Tag Archives: newborn

sweet little experiment

by

Reblogging this one today! Enjoy! 

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.

divine drops: a magic pose for calming fussy babies

by

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

sweet little experiment

by

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.