Saturday, June 30, 2012
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Eco Nail Polish for Summertime!
Just a little something fun....I've been holding off on painting my nails until I could find an eco-friendly nail polish option I liked. And I think I've found one! This one from Scott is called "Canal Street Daisy"....it's a little pricy at $15 but since I'll be wearing it all summer long I guess it's worth it.
Scotch Naturals™ polish has a lot in common with the women who wear it. We are smart, fun, and forward thinking. We care about the environment, and we come in a wide variety of colors. When we want to look and feel our best, we choose natural products, knowing it’s not just healthier for us, but for the world around us.
Making the change to non-toxic nail polish is one you won’t regret. Scotch Naturals is a safe and eco-friendly alternative to conventional solvent-based polish. Our revolutionary water-based formula nourishes and conditions nails, delivering long lasting, salon-quality color. Our polish contains none of the chemicals found in typical nail polish: toluene, dibutyl phthelate, formaldehyde, acetone, and heavy metals.
The journey to healthy, nourished nails is a beneficial one, but it does take time. If you have dry, parched nails, your first couple coats of polish may chip or streak. But don’t be discouraged, it’s just part of the process. As you continue to use our conditioning polishes your nails will become healthy and strong, allowing your polish to shine in all its eco-chic glory.
Scotch Naturals™ polish has a lot in common with the women who wear it. We are smart, fun, and forward thinking. We care about the environment, and we come in a wide variety of colors. When we want to look and feel our best, we choose natural products, knowing it’s not just healthier for us, but for the world around us.
Making the change to non-toxic nail polish is one you won’t regret. Scotch Naturals is a safe and eco-friendly alternative to conventional solvent-based polish. Our revolutionary water-based formula nourishes and conditions nails, delivering long lasting, salon-quality color. Our polish contains none of the chemicals found in typical nail polish: toluene, dibutyl phthelate, formaldehyde, acetone, and heavy metals.
The journey to healthy, nourished nails is a beneficial one, but it does take time. If you have dry, parched nails, your first couple coats of polish may chip or streak. But don’t be discouraged, it’s just part of the process. As you continue to use our conditioning polishes your nails will become healthy and strong, allowing your polish to shine in all its eco-chic glory.
Ingredients:
WaterColors: water, acrylic polymer emulsion, and non toxic colorants
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Breastfeeding While Babywearing
I had no idea what a huge help to breast feeding babywearing was! Now, I don't know how I would live without it. "Little" is such a happy baby and as long as she is rested and fed she is so much fun to hang out with. I love being able to just jump up and head out of the house, even at the last minute, without having to worry about a feeding or nap schedule. Babywearing and breast feeding on their own make us a very mobile duo but doing it together makes us unstoppable! We don't have to stop what we are doing. If she is hungry, she eats. If she is tired, she sleeps. All while we are out and about LIVING LIFE!
I thought it would be a lot harder than it is. It did take a couple of tries to get the hang of and, to be honest, I didn't even give it a try until she was about 5 months old. But now I wish I had started sooner! Now that she is almost 10 months old we do it anywhere we are. Each carrier works a little differently but you can do it with any of them.
The Woven Wrap- This one is great if you are looking for a little more "privacy". Depending on how you have your LO wrapped the sides can completely cover and no one will even know what's going on in there. Not that I am promoting covering up...Oh no...I say feed feed feed anywhere and everywhere. However, I have had a couple of moments where I just felt more comfortable with a little more coverage. (like on the train with that creepy guy staring at me across the way)
The Mai Tie- As seen in the photo to your right. This one is pretty easy to just loosen the straps and drop her down low enough to be able to latch on. Then tighten back up so as you are moving around she can stay snugly latched on and not be disturbed by being bounced around.
The Soft Structured Carrier- Like the Boba, Ergo, Onya, Etc... These are great but I feel like they are not quite as easy and fast to adjust so "Little" can get her feed on. You have to adjust all of the buckles/straps which I'm sure if you use them a lot you get the hang of it pretty quickly. I'm still more of a wrap/mai tie kind of girl but now that "Little" is getting bigger I think I'm going to have to find one of these that works for me to help take some of the strain off of my shoulders/back.
Ring Sling-to be completely honest....I was never very good with this one. Personally, I feel like these are best for when your baby is much smaller. I would welcome any comments from mama's that love their ring-slings and breastfeed in them even as their "Little" gets bigger.
This is how good I've gotten at breast feeding while babywearing: sometimes at bed time I will nurse her in the mai tie, she will fall asleep, I will untie us and lay down in bed all with her still latched on and asleep. Then within a few minutes I can slowly remove myself from her and the bed and voila...down for the night!
Oh and you know I have to mention this:
Breast Feeding + Babywearing = Burning MORE calories = loosing more weight
Yeay!!!!
I thought it would be a lot harder than it is. It did take a couple of tries to get the hang of and, to be honest, I didn't even give it a try until she was about 5 months old. But now I wish I had started sooner! Now that she is almost 10 months old we do it anywhere we are. Each carrier works a little differently but you can do it with any of them.
The Woven Wrap- This one is great if you are looking for a little more "privacy". Depending on how you have your LO wrapped the sides can completely cover and no one will even know what's going on in there. Not that I am promoting covering up...Oh no...I say feed feed feed anywhere and everywhere. However, I have had a couple of moments where I just felt more comfortable with a little more coverage. (like on the train with that creepy guy staring at me across the way)
The Mai Tie- As seen in the photo to your right. This one is pretty easy to just loosen the straps and drop her down low enough to be able to latch on. Then tighten back up so as you are moving around she can stay snugly latched on and not be disturbed by being bounced around.
The Soft Structured Carrier- Like the Boba, Ergo, Onya, Etc... These are great but I feel like they are not quite as easy and fast to adjust so "Little" can get her feed on. You have to adjust all of the buckles/straps which I'm sure if you use them a lot you get the hang of it pretty quickly. I'm still more of a wrap/mai tie kind of girl but now that "Little" is getting bigger I think I'm going to have to find one of these that works for me to help take some of the strain off of my shoulders/back.
Ring Sling-to be completely honest....I was never very good with this one. Personally, I feel like these are best for when your baby is much smaller. I would welcome any comments from mama's that love their ring-slings and breastfeed in them even as their "Little" gets bigger.
This is how good I've gotten at breast feeding while babywearing: sometimes at bed time I will nurse her in the mai tie, she will fall asleep, I will untie us and lay down in bed all with her still latched on and asleep. Then within a few minutes I can slowly remove myself from her and the bed and voila...down for the night!
Oh and you know I have to mention this:
Breast Feeding + Babywearing = Burning MORE calories = loosing more weight
Yeay!!!!
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Babywearing Exercises- "Nap Time"
I would have to say that nap or bed time, besides walking, is the way that I get the most exercise babywearing. Instead of using a swing or rocker to help put my little one to sleep I either put her into her Baby Hawk Mei Tai
or in a Boba Wrap or Carrier on my front and get to work!
I have a slew of different moves I do but I'll narrow it down to the best ones for both me and the ones that seem to put her to sleep the fastest as well:
#1- The Torso Twist:
Put your feet shoulder width apart and bend your knees slightly.
Place your hands on your shoulders with your elbows up even with your shoulders.
Engage your stomach muscles and twist from left to right and back again.
Make sure you are keeping your hips stationary and all of the work is happening with your torso only. Keep at this for as long as you can or until your little one falls asleep. You can speed it up or slow it down based on what seems to work best for him or her. If you want to take this to the next level you can even add a little bounce while you are doing it....that's usually the final KO for my girl!
#2- The Yoga Ball Bounce
Sit straight up on the ball with your feet flat on the floor at about 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock. Now bounce. But don't just let gravity take over. Engage your core stomach muscles as well as your quads. Just use the ball more as a support. Sometimes I'll add a modified Torso Twist to each bounce to take it up a notch. Again, do this for as long as you can or until your little one is down for the count.
#3- The Bouncing Mini Squat
Just like what it sounds like...put your knees shoulder width apart and bounce into mini squats. Don't go down all the way just what feels natural as a bounce and soothing not jostling for the bebe on your chest. Also make sure you knees stay over your ankles so you don't injure your self. Now bounce, bounce, bounce until your legs are burning and you can take any more!
Sometimes I rotate all of these moves throughout one nap or bed time routine depending on how long it's taking for her to fall asleep.
Depending on your little one's age and how many naps they are taking a day you will get yourself into the best shape of your life if you are doing this on an average of 20 mins 3-4 times a day don't you think?!
Put on some soothing music, sing or hum to your baby while you are doing this and you'll find that it's really very enjoyable for the both of you.
or in a Boba Wrap or Carrier on my front and get to work!I have a slew of different moves I do but I'll narrow it down to the best ones for both me and the ones that seem to put her to sleep the fastest as well:
#1- The Torso Twist:
Put your feet shoulder width apart and bend your knees slightly.
Place your hands on your shoulders with your elbows up even with your shoulders.
Engage your stomach muscles and twist from left to right and back again.
Make sure you are keeping your hips stationary and all of the work is happening with your torso only. Keep at this for as long as you can or until your little one falls asleep. You can speed it up or slow it down based on what seems to work best for him or her. If you want to take this to the next level you can even add a little bounce while you are doing it....that's usually the final KO for my girl!
#2- The Yoga Ball Bounce
Sit straight up on the ball with your feet flat on the floor at about 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock. Now bounce. But don't just let gravity take over. Engage your core stomach muscles as well as your quads. Just use the ball more as a support. Sometimes I'll add a modified Torso Twist to each bounce to take it up a notch. Again, do this for as long as you can or until your little one is down for the count.
#3- The Bouncing Mini Squat
Just like what it sounds like...put your knees shoulder width apart and bounce into mini squats. Don't go down all the way just what feels natural as a bounce and soothing not jostling for the bebe on your chest. Also make sure you knees stay over your ankles so you don't injure your self. Now bounce, bounce, bounce until your legs are burning and you can take any more!
Sometimes I rotate all of these moves throughout one nap or bed time routine depending on how long it's taking for her to fall asleep.
Depending on your little one's age and how many naps they are taking a day you will get yourself into the best shape of your life if you are doing this on an average of 20 mins 3-4 times a day don't you think?!
Put on some soothing music, sing or hum to your baby while you are doing this and you'll find that it's really very enjoyable for the both of you.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Babywearing and Weight Loss
Wearing your baby from the time she is born at least until her 1st birthday is the easiest, quickest and most enjoyable way to lose the weight you gained while you were pregnant. I gained 50 lbs during my pregnancy and by about 8 months I had lost 65 lbs and I attribute a large part of that to wearing my baby. Your every day activities can turn into a great way to burn extra calories with the extra weight of him on your front or your back while you're doing them....the dishes, laundry and grocery shopping can all be done wearing your baby! Just taking a walk to to park using your baby carrier instead of simply pushing a stroller will turn it into an extra calorie burning session. He will also love being close to you and getting to see everything that's going on from your same level.
If you were to start a conventional weight loss work out plan your trainer would have you start with lighter weights in strength training and slowly increase the weight over time as your body gets use to them. Well, your baby is a genius fitness trainer because she naturally will do that for you. As your body adjusts to carrying her around she grows and gains more weight to up the ante of your workouts with her. Awe... she is so smart....yes the smartest baby in the world!! She helped you gain all of that weight and now is going to help you lose it too.
This is what inspired me to create The Babywearing Workout! I wanted to share with other new mom's a fast, easy and fun way to get back into shape and loose that extra weight but without having to drudge off to a boring gym while you leave your little one with someone else. Check it out and let me know what you think. I have also set up a Facebook page if you'd like to follow along there too.
Have you lost weight babywearing?
If you were to start a conventional weight loss work out plan your trainer would have you start with lighter weights in strength training and slowly increase the weight over time as your body gets use to them. Well, your baby is a genius fitness trainer because she naturally will do that for you. As your body adjusts to carrying her around she grows and gains more weight to up the ante of your workouts with her. Awe... she is so smart....yes the smartest baby in the world!! She helped you gain all of that weight and now is going to help you lose it too.
This is what inspired me to create The Babywearing Workout! I wanted to share with other new mom's a fast, easy and fun way to get back into shape and loose that extra weight but without having to drudge off to a boring gym while you leave your little one with someone else. Check it out and let me know what you think. I have also set up a Facebook page if you'd like to follow along there too.
Have you lost weight babywearing?
Friday, June 15, 2012
My Pregnancy Weight Gain and Weight Loss
Let me start by saying that I am in no way a professional exercise coach or have any kind of trained expertise in weight loss. I am just a new mom, probably like you, who needed to lose weight after giving birth to my beautiful baby girl. In fact, I have struggled with my weight for many years. Growing up I was very athletic. I started skiing when I was 2 years old which turned into racing that lasted up until high school. I was also involved in t-ball, soccer, basketball, gymnastics, track and cross country running. So needless to say I didn’t grow up having any kind of body or weight issues. It wasn’t until my last year of high school that I gave it all up. I was tired and you know how teenagers are…I just wanted to do what I wanted to do. From that point on I pretty much stopped moving. Since I didn’t have a specific sport to focus on it didn’t even cross my mind to find another form of exercise. So, I started putting on the weight…20 lbs here, 5 lbs there and on and on. Before I became pregnant I was on the BMI chart just about to cross the line from overweight to obese. Yikes right? But I didn’t really feel like that. I mean, I knew I was overweight but obese? I’d sort of tried to lose the weight over the years but never really went on any kind of serious diet. I would work out but could never stay motivated enough to get results any better than 5-10 lbs at a time and then I would put it back on and more usually. Then I got pregnant and gained 50 lbs more. But to be honest, I wasn’t really worried about it. I had this feeling, even before I became pregnant, that once I had a baby things were going to change for me. I’m not sure why but I just had this gut feeling. Plus the last thing we women should be doing while we are building a baby is stressing out about the weight we are gaining and how we are going to lose it!
So now I’m a new mom basking in the amazement and joy of my new gift. Losing weight was nowhere near the top of my list of things to do. I just jumped into motherhood with gusto. I was in awe of this little being that solely depended on me to help her survive in this new world. I wanted to do nothing but make sure she felt safe and secure in every moment of her new life. She was only going to get the best from me as that was now my purpose in life. I had decided from the moment I found out I was pregnant that I was going to breastfeed her. It was what my body was designed to do and finally I would get to use it for its purpose. I started wearing her close to my heart in a mai tie or ring sling. I was using cloth diapers to help avoid anything toxic that that might touch her soft skin. I was right there ready to respond to her when she told me she needed something. I was watching every move she made to try and catch her needs before she had to yell at me to do something. I was sleeping right by her side so she could nurse whenever she woke to hunger pangs and the need to know she wasn’t alone. It was wonderful… really I couldn’t image doing it any other way. It wasn’t until a few months into it that I heard about Attachment Parenting and started reading up on it. Turns out, that everything I was already doing, instinctively, was right in line with the AP principles. It was kind of a wonderful moment for me to learn that I wasn’t the only one out there that believed in these same things. There are many different ways to parent a child but this is the one that feels right for me. As women and mothers we have to follow our instincts and do what we know is the right thing for ourselves and our children.
So as of right now "Little" is slightly over 9 months old and after gaining the 50 lbs while pregnant I am now already down 65 lbs! That's right...I'm 15 lbs lighter than my pre-pregnancy weight. I'd have to say I'm pretty darn proud of that!
More on exactly how I lost the weight to come....
How did you lose your pregnancy weight?
So now I’m a new mom basking in the amazement and joy of my new gift. Losing weight was nowhere near the top of my list of things to do. I just jumped into motherhood with gusto. I was in awe of this little being that solely depended on me to help her survive in this new world. I wanted to do nothing but make sure she felt safe and secure in every moment of her new life. She was only going to get the best from me as that was now my purpose in life. I had decided from the moment I found out I was pregnant that I was going to breastfeed her. It was what my body was designed to do and finally I would get to use it for its purpose. I started wearing her close to my heart in a mai tie or ring sling. I was using cloth diapers to help avoid anything toxic that that might touch her soft skin. I was right there ready to respond to her when she told me she needed something. I was watching every move she made to try and catch her needs before she had to yell at me to do something. I was sleeping right by her side so she could nurse whenever she woke to hunger pangs and the need to know she wasn’t alone. It was wonderful… really I couldn’t image doing it any other way. It wasn’t until a few months into it that I heard about Attachment Parenting and started reading up on it. Turns out, that everything I was already doing, instinctively, was right in line with the AP principles. It was kind of a wonderful moment for me to learn that I wasn’t the only one out there that believed in these same things. There are many different ways to parent a child but this is the one that feels right for me. As women and mothers we have to follow our instincts and do what we know is the right thing for ourselves and our children.
So as of right now "Little" is slightly over 9 months old and after gaining the 50 lbs while pregnant I am now already down 65 lbs! That's right...I'm 15 lbs lighter than my pre-pregnancy weight. I'd have to say I'm pretty darn proud of that!
More on exactly how I lost the weight to come....
How did you lose your pregnancy weight?
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