How to Hire Help with Your Newborn

Are you pregnant or a new mom with a new little someone to love? If so, watch this quick and informative interview with Expert Mommy, Debbie Hipp on everything you need to know before hiring a sitter, Nanny or Doula to help you out at home.

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37 Weeks: Crystal Ball

It seems our twins have tricked a good number of people into thinking they would already be born by now.

At 36.5 weeks a pregnant, I saw my OB last Thursday, whom, after measuring me at 3 cm dilated and 75% thinned raised her eyebrows and laughed a little when I said, “See you next Thursday.” She and the entire front desk staff felt I would most likely “go” that weekend (if not later that day). My Doula, after hearing my progress report, put her money on the weekend as well, though she did qualify her quess with “If I could predict which day you’d go into labor… I’d be a very busy Doula!”

Me? Well, hearing how encouraging all the signs were, one night this weekend when contractions started coming every 10 minutes or so… I excitedly repacked my hospital bag, certain I would be delivering that next Read more

Week 36: Pre-Birth ENERGY

After weeks and weeks of planning, fixing up the nursery, washing and folding baby clothes, etc, etc… I’ve still managed to wake up each morning this week with new “To-Do-Before-Giving-Birth” items. I see each day as a gift of time… 24 hours to do the things that I’ve either flat out forgotten to do or, to be quite honest, do not need to do prior to labor, but left undone, would surely fall by the wayside for a couple months.

What are some of these “to-do’s” magically popping into my brain Read more

Zen Mommy Minute: Share your Dreams

We all have dreams… every one of us. As a parent, have you ever thought about the importance of your child’s dreams and what they might be saying? Start by remembering your own dreams and sharing them with your kids. They will naturally begin to share theirs with you.

Hearing that your 6 year old was chased by a blue witch who wanted to steal their homework might just give you a little insight into what’s going on in her waking day. Is she anxious or worried about something? Having a good Dream Dictionary on hand can be a big help as well. Let me know if you are already talking about dreams with your children. And if you are just starting, what have you learned? Read more

Week 35: House Arrest

Thankfully, there is no clamp on my ankle, but my doctor told me last week in no uncertain terms that I am to “lay low”. She put me on house arrest.
50% thinned and 1 cm dilated, she said eat, sleep, shower and relax until we hit the 36 week mark. HA! She left out the two children, dog, cat, husband, home and two businesses I help manage.
I really did appreciated this advice though, and for the last 7 days I HAVE been taking it easy. Well, OK, I have been taking it “easier”, but I would say I’ve modified her house arrest orders just a tad. FAR from bed-rest, I have Read more

Zen Mommy Minute: Cool Smoothies – connecting with our kids

Cool smoothies. They’re YUM and nutritious… hence the perfect after school treat for you and your child of just about any age to make together. Here’s a great recipe with pineapple, lime… and yes kids, a scoop of ice cream.

Tell me about your kitchen adventures. Do your kids like to make up their own recipes as much as mine? (whose latest creations,  “Reindeer Peanut Butter Snacks”, were left out Christmas eve with a copy of the recipe so Mrs. Claus could make more of them once Rudolph and the gang got back to the North Pole.)

This Zen Mommy Minute is published in partnership with Due Maternity, a great place for maternity clothes. xoxo

Suzanne Tucker, aka Zen Mommy Read more

Week 34: Like “Cantaloupes”

Don’t you LOVE how in medicine everything is compared to the size of fruit? Well, I can say with confidence after our resent ultrasound that I am carrying two beautiful cantaloupes. Baby boy and girl are each measuring nearly 5 pounds and are predicted to “ripen” in the next 4 weeks or so. Yes. I am the mother of two beautiful, hair on their heads, head down, well positioned cantaloupes. Word has it that due to their ever increasing sizes, they are no longer “floating” inside me but resting their sweet little heads on my pelvic bones. and if you asked my bladder, I promise you, it would concur with this theory.

Surprise!

One major surprise for me in all the pregnancy reading I have done of late is that all this itchiness I am feeling these days may actually be caused by my pregnancy. I had written it off to dry winter skin and a belly pulled as tight as the Little Drummer Boy’s drum. Turns out it could also be due to the increase in estrogen experienced during pregnancy. Sure, I’m still going to limit those long hot-hot-hot showers that feel so good. I’m going to keep applying belly oils and lotions like they are going out of style. But somehow I feel better knowing this itchiness might simply be a hormonal thing.

I am also relieved to not be suffering from something I just read about called “pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy” (say that five times!) PUPPP for short, this awful, itchy skin condition effects about one percent of pregnant women and causes red bumps or welts on the belly, thighs and buttocks.

‘Ya know what? All this itching and scratching I’ve been doing isn’t bothering me so much anymore. Isn’t it funny how all things are relative?

Gotta Love Estrogen

I wonder if it’s this same itchy inducing estrogen that had me crying (for seriously no reason!!!) yesterday. My hubby asked me what was wrong when he found me boo-hoo-ing on the bed and I answered him “I have no freaking idea!” with a laugh and a sob.

Can I also blame estrogen for my long honey-do lists of late? It’s a challenging combination to have one’s mind in full nesting gear but one’s body in more like “resting” gear. Running on few hours of solid sleep and the need to get horizontal every few hours to avoid Braxton Hicks contractions; I’ll tell you what, having a strong, able-bodied man around the house is just too tempting to ignore. We’ve made a joke out of it. In the mornings my husband asks me, “Am I your waiter or your servant today?” I generally answer with a smile, “Both.”

I love the way my husband marvels at all the changes my body is going through. It reminds me to cut myself some slack when I am feeling like a slacker. My body is, at this very moment, putting the finishing touches on two sets of lungs after all. If you are pregnant, how are you feeling? What’s new with your ever changing pregnant body? And which changes have you most in awe (or dread)?

Related Articles:

39 Weeks : We are so BLESSED!
37 Weeks : Crystal Ball
36 Weeks : Pre-Birth ENERGY
35 Weeks : House Arrest
33 Weeks : Blessingways and Birth
32 Weeks : Other New Moms & Icing
31 Weeks : Newborn Baby Checklists
30 Weeks : Sage “New-Mom” Advice from a Friend
29 Weeks : Placental Encapsulation
28 Weeks : Pregnancy Calf Cramps to Wake the DEAD
27 Weeks : Holiday Maternity Fashion Tips
26 Weeks : The Nursery
25 Weeks : Back to Baby Names
24 Weeks : Cord Blood
23 Weeks : Baby Fat
22 Weeks : Baby(s) Moving! Time for Belly Massage
21 Weeks : Flu Bug
20 Weeks : Parents As Teachers
19 Weeks : Sleep
18 Weeks : Breastfeeding
17 Weeks : Childbirth
16 Weeks : Sex of the Babies. We’re having…
15 Weeks : Baby name Game
14 Weeks : Prenatal Yoga
13 Weeks : Mindful Nesting
12 Weeks : My Changing Pregnant Body
How Spirit Moves

ZenMommy’s Pregnancy Journal is published in partnership with Due Maternity, a great place for maternity clothes.  xoxo

Suzanne Tucker, aka Zen Mommy

In addition to mommying to two magical girls born in 2000 and 2003 and expecting twins in Jan of 2010, Suzanne co-owns a holistic health center with her husband Shawn in St. Louis, Missouri where she practices as a physical therapist, Certified Educator of  Infant Massage and health education teacher. Certified in a number of healing and life education approaches, Suzanne is a Co-creator of My Mommy Manual and the online parenting course, Yogi Parenting, a positive parenting approach for raising kids of all ages.

Zen Mommy Minute: In the Name of LOVE!

Tell me your stories – what have you done as a parent in the name of love? What have your kids done for you? Has being a parent brought home the experience of love in a new or different way for you? How so? Read more

Week 33: Blessingways and Birth

When Ria (aka Practical Mommy) offered to throw me a Baby Shower, as a to be third and fourth time mom expecting twins, I realized how special this was. Most moms get one go at the whole baby shower thing. I was lucky. I was getting a second go at it… and I wanted it to be special.

More than gifts and yummy food, (which i ain’t knocking ’cause they were great!) I wanted a day surrounded by the mothers and sisters in my life to celebrate the life (x2) I carry inside me. I wanted a day to dream with these amazing women about the day our babies will make their way into this world and into my arms. This is exactly what I got.

My Baby Shower included a Blessingway Read more

Zen Mommy Minute: Turn Off the Tube for PEACE

This one minute video is full of statistics that may cause you pause the next time you consider turning on cartoons for your children and walking out of the room. Looking for a simple way to cause peace in the world? It starts in our homes and with our children. Idea of the week: get rid of (like Practical Mommy did!!! you go girl!), turn off, and/or limit the amount of television viewing that goes on in your home. Read more

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