Dear Friends,

Welcome to the November issue of the Pregnancy Pipeline. With the hustle and bustle of the holidays fast upon us, this month’s Prenatal Article emphasizes pacing yourself during pregnancy. Perhaps you’ll be heading out for your first Thanksgiving car trip with a baby in tow. If so, Elizabeth Pantley offers helpful tips from on taking a road trip with your baby in the Postnatal Article. The Ask the Teachers column addresses pregnancy induced nasal congestion, and provides suggestions to relieve your stuffy nose whether it’s pregnancy or a seasonal cold that’s causing it. Check out the Yoga Tip of the Month for a wonderful pose that may also help with congestion, bring relief to tired, swollen legs and help to calm your brain. And Adrianna from Tuesday’s 6:15 class will inspire you with her wonderful birth story.

I am offering a free ticket to the sold out viewing of The Business of Being Born on Tuesday, November 27 at 7 pm at the Firehouse Theater to the first two people who email me with suggestions for topics to cover in future newsletters. Click here to see a trailer of this brand new documentary produced by Ricki Lake and directed by Abby Epstein.

As Thanksgiving approaches and we acknowledge our gratitude for the gifts in our lives, I encourage you to spread your circle of joy outward by making a donation to the Mother’s Gift Circle, our Featured Community Service Organization for November. This small group of women collects new and like-new baby items and clothes twice a year and packages them into gift baskets for Richmond’s teen mothers. You can make a real difference in these young women’s lives through your gifts.

I wish you a Thanksgiving rich with family, food, and lots of love.

Namaste,

Leslie

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Recent Arrivals!

Congratulations to:

• Sarah H and daughter Taylor Grace
• Adrianna H and daughter Althea Harlan
• Jennie G and daughter Julia Grace

Submit your birth announcements and stories on ommama.com!

What's New

• Itsy Bitsy Yoga classes start January 9th
• New! Yoga with Your Newborn starts January 10th
• Register now for Conscious Birthing Couples Class on January 26th

Birth Story

Althea Harlan

Hi Leslie,

Althea Harlan R. was born Tuesday October 9th at 7:50 pm. I almost made it to class that night, but instead decided to have a baby.

Tuesday morning began with a visit to my midwife. I was 41 + 3 days, 4cm dilated, 80% effaced and the baby was back to 0 station and in a perfect position. I was so ready to go and talked to my baby a lot that day, letting her know it was safe for her to come.

Read Full Birth Story

Prenatal Article

Pacing Your Way Through Pregnancy
By Leslie Lytle, MS, CMA, RYT

Childbearing creates a set of challenges to the female body that requires us to re-think our habitual patterns of energy expenditure. In a way, the process of pregnancy can be seen as an adaptation to someone else’s energy pattern, specifically that of the fetus. Your body shifts both its shape and function in order to support the growth of another human being – who is both connected to you and yet is a completely separate organism with its own set of needs. Pregnancy metaphorically presents us with the beginning of a series of lifelong adaptations, as our minds and bodies bend to the needs and rhythms of our children. Our biomechanics, metabolic processes, immune function, risk of disease, and identity are all indelibly marked by gestation, birth, and parenting.

Learning how to pace yourself through these changing rhythms takes practice. Accepting that you are tired and yielding to your body’s signals for rest instead of pushing through your pre-pregnancy routines is wisdom, not sloth. From the sleepy drift of the first trimester, to the relatively easy stride of the second trimester, to the third trimester bounces from intense nesting activity to extreme tiredness, your energy levels and sense of what you can accomplish may be quite different than are typical in your non-pregnant state. Giving yourself permission to adapt to your changing capacities will help you rise to the even greater challenges posed by a baby after birth, when her needs require more than the unconscious and automatic responses of the body.

I became pregnant with my son Stuart just before I turned forty. I knew that because of my age, this was most likely both my first and last best shot at being pregnant, so I wanted to enjoy the process as much as possible. Normally a Type A personality that was always in overdrive, I found myself giving in whenever I could to the need for sleep early pregnancy, and shifted my daily walk from morning to afternoon, when I had more get-up-and-go. By the fourteenth week of pregnancy, my energy came back with gusto, and I stepped up my physical activity by adding a second walk in the morning. I also found that if I didn’t make room for some down time during the day, I was exhausted and cranky by evening, so I added a daily 20 minute nap to my routine, taken just after lunch when drowsiness hit me hard anyway. I got so efficient at taking a nap that I could literally feel my body and mind “downshift” into a deeply relaxed state, even if I didn’t fall completely asleep. That nap, followed by a brisk 30 minute walk, enabled me to maintain a busy full-time massage therapy practice until five days before my son was born. I also ended my work obligations a week and a half before due date, which turned out to be a blessing when my son decided on an early arrival five days after my last day at work.

What I was doing, both consciously and unconsciously, was adapting my exertion and recuperation rhythms to the changing demands of my pregnant body. Before pregnancy I would have pushed all week to get to get the opportunity to relax on the weekend. While pregnant, I had to build the time for recuperation into my daily schedule. I was fortunate in that my work situation afforded me some flexibility in how I structured my day: however, I still needed to meet a number of personal, familial, and business commitments. There are as many ways to make creative adaptations to work loads as there are people in the world. Here are some suggestions for pacing yourself during pregnancy:

• Incorporate 10-minute rest breaks (or 5 or 20 minute – whatever your particular circumstances allow) into your daily routine. Train yourself to relax and rest – even if you’re not sure you need it. Consistency will enhance your ability to restore your energy– a vital skill for labor and life with a newborn. One of my former students, an elementary school teacher, took a yoga bolster to school and rested in Legs Up the Wall Pose for 5 minutes every day before lunch. Just that quick 5 minutes relieved the weariness in both her legs and body. She repeated the process again at the end of the school day before leaving for the day, enabling her to go home feeling refreshed instead of drained.
• Change up your routine. Another former student asked for and was able to shift her 8 am - 5 pm work schedule to 9:30 to 6:30 pm, enabling her to get both more rest AND more exercise into her daily habit pattern.
• Delegate and/or ask for assistance as needed. This is not a sign of weakness, but of strength. Your body is already working at greater than normal capacity: pushing yourself to do more than you’re able will leave you burned out and depleted. Give others an opportunity to help.
• During the last few weeks of your pregnancy, pay special attention to your energy needs and keep yourself well nourished and rested. Studies indicate that women who go into labor tired or sleep deprived are at higher risk for medical interventions.
• Savor the time before your baby is born. If you work outside the home, consider taking some time off before your due date, to spend time with your partner and family, and most importantly to rest up for the marathon of labor. If you work at home, consider arranging a few hours of childcare here and there so you can do the same.

Remember that pregnancy is not a state of weakness, but rather a time of shifting capacities and priorities as your body and spirit expand to support new life. Learning to pace yourself will help you get to the end of your pregnancy with greater well-being and resilience, all of which will contribute not just to your own health, but to the health of your growing family.

Postnatal Article

Taking a Road Trip with Your Baby
By Elizabeth Pantley, Author of Gentle Baby Care

To Grandmother’s house we go! And you’ll be in the car for five whole hours — how can you make the trip enjoyable with a baby along?

Learn about it
There’s no question: Marathon car trips with a baby on board take a good amount of planning and organization. But it can be done ¾ and yes, it can even be fun!

Planning the trip
In the hustle that precedes a trip, it can be easy to let things happen, instead of make things happen. Be proactive in making your trip decisions. Contemplating these questions, and coming up with the right answers, can help make your trip more successful:

• Does your baby sleep well in the car? If yes, plan your travel time to coincide with a nap or bedtime so your baby can sleep through part of the journey. If not, plan to leave immediately after a nap or upon waking in the morning. Don’t fool yourself into thinking your baby will behave differently than usual in the car just because it’s a special occasion.
• Is it necessary to make the trip all at once, or can you break it up with stops along the way? The longer your baby is strapped in the carseat, the more likely he’ll become fussy. Planning a few breaks can keep everyone in a better frame of mind.
• When estimating an arrival time, have you factored in plenty of extra time for unplanned surprises? A diaper explosion that requires a complete change of clothes or a baby whose inconsolable crying requires an unexpected 20-minute stop are just two of the things that can easily happen.
• Do you have everything you need to make the trip pleasant? Items like:
  
  -Window shades to protect your baby from the sun and create a darker, nap-inducing atmosphere.
  -A cooler for cold drinks; a bottle warmer if needed.
  -Plenty of toys that are new or forgotten favorites saved just for the trip.
  -Baby-friendly music on tape or CD.
  -A rear-view baby mirror to keep on eye on baby (unless a second person will be sitting with your little one)
  -Books to read to your baby.

Preparing the car
Take plenty of time to get the car ready for your trip. If two adults are traveling, consider yourself lucky and arrange for one person to sit in the backseat next to the baby. If you are traveling alone with your little one, you’ll need to be more creative in setting up the car, and you’ll need to plan for more frequent stops along the way.

Here are a few tips for making the car a traveling entertainment center for your baby:

• Use ribbon or yarn and safety pins or tape to hang an array of lightweight toys from the ceiling of the car to hang over your baby. An alternative is to string a line from one side of the car to the other with an array of toys attached by ribbons. Bring along an assortment of new toys that can be exchanged when you stop the car for a rest. Just be sure to use small toys and keep them out of the driver’s line of view.
• Tape brightly colored pictures of toys on the back of the seat that your baby will be facing.
• If no one will be sitting next to your baby and your child is old enough to reach for toys, set up an upside-down box next to the car seat with a shallow box or a tray with ledges on top of it. Fill this with toys that your baby can reach for by himself. You might also shop around for a baby activity center that attaches directly to the carseat.
• If you plan to have someone sitting next to baby, then provide that person with a gigantic box of toys with which to entertain the little one — distraction works wonders to keep a baby happy in the car. One of the best activities for long car rides is book reading. Check your library’s early reading section; it typically features a large collection of baby-pleasing titles in paperback that are easier to tote along than board books.
• Bring along an assortment of snacks and drinks for your older baby who’s regularly eating solids, and remember to bring food for yourself, too. Even if you plan to stop for meals, you may decide to drive on through if your baby is sleeping or content — saving the stops for fussy times.
• Bring books on tape or quiet music for the adults for times when your baby is sleeping. The voice on tape may help keep your baby relaxed, and it will be something you can enjoy.
• If you’ll be traveling in the dark, bring along a battery-operated nightlight or flashlight.
  

Car travel checklist:

• Well-stocked diaper bag
• Baby’s blanket
• Carseat pillow or head support
• Window shades (sun screens)
• Change of clothes for your baby
• Enormous box of toys and books
• Music or books on tape or CDs
• Baby food, snacks, and drinks for your baby
• Sipper cups
• Snacks and drinks for the adults
• Cooler
• Wet washcloths in bags, or moist towelettes
• Empty plastic bags for leftovers and trash
• Bottle warmer
• Cell phone
• Baby’s regular sleep music or white noise (if needed, bring extra batteries)
• First aid kit/prescriptions/medications
• Jumper cables
• Money/wallet/purse/ID
• Medical and insurance information/emergency phone numbers
• Maps/driving directions
• Baby carrier/sling/stroller
• Camera and film
• Suitcases

During the journey
If you’ve carefully planned your trip and prepared your vehicle, you’ve already started out on the right foot. Now keep these things in mind as you make your way down the road:

• Be flexible. When traveling with a baby, even the best-laid plans can be disrupted. Try to stay relaxed, accept changes, and go with the flow.
• Stop when you need to. Trying to push “just a little farther” with a crying baby in the car can be dangerous, as you’re distracted and nervous. Take the time to stop and calm your baby.
• Put safety first. Make sure that you keep your baby in his carseat. Many nursing mothers breastfeed their babies during trips. This can be dangerous in a moving car, even if you are both securely belted: You can’t foresee an accident, and your body could slam forcefully into your baby. Instead, pull over and nurse your baby while he’s still in his carseat. That way, when he falls asleep, you won’t wake him up moving him back into his seat.
• Remember: Never, ever leave your baby alone in the car — not even for a minute.
  

On the way home
You may be so relieved that you lived through your trip that you sort of forget the other trip ahead of you: the trip home. You’ll need to organize the trip home as well as you did the trip out. A few days in advance, make certain that all your supplies are refilled and ready to go. Think about the best time to leave, and plan accordingly. In addition, think about what you learned on the trip to your destination that might make the trip home even easier. Is there something you wish you would have had but didn’t? Something you felt you could have done differently? Did you find yourself saying, “I wish we would have…”? Now’s the time to make any adjustments to your original travel plan so that your trip back home is pleasant and relaxed.

This article is an excerpt from Gentle Baby Care by Elizabeth Pantley. (McGraw-Hill, 2003)

Ask the Teachers

Q: I am 17 weeks pregnant. I feel great, but my nose is constantly running. Any suggestions?

— Sally P.

A: This is not an unusual problem; in fact 20% to 30% of women will experience nasal congestion during pregnancy, occurring most often after the third month. It even has a name: pregnancy induced rhinitis. The extra estrogen secreted during pregnancy stimulates the nasal muscosa, causing them to secret more mucus. Allergic responses may also be heightened due to hypersensitivity to the increased hormones and fetal proteins within the body. This combined with the expanded blood volume of pregnancy, and decreased vascular resistance, can lead to a whole lot of, well, snot.

Here are a few tips that have helped my students find temporary relief:

• Steam: try taking a warm shower with the door closed. Or (carefully!) breathe steam from a bowl into which you’ve poured boiling while you hold a towel over your head.
• Moisturize the air in your bedroom with a humidifier. Make sure you follow the directions for cleaning and change the water daily as humidifiers can become a breeding ground for bacteria if not properly service.
• Sleep with your head slightly elevated.
• Saline nasal rinse. This common daily hygiene practice from India has many benefits: it rinses away excess mucus, as well as the dust and allergens that may be provoking it. Done with a Neti pot, which can be purchased at almost any health food store, or a “Birmingham Nasal Douche”, which is available at the Westbury Pharmacy. The formula is ¼ – ½ teaspoon of sea salt and a pinch of baking soda to a cup of warm water. Pour this into the neti pot or Birmingham douche, hold your head sideways over a sink, and rinse through one nostril at a time (the excess will spill out the other nostril). Sounds kind of messy, but once you get the hang of it, the nasal rinse is one of the most effective methods around for relieving congestion and soothing inflamed tissues. It also is extremely helpful for colds or sinus infections.
• See the Yoga Tip of the Month for a pose that helps relieve nasal congestion in about 50% of people who practice it.
  

Send in your questions to info@ommama.com and we will try to answer them in the next newsletter.

Featured Community Service Organization:
Mothers Gift Circle

How many stuffed animals does a baby need?

At least one.

You can bring joy to Richmond’s most vulnerable new families by regifting a new baby item you don’t want/need.

At any given moment hundreds of Richmond teenagers are facing the challenges of pregnancy. In addition to the inherent difficulties, these girls’ burden often includes fear, shame, loneliness, poverty, homelessness, and violence.

Mothers Gift Circle collects, wraps and distributes baby gifts through the Department of Public Health. In addition to spreading joy, these presents help keep girls involved in programs that educate them about pre-natal health, labor, caring for a newborn, birth control and the importance of staying in school. Mothers Gift Circle is in constant need of:

• new and truly like-new gifts
• lightly used tissue paper, ribbons and gifts bags

Bring you donations to the Cary Court parking lot:

• Tuesday, November 13th from 5:30-6:30 pm or
• Saturday, November 17th from 10-11am or
• visit The Children’s Market in Carytown to pick out/drop off items
  

We thank you in advance for your generosity.

Mothers Gift Circle (804) 795-7443

Prenatal & Postnatal Resources

OmMama’s website features one of the best compilation of local and national resources for expecting and new families. Click here to view our online resource list.

Do you provide a service or business of interest to childbearing families in the Richmond Metropolitan area that you would like to list here? Please email info@ommama.com for information about our listing guidelines.