Ain't No Mom Jeans

Total Genius: Good Night Grab Bag

“Incentivizing” Your Kid to Sleep Through the Night in His Big Boy Bed

The mom’s battle with sleep begins during pregnancy, no?  Crazy dreams, frequent trips to pee, hot flashes and thumping babies prep us for the marathon of newborn night waking and sleep deprivation we’re in for.  If we’re lucky, the babe’s sleep starts to normalize around 4-6 months (or—bummer—much later for some), but once your toddler starts sleeping through the night, you have a home-free (!) feeling of accomplishment.  Until, that is, you find yourself living in a post-big-kid-bed world. . .  For some, the transition from crib to bed goes seamlessly.  For the rest of us, the ones who’ve tried everything else, the ones who’ve thought about actually reading Go the F**k to Sleep out loud to their kids, even the ones who object to bribing incentivizing their children, I submit the Goodnight Grab Bag as a possible miracle solution to your wakeful woes.

Working In A Workout

 Picture deets: Me. My dogs. My baby. Working in a workout. Not stylish (points for a colorful scarf maybe?) but we were working it!

Remember when I was so excited to start working out again and shared my ideas for a play list? Sounds good, doesn't it? And S wrote about ways to squeeze a workout in during naptime (should that exist in your world). And then S so graciously helped kit you out for your new gym/exercise experience. You look great. Did you go directly to the gym and return on a regular basis? Do you do a workout DVD as a matter of routine? No, me neither.

Sluggish Digestion From Pregnancy, Post-Op, or The Flu? Try Inner-Eco's Miracle Cure

 I was home from the hospital after my second c-section (Hello, Pax!) for roughly...two days?  Three?...before coming down with a case of mastitis.  It turns out that "engorgement" is a real thing that can happen, uh, immediately. 

Before we were discharged, I remember the hospital's lactation consultant reaching over, squeezing my boobs and saying, "Honk, honk!  Congratulations!  Your milk is in already!  Watch out for engorgement..."  the rest is all mwah mwah mwah since I tuned her out...erroneously thinking that I knew it all.

I mean, after "honk, honk" what else do you really need to hear?

Evidently more than I did.

So I suddenly found myself on a daily regime that included motrin, tylenol, the usual post-op narcotic, stool softeners, and antibiotics...as well as dealing with a sluggish, after c-section digestive system (read: no pooping). 

I've never been so nauseous in my life. 

Post-Partum Playlist

Contributing editor Lane has pulled together a playlist to get us motivated to sweat.  After my fairly depressing workout-dvd for new moms article, this is like a breath of fresh air.  Thanks, Lane!

xo,

S

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At 7 weeks post-partum, it's time to face facts. Even though I follow ANMJ's tips for camouflaging my post-baby pooch as much as I can, the truth of the matter is that I'm going to have to integrate some exercise into the daily blur of living with a newborn if I want to banish the bulge for good.

Now that I have my doctor's blessing, I'm slowly beginning to reacquaint myself with the gym. Motivation is often hard to find between breastfeeding, diaper changing, napping, eating and pretending to keep my house clean, so I've been working on a play list to get the proper juices flowing when I'm on the treadmill.

Maybe you're also working on some baby layers, or just want to undo some of the holiday damage. If so, I suggest you find the proper shoes, get some workout pants that make you forget about your muffin top, strap on a well-fitting sports bra and get to sweating. I hope some of these beats will help your inertia!

Uprising, Muse: Just try not sing along! "HEY HEY HEY!"

Little Lion Man, Mumford and Sons: Maybe you don't think of a folk rock band who uses the banjo liberally would help you get through your workout, but trust me when I tell you these folks know how to rock, and the pace of this song is a great intro to my run.

Dog Days Are Over, Florence + the Machine: You might feel like you're over Florence right now. Her songs are played heavily and are used widely in commercial spots. But trust me when I tell you that context is everything. When you're about 10 minutes in and feel like quitting the drums behind her voice will push you forward. My ponytail starts to feel long, red and flowing when this song comes on.

Hang Me Up To Dry, Cold War Kids: All I can tell you is that this band is one of my favorites, and this song is perfect to get you up a long hill on the bike or through some heavy resistance on the eliptical.

Power, Kanye West: Sometimes Kanye can get annoying as a person, but I can help but love him. His lyrics always get me moving! If you don't like the chanting chorus of this song, sub any Kanye for similar effects.

-- Lane

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Contributing author Lane is an intentionally unemployed social worker who is currently a new mom, following her husband's dream, trying to stay relevant, and practicing her mothering skills on two rescued dogs, Enid and Falcor (in addition to her new addition, baby Vesper).  Check out her fabulous blog, the Overseas Trapeze.

 

 

At Home Work-Out Options For Moms Whose Kids Barely Nap

Have you heard of the Denver Hot Mamas?  They are serious about getting mamas into shape.  Here's an excerpt from their website: 

Do you want a rock solid core? A tush from which you can bounce a quarter? Longer,leaner, lithe muscles? Better posture? A better sex life?

Hello, yes.  Yes I do.  I'd love to be a Hot Mama.  But, despite the fact that they offer studio classes (with childcare!!) AND stroller classes...it's not gonna happen.  Most days, I can barely get the three of us out of the house with sanity intact, and now adding in an element of having to be on time?  Yeah.  Wow.  Nope.  

My only chance of accomplishing my half-hearted "think about maybe getting in shape" resolution lies in a workout that I can do at home.  And it must fit into either the small slice of time between R going down for his short little nap and P waking up to nurse...or the 30 minutes immediately after my husband gets home from work (any later and I'm too tired).  

And I don't want to do it everyday - so results have to be possible on just a few days a week.  This work-out window competes with my "shower and dry hair" window...or my "eat lunch" window.

(Wow, this post is depressing.  I can almost hear my motivation running away screaming.)

But the good news is that even the sleep-deprived, un-showered, mom-of-kids-who-hate-napping can find not one but FOUR possible workout options.  

Is Your Guy a Mo'Bro? If Not, He Should Be...

You know the guy who refuses to see the doctor?  No matter what the issue? The one who waits until his symptoms are totally out of control and even then drags his feet when it comes time to make an appointment?  Of course you do.  You're either married to him, or related to him.  Frankly, this ridiculous behavior doesn't make for a very good long-term partner.  So this November, help him help himself by becoming a Mo'Bro. 

During Movember (Mo, short for moustache + November) men all over the world change their appearance and the face of men's health by growing a moustache.  Guys start the beginning of the month clean shaven, and grow a moustache for the entire month.  Much like the pink ribbon of breast cancer awareness, the Mo' serves as a reminder that men do, in fact, get cancers (even stubborn men).

How to participate?  First, have him register for the Movember movement.  He can start a team, or register individually.  Once registered, the Mo'bros start growing their Mo.  There are tools at movember.com to help you fund-raise, if you desire.  The funds raised through Movember’s US campaign benefit the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) and LIVESTRONG, the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

Want in on the action?  Girls can register as Mo'Sistas, to help recruit more Mo'Bros and fund-raise.

So encourage your man to start his Mo...cause even the "tough guys" get cancer.  This girl just registered as a proud Mo'Sista...despite the fact that my husband's last attempt to grow a Mo ended up like this:

Wow.  There are just no words.

xo,

S

ps.  Here's a quick guide to all Mo possibilities...click the image to enlarge.

Strategies to Avoid Looking Pregnant Once You've Given Birth (Plus an Exercise To Banish Post-Baby Belly)

It's a common complaint: You are 6 weeks postpartum, and are proud of yourself for, (A) being out of the house and (B) having showered and applied makeup.  As you are strutting happily along, babe in tow, you eventually run into some idiot who says, "So, when are you due?"    

This situation happens to us all, and my previous coping strategy was to simply bury the incident deep in my brain, never to be thought of again.  But then one of our readers left the following comment:  

I have several tops like these [NOTE: she's referring to the floaty tops featured in our Postpartum Belly Hiding Tops post] that I wore after giving birth in May, and I was so disappointed and embarrassed when people asked me if I was pregnant. I wanted to scream...hey, not everyone looks like Heidi Klum six weeks postpartum. But then I thought maybe it also had to do with the loose floaty tops I was wearing. Any suggestions for this problem? I'm pregnant again and want to AVOID this situation in the future!

Sigh.  It's best to face this situation head-on.  So, is there anything we can do to avoid looking pregnant after we've given birth?  

The short answer is:  No.  Not really.  Our bodies just went through 9 months of crazy changes - it's not going to be undone overnight.  One O/B told me to think about it this way:  It takes 9 months for your body to get that big, it's probably going to take another 9 months for your body to go back to normal.  At least.  And as someone who got scary-big (click link then scroll down for a pic), I get it. 

There are, however, a few strategies worth trying: