Itsabelly: Baby Concierge: Baby Planners: Baby Planning / Preparation: New Parent Education

Tips On How to Shed the Baby Weight & Get Your Body Back

ashley — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 09:00:45 EDT

By Ashley Harkrader, Itsabelly Baby Planner - NC

Is it just me or does summer seem to come faster than any other season? I feel like every time I turn around it is summer time all over again or aka "swimsuit season". The only problem is that size six you used to be is now not mentionable, and those late night cravings of Dunkin Donuts seemed to be okay but now they are haunting you. If this is you, then you are not alone! It is now July and there is no better time to start getting in shape to show off that post- prego body for the summer. Here are five easy steps to get you in the right mind set to start shedding pounds.

First step is admitting it. Assess the situation and really gauge how many unwanted pounds you still have after baby. Also assess how many pounds you want to lose (realistically). * A good confidence builder for this step is to start a journal and track all your achievements along the way.
The second step is making yourself aware of what you are putting in your body. Use your journal and track your food intake for at least three days. In doing this ask yourself these questions: Are your meals high in calories? Are you snacking more than you realized? Do you eat when you’re hungry or is it more of a boredom binge? Is your lifestyle less active since baby? Lastly, are you getting the daily nutrients your body requires? A good website I found that can help with making sure you are getting the recommended daily intake is: http://www.dietitian.com/calcbody.php. * At this point you are making a plan of action. When you combine a diet change and increase your physical activity it is a sure way to win the battle of the baby bulge.
The third step deals directly with changing or adding physical activity. Walk, run, bike, or swim at least three times a week. * This a great time to invest in a jogging stroller. Itsabelly Baby Planners recommends the BOB jogging strollers. They have great suspension and ample storage space for all of your little one's play things. When baby is involved in your new lifestyle not only does it create a bond but it also teaches baby healthy habits about exercising and eating well.
After a new diet has been put in place and activity is on a schedule remember to eliminate the "Bad 5". These include (sweets, white bread, empty carbs, soda and juice).
The last step is: Taking pride in what you are doing. It will pay off in the end. Don't forget to record your progress along the way so you can see all the accomplishments you've conquered. * A good booster at this stage to stay motivated is joining a mommy and me class, also look into Stroller Strides programs in your city, and you can even start a neighborhood moms morning out for all of your neighborhood mommies. In doing this you will discover a great support system and not have to face the challenge of losing weight alone.

The most important rule to remember is: A well fed mama is happy and energetic. Never ever go on a starvation diet to achieve weight loss.

If you are looking for some exercises that you can do right at home check out this site: http://www.fitpregnancy.com/yournewlife/health/lose-the-baby-fat-40729927.html?page=2. Good luck on your journey. It took nine months to put the weight on; it could take even longer to get it off. In the end if you stick to a program you will be ready to showcase your "new mama body."

A Cheat Sheet: 14 Ways to Look Like A Long, Lean Baby Making Machine!

czar — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 09:00:00 EDT

by Czari Anulao

Amy T. Koch, author of Bump It Up, www.bumpitupstyle.com shares some great tips from her book with Itsabelly Baby Planners on how to look fashionable while pregnant. In this article we share Amy's 14 ways to look like a long and lean baby making machine. Her tips also include an affordable way to look like a fashionista without breaking the bank. If you or anyone is expecting and looking for a way to style those pregnancy months try out Amy T. Koch's cheat sheet below.

CHEAT SHEET: 14 WAYS TO LOOK LIKE A LONG, LEAN BABY MAKING MACHINE!
1. Shorter hemlines, especially for shorter women, accent the legs and add height
2. Darker colors are more slimming
3. An open neckline
4. V necks, scoop necks and plunging necklines -slims explosive bust and gives the illusion of a longer neck
5. To the knee boots (not calf length), slim and give the appearance of lengthening the leg
6. Longer pants or trousers (that partially cover the shoe) impart a slimming, vertical line
7. If you are wearing baggy clothing, reign in extra fabric with a belt and/or long layered necklaces
8. Heels lengthen the legs and glamorize most looks
9. Pointy toes make you look taller
10. Long necklaces lengthen the torso
11. Chokers make the neck look short and squat
12. Avoid Shiny fabrics. They attract light to all the wrong places which adds pounds.
13. Wear Tights that match a dress and boot
14. Scarves a la the attenuated Stevie Nicks/ Steven Tyler/Kate Moss type scarf dripping sensuously down the body adds verticality and covers the bulging belly

For more style suggestions for your baby bump click on the link below:
HOW TO BE A BUMP IT UP BABE

A Different Look at Your Stuff

Athena — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 09:00:44 EDT

by Athena Serapio, Itsabelly Baby Planner - San Jose

Today was an amazing accomplishment because I left the mall with no bags. I visited A Pea in the Pod, stopped by BabyGap, said hello to an old friend, and then I left without reaching for my wallet. Why is this amazing? I recently finished watching “The Story of Stuff,” which is an enlightening online video that has been viewed over ten million times since being released in March 2009. It takes away our blinders and shows the full story on production and consumption of our things. If you have not seen this intriguing 20 minute video presentation by Annie Leonard, then you must see it now: www.storyofstuff.org.

She captures our attention with her cartoon, simplistic stick figure drawings, but the social and environmental problems are not at all simple. We know these problems - global warming, forest destruction, plastics flooding the ocean, rising health problems, etc. - but we have to put it all together and find out how we are involved as consumers. This is exactly what Leonard does in the duration of the video. Critics have described the video as unpatriotic and anti-capitalistic, but is trying to create a safer environment for our future babies anti-anything?

I have to admit that my family of 3 has a lot of stuff. I am starting to run out of places to put everything I own. For the past five years, I have been more mindful of what I purchase. I always ask myself the following questions:

Is this a green product? (Make sure you read labels carefully & know what they mean)
How long can I use this product?
What are the materials made out of?
What will happen to it when I do not need this product?

Even with all my attempts to buy green, it is not enough. According to an interview on May 26, 2010 with Planet Green “Questions for Annie Leonard Part 1: The Problem with Greensumption”, Leonard indicates that green buying is not a solution. Instead, the collective action to change our production and consumption processes will make a difference.

Do you want to learn more than what is presented in the video? Just our luck, Leonard decided to write a book with more information, The Story of Stuff book , and it was released in March 2010.

Annie Leonard who is also a Bay Area resident, is the creator and director of The Story of Stuff Project. She traveled all around the world for twenty years investigating environmental health issues. Note that many of her quoted statistics are noted in the manuscript, which you can download from the website.

Itsabelly's Health & Wellness Events for Mom & Baby Happening this Week!

melissa — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 10:11:49 EDT

Join our HUGE Itsabelly giveaway events focused on Health & Wellness for Mom & Baby!

Hosted by Itsabelly Baby Planners & Sponsored by Britax, Cord Blood Registry & CityMommy.com

with new baby product giveaways from wonderful brands like Zoli, Plum Organics, gDiapers & more.

Win a Britax Car Seat & Stroller System valued at $500!!

See us in:

Seattle on 6/24 at Merry Go Round

Chicago on 6/24 at Galt Baby

SF Bay area on 6/26 at Lullaby Lane

Event details at: Mom & Baby Events & RSVP to info@itsa-belly.com.

Seed Plant Grow & Baby Planner U Launched!

melissa — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 02:58:42 EDT

(USA) April 2010 – Seed Plant Grow, is the latest creative endeavor of Melissa Moog, founder of Itsabelly Baby Planners and International Baby Planner Association. Seed Plant Grow is the first educational and consulting center which seeks to provide knowledge and training by offering seminars on parenting, entrepreneurship, and professional development. Born in September 2009 and launching in the on-line arena in April 2010 Seed Plant Grow will have a key focus on helping baby planning professionals and aspiring baby planners offering education and consulting through Baby Planner U.

Moog shares, “We are excited to announce that Seed Plant Grow is finally here! This center for learning is inspired by the successes and challenges I’ve faced in running my own businesses.” All of the class content and materials are based off of real life business experience to help entrepreneurs, and also includes the use of hands on materials that helps support new parents and expecting parents in their journey of parenthood. Moog goes on to say, “You can trust that Seed Plant Grow will get you going down the right path.”

Coaching and consulting for baby planners, parents, and entrepreneurs is in high demand. Seed Plant Grow entered the online arena in April 2010 and has already rolled out a class schedule on topics including living with a new baby, child proofing your home, how to find the best childcare, as well as tools in writing an effective business plan and marketing strategy.

The Dirty Truth

ashley — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:22:45 EDT

By Ashley Harkrader & Melissa Moog

Itsabelly's Diapering Disclaimer:

Itsabelly educates parents on the many options they have when deciding how to care for their precious baby. We specifically have an interest in choosing the non-toxic or green route as this is our specialty. For a few of our baby planners, we've learned about choosing a less toxic approach long after having used disposables so we've honestly experienced both sides. Most of us have even used disposables for traveling because it was convenient. Hearing the information about what our diapers were made of and how many ended up polluting our landfill was totally shocking. In the end, even though we were armed with this information we realized using disposables doesn't make us bad parents. Our own parents used disposables when we were babies but we would never judge them for doing what they thought was best.

When we researched the different diapering options we understood why today's parents might want to make the switch. Heck, making the switch today towards a lighter shade of green diapering is made so easy! You can choose from a hybrid disposable diaper like gDiapers to a green disposable diaper like Seventh Generation carried by your local Whole Foods store - that is if you don't want the hassle of using cloth. Some new families even get creative and take the 50/50 approach (half green disposable diapers and half cloth). With all of the stylish and creative choices available green diapering has almost become as cool as getting a new iPhone!

After doing our research we believe there are truly better options than the traditional disposable diapering brands. Bottom line, is that we do not judge or push information on any parent who isn't interested in this topic. In the end, after reading our information you have to decide what the right path is for you based on your lifestyle, budget and values but most importantly your gut instincts. We hope that this post will inform you about the benefits in choosing a healthier option for baby, avoiding disposables or at least considering how to reduce your consumption and protecting mother earth. Ultimately, as the parent it is your decision that matters most and you have to decide if you're on the spectrum of green what shade you'll be!

The Dirty Truth

Today, June 8th is "No Plastic Day." I wanted to incorporate this into my blog and what better way to do that then discuss diapers. I attended the World's Largest Baby Shower last month in Atlanta. The room was filled with experts including baby industry leaders to small businesses. For the event I was given the pleasure of speaking on behalf of Itsabelly Baby Planners along with my Itsabelly partner, Anna Vandiver. Our topic was disposables vs. eco-friendly diapers. On the trip down I thought "how many people will actually be interested in learning why green diapering is better?" My answer was quickly handed to me as I arrived. I found so many people (moms, dads, aunts, grandparents, etc...) were really interested in hearing what Anna and I had to say. We were asked questions like what is the difference between cloth and disposable, what are they made of and what are my options. If you're interested in going green in your baby's diapering here is some information that may help you answer some of those questions.

Decoding the Disposable:

Please note the following information is based on facts cited from:

Itsabelly's Guide to Going Green with Baby

Real Diaper Association

Ease Into Green

Disposables are made up of a water proof polyethylene outer layer, an inner layer made from wood pulp and synthetic polyacralate, and a water repellant liner. Most brands have even added perfume and fragrance to the diapers as well.
It can take up to 200-500 years for a disposable diaper to decompose-if it even does?
Americans throw away close to 20 billion disposable diapers a year. Enough to stretch to the moon and back 9x.
Disposables cost $2,000+ a baby's lifetime (multiply that if there is more than one baby).
It takes 1 cup of crude oil to make the plastic for 1 disposable diaper... eekk that’s a lot of diapers floating in the gulf.
It takes 286 lbs. of plastic (including the packaging to supply 1 baby in disposables.
It takes 200-400kg of fluff to supply 1 baby in disposables for a year.
Disposables create 2.3x as much water waste.
3.5x the energy, 8.3x the non-generable raw materials, 90x renewable raw materials, 30x as much land to grow the raw materials, and it is estimated that 75% of the hospitals in the US use disposables.

If you're concerned about being eco-friendly then this information might hit home:

"It takes 3.4 billion gallons of oil and over 250,00 trees annually to manufacture a diaper that ends up in a landfill which we're not even sure biodegrades. It is estimated by scientists that a diaper may take up to a few hundred years to biodegrade but we'll never know because we won't live that long."

The Dirty 3:

Disposables are made up of many things that should not come in contact with vulnerable and delicate baby skin. In most disposable diapers there are three main toxins.

Tributlyin (TBT)

A toxin pollutant known to cause hormonal problems in animals and humans.
Also been linked to obesity in humans, as it triggers genes that cause the growth of fat cells.

Sodium Polyacralate

An absorbent gel used in most disposable diapers.
Linked to asthma and reduced sperm count in boys.
The chemical was once used in tampons and became banned in 1985 due to the cause of TSS (Toxic Shock Syndrome).

Dioxins:

A chemical by product of the paper bleaching process that uses chlorine gas in the manufacturing of diapers.
Contains carcinogens- which are a cancer causing chemical.
Small quantities of dioxins can affect the liver and immune system.
Banned in most countries but widely used in the US.

A Different Way to Diaper

With so many new diapering choices many parents are taking a closer look at choosing green diapering over disposables. We have an array of choices before us such as eco-friendly diapers (Organic, cotton, jersey, bamboo and hemp) that come in every color of the rainbow, Velcro, snaps, flushable, cloth inserts, chlorine free, and then the re-invented diaper service.

Itsabelly Baby Planners has a few green diapering choices we recommend if you are considering this route.

Nature Baby Care-Chlorine free and made from Stewardship Council certified wood pulp. They also have a corn based bio plastic.
Seventh Generation- Also made of certified wood pulp and also chlorine free ( they are brown for a reason)
Bum Genius- Super absorbent microfiber inserts and fasten easy with Velcro sides.
gDiapers- Come in cloth and flushable liners. Fashionable colors that are sure to be the talk of the playground, easy Velcro sides and they are biodegradable for composting.

5 Things Families Can Do Today To Prepare for A Disaster

czar — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 10:00:09 EDT

Guest post by Seattle Children's

With the recent earthquakes in Haiti, Chile, and China, pediatrician Dr. Wendy Sue Swanson (aka Seattle Mama Doc) and emergency room physician Dr. Suzan Mazor took on the task of preparing a disaster kit for each of their families.

You would think this would be an easy task, but they were surprised at how difficult it actually was to put a kit together. So, they did a lot of research and tried to simplify the process into easy steps for busy families. They also documented their journey on video to help illustrate the key items families should have at home before a disaster hits -visit the Seattle Mama Doc blog for their tips: http://seattlemamadoc.seattlechildrens.org/prepare/#more-491

For ongoing information on pediatric health and safety topics, you can also follow Dr. Swanson on Twitter.

San Francisco "Bump It Up" Book Tour Success!

Athena — Sat, 29 May 2010 00:24:41 EDT

Wednesday's, May 26, event at the W - Hotel in San Francisco for the "Bump It Up" book tour was a smashing success! Thank you to all of the following vendors for supporting the raffle on behalf of Itsabelly! Take a look at all the great prizes.

"Best of the Bay - Mommy Bag"
All of our give away items were from vendors located in the Bay Area!

FFit Bag in "Orange Zoo on Slate" designed by Tiffany Stickles, medium size for $178 http://www.ffitbags.com/
Items included in the Ffit Bag:

Flying Peas' Stroller Blanket $58 www.flyingpeas.com

ZoLi On-the-go Travel Formula & Snack Dispenser $15, baby OHM - diaper changeing mat in green $20, Gummy Stick - Teething Stick (2 pack) $10, Munch - Silicone Teethers (2) $5.00 each, www.zo-li.com

The Baby Cuisine Cookbook and DVD $19.95 www.alinascucina.com

Dabib - DaHugs in Yellow micro terry cloth $9.00 www.dabib.com

Violet's Pea Pod $20 Gift Certificate www.violetspeapod.com

Maternity's Xchange SF Birth & Baby Fair June 6 complimentary admission tickets (for 2) www.birthandbabyfair.com
More winners received prizes from the following:

Japanese Weekend $75 Gift Certificate www.japaneseweekend.com

Lullaby Lane in San Bruno $100 Gift Certificate www.lullabylane.com

Jenny Lee Photography $100 Gift Certificate www.jennyleephotography.com
Thank you to JJ Cole Collections for providing a Fleurville 'chocolate Re-Run Hana' diaper bag for our "Project Mommy Bag" display featuring eco-friendly baby products.

Baby Proofing Your Home

czar — Fri, 28 May 2010 10:00:08 EDT

By Windy Gossett, Itsabelly Seattle

I remember the days when I waited with baited breath for my daughter to reach those milestone markers. The first smile, the first time she rolled over, the first giggle and the much anticipated first crawl. Then all I wanted was my cute stationary baby back and not the one that was getting into everything. Once babies start moving their world is at their finger tips, literally. Baby proofing can be a very daunting task but making your home safe for baby is one of the most important things you can do for your child.

Itsabelly® Baby Proofing Tips
Complete the items below for improved home safety for your baby or toddler. Remember that this is not a substitute for personal attention nor can it be all-inclusive to your particular situation. By completing this list, you are off to a good start!

Make sure smoke alarm batteries are replaced regularly
Install carbon monoxide detectors in the right places
Cover unused electrical outlets
Make electrical cords inaccessible
Bundle and Affix to the wall
Try to limit to areas baby can’t reach
Bolt or remove tall and unstable furniture
Use cordless blinds or keep blind cords properly secured out of reach
Check your plants and remove poisonous varieties
http://www.denverplants.com/foliage/html/Poisonous_Plants.htm
Consider doors that could pinch fingers
Install removable door bumpers
Install door handle covers to deter opening
Make sure pet litter boxes are not accessible
Watch for sharp corners; affix bumper guards where necessary
Use gates around stairs
Be sure to put gates at top and bottom of stairs
Never use pressure-mounted gates at the top of the stairs
Secure toxins, cleaning supplies, and heavy jars/cans in cabinets
Make sure toilet water is inaccessible
Put toilet brushes in locked cabinets or safely out of reach
Secure garbage cans
Make sure magnets are not accessible
Choose a crib with slats that are close together and that is deep enough to keep the baby/toddler inside
Be sure to keep cribs/beds and bassinets away from window
Consider plastic shields on the lower portion of windows
Use window locks to insure windows can only open a small amount
Keep baby monitors out of the crib

Need more help? Itsabelly® can provide everything from a simple, inexpensive consultation to recommending and installing the right products for your environment and life style. Currently we're offering complete baby proofing services in Portland, OR & Seattle, WA.
Reference this article and receive 20% off a 1 hour baby proofing consultation.

The Cushie Traveler by Mommies Helper

czar — Wed, 26 May 2010 10:00:45 EDT

The Cushie Traveler by Mommies Helper

By Czari Anulao

Sweet Little Grace is four and when Daddy brought home a Cushie Traveler she was excited and was anxious to try it out. Her first thought was "I can't fall in anymore!" She did not have to use her hands on the rim to hold herself up. A big plus because the rims at the store can be very dirty, especially, underneath where children grip.

From a dad's perspective he could see the Cushie Traveler be placed in the diaper bag or his wife's purse when at the park, shopping mall, or traveling out of town. You can just wipe it off with alcohol wipes or rinse under the sink when done. As for the functionality, Grace dribbled at the front of the seat because the opening is narrow. After a while she stopped using it for this reason. It's great for children who are younger and starting out with potty training. The Cushie Traveler is soft, folds up nicely, and sturdy for a child that weighs 42 pounds. If you are considering purchasing a portable potty seat, there are many to choose from. Check them out at a local store or online and see which one would work well for your child.