The Motherhood Transition

As I move well into my 3^rd pregnancy, it’s amazing to think about all the changes that have happened around me, and inside of me, over the past four years.  I started off as a career-driven young woman who was petrified to have children.  The labor process was especially frightful to me, and on top of that, seeing how much time and energy children took—it was one more reason to doubt I would want any of my own.  Apparently it was in the stars for me anyway, and now that I have 2 sweet angels of my own, I wouldn’t change it for the world. The nurturing and love for your child is something greater than you could ever believe.  They can brighten my day in an instant through a simple smile, hug or funny phrase.

Let’s be real though, it’s not all sunshine and roses.  The body changes and schedule changes alone can throw anyone for a loop.  Change happens in areas you never even imagined. The guilt you can also feel if your child is sick or hurt can be hard to bare. Although reality tries to reason with your thoughts to help you understand you do not have complete control over everything, it rarely wins the battle.  The transition back to work, what you feed your child, how you discipline, how you interact with your spouse in front of your children…so many new challenges and the strongest desire not to fail you’ve ever felt… all happening at the same time. 

For many women, the greatest struggle with motherhood is learning how to create the right balance between providing care for your kids and care for yourself.  Whether you have young children like me, you’re facing those challenging teenage years, or your children have grown and started their adult lives, I know you can relate to this challenge of self care. With that in mind, I am excited to share with you the anticipation of a new workshop we are developing for 2012.  The workshop will be for Mother’s to unite together to discover and practice self care. Developed in collaboration of myself and H3’s Director of Behavioral Management, Lisette Volz (mother of 2), this workshop will feature group support around issues like Wearing all the Hats, and Wearing them Well, A Mother’s Body Image, Finding Peace in Hectic Schedules, Fitting in Fitness, Life’s Cycles: Hands-on Cooking, and the much needed Girls’ Night.  Whether it’s baby weight, emotional weight, the pressure of time or managing the total load, we are planning a weekend focused on health, fitness and relaxation that any Mother needs.

I am very excited for the opportunity to work with this woman’s only workshop.  If you also share an interest in this topic, please share any ideas or areas you would like to see addressed!  Stay tuned for dates and more information for this workshop coming in Fall 2012!

**Official Workshop dates have not been set. If interested, please call (800) 292-2440 to speak with a program consultant.

 

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Can you make a difference?

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September 2010 will be recognized as the first Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.  Over the past 40 years, childhood obesity has quadrupled in children ages 6 to 11.  This puts 1/3 of America’s children at risk for Type 2 Diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and risk of stroke. 

 

It’s gone on far too long, and now congress has named September as Childhood Obesity Awareness month, calling on businesses and individuals to commit to participate in making a positive change.  Whether it’s a commitment to yourself to eat more fruits and vegetables, or organizing a local health fair for the kids in your community, we all can play a role in building a healthier America. 

 

For more ideas, take a look at the following websites:

 

Want to make an impact on children in your community?  Visit this website for ideas:   

-  Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper.

-  Write letters to your local and state elected officials.

-  Write about the issues on your blog, Facebook and other social media platforms.

-  Have children create their own artwork depicting healthy, active living.

-  Advocate for pocket parks, bike walking trails, safe sidewalks and other amenities that promote healthy physical activity.

-  Encourage local restaurants to provide reasonable food and beverage portion sizes and to increase the availability of low‐calorie, nutritious food items.

-  Take your children to a local farmers market. Have them pick fruits and vegetables in a rainbow of colors.

 

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Learn more about nutrition and get ideas for fun, healthy snacks, check out www.mypyramid.gov.  Here are a few examples:

 

-  Bagel snake ― Split mini bagels in half. Cut each half into half circles. Spread the halves with toppings like tuna salad, egg salad, or peanut butter. Decorate with sliced cherry tomatoes, or banana slices. Arrange the half circles to form the body of a snake. Use olives or raisins for the eyes.

-  Frozen bananas ― Put a wooden stick into a peeled banana. Cut large bananas in half first. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze. Once frozen, peel off the plastic and enjoy.

-  Frozen graham cracker sandwiches ― Mix mashed bananas and peanut butter, spread between graham crackers and freeze.

-  Ants on a log ― Thinly spread peanut butter on narrow celery sticks. Top with a row of raisins or other diced dried fruit.

 

 

The YMCA offers a free Healthy Family Home starter kit which allows the whole family to be involved with goal setting and planning for new healthy habits.  Get it here.

 

 

A great website with resources for parents, kids, and teens is www.kidshealth.com.  The website is split into a section for each group, addressing the concerns that are most important to them, and each section is written and designed in a way that the parent/child/teen can understand.    A few topics of interest may be: 

 

- Parent site features recipes, articles on positive parenting, and medical information

- Teen Articles about Going to College; Eating Well at Restaurants; Travel Tips; Managing Friendships & Relationships

- Kids quizzes and games on how the body works, health dictionary and Q&A sections