Shopping for Strollers + Cribs + Car Seats=Fun with Lela
By lelaknows | Category: Hot New Finds, Meet the mom inventor | Posted Wednesday, November 16, 2011
As you know, at Mom 4 Life we are all about helping moms find the best product out there to meet their needs. So when I was introduced to Fanny and Carla and the brand new company they have started, I knew you should meet them too. You see, their website is pretty stinking cool. I will let them tell you all about it and then I would encourage you to hop over and take it for a test drive!
Hello, we’re Fanny and Carla, co-founders of a new technology company called Lela. We started Lela because we felt that shopping for baby products can often be confusing and overwhelming. And it’s easy to make the wrong decision. Fanny went through several different stroller models, before she found the one that worked for her. She researched hundreds of strollers, and read all the reviews – but there just wasn’t an easy way to find the right stroller for her. And trial-and-error was an expensive way to find it!
With a new baby, you don’t even have time to sleep – let alone spend hours browsing through a gazillion options, wondering which stroller (or crib, or car seat, etc) is the right one, before you plunk down hundreds of dollars.
So, for the sake of all the moms out there who might feel the same way, we decided to do something about it.
Keep the Kiddy Platter!
By mom4life | Category: Meet the mom inventor, Mom 4 Life News & Giveaways | Posted Tuesday, September 27, 2011
I want to introduce you to a special couple that I have worked with in the past. Chris and Lindy Bartell invented a product that we used to offer on Mom 4 Life. I personally have loved seeing my kids use and enjoy their product for crafts, mealtime and homework. I have enjoyed the ease of cleanup and the variety of ways in which it can be used. I invite you to read their story to see how they are trying to get their product back on the shelves at Mom 4 Life and many other retailers across the nation. . . ~Heather
It all started with the birth of our boys Josiah and Michael. We had a number of creative ideas for products that would make life a bit more simpler, easier, manageable. We decided to run with the concept of the Piggy Platter just a couple months after our second son was born.
We must have been crazy – new parents who nothing about creating a plastic product… we took a second mortgage on our house, hired an industrial designer and held focus groups. A year or so later, we launched Smarty Parents and the Piggy Platter was born.
(more…)
Top 5 Questions Received at C-Panty
By catherinebrooks | Category: From the Experts, Meet the mom inventor | Posted Wednesday, January 26, 2011
We hope you have enjoyed the 5 part series on the topic of cesarian deliveries. If you missed out on the last one called “Ok C-Section moms, what’s the big deal?” you should definitely catch up, it is worth the read:)! Below is the final post in our 5 part series, thank you so much Catherine for writing for us, we have learned a lot!
Being pregnant and delivering a baby comes with a lot of questions and new experiences. Some are tales some are true. Here are the top questions we get at www.cpanty.com. Most are c-section related but not all!
During a c-section to they really take my uterus out?!
Ouch that almost sounds worse than it is…and it’s bad enough! First “taking the uterus out” does not mean removing the uterus and not putting it back. But yes, the uterus is what is commonly called exteriorized or brought outside the body. “What?!”, you say, “take the whole thing out?” Yup, the whole thing and the fallopian tubes as well since they are attached.
There are two good reasons for having the uterus outside the body. The amazing uterus is contracting whether the delivery is by cesarean or not. You can imagine trying to sew a moving object in a paper bag without seeing it would be a challenge. The same is true for a contracting and shrinking uterus inside the abdominal cavity. Being able to see the incision in the uterus and sew it closed while seeing it is preferred by many surgeons. One other good reason is to examine the uterus and fallopian tubes. The physician can do a visual inspection of the uterus to make sure the surgical technique was perfect as well as to do a quick visual exam of any other problems. Call it the most thorough Ob/Gyn exam you’ll ever get!
So, that sore tummy after your c-section? Not so much from pushing if you pushed before delivery or from weak abdominals. It is largely from the disruption, aka separation, movement and handling of the tissues between the uterus and abdomen during surgery. The soreness and recovery curve in the area can last a bit, getting better daily but still recovering for up to 3 months. So, speaking of tissue disruption, on to question #2.
Do they really go through 7 tissue layers during a c-section?
Yes, they do…depending on how you count! The seven “layers” are the skin, fat (don’t remind me!), rectus sheath (fancy word for the coating over the abs), the rectus (abs, which are split along the grain so somewhat more separated than cut apart), the parietal peritoneum (first layer surrounding the organs), the loose peritoneum and then the uterus, which is a very thick muscular layer.
So, again, sore in the belly? Feeling bad you don’t feel back to normal in three weeks? Lots of work went on in there. Tissue healing is aggressive for three months but persists actively for 6 months and then slowly for up to a year. Rest when you need it, get permission for heavy activities and enjoy baby while giving yourself a mental break for not feeling like a million bucks everyday.
Is it true your uterus increases 500x during pregnancy?
Lets just start with the uterus expands a lot! As far as the 500%, it depends on what the 500x means. Think back to high school math with length vs area vs volume. In general, the uterus is about 6cm x 5cm x 2cm and when at full term it is 30cm x 23cm x 22cm. So for length, it increases 5x, for area, it increases about 250x (that is the L x W x H answer). For volume, however, if you consider the uterus as a sphere (4/3 pi r3 anyone?), it increases about 500x. (Brookside’s Obstetric and Newborn Care, Emedicine.com)
Another chance to forgive yourself, stretch anything 500x and think how fast it’ll go back. I cant think of anything except silly putty that would do that! No more hard knocks for less than flat abs right away!
Why do I still bleed vaginally if I had a c-section?
The uterus still has remaining vascular activity after delivery. Once the incision is closed up, the only way for remaining blood and discharge to get out is the old fashioned natural way, through the vaginal opening. Just a word of caution, bleeding may be a little inconsistent, but if it is increasing over time (whether you had vaginal or cesarean delivery), see your doctor.
At least I wont #2, right? Does everyone really poop during labor?
Ok, finally something that c-section moms get the better deal on! No pooping during delivery. (For those of you that pushed, pooped, then c’d, two jewels in your crown!) Not that it is that bad, but lets face it, most of us rather have a constitutional in private. We surveyed 5 obs/delivery nurses. Some of the answers…
“90%”, “I stopped noticing by the time I was a resident” and our favorite “They lied when they said you didn’t poop”. Bottom line, they don’t care so moms shouldn’t either!
This is the last in the installment of blogs for Mom 4 Life from C-Panty, The After Cesarean Underwear. We are proud to be part of the Mom 4 Life community and are grateful for the opportunity to spread our mission of providing great c-section and post-partum recovery products while also working to educate and empower moms. Thanks for listening in!
Warm regards, Catherine Brooks OTR, MPH
M. Meunier MD,
C-Panty CEO and Consultant: 18 years of experience in post-surgical rehabilitation in New York City and San Diego and five even more challenging and exciting years of experience as a mom of a three. (All by cesarean, of course!)
Ok C-Section Moms, What’s the Big Deal?
By catherinebrooks | Category: From the Experts, Meet the mom inventor | Posted Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Last month we talked about what is the deal with the belly after a c-section (and what can be done about it). The month before that we talked about the stages of recovery after c-section surgery, and before that c-section scaring. Finally, the month before that I introduced myself and explained that I was going to be writing a 5 part series (one post a month) on the topic of cesarean recovery. Below is part 4 of 5, enjoy!
Ok C-Section Moms, What’s the Big Deal?
There is quite a bit of talk about c-sections lately. What’s the big deal? Here are just a few thoughts on some psycho-social reason for the talk.
Expectations: Any vaginal delivery or pre-baby moms listening in out there, we hear you. We know there are bad parts of vaginal delivery. We missed the episiotomy and the dreaded..umm.. #2 on the table. For many of us, besides the recovery from a fairly in-depth surgery, there is the fact of adjusting expectations. Whether found out during pregnancy or at delivery, the news that the baby was coming via cesarean is, at some point, unexpected by many moms. There can be part that feels like “I guess I won’t ever experience something that I was theoretically built for”. This is easier for some moms to accept than others. The majority of us temper the change in expectation with, “Ok the baby is out and we are both ok. The priority is the baby not how the baby gets here”. But still, not experiencing the relatively active birth of a baby and instead having a rather passive birth via c-section can be an adjustment on expectations. I can’t imagine that there were that many moms out there visualizing a c-section that first time they saw a pink line on a stick. Three c-sections later, I still sometimes can’t believe that I ended up that way, although I am ok with it.
Language: The word vagina just isn’t one we use much. That means that “vaginal delivery” becomes “natural delivery”. Ok, “natural” to me means squatting in the woods with a stick in your teeth, not amped up on an epidural. Most moms, however, do have a bit of pharmaceutical or medical help (nothing wrong with that either!) But, since we can’t say “vaginal” in the good ole USA where teens wear shorts cut up to there and people love Lady Gaga, we call it “natural”. Does that default to c-section as”unnatural”?
I can’t begin to count the number of people who either asked “Did you have natural delivery” or commented “Oh, I had natural delivery”. And they weren’t talking about in a hot tub with a doula!! They were talking bout a typical pharmaceutical assisted vaginal delivery. I wasn’t thrilled to have a c-section but I certainly didn’t have a hang up about it either. It did irritate me, however, to hear a birth experience contrasted as “natural”.
Media Influence: There is a lot in the news about c-sections. Sadly, most is in sound bite form with little supporting statistics. The stories stretch from the tisk-tisk “Too many c-sections” stories to the “Bad doctor lets mom labor too long and baby suffers”. They both inspire panic and leave moms little information for the moment when they need to decide what is best for them and the baby.
1.3 million moms deliver by c-section in the US. Not all can be because the MD wanted to go home and play golf as some reports make it seem. And I am also pretty sure at least some were decided too soon and a vaginal delivery would have been fine. Bottom line, moms deserve objective information, respect from the care team and a presentation of their risks for their individual situation, not a judgment from the sideline based on attention getting media sound bites.
So, c-section deliveries, along with a significant surgical recovery, do seem to have a psychosocial component that is influenced not only by what moms expect but by how society discusses cesarean deliveries and how the media presents it. So, it’s not really a “big deal” just a complex one, more so for some than others. I just chalk up my c-sections as sacrifice number one of motherhood….with about a million more to follow, and all of them worth it.
Catherine Brooks OTR, MPH
M. Meunier MD,
C-Panty CEO and Consultant: 18 years of experience in post-surgical rehabilitation in New York City and San Diego and five even more challenging and exciting years of experience as a mom of a three. (All by cesarean, of course!)
“Recover in Comfort” series will address all those things you ever ( or never!) ever wanted to know about c-section delivery.
I Will Breastfeed in Public. Darnit. -Part 3
By JodiAdamson | Category: Meet the mom inventor | Posted Wednesday, December 1, 2010
In my last post, we discussed what happens when you have all the perfect gear, and you still accidentally flash some skin. Just pretend it never happened! Whoever saw anything may think they were imagining it!
- If you choose to use a blanket or a nursing cover, practice at home several times a day to get baby use to it. This way, it won’t be foreign to your little one and he will relax. Even though they did not like it at first, my babies got so use to having a blanket over them it just wasn’t a big deal. Remember ~ moms are teachers. Learning to nurse under a blanket or nursing cover has to be taught. Don’t force it. Begin with placing it on only as long as they will allow and work up to using it the whole session. I do recommend getting one with as light a fabric as possible, though. It can get stuffy under there! In my situation, I began by first having baby latch on and then adding a blanket. After we mastered this, I transitioned to placing the blanket over both baby and myself first, then latching on underneath. By practicing all of this at home, stress simply didn’t enter in.
We became such pros at it that I remember sitting in church one day nursing the baby when a man in the congregation walked up and started talking to me. He had absolutely no idea baby was even nursing. Yes, my mind went into freak out mode for a second. I figured as long as my body language wasn’t screaming “Get back! There’s a naked breast under here!” he would probably have no clue. I mentioned nothing about nursing and kept my cool. Sure enough, I was right, he had no idea! Maybe it was because he was a man, or maybe it just looked like baby was napping ~ either way, he was oblivious. Goal accomplished! The practice payed off! I felt powerful at that moment! Hee, hee.
- Don’t make a big deal of it. Your confidence and attitude will go a long way. Humans are funny creatures. Most of the time, they will follow your lead. Being laid back and comfortable will put others at ease. If you are uncomfortable and feel like you are being gawked at, create a diversion. Keep your water bottle close and demurely grab a drink. Pull out a magazine and gently flip through it. The focus of what you are doing will be completely diverted and their minds will transfer from “a woman nursing a baby” to “a woman taking a drink”. If you find someone who seems preoccupied with staring, grab your cell phone. Begin flipping through yours, and they may feel a need to check theirs. Or you can fake like you are taking a picture of them. That’ll be sure to make them turn away.
If someone still has a problem with your nursing, well, they can get a ladder and get over it! Remember ~ you are doing an incredibly good thing! God created your body to nurse your baby, and if He approves, who cares what anyone else thinks.
- Lastly, I would like to remind you of the story in a previous post. Remember ~ always, ALWAYS look for security cameras!!
