Belly Dancing During Pregnancy

Good Morning America recently did a great story on the benefits of belly dancing during pregnancy.

I think belly dancing is a great way to stay fit while you are pregnant. Not only does it work the core muscles and prepare muscles that you will be using during labor, but it is fun! And like the article says, many of the dance moves can help to make labor a smoother and shorter process.

The article states:

According to one anthropologist, belly dancing actually originated as a ritual of childbirth as well as seduction.
One doctor said the sway of belly dancing actually can aid during childbirth by helping to position the baby.

You can watch the video for the story here.

So, if you are carrying a belly bean, look into taking a local belly dancing class.

Belly Dancing During Pregnancy

Year of Action

The year of 2007 was a great year for our family. The Knight and I call 2007 the "year of enlightenment." It was the year that we realized that life could be different, that we could live however we wanted, and the way that we wanted to live was with as much freedom as possible.

Our first area of learning was in finances. We decided that the only thing between us and financial freedom was debt. After the Mermaid was born, we got into some serious credit card debt, on top of our student loans. We learned that getting out of this debt was the key to being able to set aside money for a savings, and to being able to afford a house on just one income. So, we went on the Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover Plan. From March to December, we paid off about $12,000.00 worth of debt and saved up for a down payment on a house. Our goal is to be completely free of debt, except for a mortgage, by the end of 2009.

Our second area of learning was in health. We did some research on nutrition and decided to become vegetarians. We are seriously considering going vegan. Being vegetarians is simply healthier: in fact, eating meat is seriously detrimental to your health. Books that we read in our research include The China Study, You Don't Need Meat, and The Mad Cowboy. The science is there, we just accessed it.

Our third area of learning was in lifestyle. First, we made a conscious decision to live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. While we did take some positive steps in this direction (switched to cloth paper towels/napkins, set up a recycling center, etc), I still think we need to work on this one. Second, we decided that we did not want to live the traditional 9-5 lifestyle. We want to both work from home and be home with our kids. We want to homeschool them, be there for them, and raise them with our values, so that they learn the importance of family. Since right now we are relying on the Knight's income, we decided to take steps to allow me to work from home first. This decision led me to starting two of my own home-based businesses: the first was my Doula business, the second was my Direct Marketing business. I adore doing both businesses, and have a blast with each one. Once we are more out of debt, the Knight wants to open his own business as a financial advisor for the Dave Ramsey plan. Then we will both be home to raise and school our children.

Now that 2007 is over, we know that we have definite goals in all three areas and we also have plans laid out to reach those goals. So, for us, 2008 is going to be the year of action. We are both going to work to develop and build my businesses, to help us get out of debt. We hope to get even more out of debt in the spring, and get a house. We've started homeschooling the girls. And we are gazelle intense on reaching all of our goals, and getting the lifestyle that we want.

Will we succeed? We have to. We have officially removed the option of quitting from the table. It is this or nothing. And we are determined.

As for personal resolutions, I do have a few. My general resolution is to improve as a person. The specific ones I have are:

~ Find value in myself, and know that I am worthy of the all the blessings I receive.
~ Don't let other people's opinions rule how I feel about myself
~ Be more positive/optimistic (including doing some positive affirmations about myself and my life every morning)
~ Move forward in both my businesses
~ Yell less (I hate it when I lose control of my anger and yell at the Mermaid)
~ Lose weight (kind of cliche, I know, but the Knight and I are going to TTC in September/October and I want to be as healthy as possible for the pregnancy.)

So that is our outlook for the year. I would love to hear what your goals for 2008 are!

Year of Action

I'd Hate to Say I Told You So...

I think I've blogged about this before. But now I have research to back me up.

One of my pet peeves is when women say that they don't even want to try to breastfeed because it will make their boobs sag. Whenever I hear this, I cringe and two thoughts run through my head:

1. What a selfish reason to deny your infant optimal nutrition. Way to put your looks before your child's health@@.
2. Breastfeeding does not make your boobs sag. Pregnancy and gravity do.

The first thought I usually keep to myself. The second I usually share. And they usually don't believe me, either because they don't want to or because they know of "so and so who breastfed her kids and her boobs are down to her knees".

Nice. Reeeaallll nice.

Well, I hate to say I told you so, but now there's research that states the same thing: breastfeeding does not make your breasts sag. Really. In fact, this study suggests that the real causes of sagging breasts are age, number of pregnancies, and whether or not the mother smokes.

Now, here's my viewpoint. Do my boobs sag? Hell ya. Not down to my knees, but I definitely no longer have the perfect, perky round lovely lady humps that I was graced with before pregnancy. Does that bother me? Not at all. When I decided to become a mother, I decided to embrace all of motherhood, including saggy breasts due to pregnancy. Just like women learn to embrace their stretch marks, their apron of skin, etc. At least I am using my breasts for their intended purpose, by giving my child her optimal nutrition.

So yes, my breasts sag. And yes, if you have children, your breasts will sag, even if you don't breastfeed. The difference is, my breasts are going out with a bang!

I'd Hate to Say I Told You So...