Tag Archives: baby

divine drops: a magic pose for calming fussy babies

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Sleep is something I haven’t had in about five years.  More nights than not, I’m bouncing from room to room at 3am.  Cuddling, shoosh-ing, escorting to the bathroom, and getting annoyed that the husband snores right through it all.  Hello.  You’d think he would join me and the kids on our middle of the night escapades.  Honestly though, my kids become “mommy kids” at night.  Anyhow, I can’t say now that it’s all that bad.  Ella knows that on school nights 8pm is bedtime and she’s usually pretty compliant.  She has her snack and reads her books and off to dreamland she goes.  Ethen is three years-old, he goes in at 7:30pm and he’ll usually sleep right on through until 7am. (Although daylight savings has been keeping him up a bit longer.  I think he gets confused when I rally him up for night night and the sun is blazing through his bedroom window.)

Not too long ago though, I was a mom of two kids under two and night-time and nap time and any other time involving fussy, crying babies was always a challenge.  That was, until I discovered a great yoga technique for getting my wee little ones to zonk out.  It’s perfect for newborns through about one year.  So if you’re a new mommy and are having a difficult time getting your precious one to calm down and go nighty night, pay attention.  Divine Drops Pose might just be your saving grace.  It was definitely mine.

An excerpt from one of my absolute favorite mommy and baby books, Itsy Bitsy Yoga by Helen Garabedian:

A Magic Pose

Divine Drops

(Newborn version)

Divine Drops activate my calming reflex and soothe me in a jiffy!  Divine Drops are easy to do with me at anytime and almost anywhere – especially when I am fussy or in a colicky mood.

  1. Stand with your feet more than hip distance apart.
  2. Hold your baby facing you with her legs pressed into your abdomen.  Place your right hand underneath her hips and lower back, and use your left hand to support your baby’s neck and the back of her head.  Her legs are being fully or partially supported as they snuggle into your body.
  3. Turn your toes out to the sides at a 45 degree angle as you prepare to squat.
  4. Inhale, filling your lower abdomen, chest, and arms completely with breath.
  5. Exhale as you bend your knees and quickly drop down into a wide squat while continuing to hold your baby.
  6. On your next inhale, press your feet into the floor and lift yourself and your baby back up into the starting stance.

Repeat 3-10 times and as often as needed throughout the day and night.

Divine Drops
(Older baby version)

photo by: Fit Pregnancy

Variation pose: If your baby becomes addicted to this pose and you become too tired doing it (like at 2am), you can try holding and supporting your baby as you gently bounce on an exercise ball.  I used to do this with Ella as well and it worked!

 ***Always remember to keep your baby’s head in place and supported at all times!***

I hope this works for you!

Here’s to a good night’s sleep.

dr. lisa

Bum Boosa® Giveaway

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It’s a great day for a giveaway!  I’ve decided to start doing giveaways on my blog so I can share with my readers the kinds of products I use and love!

Today I’m excited to introduce you to a line of natural baby wipes from Bum Boosa®.  When it comes to your baby, you want nothing but the best and you wouldn’t mind helping out the environment as well.  Am I right?  Well then, let me tell you a little about a product I found and fell in love with.  Bum Boosa® Bamboo Products are made of renewable, sustainable bamboo in combination with natural ingredients for biodegradable and natural baby wipes, soothing and natural diaper rash ointment, soft and eco-luxurious bathroom tissue, and other eco-friendly products soon to join the marketplace.

Most diaper wipes on store shelves today are made from petroleum-derived plastic.  This drives me absolutely insane.  As a mother to two young children, I use baby wipes every single day.  Not just for diapering (we are out of that stage for now), but for wiping little hands and faces, and even their toys.  The last thing I want to be doing is exposing them to more chemicals on a daily basis.

Bum Boosa’s® baby wipes are:

  • Award Winning;
  • A non-synthetic, tree-free product;
  • Derived from a renewable & sustainable bio-based material;
  • Contain plant-based ingredients including organic aloe vera, calendula and 100% natural scent;
  • Are alcohol free, Paraben-free, and Sulfate-free;
  • A USDA Certified Bio preferred product;
  • Made in the USA at a 100% wind powered facility

Today’s giveaway is for the Bum Boosa® Eco-Gift Bag: 

Includes (3) packages each of 80 count Bamboo wipes, (1) 4 ounce container of diaper rash ointment, (1) 10 ml bottle of pure grade Bulgarian Lavender Essential Oil with a recipe card for making your own natural baby skin care products.

A big THANK YOU to Sonja- a fellow mom on a mission, President and co-founder of Bum Boosa® Bamboo Products.  Please take the time to visit the Bum Boosa® site to learn more about her success in creating safer, gentler, more eco-friendly baby products.

To have a chance at winning the Bum Boosa® Eco-Gift Bag, just leave me a comment below or on my Facebook page under the Bum Boosa® giveaway link.  Easy!  Giveaway open until Friday March 30, 11:59 pm EST.  Winner announced on Monday.

Have a great day!

dr lisa

sweet little experiment

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I was not prepared for motherhood.

Now don’t get me wrong, I did read a decent amount of books on pregnancy and whole birth. I attended prenatal classes and breastfeeding classes. But all in all I think it’s pretty safe to say that nothing can really prepare you for motherhood besides motherhood itself. Yep, you gotta be in it to know it. In it to win it. Or in it to navigate through a system of trial and error, ups and downs, jubilation and frustration, invigoration and exhaustion- the list goes on and on.

I think most parents experience some ineptitude when it comes to the reality of raising children. At the hospital, I remember feeling apprehensive to the fact that they were allowing Nick and I to take our 6lb. 12oz, baby girl home. Handing us this precious little angel and saying: She’s beautiful. Good luck and goodbye.

The first thing I thought was: Oh, Holy Lord. I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing.

Let me better explain myself. You see, when Ella was inside me I had everything figured out. Her schedule, my schedule, sleep time, feed time, playtime, potty time. If I remember correctly, I think I even had a list of do’s and don’ts plastered on our kitchen wall. I was extremely organized and the house was really freaking clean. Nesting sure got the best of me in my ninth month! The nursery was stunning, but practical. We did every thing in neutral since we chose not to find out her sex. Tiny clothes were all neatly folded and put in their proper place. Piles of baby booties and teeny hats aligned perfectly on the shelf. I had every thingamabob baby item you could think of. Most of which I would come to find out would never get opened, let alone used. That’s okay though because they were a piece of the pregnancy puzzle and my puzzle was almost complete. I reveled in the thought of perfection.

Then I had her. She was the most beautiful, innocent, precious soul. My heart was overflowing with love. Best of all, she was mine! Then we took her home. And within an instant, all of my scheduling and planning and organizing pretty much went to hell.

Schedule? What schedule? This baby eats when she wants, sleeps when she wants, and poops all of the time.

I was introduced to “poop up the back.” Um hello, no one ever told me about that. Surprise! It’s disgusting.

Laundry piled up.

Diapers everywhere.

My breasts hanging out all day long.

Nursing. Nursing. Nursing. And nursing.

Pumping. Storing. Pumping. Storing.

Glass of wine.

Pumping. Dumping.

Changing. Rocking. Changing. Rocking.

I was in a constant fog. We were up all hours of the night for days and weeks and months on end.

Our first trip to the pediatrician’s office and we left her diaper bag at home. Yeah, you heard that right. Not in the waiting room, not in the car. AT HOME. Who does that? The nurse was looking at us like we were two brainless idiots. I was looking at Nick thinking:

How the hell could you forget the diaper bag??!! I had the baby. I remembered her. 

Oh motherhood. With its winding roads. You never really know what’s around the corner or behind door number one..or two..or three for that matter. You never really know what to expect or what you’ll forget. What kind of baby you’ll have or what kind of mother you’ll be.

And thus begins our lifelong…

sweet little BIG experiment.

sleep baby sleep

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At 2:49am, I was awakened by my three-year-old crying. I ran to his room and found him sitting up in bed asking for his Lightning McQueen car. I’m sure he was dreaming because all I did was hush him a bit, hold him for a few minutes, and cuddle him (and myself) back to sleep. At 4:15am, I awoke in his bed (make that partially in his bed since the whole right side of my body was hanging off the edge), my neck cranked, my body freezing (he stole all the covers), and my left arm stuck underneath his pillow. I tried to gently free my arm without waking him so I could quietly head for the door and back to my own room. Success! Well sort of.

In a sleepy stupor, I was making my way down the hallway to my bedroom only to be met by my five-year-old doing the pee pee dance. I escorted her to the bathroom and then to her bedroom, tucked her back in and kissed her goodnight. Checked the clock (4:27am) and plopped my body back into my own bed. Oh good, the husband didn’t hear a thing. He is sleeping soundly. I’m so glad the kids didn’t wake him. Sigh.

If kids sleeping through the night is any indication of parenting success, I am a complete and utter failure. I’m not saying we’re up every night, but we’re definitely not where I’d like to be in the “Please Sleep Through the Night Challenge.” And my kids are three and five!

So when do babies start sleeping fully through the night?

I believe there is no set age for which a baby should be sleeping through the night. In fact, to me it sounds almost illogical that we as a society have put these demands on ourselves to “train” our children to sleep when really we have little control over the outcome. Yes, when they’re young we can make sure they are fed and changed. We can develop a night time routine of bathing and rocking to sooth and calm them. We can make sure they are warm enough or cool enough by dressing them appropriately. We can accept teething for what it is- a nightmarish disaster in terms of ruining the months of hard work we just put in!! And when they’re a wee bit older, we can make sure they get plenty of exercise during the day. We can continue to give them a warm bath and start reading them books before bed.

But the bottom line remains: All kids are different. All families are different. Some are breast feeding, some are bottle feeding. Some are co-sleeping, some are crib sleeping. The sleep/wake development of children is more nature than nurture. Personally, my kids have never been great sleepers. I used to compare myself to other moms, but no more. I have found that for some reason we take pride in having a “good” baby who quickly takes to sleeping through the night. The pediatrician congratulates you, society congratulates you. Yet we feel shame if our child is not. Apparently because they haven’t conformed to the “newborn baby rule book.” The pediatrician is sometimes quick to judge and others often express opinions about what you may be doing wrong.

Unless there is an underlying medical reason your child is not sleeping through the night, there is no need to worry. Do the best you can to accommodate the needs of your baby and your family. If you know you’re kids aren’t great sleepers, go to bed an hour earlier each night or try and sneak in a nap during the day (if possible).

And if tonight, I find myself semi-conscious, wandering the halls of my home at 2:00am with one kid in my arms and one by the hand- I’m beelining it back to my bedroom and telling the hubby it’s his turn. It’s only fair.

dr. lisa