Two Top-Ranked Exercise DVDs:
It’s the dreaded “E” word again. Exercise. The word itself is a 4-letter rant multiplied times two! But you can’t beat the benefits, and no one stands to gain (not weight!) more than Mom-to-Be.
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Seven Good Reasons: The Baby Center gives seven good reasons why Mom-to-Be should commit to a fitness routine during pregnancy and afterwards. That is after she’s cleared her options with her OB/GYN! |
Prenatal Yoga Series
“Leading fitness expert and licensed marriage- family therapist, Sara Holliday, MFT, has coached and trained thousands of women on how to develop a fit body and mind and now brings her successful fitness programs to powerful DVDs for expectant mothers . . . The ONLY yoga programs tailored for each trimester of pregnancy!”
Sara Holliday's Prenatal Yoga Series (2007) gets top marks by raters at Amazon.com. What women liked best is that you don’t have to have previous yoga experience to enjoy these exercises. You get three separate DVDs (45 minutes for the first trimester, 35 minutes for the second trimester, 37 minutes for the third trimester) which keeps the routines from getting boring. There’s great stretching and strengthening techniques combined with breathing exercises. It sounds to me like the perfect prep for labor!
Pilates During Pregnancy
Pilates pros don’t have to go into withdrawal during The Preg either! You guessed it, there’s Pilates During Pregnancy. What a perfect gift!
Niece Pecenka, developer of Pregnancy Pilates, says her program is a “routine adapted for busy women in all trimesters who want to feel fit, healthy, and fabulous.” This Pilates routine helps mom-to-be focus on conscious movement and revitalizing breath – the prime energizers that will help her control her weight and get her muscles ready for labor.
Bonus: she’ll also have a head start on getting rid of baby belly after delivery. These Pilates moves are “OB/GYN endorsed and follow the guidelines set forth by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology.” Do the routines twice a week to stay toned. Be sure mom-to-be checks with her doctor before undertaking this or any other exercise program.
What's the Buzz?
Burt's Bees of course! The hum is all about Burt's Mom-to-Bee and Baby Bee grooming products. There's no sting in this bling because you're going affordably natural!
Mama Bee Belly Butter
Give Mom-to-Be this belly rub moisturizer that's saturated with Cocoa Butter and Vitamin E. It helps maintain skin elasticity and relieves the dry itchies that crop up during mom's nine month Stre-e-e-e-ch! She can use it after baby arrives too! Belly Butter helps bounce that belly bump back into shape!
Mama Bee™ Leg & Foot Creme
Oh, the pressure on those feeties! Mom-to-Be could sure use some relief from the calves down, especially during the late stages of pregnancy. In fact, she might just need help most about the time you're planning to go to her shower! Burt's Leg & Foot Creme is laced with relaxing Peppermint Oil and circulation-friendly Rosemary Leaf Extract. ZZZZZ! I can hear Mom-to-Be humming Rimsky-Korsakov now!
Baby Bee Getting Started Kit
How cute is this? A mini-bee kit for baby! I love this. It's portable and affordable. It's chock full of Burt's Baby Bee products. Burt says the containers are smaller, but they're for awfully little people. Oh, be still my heart! This is a fantastic Mom-to-Be shower gift topper!
Check out all of Burt's Bees natural cosmetics, including his extensiveMom and Baby lines, at his hive – http://www.burtsbees.com
Safety First!
Bumkins is proud to continue their legacy of putting child safety first. They offer products that are not only high-quality, but safe as well.
In light of recent product recalls, Bumkins would like to remind customers that all of their products, including our waterproof items, are all PVC, vinyl and phthalate free! This includes SuperBibs, aprons, art smocks, cloth diapers and covers. Additionally, all waterproof products are MADE IN THE USA with American-made fabric!
For FAQs and to find a list of recalled items, go to: Lead in Baby Bibs FAQs
For further reading go to: An Unnecessary Poison: Babies, Bibs, and Lead (Acrobat PDF)
Goddess Garden:
To cheer Mom-to-Be spring, summer and early fall, the gift of an easy-to-do Goddess Garden is a great idea! Pick a patch of yard and surprise Mom-to-Be by planting easy to maintain seasonal blooms. Impatiens and pansies are nearly fool proof! Get some inexpensive, but colorful plates to place around plantings to give the garden punch and originality! Sink plates in a standing position about one inch deep into soil to serve as garden borders. You can place them strategically behind bloom clusters for a different looks! Colorful rocks, gravel and seashells are highlight Diva nature! If you can really splurge, pop for a mini-fountain! The gentle splashing of water is soothing and meditative! If Mom-to-Be has a favorite animal or spiritual icon, you might incorporate one or two ceramic figures among the blossoms!
Start your gardening adventures at the Home & Garden TV website! Their gardening section is amazing! Get tips on flowers, water features, organic gardening and more!
Re-Invent the Wheel!
If you don't want to dig in the dirt, here’s another easy gift idea! Get a child’s red wagon and fill it with plants and flowers! A gardenia bush, a jasmine bush and some lavender plants can be part of the array because they add fragrance! Be sure to check with Mom-to-Be first to see if she has any fragrance aversions! Mom-to-Be can pull the wagon around in the yard and position it anywhere she likes! She can wheel it indoors, too! If she has a sun room and likes to sit there, you can add puzzle books and paperbacks! Mom-to-Be can read, relax and bask in beauty all at the same time!
Pop a Wheelie With This Gift!
Fill a child’s wagon with environment friendly, nonallergenic household cleaners and laundry products! Mom-to-Be’s who are allergic or want to go “green” will love the products and go ga-ga over how easy it is to get chore products from room-to-room! Throw in some sponges, scrub brushes and rubber gloves while you're at it! Once Mom-to-Be starts showing, lower back problems make it difficult to bend over and grab products stored in low-lying cabinets. This handy-dandy wagon will ease the burden! Check out Method products! 100% natural and never tested on animals! Also check out Seventh Generation. Hot tip – they have chlorine free diapers and baby wipes!
Alice-In-Wonderland Tea Party:
If Mom-to-Be’s baby shower guest list goes over the top (because you've got people from age 1 to 101 coming!), consider the Alice-In-Wonderland solution! Let Mom-to-Be’s special theme be the Mad Hatter’s tea party! It’s a great idea if this party can be held outside!. Get a couple of long tables and decorate them in Alice-In-Wonderland colors. Alice style party favors such as classic story figures and an inexpensive copies of “Though The Looking Glass” will entertain little ones while more sophisticated gifts such as lotions and candles always please grownups!
Mosquito netting draped over a pole adds exotic flair when draped overtop a “throne chair” for Mom-to-Be. She can hold court from her royal seat and open her gifts! Silk flowers placed around her feet and the throne give a majestic feel. Serve tea, both hot and iced as well as lemonade. Cookies, ice cream and small finger sandwiches fill the tummy! Why not have the guests come wearing their own mad hatter bonnets? People can be as creative and outlandish as they dare! Skip over and check out affordable mosquito netting. Talk about ambiance!
don't forget your sure-fire lemonade proportions: 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of water to 1 cup of lemon juice. That way you'll have the perfect mix every time! Gingerbread, lemon poppy seed cake and lemon drop cookies are a spring and summer favorites! They go well with tea, iced-tea and “ade” drinks!
Bug tip: Basil plants will repel mosquitoes and flies! Put plenty of fresh Basil around the party area! It smells good, too!
Picture Perfect:
Here’s a big favorite of Mom-to-Be’s everywhere! Before the shower, contact all the guests and have them submit a photo of themselves for inclusion in a specially made Mom-to-Be scrapbook! Get a baby picture of Mom-to-Be from her (or her mom) and also a picture of Mom-to-Be sporting her baby bump! Place these photos on the first page of the album, but leave space on that page for inclusion of a photo of her newborn! This shower photo album will feature her (and eventually her newborn) plus photos of everyone who graced her shower! Talk about lifetime treasure!
If you want to go the extra mile on the shower scrapbook, have each woman autograph it or submit a special writing in advance of the shower. Mom-to-Be will have hours of joyful private time going through her shower album!
Hot tip: Save the wrapping paper from Mom-to-Be’s gifts and use it for colorful background material behind pictures! Cut images from the paper like balloons, teddy bears and kitty cats to glue alongside fun photos of Mom-to-Be’s shower day!
Have someone on hand to count how many times Mom rips paper off her gifts! That total equals how many children she’s going to have! Adorable, or what!? Write that number in Mom-to-Be’s shower picture album!
Family Tree:
The Family Tree scrapbook is one you create over several weeks (or months!). It gets presented to Mom-to-Be at her shower! (Note - this is a great idea for brides, too!). Canvas Mom-to-Be’s parents and/or family members for photos. It would be great if each person could contribute one childhood and one adult photo they're fond of. They'll need time to get special family photos safely duplicated, so make room on the calendar for this project to develop. Make sure the album is large enough to contain Baby Shower photos and later photos of mom with her newborn!
The Family Tree album takes on a different meaning for a bridal shower. If the Bride-to-Be and the Groom-to-Be’s parents have photos of their own wedding to contribute, you've got another treasure! Grandparents' wedding photos as well as those of aunts, uncles, close cousins and siblings' would make this a book of generations!
If you're already an avid scrapbooker, you may be familiar with Creative Memories, one of the best scrapbook sites on the Internet. If you like the scrapbooking idea, but don't know how to begin, the Creative Memories website can get you started. Creative Memories also has an website devoted to the sharing of photos at Creative Memories site is “family friendly.” so people of all ages can enjoy shower photo viewing in this wholesome environment!
Don't forget Dad-To-Be!
Dads-to-Be can always use some TLC! If he’s accustomed to doing the yard work himself, how about hiring a crew to mow the lawn, take care of the weeds and do some light landscaping? If you don't want to go to the expense of hiring professionals, see if you can count on Mom-to-Be or Dad-to-Be’s father, brothers, or the husbands and boyfriends of the Mom-to-Be’s shower attendees. A Saturday or Sunday afternoon of communal lawn sprucing (especially when it gets close to Mom-to-Be’s due date) goes a long way towards calming Dad-to-Be’s anxiety! If there are any other projects, such as rearranging the garage or cleaning out the storage shed, let the guys get busy!
Natural pesticide tip: you can use a tablespoon of dish detergent per gallon of water as plant spray. The spray is enviro-friendly, but also healthy for Mom-to-Be, and for when baby is born. The wind bring all sorts of airborne particles into the home. Dish detergent pesticide is one easy way to cut down on unfriendly bio materials!
Birth stones Are a Winner:
If you know what month Mom-to-Be is expecting her bundle of joy, why not get her a jewelry item featuring her baby’s birthstone? This handy chart lists modern Birth stones as well as the Hebrew, Roman, Arabic and Hindu equivalents! Zodiac Birth stones are listed here so if mom is a star sign lover, you can bet zodiac jewelry will be a big hit with her too!
