Smartbirth.net

The C.A.R. Works

Lesly — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 20:52:08 +0000

Just last week Oprah had a show on people who had lost an incredible amount of weight. Hundreds of pounds! Anywhere from 100 to 500 lbs! That was amazing to see the before pictures and what they transformed themselves into. Absolutely inspiring.

Most of the people that lost so much weight reduced the amount they were eating first until they got to a place where they felt comfortable to start exercising.

In an earlier post “Now What” I talked about my C.A.R. plan of losing weigh for us moms whogained weight during pregnancy, and afterwords being a new mom – like I did..

C = change (an eating habit)

A = adapt (allow time for your body to adapt – a month)

R = repeat (after adapting and accepting the change physically and mentally- meaning you don’t miss it, crave it, etc. – repeat by introducing a new change)

I was using, testing it for myself as I do, sad to admit, have weight to lose weight. And … I want to report to you that I lost 15lbs! What I did was:

stopped using sugar or consuming any thing with sugar, high fructose, corn syrup , or any sweetener in it. I also read food labels to see how much sugar and salt was in a product. The LEAST amount is best.
stopped eating anything with high amounts of salt in it or close to none at all. Stayed away from processed foods.
increased more salads creating cool blends with beans. Used recipes from My friend Elissa Joy’s book (a member her at Smartbirth) “Uncomplicated Raw”
for breakfast I have a bowl of Grape Nuts with honey ( a natural sweetener) and low fat milk
drink a meal shake at lunch

Now that I have mastered this for a month - adapted to these changes, my next challenge change is not to eat anything after 8:00 PM. I’ll let you know how that works .:-)

Here’s what it’s done for me:

I am thinking about how much more I am going to lose! Not how FAT I still am!! (boy was I consumed with that)!
improved self esteem
improved confidence
improved self-image
detoxed my body from sugar and salt
have more energy
clothes fit better

So the C.A.R. works (I think I’ll make a tea shirt saying that)! I have …..()06&5$#3%… :-[ 100 lbs to lose. There I said it. BUT! I now have a plan. A slow plan that will keep the weight off because I have allowed my body to adjust to the changes.

If you need to lose weight, try out the C.A.R. V-a-r-o-o-m …

Let me know what you think!

Much love,

Lesly

Member News

Lesly — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 17:19:29 +0000

A community is all about its members! That would be you!

We have some incredible members here at Smartbirth. First there’s Ej who is a chef and has written an ebook on raw food and has a website www.wholisticmama.com We also have two Chiropractors, new moms, and expectant moms!

This is the place to share what you do, make connections, see what other members are up to. I look forward to hearing what you want to share.

Much love,

Lesly

Inderstanding Gestational Diabetes

Lesly — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 13:50:11 +0000

One pre-natal test you’ll experience while pregnant is the Glucose test to see how your body handles high levels of sugar in your blood stream. You’ll be asked to drink a bottle of flavored sugar water . Blood tests are then taken at different times to see what the sugars levels are. What is really being tested is the ability of Insulin, made by the pancreas, to carry glucose into cells for energy.

At around 28 weeks you’ll have this test.

What I want youto know is this can go away after you have the baby. It could also be an indicator of developing diabetes later in your life – but not always.

If you are diagnosed with this, it’s real important to follow a nutritional plan from your doctor or a registered dietitian (R.D). Gestational diabetes can be controlled by diet or medication depending on the severity. The concern is a larger baby at term. Your doctor will monitor you throughout your pregnancy. If it’s controlled, there’s no reason to believe you couldn’t have a vaginal birth. However, Cesarean birth may be a topic your physician discusses with you.

Watch this video

Wednesday Inspiration – August 11, 2010

Lesly — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 21:06:16 +0000

Inspiration for Wednesday, August 11, 2010

From the book – “It’s Never Too Late … 172 Simple Acts to Change Your Life” by Patrick Lindsay

To Look To The Stars

They promise so much.

They show us perspective.

We look at them and dream.

And hope.

And wonder.

At their unlimited possibilities …

YOU are a star ..

Lesly

Innovative Moms

Lesly — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 17:06:21 +0000

Pictured here is the Wrap-A-Doodle!

A nice, attractive solution to the old “swaddle wrap” for newborn babies!

Victoria O’Neil from PA created these new wraps for baby.

Here’s the scoop on baby swaddling …

newborns love it, it’s secure and reminds them of being snug in mom’s belly
it can calm a crying or fussy baby
it’s temporary – they will grow out of this in a few months and they’ll be too big to swaddle, or wiggle out of it
great for the first month or so of life
there is a debate if baby’s arms should be out to move freely, or tucked inside the swaddle. One of the issues is overheating baby when wrapped upin a wrap with clothes, het, etc. Overheating may be a link to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

Read this Swaddling 101 document

Watch this video on innovative moms – maybe you’ll be inspired!

Let me know what you think!

Lesly

Create a Dream Birth Board

Lesly — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 18:08:46 +0000

Mastermind groups encourage creating “vision” boards of the kind of life you want to create for yourself. Developing a business encourages the inspiration from vision boards. Simply because they all have the power to keep you focused, motivated, believing in what you want to accomplish – and no matter what the subject. They work for many, many, people.

“Success” boards, “dream” boards, why not a DREAM BIRTH board? Why not create a visual of the kind of birth you imagine to have? Or an image of the words you can read to inspire you daily right on your computer to stay in a positive frame of mind about pregnancy and birth? How about a NEW MOM SUCCESS board, or BREASTFEEDING board, to help remind yourself daily how amazing you are!

Here is a sample:

I made this first as a Power Point Slide. I saved it as a jpg which I can then turn it into a Screen Saver on my desktop and see it every day!

Here’s how to do it:

1. Create your power point slide by typing the words and adding the images you want to see.

2. Save your “current” slide as a jpeg when you have your slide done the way you like it.

3. Save to a file you’ll remember so you can find it, or create a file just for your “Dream Boards”.

4. Right click on your desktop. A window will pop up for desktop option. Click on “properties”.

5. Another window will pop up. Now click on the “Desktop” tab. You’ll see a list of saved images on your computer. If the image you want is not there, click on the BROWSE button to find the file where your image is.

6. Then following the instructions from there. The computer will ask you if you want this image as a screen saver. “yes” and the voila!

This is a very special and wonderful way to celebrate you, to strengthen your belief in yourself when it comes to having a baby, going through the birth process, and being a new mom. It’s fun and easy to do. AS your life changes and new goals come into your life you can “morph” your dream boards to reflect your new wants and desires….

Here’s a challenge for you. Make a DREAM (TITLE) BOARD and post it here – I would love to see it. Make sure your images (if you”pluck” them from the internet) are royalty free.

Lesly

I want your feedback! Write a comment below and let me know what you think …

Find Your Talent

Lesly — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 12:51:28 +0000

Wednesday’s Inspiration

I believe everyone has a talent. I also believe women have innate talents to birth their babies which are unique to them.

The following is taken from the book “It’s Never Too Late -172 Simple Acts to Change Your Life” by Patrick Lindsay

To find your true talent …

Some know it from childhood.Some never find it. But we all have special talents. Take the time to explore yours. It may be disguised. It may be underdeveloped. But trust your instincts. Give yourself the opportunity. It will be there.

“Genius is merely a greater aptitude for patience” – Conte de Buffon

Have a really good day..

Lesly

Are You Holding Baby Close?

Lesly — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 23:59:08 +0000

I think the 21st Century is all about new intelligence and correcting misled information from the past.

For example, we now know that having a home birth is safe. Midwives are safe. Research has proved quantum physics is real and new research has documented the power of our thoughts and its mind/body connection.

What we are discovering now is the importance of skin-to-skin contact between mothers and their babies. What’s amazing about this is mothers have always known this! But because the American culture since this country began, influenced by England back in the day, we developed some ignorant ways of living that were “culturally” accepted – simply because we didn’t know any better. We are less primitive, more culturally mature in many ways these days.

It is emerging that skin-to-skin contact is necessary for healthy neurological growth in newborns, and throughout their early months of life.

It has been shown that Skin to Skin Contact (SSC)with newborns:

enrich sensory abilities
affects sleep patterns (better sleep quality)
increases right brain development
increases neuro-synapse development in brain
better breast feeding

For mothers just giving birth it is recommended that the newborn stay skin-to-skin for an hour within the first 3 hours of birth. For premature births it is even more important to have babies skin -to -skin.

There is something to be said for attachment parenting – sharing the parent’s bed with their children. Now is a good time to start looking into this if you are a new mom.

Here is another article on it:

My best,

Lesly

Classes Start – Sb4 August 7th and 8th

Lesly — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:43:16 +0000

Smartbirth 4 Online Class Series starts Saturday, August 7, and Sunday, Aungust 8th. 4 weeks and fexable depending on your schedule.

Resgister here

20% discount for Smartbirth members

Smartbirth Products

Lesly — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 05:17:30 +0000

Available here