Healthy Moms Blog

Holiday season is a time for celebration for most, but can be a time many of us experience sadness, stress, anxiety, fatigue, and even depression – especially, if we don’t have extended family or many friends.

In the past three years, five months and 12 days, only two bits of parenting advice have penetrated the baby brain fog deeply enough to embed themselves permanently into my memory. The first came from Aviva Allen, who described the division of nutritional labour in the home by explaining that it was my responsibility to give my child healthy food, but that it was his responsibility to eat it. The second, I got recently from my Peaceful Parenting coach Sarah Rosensweet, who told me quite firmly that—despite the fact that it’s not fair that he keeps insisting that he loves daddy better—my toddler isn’t responsible for my feelings.

Pregnancy is a miraculous and exciting time! It is also a time of great biomechanical stress. Growing a new human is no easy feat. We experience altered rib movement, changes in the position and angle of our spinal curves due to added weight and changes in weight distribution – our center of gravity moves forward, we have compromised core strength and stability due to muscular stretching and weakening, and add on top of all of that the laxity in our joints due to the hormone relaxin which softens and loosens our ligaments so that we can widen to grow and deliver a baby.

Being a Healthy Mom doesn’t mean you can’t eat out when you want a treat or you’re on the go!  It’s not just online orders that work for cardholders, it’s brick-and-mortar stores too. One of the wonderful things about being a cardholder as a Healthy Mom is that no matter where you are in the city, or what you’re hungry (or thirsty) for, there’s probably something nearby for you.

I love this time of year. The changing colors, the crisp air and the sound of fallen leaves crunching under your feet when you go for walks. It’s boot and sweater season, and the shining sun on a beautiful fall day makes for a really special time. But along with the changing season and the first snowfalls, the craziness of the holidays begins to set in.

This can often be a stressful time of the year, with work parties, family gathering obligations, and endless amounts of food to make and eat! Schedules and routines often get thrown out the window. That's ok. I’m here to tell you how to enjoy the holidays while ensuring that your sleep schedule doesn’t get off track.