One of "Those Days"

Today will go down in history as "one of those days".  I'm sure many of my mommy friends will be able to relate.  You know one of "those days" when you just should have trusted your "gut" and not left the house?  Yup.... That was me!

I left our local community centre this morning (they were having a special kids Easter event) at 36 weeks pregnant carrying my 35lb kicking and screaming 2 year old *sigh*. This was after what i think were three very generous warnings about waiting in line (patience), staying close to mommy (obedience) and listening with your ears (attentiveness) - three character qualities that we've been working really hard at.

We are now home having a "time out day" which includes us watching his Brother Francis movie about "Forgiveness".  He requested it after a discussion we had about how he should to say sorry to mommy and Jesus for his behaviour (we are a practicing Catholic family).  I thought it was an excellent idea! In fact; I think we will spend the day learning more about this forgiveness and repentance as a result.  

In reflecting on what had happened; all I can do is chalk this up to a learning experience and a really good lesson for me as a mom.  I really need to learn to trust my "gut instinct" (or if your a Christian family, those little messages that God sends you) a little more. Obviously when your child wakes up rotten (like we all do at times); probably not a smart idea to take him out to a major event where there will be lots of temptation and chaos.  It's actually probably not fair to even expect a 2 year old to be able to handle something like that given his temperament that day.  Lesson learned! 

The great thing about days like today is all the great things we learn from it - both us as moms as well as our children.  I'm actually really looking forward to a day of teaching and reflection with my son about behaviour, forgiveness and remorse.  

Luckily I don't have many days like this  ;)

Thank You,

Connie & Jonathan Berenguer

Founders / Directors

E. connie@connieberenguer.com

W. www.goobergang.yolasite.com

 

Resources: Brother Francis series of DVDs for children. Especially "Forgiven". 

See http://www.catholicchapterhouse.com/store/dvds/children-s-dvds/brother-francis-forgiven-the-blessings-of-confession

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Guest blogger: Healthline.com. Choosing a Diet that is Right for You

Looking for the ideal diet? There is actually no "right answer" for everyone, and dieting has to be a very personalized matter. What works for the woman next door may not work for you and this is especially true where any dieting and weight loss are the focus.

So, let's begin to discuss a diet that is right for the "average working mom" by understanding calories. That's right; we said that dreaded word, but you need to know that calories are your friend and greatest ally in your efforts to lose weight.

How? Well, it is calories that make up the BMR or the basal metabolic rate. This is the number of calories you must eat every single day if you are to maintain your current weight, and without any activity. So, use the following formula to calculate how many calories you need every day:

655 + (4.3 x weight in lbs.) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)

Now, keep in mind that this figure is the calories you have to eat if you were to just lay in bed and eat all day. Even then you would not get all of those calories because your body uses around 10% of all calories consumed in the digestive process. Nice, right? You can knock ten percent of the calories "off the top" because your body negates them in order to use them.

Then there is the matter of exercise. When you exercise you burn "X" number of calories per hour, and will often continue to burn small amounts of calories in the hours afterward. So, do the math and figure out what your daily "workout" consumes from the BMR as well.

Now, where does that leave you? For example, if you discovered that you needed to eat around 1550 calories per day to remain your current weight, it would mean you needed to add 155 more calories to account for "thermic burn". If you then walk around three miles each day at a brisk pace it would mean that roughly 300 calories disappear too. This leaves you at around 1250 calories each day. So, you are already posed to lose weight if you remain in that area because you are coming in at a deficit.

Empty Calories versus Nutrition

Now, we need to take a new perspective on calories because you can't just eat any type of calories and still lose weight. For example, if you ate 1200 calories in potato chips, you wouldn't drop weight as easily as if you ate those same 1200 calories in fruits, vegetables, and lean meats.

This is because calories can be nutritious or they can be empty. Sugary snacks, fatty foods, and "junk foods" are all basically meaningless calories that provide you with poor sources of energy. Healthy foods are the way to go and will charge you up with vitamins and minerals while giving the caloric content you need.

Now we can begin to contemplate a diet that works for you on a personal level. For instance, you can look at the rather radical plans like Atkins or South Beach and remain very healthy because these reduce carbohydrates and emphasize whole foods such as vegetables and proteins. That may not work for you because you like your pasta and bread. This would mean that you could turn to a more relaxed approach to dieting and use an online plan or other program.

Keep in mind that your dieting and exercising plans have to work with your schedule, your energy needs, and your desire to make your daily eating plan something that "syncs" well with that of your family. 

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Valerie Johnston is a health and fitness writer located in East Texas. With ambitions of one day running a marathon, writing for Healthline.com ensures she keeps up-to-date on all of the latest health and fitness news.

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Guest blogger, Nellie Johnson: Stages of Childbirth

Since many of our Goober Gang moms are expecting now their second babies and with the due dates approaching fast, I think this article from our new guest blogger, Nellie Johnson of Laborade.com, would be an interesting read.

Nellie Johnson is a registered nurse and certified Lamaze educator. Her work is based in organic practices that help mothers and mothers-to-be gather the knowledge that they need to trust their own intuition and do what they believe is the best for the physical and emotional health of themselves and their families.

If you have questions for Nellie, just email her at: nellie [at] laborade [dot] com.


It looks complicated at first glance: 4 rows, 4 columns, ranges, pie charts, new terminology.  However, focus your eyes on the far right column with the pictures of the little pregnant lady faces.  Those four images sum up birth.

1st Face: “I’m having a baby!”  Contractions have begun but are not painful or frequent enough to get in the way of life.  You go for  a walk, bake a birthday cake and call your mom.



2nd Face: “Let’s do this.”  With contractions getting longer, stronger and closer together you get more serious and instinctually activate your plans for baby’s arrival.


3rd Face: “Oh sh*t, I forgot this was going to hurt.”  This brief phase is intense with lots of contractions and few breaks.  Feeling helpless is common and support people are key.


4th Face: “I need to push!”  You can’t deny this feeling and find a new sense of determination, strength and relief.


Ta-da!  Cute little baby on your chest.
If you find more comfort in knowing the numbers and terminology around , explore the rest of the picture.  You’ll discover that that 1st Face represents “Early Labor”, that Stage 2 starts when the cervix is 10cm, and every other detail about the phases and stages of labor.
(photo courtesy of Childbirth Graphics)

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Nanny Robina and CityLine!

A little while ago we had the pleasure of meeting Nanny Robina! An expert on everything parenting! Of course I jumped at the opportunity to ask her what I could about getting baby girl to sleep through the night because whatever I was doing was not working! I had explained to her that I was having some real trouble getting her into a good sleep schedule. Please visit my blog to read more about Audri's sleep training.

Nanny suggested the first thing I needed to do was get her into a good routine. Routine is everything for babies! Although we did have a night time routine since the week we brought her home from the hospital, her daytime was a little more staggered. Since getting the day time in place we noticed a big difference in Audrina’s sleeping patterns. She usually only gets up once around 11-12 p.m. for a feeding, then sleeps the rest of the night! Notice I said usually. All of a sudden over the last few days she has been waking up between 2-3 a.m. Some nights she puts herself back to sleep, other night she screams bloody murder until I go in and shush her to sleep. I’m so worried this is going to set her back again and it’s back to no sleep for us all. 

On Wednesday Aud and I went down with Nanny Robina to a taping of CityLine! It was lot’s of fun and a busy morning! It will air on Wednesday August 15th on City Tv at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. tune in as I will ask Nanny Robina why this could be happening! Please tune in to our blog, as Nanny agreed to guest blog for our Goober Gang Mag, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have her give some of her expert advice on parenting!

Madeleine
 

You can read more about Nanny Robina here, or on her website: http://www.nannyrobina.com.

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Nanny Robina for Goober Gang Mag.

ROUTINES:

• Establish a routine as part of your daily pattern of care.
• To a new baby a routine may be more comforting than any single soothing technique.  You need to let your baby know daily what is about to happen
• As soon as you bring your baby home, establish a simple routine, like bathing at the same time each day or Reading the same book, humming the same lullaby.
•  Being able to count on the same things, day in day out is comforting to a new baby.
• At around three months keep the routine and start to introduce a schedule. Babies on a schedule settle far more easy that those that do not have one.
• Your baby will now be ready for a new sleep schedule as they begin to come out and transition from all that sleep that was needed for the first three months of their fastest growing time.

 Once your baby turns three months you may notice a change in their sleep pattern as they take on less sleep.

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