My yoga classes (pre and post natal in particular) are very much about community building and thats what makes my life and my profession so very
rich and rewarding. I get to witness first hand, new friendships among moms be formed in every single class. And many of these connections will be lifelong. Some of my sweet moms have a great meet up group
going on and they all seem to be enjoying it greatly.
If it interests you go to www.meetup.com and search "Vancouver moms to be".
Click on the b&w pregnant belly (if its your first time you may have to make a free profile -only takes a sec). Some examples of meet up's are: Saturday morning social
breakfast, Sunday a seawall walk and Monday a Thai lunch downtown. One mom told me "I have found this group
has answered a lot of questions for me and given me the added confidence to
accept that my changes are normal and average …nothing to worry about."
“All mothers and newborns should receive a visit from a public health nurse, if they want or need one." These visits are a godsend to new moms when they are at their most vulnerable. They help detect post-partum depression, jaundice, breast feeding issues and much more. These problems ...cut across socio-economic lines. Funding for this decades old program should not be cut!
On Friday November 25 at 11:30am, Parents for BC Babies will gather outside Premier Christy Clark's Vancouver office at 3615 W. 4th Ave to protest her government's decision to cut public health nurse visits to women who have just given birth.
Hope to see you there! Bring your stories of why/how much a nurses home visit mattered to you and your newborn and new family.
Here is the BC Nurses Union petition for you to share and sign.
Have you cleaned out your medicine chest lately? I have been doing my fall cleaning and attacking one cupboard at a time and feel like its never going to end. The above bag is from my own cupboard and its larger then it looks. I was amazed by it actually. Although it has no actual pharmaceuticals in it and very few (if any) were actually bought at a "drug store/pharmacy", all drug stores will gladly toss them in their bio-hazard for us, which is wonderful as I'm sure we all know by now the environmental concerns of throwing them in the trash and flushing/ pouring them down the drain etc. with trace drug residues in our water supply/community drinking water and such.
But what do you do with tinctures/liquids and salves ? The truth is, I just don't know. And neither does anyone else seem to.
Even after speaking with two different London Drug Pharmacists, two different Choices Markets locations, and even The Recycling Council of British Columbia (click here for them- an AMAZING resource) this morning I still don't quite know for sure...
One Pharmacist when I asked what they did with liquids told me that he just sends them back to the manufacturer. Somebody else said to throw them in the garbage and to mix it (the substance) in with used coffee grounds or kitty litter, and still another person told me to just flush them. (the latter I am not willing to do). The Recycling Council dude and I had a really great conversation about lots of issues, and they really are a terrific resource. In the end on this topic he said that its really hard to mandate every single product we have/use but we are really close in BC to having to having that happen! Isn't that exciting?
In the meanwhile I'll just hang onto my tinctures until I learn of the best way to dispose of them.
If you have any suggestions feel free to pass them along. As well, I'll repost on this topic should I get the answer. Namaste.
Breast massage may sound like a strange concept for some but did you know it has amazing benefits? For all the stages of our lives.
*including helping lactating mom's with blockages etc.
We know that yoga stimulates lymph flow and strengthens our endocrine and immune systems, but breast tissue is still fatty tissue that doesn't really get exercised in the conventional sense. Even with all the yoga I practice I have fluid filled cysts that come and go, and our breasts just change and change. Its hard to know what's happening in there! I found myself this morning thinking about an RMT friend of mine here in Vancouver who is extensively trained in breast massage and her name is Angie Mrau. This video looks fine for familiarizing yourself with your breasts but I really can't recommend enough seeing a professional and Angie's your gal (And remember, Massage therapy is covered by MSP)!
Babyvibe is your trusted voice for new and expecting parents in Canada, delivering pint-sized news, product reviews, tips and family friendly event listings.
If you don't already receive their newsletter make sure you sign up!
It is truly a wealth of information.Their website is here and you can find them on twitter here and faceboook here :)
You don't want to miss BirthFest! I missed it last year for the first time, but will be stopping by for sure on Saturday. Its super fun, FREE (and not cold and cheesy like many tradeshows are). Meet local Midwives and Doulas and browse loads of family focused vendors, services and local non profits. (Including The Shanti uganda Society!!) Feel a real sense of community.
When I go, I tend to walk two steps and run into someone, another two steps, and so on haha.. its super fun!
I highly recommend going if you are expecting, know anyone who is expecting, have recently had a baby and are looking for resources, or just plain for the heck of it! There is something for everyone. And again, it's FREE and always fun to hang out on the Drive.
Maybe I'll see ya there? I sure hope so.
What: Birth Fest: Celebrating Bellies, Birth & Babies When: Saturday, February 26, 2011, 11am – 4pm Where: Britannia Community Centre, Gym D, 1661 Napier St, Vancouver, BC
Lets face it... none of us are going to give up our computers! But it's good to know some facts and ways to lessen their (and our) impact on the environment. And we'll save money too! Yippie!
I was surprised a a lot of this stuff so decided to share.
(all these facts taken from a cute little book simply called "how to reduce your carbon footprint" -by joanna yarrow)
Some sad facts are:
-The IT industry accounts for 2% of CO2 emissions which is the same as aviation
-Over 31 million PC's are thrown away worldwide each year.
-The average PC takes around 2 tons of chemicals, fossil fuels, and water to produce, generates around 220 lb of CO2 per year, and is junked after 3 years.
-The plastic alone in each PC requires nearly 2 gallons of crude oil to make
-It's estimated that an average PC is in use for 4 hours each work day and idle for 5-6 hrs
-If you leave your computer on overnight you'll waste enough energy to laser print around 800 pages
-Only about 15% of the 250 billion -worth of power used by computers worldwide each year is spent actually computing-the rest is wasted while idling.
Some tips I just learned this morning are:
-If you need a desktop choosing one with a flat LCD (liquid crystal display) screen uses about 30% less energy than cathoderay monitors.
-Laptop computers consume up to 90% less energy than a desktop
-If you upgrade your existing computer instead of buying a new one, you could save around 500lb of fossil fuel.
-If you set your computer to enter power saving mode after 10 minutes of inactivity-this could cut its energy use by 60-70%
-Its best to shut off the computer if we aren't using it for a hour or two- it's a myth that computers use a lot of power to start up.
I recently bought one. It's really more of a notebook and very similar to what's in the picture here. Small, lightweight and very inexpensive..
A macbook wasn't in my budget, although of course I would have loved one of those! But considering what I do on here my little Acer thingy is just fine for me, and we do have a lovely Mac desktop at home so we can still indulge while at home. I'm still not particularly computer saavy though (as you may notice by looking at my blog haha)
I was a late bloomer.
(I've even been known to call my ipod my walkman..haha..and thats no lie)!
Anyways, what I wanted to share here is that I recently found out that using a laptop uses 90% less energy then a desktop computer and I found that amazing. That is such a HUGE difference and definitely worth sharing. Knowing that, I plan on using my little laptop more, and my desktop a little less, as it sure can't hurt! Every little bit helps this beautiful world we live in ♥ .
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Carbon Footprint - It's a way of measuring how much pollution is created by our activities, from driving a car to heating our homes.
A couple of posts ago I mentioned that I picked up a little paperback book from the check out isle and how it had quite a few tips on reducing your carbon footprint that I hadn't thought of before. Just this morning while half asleep, for the very first time I was aware of how much water I was boiling for my coffee and the energy it takes to do so.
I only boiled what I needed. That may be something that most people already do, but the truth is my kettle gets filled whether I am making a cup of tea, or a pot of coffee generally. Out of habit I just fill my kettle every single morning without thinking.
From now on I plan on being more mindful of this.
The little book says that completely filling the kettle for one cup of tea releases an unnecessary 125 cups of CO2. May not seem like much of a deal but every little bit makes a difference inlightening our Carbon Footprint. I"ll keep sharing new little changes I am making on my blog. I'm of course doing all the obvious things but there is always more we can do.
I was standing in the check-out line (with a bunch of stuff I didn't really need) Embarrassing but true. I do it very rarely as I do not like to shop and never have. But for some reason the other day with the rain, I got it in my head that I needed to prepare for winter and do it asap. So some new rain-boots and rain-gear was needed, as well as a few other items I know I didn't really need.
As I was standing there waiting in a huge line up I spied this little paperback book.I opened it up and immediately saw so many things I did not know. I thought I was in the "know" with a lot of this stuff but I guess I'm not. Some of these tips I am surprised I have never heard before (or had the common sense to figure out on my own)!
As time allows I'll post some.
There is always so much to learn with any topic I suppose, and none more important than our glorious planet. If we wreck the earth where shall we go?
My partner and I have made countless lifestyle changes over the years as I am sure most of us have, but there is always more we can do. Super painless changes that will not only save our earth and precious resources...
but changes that you you barely notice that can save us money.
If you see this little book in the bargain bin pick it up! It cost me 99 cents.
You can give it to your child to read (it's a very easy read) although I am sure that kids today could all write books on the topic!
At lease I hope so.
I've gotta fly for now but I look forward to posting little tidbits from this woman's book. Her name is Joanna Yarrow and she resides in the UK.
A doula is an assistant who provides non-medical and non-midwifery support (physical and emotional) in childbirth. Depending on training and experience she may offer prenatal support, childbirth (birth doula) and/or postpartum. A labor doula may attend a home birth or during labor at home and in transport to a hospital or a birth center. A postpartum doula provides home care for the first six weeks (or longer in cases of postpartum depression) including cooking, breastfeeding support, newborn care assistance, errands and light housekeeping.
The Wikipedia definition sort of implies that a Doula only attends home births which is completely untrue. (at least here in Canada) Thank goodness! I have attended a great many wonderful hospital births as a Doula in the past right along with every other Birth Doula in this city. Doulas are welcome with open arms in hospitals (at least I always was).
Most people do deliver in hospital in fact. Sadly some people have a great fear about delivering in hospital, but I can assure you that you have a great many birth choices in hospital (it's your birth after all, and you aren't ill you're having a baby)! And in hospital you can do a lot to set the mood for your birth as well ♥.
*You really can. It is your birth experience and nobody elses.
This isn't a commercial for hospital births but you may wind up birthing in a hospital whether you plan to or not.
When I speak like this in a room full of pregnant women there is the occasional look of terror. But everything is ok. It really is. Remember what Buddha said. Non attachment. Non attachment is the best thing to practice when making a birth plan/thinking about your birth plan etc. (I highly recommend making a birth-plan even if it is only for yourself)
Because it requires you to research and think about decisions that may come up.
Hospitals aren't the bad and nasty places they have sometimes been made out to be. In my opinion anyways. I'm sure glad they are there! (I've been in the trauma unit fighting for my life before so maybe I am biased) Know your choices. Be informed. Take the tour. Ask questions. How your birth is going to unfold may not be up to you, but so many other things are. It is up to you who you have there with you supporting you. In Canada we can choose our own caregiver...we are so lucky. But the big thing is being informed.
There truly is no such thing a a dumb question when you are expecting.
I have been to some very magical births in hospital (all births are). Beautiful wonderful empowering births, difficult and challenging and complicated births...what can you say about childbirth really? Each one is different. Different and unpredictable. Every single one. But one thing is certain... every single one is just such a honour to be at. Such a magical incredible otherworldly, highest energy experience imaginable. On the one hand biological and on the other it's...well there just aren't even words really.
But home births, hospital births, water births, even c-section "births" (they are still births)! are just truly so miraculous, I will never get over it. I was seriously choked up yesterday at my first Roundhouse Baby & Me yoga class of the summer as the room was packed full of mom's who previously were in my prenatal class. Meeting their babies for the first time, and looking at them and watching them, witnessing their mothering... Just watching their whole transition to motherhood really (gulp) gets me every time, and for as long as I do this I know it will. They are soooo beautiful.
Anyways, I could go on about this forever!! (but I won't! I've gotta fly!)
I just wanted to a pass this clip along that a girlfriend Tara sent me yesterday. It's short, but it took me on a trip down memory lane remembering my days as a Doula, and I wanted to put the Doula bug in your ear!
If you are expecting, do yourself (and your partner) a HUGE favour and have a Doula. People who have had Doulas would not again give birth without one. This city is crawling with them. Ask for recommendations from your friends, your Midwife/Caregiver and meet a few of them. You WILL find the right Doula for you.
And remember that a Doula supports "you" and "your birth experience." You and your partner. Totally.
It is all about you baby! And you have lot's of choices! *remember that*!
Oh, and many Doulas's are very affordable. As well, there are many Doulas who are just starting out looking for births to attend. And they're free!! (I attended lot's of free births and so does everybody else)
Get informed, practice yoga and have a Doula at your birth and you'll be laughing!
Well, I'm outta here for now!
It's another scorcher, enjoy, keep cool & hydrated and have fun!
