Baby Shower Gift Ideas
1. Arrange a Meal Train with Your Friends If you have a big group of friends, set up a spreadsheet with who's bringing meals for the family. It will be such a relief for that new mom to not have to worry about doing meal prep and cooking. If you don’t have a group of friends that can get together, maybe you have a church group that could get together and meal plan. Local meal-prep businesses are also a great option. Here in St. Louis, we have Pure Plates as well as Fit Flavors. We also have Time for Dinner where you can go and prepare freezer meals yourself. You can also go pick up frozen meals for the family, or get the new mama a gift card for those options so she could pick out the meals herself or you can pick them out for her. Either way, having a freezer stacked full of meals is really helpful when you have a newborn at home. 2. Gift Card for a Maid Service Who wants to be cleaning their house when they have a newborn around? Having a maid service there to help that mom get stuff done around the house can be super helpful. Maybe a bunch of you can chip in together and get the service for the first six months. A gift card for a maid service can be a lifesaver for a new mom. 3. Gift Certificate for a Spa Service After giving birth, you may not be feeling your best self. Let’s give the new momma some pampering! Maybe she can go get a massage, or maybe a facial. A manicure or pedicure might be nice too. Some time away from the baby and some pampering can be a wonderful opportunity for a mom. While you’re at it, why don’t you offer to babysit so she can have some alone time to relax. 4. Gift Certificate to a Postpartum Care Specialist There are postpartum doulas who are there to help moms in those early postpartum times. A second set of hands around the house is such a relief, and they are also a wealth of knowledge. Many of them have training with lactation support as well. It can be helpful to have that extra person around, especially if there's no family nearby for the new mom. That early postpartum time can be really lonely. Another postpartum specialist that may become very important to a new mom is a sleep specialist. Oftentimes, the babies are not necessarily sleeping the best. The new mom could use some help with some ideas to help get the baby to sleep a little bit better, because when the baby's sleeping good, everyone's sleeping good. So, giving a gift card for a sleep specialist can be a good option. Also, maybe a lactation consultant, if the mom is breastfeeding and potentially has some issues. Even if she doesn't have issues and just has some questions, a session with a lactation consultant can be really helpful. You could also look for one that does a home visit so that the mom doesn't have to get the baby out of the house. There are many postpartum specialists out there that can be helpful to a new mom. 5. Gift Certificate to See a Pelvic Floor Specialist All moms- whether they’ve had a C section or a vaginal delivery, should meet with a pelvic floor physical therapist after they deliver. Our pelvises go through a lot of trauma with the birth and delivery process, as well as with the pregnancy itself. It is so good to partner up with the pelvic physical therapist afterwards to make sure that your abdominal muscles are doing what they should be doing and that your pelvic floor muscles are are doing what they should be doing. It is so common for new moms to be dealing with issues such as low back pain, pelvic pain, pain with intercourse, separation of the abdominal muscles, generally not feeling strong in the core, bladder leakage, pelvic heaviness, pelvic prolapse, and pelvic pressure. All of these symptoms are common things that moms can feel after they deliver and they are all things that are helped with pelvic physical therapy. There are also lots of gestures you can do after the baby is born. They aren’t necessarily big gifts that you have to buy, but little gestures can go a long way. After the baby is born, it can be an isolating time and mom’s aren’t the best at asking for help. If you say, ‘Let me know if you need anything,’ she probably won’t reach out. Try different phrasing that makes it easy for her to get the help she needs. Here are some examples: “I’d love to drop off some dinner for you one day this week, what day works best and what is your favorite meal?” “I am going to the grocery store tomorrow , what can I pick up for you?” “Do you have a favorite drink from (LOCAL COFFEE SHOP) that I can bring you today?” “I’d like to spend an hour or 2 taking care of the baby so you can have a nap or some alone time. Would you like that? When is a good time for me to come over?” “How is postpartum going? Would you like to talk?” Sometimes just being there and being able to talk and be a friend is all that the mom needs. Hopefully you guys found this helpful with some ideas for better baby shower gifts, as well as little gestures that you can do to help out a mom to be and or a new mom. If you have any suggestions other than the ones we talked about, please comment! Let's share the wealth and tell other moms about the options that are out there.
0 Comments
 We are going to debunk 5 common myths about pregnancy and exercise. Before we get into the myths, we just want to say that exercise is not a one-side fits all thing when it comes to pregnancy. There is no perfect way to exercise for every person. Another thing is that you want to make sure you consult with your physician or OB/GYN before you start in any exercise program or if you are current exerciser and pregnant.
 Today we are going to debunk some myths that you may have heard about toileting! Yes, that is right we are going to be talking all things toilet habits today. Read on to find out how many of the 5 Myths about toileting you thought were true.
 Do you leak when you sneeze? If so, I may have an answer for you. Have you ever walked outside on the sunny day, immediately sneeze then unfortunately, felt a drip of urine onto your underwear?? If so, you’re not alone. This “stress” type incontinence is very common, but NOT normal. I want to teach you a simple technique that you can do today to try and stop that kind of leakage from happening. This technique is called “The Knack.”
To get the most success out of the “The Knack,” you want to try to do this when you have warning that a sneeze is going to happen. What you do is stop in place (stand still) and try and contract to the pelvic floor muscles (a.k.a. kegel) before you sneeze. The pelvic floor muscles are located at the bottom of our pelvis. When you contract these muscles, think as if you’re trying to hold back gas or hold back pee. You should feel a squeezing sensation in the vagina and anus. To review, if you have warning that a sneeze is coming, stop where you at, try and pre-contract your pelvic floor muscles, and brace for that sneeze to come. “The Knack” can also help reduce or eliminate leakage when you cough, laugh, or blow your nose. So, that’s it! Go and try it. Hopefully this helps you control your bladder when you sneeze. If not, we are happy to be a resource for you at Legacy Physical Therapy. In fact, check out our free guide on Bladder Leakage for more tips.  Pelvic organ prolapse is a dropping of any of the pelvic organs (uterus, bladder, or rectum) down into vaginal canal or through the vaginal opening. You can have prolapse of one or multiple pelvic organs at a time.
There are multiple treatment options available if you are experiencing pelvic organ prolapse  I want to talk to you today about something that’s near and dear into my heart--- exercise and moving.
I have frequent conversations with clients that start out with sentences like, “I’m afraid to move. I’m think I’m going to hurt myself. I don’t know how to move safely. I am scared that am I going to make my condition worse.” It breaks my heart to hear that people are scared to move because movement is life and it can help so many things.  At Legacy Physical Therapy we specialize in treating pelvic health issues. Some of the common pelvic health issues we see fall into the following the 3 categories: peeing, pain, or pressure in the pelvic area.
Here are some examples to showcase how important pelvic health is to your overall health and why.  We want to give new moms some tips on how to lift, carry, and hold their babies and toddlers with good form. Incorrect lifting is one of the key issues that we see at Legacy Physical Therapy. We hear new moms commonly complain about having back or shoulder pain from all of the additional lifting and carrying they are doing now that they have a baby. Improper lifting can be a cause of these types of aches and pains.
|
"We help women who are tired of leaking, dealing with pelvic pain, and wanting to get their body back in shape after baby (even if it’s been 30 years) all without relying on medications or surgery."
Brooke Kalisiak
|
RSS Feed