between your arms while lying on your side. Check out the body pillows.

Other resources:

I promise you…my son is older now, six as of this posting.  I still have the body pillow on my bed. You will love it. (Of course, I won’t mention the other EIGHT pillows we have scattered about for the two of us…..shhhh.)