The Preggie Pals
Pampering Yourself During Pregnancy

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Please be advised, this transcription was performed from a company independent of New Mommy Media, LLC. As such, translation was required which may alter the accuracy of the transcription.

[Theme Music]

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Pregnant women are often faced with fatigue body, aches nausea, and a nervous apprehension about what’s to come. Maybe you’re working a fulltime job on your fatal day or you’re already chasing after your older kids but are you taking time for yourself? Today, we’ll be discussing how to pump yourself during pregnancy. This is Preggie Pals.

[Theme Music/Intro]

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Welcome to Preggie Pals, broadcasting from the Birth Education Center of San Diego. Preggie Pals is your online on the go support group for expecting parents and those hoping to become pregnant. I'm your host, Stephanie Glover. We’ve cover topics for every phase of pregnancy. Visit our episode guide on our website to scroll through those topics and you can listen directly from your computer to iTunes or download our free apps available on Android, iTunes, and Windows marketplace, and be sure to check out our new network app where you can listen to all your favorite New Mommy Media shows on the go. Here is Sunny with more information about how you can get involved in our show.

SUNNY GAULT: All right. Hi everybody and welcome to Preggie Pals. There are some great ways that you can get involved in our shows. We have segments that are part of each show. Once at the beginning of our show, once at the end, and we’d love for you guys to get involve so I'm going to highlight just a couple of them that I really like. One is called “Pregnancy Oops” and that’s where you guys share your funny pregnancy stories, things that after it happens, you’re like, whoops, or may it’s like a pregnancy brain kind of situation that happens. We would love to highlight those we think that really funny especially after the fact, right? Might not be so funny when you’re going through it. After the fact, that’s really funny.

We want to highlight some of those. Also, we’re always looking for different pregnancy apps to feature on the show. We like to review different apps. New Mommy Media has a bunch of apps and so those Preggie Pals has its own app, so we are an app-centric platform if you will. So we’d love to feature other apps out there that’ve helped you, maybe sometime it help you time contractions, maybe it was something that helps you with your appointments that you need to go to or the kicks that you’re counting from your baby. Whatever it is, let us know what it is and perhaps, we can feature on the show and tell other pregnant mammas about it.

So those are couple ways you can submit for the segments on our show. If you do, if you are interested in participating in those segments, you can go to our website at www.newmommymedia.com. Click on the contact link. You can send us an email and just tell us a little bit about yourself and whatever you want to submit for the stories. Another way to do it is through our website.

We have a new section on the site that allows you to submit a voice mail straight through our website. So you never have to actually pick up a phone. You can just record using the microphone on your computer and then will go right through the internet and over to us and then we’ll include that on the future episodes, so there you go.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: All right. Thank you so much Sunny.

SUNNY GAULT: Sure.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: So before we get started, I wanted to go ahead and go around the room, get on the phone and introduce the panelist. So I'll go ahead and get started. I'm Stephanie Glover, host of Preggie Pals. I'm also a train child birth educator. I am 33. I have two daughters, Gretchen is four, Lydia is two. Gretchen was my C-section baby and Lithia my VBAC. Marie?

MARIE: Hi. I'm Marie. I'm 34 years old. I am a Director of Education for small Tech company here in San Diego. My due date is exactly one week from today and that’s because I'm 36 weeks pregnant with twins, boy and a girl. They’ll be my first kids and right now, they’re both vertex, so hopefully we’ll get to have a vaginal birth.

SUNNY GAULT: Yeah, another twin mamma.

MARIE: Yeah.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: And Elisha, go ahead.

ELISHA: Hi. I'm Elisha. I am 24. I live here in Nashville Tennessee. I'm really excited to be on the show even from way up here. I'm a sales representative from IT Company here. I am due with my first baby girl, due on June.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Awesome. Thanks for joining us all the way from Tennessee. And Dina, can you introduce yourself?

DINA: I'm Dina. I am 27. I work for University of Colorado Hospital, in the business services department. I have two boys, ages six and two and a half, first one with C-section, second was attempted VBAC but fail.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Welcome and you didn’t fail. We don’t like that word.

SUNNY GAULT: No.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: And Sunny, would you like to introduce yourself?

SUNNY GAULT: Sure. So I have four kids of my own and the oldest is five and then I have a three year old and then my girls are twins and they are, I don’t know, about 26, 27 months now. I lose count after we hit the two year mark. I get really confuse. I'm just going to say twoish.

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SUNNY GAULT: Okay. So before we get started, we have a news headline we’re going to talk about today. It’s kind of caught my eye. I think the headline, I don’t know. It’s a little kind of scary headline and we certainly do want to scare people with this but we do like to bring out different research that comes out that’s relates to pregnant woman. So kind of forgive the headline here but here is the headline, skin cancer more deadly when caught during pregnancy. So here is what happened. It says here. I'm just going to read the portion of this.

Melanoma may be even more dangerous when it’s diagnosed in women during pregnancy or within a year of giving birth, a U.S. study suggest. Among women under 50 with malignant melanoma, those diagnosed during or soon after pregnancy were significantly more likely to have tumor spread to other organs and tissues and were also match more likely to have the cancer recur after treatment according to the study. Women diagnose around the time of pregnancy were also more likely to die, again, I don’t like that word, though the risk increase wasn’t big enough to roll out the possibility that it was due to chance.

So anyways, that was worth mentioning, wanted to get some feedback from everybody here on the studio just to kind of see, you know, is this the kind of stuff that you think about when you’re pregnant? I felt like there’s enough other stuff … that you worried about besides, skin cancer.

MARIE: My thoughts is exactly.

SUNNY GAULT: That going to be worst. Anyways, what’s your reactions, Stephanie, what you think?

STEPHANIE GLOVER: I guess just a reminder that slaughter on that sunscreen. I don’t know. I think Linda set it … on the head that we have so much to worry about on pregnancy that I’d like to think that it might just be chance. I think we’ve cover another headline Sunny about cancer cells and breastfeeding or something. I don’t know.

SUNNY GAULT: Yeah.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Wear your sunscreen, I got it. I don’t know really what is to say.

MARIE: There’s a whole of the school of thought that where you don’t wear a sunscreen, right?

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Right.

MARIE: Because that is actually cancer causing. So I don’t know [crosstalk].

SUNNY GAULT: Yeah, it is.

MARIE: Say it with umbrella, that’s right.

SUNNY GAULT: And for those of you that other kids, you probably have to stay aside from the part because you need to wrangle your kids.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Yeah, I don’t know.

SUNNY GAULT: Any thought Marie on this?

MARIE: All I know is that when it was really hot here in San Diego, we had a heatwave, all I wanted to do is be inside with the fan on my face.

SUNNY GAULT: Yeah, it’s true.

MARIE: And you know, so I can imagine like sun baking when I just really just feeling so hot in tough lashes and I guess I’ve touched the bullet on my own.

SUNNY GAULT: And it’s interesting too because I can’t remember last time that I could actually lay on the sun because I'm always minding little kids that could be near water or something like that but yeah, I was the same way. But this could be something too when you are outside. A lot of times, you don’t necessarily have to be laying in the sun. You’re just kind of active. You’re running after your kiddos. I just know from needing to put sunscreen on my kids that it can happen pretty quick, you know, that kind of sunburn and stuff.

Just something to keep in mind, again, we’d like to throw these headlines out there. So you’re aware certainly not something you sleep over because you can probably find another study out there says the exact topic.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Right.

MARIE: Right, but probably a broad roam to have would be a good call.

SUNNY GAULT: There you go.

[Theme Music]

STEPHANIE GLOVER: So today on Preggie Pals, we’re talking about how women can pamper themselves during pregnancy. Joining us in the studio is Linda Goldsmith, Labor Doula and owner of the Pregnancy Sanctuary in Encinitas California. She’s specializes in providing moms with birth support and pampering throughout pregnancy. So welcome Linda.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: Thank you. Good to be back. I was here couple of years ago. It’s been a while. Thank you.

SUNNY GAULT: I know. It’s nice to have you back.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: Thank you for having me.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Well, you’re actually the first person I though of.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: Thank you.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: So let’s start with physical pampering. I know lot of the times, we think about a spa or a salon treatment but what are some ways that pregnant women can get pampered in that sense?

LINDA GOLDSMITH: For pregnant women, the word spa and salon aren’t always a right words so to speak because a way that a pregnant will pampers herself for example is usually consist of like prenatal massage, maybe some prenatal yoga, maybe some acupuncture chiropractic adjustment, and that’s not like at a salon or spa. When you do think about a salon, I think people think about manicure, pedicure and getting your hair done. So obviously have to be careful with the hair dyes and stuff like that to be careful, but yeah, manicures and pedicures honestly can make women feel on top of the world. I mean, it’s a simple little thing that can really go along way.

As far as a spa, I'm you know, again, for women it’s not really a spa. It’s more a place that offers those other. And there’s other wonderful things too like float in salon beach. You’re from salon beach. Yeah, float from salon beach, you’re waitlist and you’re in water that’s the same temperature as the insides of you. So it’s super relaxing and it’s sensory deprivation so there’s no noise. There’s no light. You’re completely buoyant and as a pregnant woman, it feels I can match with twins. Feels fantastic, you’re early in about 24 inches deep of water. So you could roll on to your front side if you want it too and still be floated with your head to the side, so it’s really nice for pregnant women too, the float thing.

So yeah, the word spa is kind of funny that’s why I came up with Pregnancy Sanctuary because I see it’s like a spa for pregnant women to kind of get their mind in that direction.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Right.

SUNNY GAULT: Yeah.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: But the things that I offer like a pampering session are not…

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Spa services in a traditional sense, right.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: Yeah, they’re not, massage and facial agree.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: We have some people on the show who are local but for the floating … how would you search that for those who are in other…

LINDA GOLDSMITH: The company is called Float.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Okay.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: Yeah, so just search float and I think you can find some in the output, you know, be sure that the pregnant women are enjoying it but I think you can find something you can use. Yeah, that’s interesting. I haven’t even thought about that. Has anyone ever tried that? Any of the panelists?

LINDA GOLDSMITH: I’ve done it myself.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: You’ve done it?

LINDA GOLDSMITH: Yeah.

MARIE: I have not but that sounds wonderful.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: Yes and pregnant women really enjoy it.

MARIE: Yeah.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: Yeah, check it out.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Now, any of the panelists, did you get any prenatal massage or regular manicures or pedicures when you’re pregnant?

LINDA GOLDSMITH: Yeah.

MAIRE: I'll go first. I definitely did and it was such a delight. In my first trimester and second trimester, I was traveling to work and I was on my feet a lot, and so I found when I was traveling that I had actually a little more time on my hands, so I would go to local places that we’re all reviewed on Yelp and I’ve got the best massage in Cambridge Massachusetts, and then I got another great one in Washington DC. And just recently, through recommendation, I’ve got another one here in Encinitas. And let me tell you, if I could go every day, I would, just because when you’re pregnant, I'm sure many of you know, everything just hurts and it just feel so nice to know that you have an hour where you’re not thinking about anything and your job is to just relax, so that’s definitely something…

LINDA GOLDSMITH: And that’s not intentional touch too.

SUNNY GAULT: Yeah.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: On the phone?

DINA: I have not actually experienced a prenatal massage myself or I don’t normally go out to get manicures and pedicures but I'm very lucky because my amazing boyfriend [inaudible] bases because the bigger that I get, I just feel that I'm swelling so much faster and I'm not ready for that yet but he helps, and then I have a lovely best friend who is nice to take my toes for me [crosstalk].

SUNNY GAULT: Nice.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: Nothing wrong with that.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: No. I remember when I was approaching my due date with both times and this is just I don’t know I got a little neurotic in the end. I thin each time I had it like teal or blue nail polish on my toes and refuse to give birth with weird colored nail polish. And each time I had to get pedicures and I had to be pink.

SUNNY GAULT: Really?

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Yeah. I don’t know what it was but I got it in my mind about like a week or two before my due date…

SUNNY GAULT: Did you know you’re having girls? Is that the painting…

STEPHANIE GLOVER: I did have girls. I don’t know. I just felt like maybe they shouldn’t seem…

LINDA GOLDSMITH: You’re probably going to more mainstream, right? The mainstream I'm going to be a mom, so I like to have more color toes.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: See, blue tone, it was up in the store and say something I don’t know what it was but I think…

SUNNY GAULT: They’ll think I'm weird.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: I just got a little neurotic about it. When you’re pregnant, your body is changing so much.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: So, reflexology, don’t rule that out, be like, oh, they can your touch, you can put your labor. Well, I wish it was that easier. So doula, like really? Go get reflexology and I'll meet you at 2:00.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: That’s right.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: This is not that easy. So reflexology, I think it’s in doula because as you had shared your feed, takes ah to beating, they’re a soar, and then also the Watsu body therapy in the water. Do you know what I'm talking about? Where they float you in the water? You’re guided like your [crosstalk].

STEPHANIE GLOVER: It’s wonderful.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: No, it’s a person but you’re buoyant. So they’re holding you up and it’s kind of like, they kind of cradle like a baby many times. So what I do recommend because I’ve had it done that, is earplugs because I can’t stay on water in my ears. And your ears are literarily at right even with the water but that can be very relaxing and take the way off as well.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Watsu, how do you spell up?

LINDA GOLDSMITH: W-A-T-S-U.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Okay.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: I think.

SUNNY GAULT: And can you find those places everywhere like where…

LINDA GOLDSMITH: I live in Encinitas, California, so I can find that out on every corner.

SUNNY GAULT: Right, but someone in Middle America.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: I think so, I mean, you may have to look a little bit hard than we would here in Encinitas boulder Colorado but yeah. I think you can find it.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Those are great tips.

MARIE: Yeah.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: And I know to, you know, we think about a manicure or pedicure, if we take that a step further and feeling pretty in pregnancy, because our body is just changed so much and there is swelling or you know, for me, I remember I would like breakout at different stages of pregnancy and see just all those different things.

SUNNY GAULT: I hate it, you know, not just pimples and stuff but those Linda called the pregnancy mask (skin discoloration).

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Right, all changes, so you know, and I would love to hear from the panelist as well, as Linda on this. What are some ways that you can sort of feel prettier in pregnancy? Any tips that any do anything? You know, there’s hair but…

LINDA GOLDSMITH: I have lots of ideas.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Yeah, share.

SUNNY GAULT: Well, we start share with Linda.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Yeah, share with Linda.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: Okay, so at Pregnancy Sanctuary. The reason I open Pregnancy Sanctuary, because I wanted a safe place for women to be able to go, where they felt nurtured and pampered and also heard and educated until the combination of the two was really nice. So like with the pampered session, that’s a private six-hour, one on one that I do with the woman in their eight-month, maybe seven if she’s expecting birth. It’s really nice because they come in, in six hours later, they leave and I see a totally different person. And it makes me feel very good. And the things they write, I have a diary for the people that come through and it’s like moves with a tears. I can’t talk. I will tear up myself.

But yeah, a belly cast, if that doesn’t make you feel pretty in the moment because it’s messy and sloppy, but then, when it’s done, that really can warm your heart. And then to feed yourself with nutritious foods, if you eat the rainbow that makes you feel really good. If you sit down and actually create that meal and maybe have a friend over and enjoy the colors. That can make you feel really good and pretty. Henna belly art.

SUNNY GAULT: Yeah, I like that.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: That makes you feel very good to see. I love that. And just by the way, for the listeners, it is temporary. It last about two weeks. Some people a week, some people two weeks but it’s just the henna plant, the dye and it turns kind of yellow. But when it goes on, it’s a little bit darker and then I add some shimmering fairy dust kind of a thing and then you take pictures with that on there and then that will cross and fall off in your left with the yellow tattoo. But anyway, they feel very divine and very much like a goddess when they have that. And their belly is exposed, just exposing the belly feels really goddess-like.

So, if you’re at home, lift up your shirt, pull on your pants. Walk around with your belly, I mean I don’t think you can do it in public but you know, people have other opinions about that, but yeah, exposing your belly, decorating your belly. There’s also people that do paint belly art, which is beautiful. If you haven’t seen that, you need to go online and google search it. It’s incredible. Some of these people have even painted like the baby in utero with all the organ, yeah, really cool, really cool. Gorgeous artwork that way. And then I think another way that you can feel very, very pretty and this is becoming really, really common too, is the maternity photo shoot.

SUNNY GAULT: Yeah.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Yes.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: They’re just … you feel special. And I have a client. She’s part of my second pregnancy circles, shutout Stacy. She’s pregnant or excuse me, in labor right now. And she did her … and it wasn’t planned but she was out natured. She’s did it, full in the nude.

SUNNY GAULT: Really?

STEPHANIE GLOVER: I wish I would’ve done a nude photoshoot, pregnant.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: Yeah, so it’s really cool. Maybe just her and the photographer and her husband was over there with the kids. He didn’t even know. He didn’t know until like a week later…

STEPHANIE GLOVER: I think my wife is making photoshoots.

SUNNY GAULT: Adam and Eve kind of thing.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: We have … Yeah, relationships and romance side is one of the secret pregnancy nights and so he happened to be there for the next circle, and she was talking about her photoshoots, he’s like, what? Yeah, but anyway, your photoshoot, and there’s very artistic people out there right now only is it just beautiful photoshoots that have always been that way with the hands and the shape of the heart on the belly.

SUNNY GAULT: The silhouette.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: All right, the silhouette or the hand on the top on bottom of the belly, but there’s now they’re adding gowns, they’re adding photo editing where you’re like holding a light, like you’re in a fairy forest.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: I’ve seen some in water like in pools.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: Yeah, right. So they’re adding a lot to it. You can also do photoshoots, you know, you have to be a little carefully. You can do them underwater.

SUNNY GAULT: Yeah.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: You know, people are doing that, so people are getting really creative. I think the maternity photoshoots make woman feel so beautiful in any kind of adornment. You know I mean I normally do this for ceremonies but headdress make you feel very pretty and your decorated belly and yeah, having your photo taken.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: I mean, even just adding a pretty piece of jewelry too because I brought, you know, I mean, if you don’t want to buy a whole new wardrobe just putting something sparkly on.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: No, it matters. It does. It’s almost like the belly dancing thing, right? The scarves with the jingles and the blings and yeah, I mean, yeah, it makes you feel really feminine.

MARIEL: And I will just add that right now, well, I'm just been working from home. I stop working yesterday and, so I was in the yoga pants and like no bra mode and I had a baby shower to go to last weekend and I was like I don’t want to go to get dress, like actually getting dress, doing my hair like taking a shower. It really made me feel a lot better and I came home feeling rejuvenated and I was kind of kicking myself where not getting my acting gear a little bit sooner and just getting ready and going out and feeling like a normal person when I just feel huge right now.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Well, and I think that the maternity clothes that are available to us now are so much better than they used to be. We don’t have to be drip intense.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: So much better.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: We can wear the cute fitted shirts to show up the belly and you can even got special underwear and the whole things and right and you know, nursing right but it’s all that suffer like Jesus, this I am not comfortable anymore. I don’t want to wear them or so.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: And you don’t have to spend the fortune on maternity clothes anymore because so many of them are blousy and you know what I mean, what’s word I'm looking for…

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Like the pleasant top?

LINDA GOLDSMITH: Yeah, like that and so you can wear it again when you’re done being pregnant too, like you don’t have to break the bank to get maternity clothes anymore.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: So when we came back, we’ll go over more ways to pamper yourself, mind, body, and soul and some tips on how to do so on a budget. We will be right back.

[Theme Music]

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Welcome back. Today, we’re going over some ideas on how to pamper yourself when pregnant. Linda Goldsmith is our expert. We’ve talked about some spa treatment, some ways to feel pretty, but let’s focus on some ways that sort of pamper your mind and spirit and other ways to pamper yourself without breaking the bank, some things that you can do from home. Linda, you’ve already talked some awesome offerings that you have at the Pregnancy Sanctuary that focus on the mother’s overall wellbeing but what are some other ways that you know, you can dive in a little bit more to pamper yourself in a nonphysical way if you will?

LINDA GOLDSMITH: Nonphysical way, okay.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Yeah.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: Well, the things I offer at Pregnancy Sanctuary can also be done at home with girlfriends too. You don’t have to have facilitators so to speak.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Right.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: I offer mother blessing ceremonies which is very different on a baby shower. Baby shower is the focus is on the present and opening it for the baby and there’s not really a lot there for the mom. So mother blessing ceremony focuses on the journey that mom is about to take with the birth, and what does she need, what kind of energy charge does she need.

So the people you invite to mother blessing ceremony is dramatically different from a baby. A baby is inviting everybody form work and your neighbors and this is not that at all. This is like six to ten people who believe in what you want to do with your birth and are there to support you, and you’re gaining what you need from them. So for example, if you’re having a blessing because you’re having a VBAC, you may have some fear around that kind of a birth and so, you’re surrounding yourself with people who can give you that emotional support that you can do it.

So a mother blessing ceremony, my point is, it does not have to be done in Pregnancy Sanctuary, it can be done anywhere. It can be done at anybody’s home and there’s no rhyme or reason to it that’s specific other than ritual. It’s a use of ritual. You can research rituals on goal. You can come up with your own.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: That would be the same as a blessing way?

LINDA GOLDSMITH: Yeah, blessing way, the mother’s blessing are the same.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Okay.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: Yesterday, I did a baby blessing that was really sweet, but anybody can do them, so that again, to save money and to not break the bank. That’s really nice way to handle that. And then, sacred pregnancy circle that is a nationwide curriculum and that is circles of women as opposed to couples taking class, so this is just women. And we’re not talking about vaginas and dilation. We’re talking about fears and connections and expectations and body image. So you know, it’s different that way. I don’t know that you could recreate that at home because there’s specific curriculum for it.

And then, lastly is, the pampered sessions. The pampered sessions that I offer are the private six-hour, one-on-one, you can do some of that at home. You can piece meal that. You can do belly cast at home. You can have somebody do henna belly art. Worst comes to worst if they don’t do a good job. You have a bad design for two weeks. But it’s not the end of the world you know, and if you put a lot…

STEPHANIE GLOVER: It’s wintered, just you know…

LINDA GOLDSMITH: Yeah.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Whatever.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: If you put a lot of oil on your belly. If somebody is going to henna belly art for the first time, then it’ll probably won’t stay that long, right? So you might want to put a little bit more oil, then not. You can buy all of this stuff in Michaels Craft Stores and you know, you can do things on your own, as far as the services I offer to Pregnancy Sanctuary, I don’t think there’s exclusive to pregnancies, other than sacred pregnancies of course but even if you buy the sacred pregnancy book, and you meet with your girlfriends once a month.

Really creating a sisterhood is probably the number one way to feel good during pregnancy is to create a sisterhood, number one, of another pregnant woman. And number two, ask for what you want because I hear all the time, my husband won’t even cook me dinner. I'm like, did you ask him to cook you dinner?

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Well, we women, I mean, you have to read our minds.

SUNNY GAULT: You should know.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: That’s right, that’s right, and so ask for what you want. If you’re like I really wish, you know, I could go for walk on the beach every day at four but I can’t motivate to get there. Well, ask your friend to motivate you to take you there, you know. So you really have to learn to ask for what you want and you’ll get it. I mean, you’re pregnant. Honestly. There’s all kinds of other ways to … What was the question?

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Just, there aren’t like…

LINDA GOLDSMITH: Physical?

SUNNY GAULT: Yeah.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Yeah, that aren’t a massage or you know, you have those ways that you can sort of pamper your mind and your soul in it.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: Fresh flowers?

SUNNY GAULT: Oh, I like that.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Yeah.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: All the women on the studio right now are now in their head and … Yeah, fresh flowers are great and then also I think which really important as building a sacred space in your house. It can just be your little nightstand. It can be a little shelf. It can be in your rooftop. It could be on the dashboard of your car. Wherever it is, but a little thing, where you have little tokens and reminders that make you feel good about your pregnancy and your upcoming birth. It could be a picture. It could be a flower. It could be a piece of art.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Affirmation.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: Affirmation cards are great. Lorain Tan and he’ll mix great. Once she sells them on ATSI, they’re beautiful. She does amazing artwork. She lives up here in San Clemente. Yeah. So anything when you look at that altar, you want to take a minute and connect with your baby … Babies to the twin mommy here but yeah, and connect with your baby or your babies. Connecting with your baby does make you feel tremendously better about yourself in your pregnancy especially if it’s second pregnancy because we get so busy looking after the other one that we’re now spending a lot time with this baby in utero.

So it’s a good kind of reminder to check with the baby and to marvel at the amazingness that pregnancy is. And then while you’re at your altar, I encourage people to journal or meditate or listen to music. And they have a thing called, you know, earbuds, they have a thing called belly buds and you put them right on the belly … Yeah, you plug them in your phone and you play that music for the baby with the with the earbuds on the belly. So you can listen to music for yourself or for the baby. You can journal. You can meditate. You can just connect with the baby. You can read from the book. But yeah, the secret pregnancy book is really, really sweet. It’s almost like a cookbook because it has like a beautiful picture and you’re like how do I get that.

And then it just gives you a little paragraph. Your body, and your mind, your spirit talks a little bit about that week, and there’s places to journal about that topic. So you could do that on your own out of your own homes if you build a sisterhood, which I think is really important.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Yeah, building the tribe is actually funny. Dina who’s on the phone. She and I know each other from a mom’s group, with our second and I think that that was a great tip too like when you are pregnant with your second, sometimes you still, you do need connection and remainders that yes, I'm having another child, you pay attention to it. But Dina, I mean, I ask you, are there anyways that you felt that you were able to pamper yourself through box or things that you’ve done at home in either of your pregnancies?

DINA: You know, I kind of just push responsibility on the dad a little more.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Well, you ask for what you wanted.

DINA: And you know, it’s so easy for a mom that just accept other responsibility around the house and you know, like you guys are saying, if you don’t ask for it, they really aren’t going to take initiative.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Right.

DINA: So I think that was the easiest way that I was able to kind of focus on myself and kind of dome rather than on everybody else all the time.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: That’s a great point. Elisha, how about you?

ELISHA: Well, I was thinking having said, you know, being able to connect with your baby and being able to kind of gain that closeness before they’re born. And one thing that’s really help me is got a heartbeat monitor and so I love being able to just take some time you know, go, wherever you kind of nice and quiet and I know I'm able to just sit there and listen to your heartbeat and it’s just so sweet and it just reminds me how life is and how excited I am to meet her and it just melt my heart every time.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: Sweet.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Okay, awesome, so Linda, do you have any other tips that you’d like to share with us about pampering?

LINDA GOLDSMITH: I do, for mental and emotional wellbeing, one thing just because we have a twin mommy in here. I did this thing called Twin Talk which anybody can do for anybody. I invite anybody I notice had twins over for launch. I setup a launch and then I let those twin moms give you their best advice. They love it. They really love it but I will tell you the top two are scheduled. Schedule them together in their feedings and ask for help. Those are the top two always. I don’t want to ruin your Twin Talk one thing.

SUNNY GAULT: Sneak peek.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: Yeah, but that’s a good one. If you have existing kids, another thing you can do for your emotional wellbeing is a tradeoff with other parents, so they watch the two toddlers while you and your partner go out and then you watch the two while they go out. So you can get away even without paying for baby sitter because I know that’s one keeps a lot of people from going out is the cost the baby sitter but you can tradeoff and that does a lot from mom to wellbeing if she can have a little time away from the toddler because when you’re pregnant with the toddler, it can be rough.

I would say also for your emotional wellbeing, hire a midwife for doula because your prenatal meetings actually become really valuable. And I have had more than many clients moved to tears when the whole thing is behind them and they are breastfeeding circle because they miss their one on ones with their midwife sort of doulas. So that can be really helpful. For your emotional wellbeing, do try to connect with your partner some and you may want to have to consider the 4 O’clock thing as opposed to the 8 O’clock date. You have to kind of move things a little bit sooner because you’re tired. And if you wait, you don’t feel like taking a shower. You don’t feel like getting pretty in going out.

So if you do it, plan it a little bit sooner, that’s really nice way to get in time with your spouse. And also, laugh, you know, watch a comedy about pregnancy, I mean Baby Boomer is awesome, right? Watch a comedy. There are a lot of them out there. I have all the DVDs. I keep them in stock just to lighten the loads sometimes. And also educate yourself. I think that can really emotionally help you. When you educate yourself, if you read books, or you talk with other moms or you take a class or whatever it is. And then also, rest, nap, sleep in.

And here is one thing that I don’t think a lot of people consider and I think you should because all of us, there’s a lot of us that don’t work for huge corporations anymore. You can ask your boss. Can I please come in a little bit late every day? Can I please come in at 9 o’clock instead of 8 o’clock, or 10 o’clock, instead of 9 o’clock? I mean, you’d be surprise what you would get if you would ask for it, but nobody asked. And I can’t tell you how many moms I’ve talked to her like, oh, I have to work. I have to go back and done. We need a money, have to do it, have to do it, and then the baby is three months old. I'm not going back to work. Oh, so it was feasible, you know.

So sometimes, think about that. We have to really put that first. Also art, oh my gosh. Art is so great, and most women lose track of it because somewhere between I don’t know 12 years old and 32? I don’t know. So art, if you do painting. If you do crafting. If you clothing. Mosaic tiling like all that stuff really does tend to fill the cup of most women.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Even the adult coloring books are so great, so just check out and just color.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: That’s right because that became popular again because it’s very therapeutic and it feels really good for women, yeah.

SUNNY GAULT: Or if you have little kids, I have a lot of just regular coloring book. I don’t mind coloring Winnie the Pooh. I'm fine with that.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: How about the Disney princesses.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: I’ve always taking coloring book and crayons on vacations and people always laugh because they think it’s for my kids and it’s mine. Kids always laugh and I'm like, no, that’s my mom. And what about cooking? I mean cooking feels good to some women. And some women know, someone cook for me, you know.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: So order takeout if that’s not your thing.

LINDA GOLDSMITH: Yeah, and sometimes you just want time alone in the kitchen too and sometimes you want to go out. So try to honor that. Dancing, dance alone, that doesn’t cost any money. You know, dance alone, belly dance, salsa dance ballroom dance with your partner. I mean, like get out there move your body. Those are mostly the main things I have … devoted connection time can also be really good for emotional wellbeing. So what that is every time you turn your car on row, or every time you had to stop play, stop and connect with the baby or you’re owning your body, you know, give things to the health that you know, have and the baby has, so those things can be nice and discomfort. You normally apply warmth.

So injury eyes discomfort warmth. So a little rise suck, heated up on your back, a little warm bathe, a cup of soup, a cup of tea, these are ways we pamper ourselves and this way, we comfort ourselves. So warmth is really nice. And lastly, just reach out if there’s somebody that you need to maybe make amends with. This is a good time to do it on pregnancy before you start motherhood in particular. So sometimes you need to make amends with somebody before we move into motherhood so we can be at our best mothering person.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: Well, thank you so much Linda for joining us today. These are amazing tips. This wraps up our episode of Preggie Pals for today. So again special thanks to Linda for joining us as well as all of our panelist who has joined us in the studio or over the phone. For information about our show as well as information about our panelist visit the episode page on our website. This conversation continues for members of the Preggie Pals Club. After the show we are going to talk about some ways to pamper yourself if you already got older kids.
[Theme Music]

SUNNY GAULT: Hey Preggie Pals, it’s time for a fun segments we have on the show called “Pregnancy Brain Blunders” and you guys know when we are pregnant our brain doesn’t always function the way it normally does when we are not pregnant right. So I love this comment and it comes from Marie and I can totally picture this happening to me Marie. So Marie writes;
“Grocery Shopping; got my daughter out of the cart and all buckled in the car and drove off with the groceries and my purse sitting in the cart. Had to drive back when I could not find my purse. Grocery story management was looking at video to see if I was kidnapped. Talk about embarrassed.”

I can totally see that right. They see a cart there, the groceries are there, your purse is there, makes complete sense right. Did they notice you are pregnant? Probably everything made sense when you went back, they are like “Oh yeah she is pregnant”.

Anyways Marie, thank you so much for sending this in. If you have a funny “Pregnancy Brain Blunder” you would love to share with us. We would love to hear it and we would love to share it with all the other pregnant mammas that are listening. You can go to our website www.newmommymedia.com and send us an email and also through our website you can also send us a voice mail. Just click on that grey little banner on the side that says “sent voice mail” and you can use the microphone on your computer and send it that way.

STEPHANIE GLOVER: That wraps up our show for today. We appreciate you listening to Preggie Pals.

Don’t forget to check out our sister show:
• Newbies for newly postpartum moms
• Parent Savers for parents with infants and toddlers and
• Twin Talks for parents with multiples.
• Boob Group for moms who breastfeed

This is Preggie Pals, your pregnancy your way.

[Disclaimer]
This has been a New Mommy Media production. The information and material contained in this episode are presented for educational purposes only. Statements and opinions expressed in this episode are not necessarily those of New Mommy Media and should not be considered facts. While such information and materials are believed to be accurate, it is not intended to replace or substitute for professional, medical advice or care and should not be used for diagnosing or treating health care problem or disease or prescribing any medications. If you have questions or concerns regarding your physical or mental health or the health of your baby, please seek assistance from a qualified health care provider.

SUNNY GAULT: New Mommy Media is expanding our line-up of shows for new and expecting parents. If you have an idea for a new series, or if you’re a business, or organization interested in joining our network of shows through a co-branded podcast, visit www.NewMommyMedia.com.

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