As your baby grows and develops, each day, week, and month there are new things that your baby can do, and it is amazing to watch the progress. I can remember at 4 months how my son was able to finally sit up in a reclining high chair and that seemed like such a milestone....to have him sit at the table with us.
Then there is moving from just having formula to starting to eat solids, having your baby start rolling around on the floor, then moving to to crawling throughout the house, and then walking. With each accomplishment I could see my son becoming a little boy.
Now as he is almost 27 months his vocabulary, the way he articulates his feelings and interacts intelligently with the world around him is so much fun to watch. And one big milestone for us that just happened last week was converting my sons crib to a toddler bed. I felt as if it was such a monumental step, as if really acknowledging that my son is not a baby anymore.
This transition was made because Zack had started climbing out of his crib and crawling into bed with me in the morning. The first day he did it he scared me because he just appeared at my side of the bed and I was dazed, wondering how he got there. Before he realized that he could swing him leg over the side of the crib, crawl down the slats and jump to the ground in a flash, he would stand up in his crib and call out to Jeff or I to get him up. But with his new found ability, why wait for us when he can get out himself -- which is what he began to do after that first time.
This caused us to be concerned for his safety as he started climbing out early in the morning and late at night; we didn't want him to fall and hurt himself. So Jeff and I made a big deal out of converting his crib to a toddler bed and how much of a big boy he has become.
To me it felt like a rite of passage, my son was not a baby anymore!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Tracey's Tip #9 -- Being a Balanced Mom
Take a yoga class to get out of your head, tap into the positive energy of yoga and just be in the moment for that class. One of my favorite types of Yoga is considered 'Hot Yoga' or Bikram yoga. It is yoga that is done for 90 minutes in 100 degree heat. But the heat is a dry heat which allows a person to totally warm up their muscles, provides for deeper stretching and causes a person to sweat out all the toxins in their body.
For me it provides for deep stretching in my back and neck which are always hunched over the computer or on the phone. I feel so much better when I walk out of the class after sweating out a bunch of toxins, and the long poses allow me to meditate and focus my mind on being in the moment instead of caught up in my constant 'to do list.'
For me it provides for deep stretching in my back and neck which are always hunched over the computer or on the phone. I feel so much better when I walk out of the class after sweating out a bunch of toxins, and the long poses allow me to meditate and focus my mind on being in the moment instead of caught up in my constant 'to do list.'
Tracey's Tip #8 -- Being a Balanced Mom
Many times outside negativity can seep in and throw a woman off balance, without even realizing that it is happening. Stop and figure out if negativity is seeping into your life. Is it coming from the media, or from people around you? I find that only scanning the news and not getting into it to deep helps me because the media has a tendency to build on fear and negativity -- which doesn't help anyone.
Try not to let that energy into your space. Always look towards the positive of a situation and try to stay in the positive flow of life, because that energy tends to bring answers and good things your way!
Try not to let that energy into your space. Always look towards the positive of a situation and try to stay in the positive flow of life, because that energy tends to bring answers and good things your way!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Options for Continuing Your Family (FM)
In today's world people are having children later in life, whether it be because of career demands, waiting to find their right partner, or putting off the commitment of children. So when a couple does finally decide to start trying to become pregnant they may find that it isn't happening and infertility may be an issue. This is especially true for women who get pregnant in their mid 30's, wait awhile before trying for baby #2 and may run into a secondary infertility issue.
Joining me to discuss options for continuing your family is Mindy Berkson, founder of Lotus Blossum Consulting, one of the first infertility consultancies in the U.S. She is a one stop shop resource for all information dealing with trying to have a child when infertility is an issue. But what I love is her philosophy in discussing with a couple what their End Family Building Goal is. Not just that "I want to have a baby today and how can we make that happen," but more importantly, how to create a family of 2 or more children and work backwards; if that is the ultimate goal.
She can also work to maximize a couple's health insurance coverage to make that happen, and can provide direction for egg banking, egg donation, sperm bank and surrogacy avenues.
Then later on the show Dr. Daniel Shapiro, MD, an endocrinologist with Reproductive Biology Associates in Atlanta, Georgia talks in depth about the cutting edge work he has been doing with egg freezing. When I heard about the successes with egg freezing my immediate thought went to all the women in their early 30's that are thinking about putting off having kids until later on.....and how they can now freeze those eggs as an insurance policy.
But Dr. Shapiro also filled me in on three other reasons for egg freezing besides egg preservation; egg banking/egg donation, for cancer patients and the normal management of IVF treatments. We also discussed the difficulty couples have in disposing of unused embryos created during IVF. But with egg freezing there is no longer a need to create extra embryos, and it becomes much easier to discard unused eggs versus unused embryos.
Learn about all the option available for continuing that family that you desire.
Joining me to discuss options for continuing your family is Mindy Berkson, founder of Lotus Blossum Consulting, one of the first infertility consultancies in the U.S. She is a one stop shop resource for all information dealing with trying to have a child when infertility is an issue. But what I love is her philosophy in discussing with a couple what their End Family Building Goal is. Not just that "I want to have a baby today and how can we make that happen," but more importantly, how to create a family of 2 or more children and work backwards; if that is the ultimate goal.
She can also work to maximize a couple's health insurance coverage to make that happen, and can provide direction for egg banking, egg donation, sperm bank and surrogacy avenues.
Then later on the show Dr. Daniel Shapiro, MD, an endocrinologist with Reproductive Biology Associates in Atlanta, Georgia talks in depth about the cutting edge work he has been doing with egg freezing. When I heard about the successes with egg freezing my immediate thought went to all the women in their early 30's that are thinking about putting off having kids until later on.....and how they can now freeze those eggs as an insurance policy.
But Dr. Shapiro also filled me in on three other reasons for egg freezing besides egg preservation; egg banking/egg donation, for cancer patients and the normal management of IVF treatments. We also discussed the difficulty couples have in disposing of unused embryos created during IVF. But with egg freezing there is no longer a need to create extra embryos, and it becomes much easier to discard unused eggs versus unused embryos.
Learn about all the option available for continuing that family that you desire.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Getting Away to Reconnect (FM)
With my radio show I am always trying to provide resources, ideas, tips and tools to make life easier and to solidify a couple's relationship. Sometimes a couple's life can get put on the back burner once kids arrive, and what better way to jump start the connection than by getting away.
I have always felt that stepping out of the day to day routine and getting away from the hustle and bustle adds freshness to one's relationship. For this show I wanted to highlight two locations that provide a venue for quality time together, as well as romance and opportunities to reconnect.
The first destination is a 10 acre private island off the coast of Georgia called Eagle Island. With a 1700 sq foot lodge that sleeps 12, has 2 full baths, a 1500 sq. foot wrap around porch, and is fully equipped with everything a family needs, it provides a total getaway that can be rented for the week or a long weekend. The best part of staying at this lodge is the tremendous customer service. Andy Hill shares how guest services can stock the refrigerator before arrival, can rent and have delivered any baby items that are needed such as a crib or high chair, and can purchase diapers and baby food to have on hand as well. Guest services can also arrange activities for older kids and provide boating over to the local beach -- whatever their guests need, they are ready to accomodate!
It sounds like a heavenly retreat.
Then Mark Vandaloo, the General Manager of the Casa Marina Hotel and Restaurant, located on Jacksonville Beach, Florida talks up his family friendly historic hotel. With 23 rooms and parlor suites that come complete with ocean views and outdoor seating, the hotel provides an Old World Charm and Romance, with family friendly amenities. Being a beach property the hotel has it's own allure, but is also centrally located between the city of Jacksonville with its many activities, and St. Augustine with its trolleys, carriage rides, tours and museums, providing plenty to do with the family.
Tap in and learn about two destinations that you may want to escape to with your family!
I have always felt that stepping out of the day to day routine and getting away from the hustle and bustle adds freshness to one's relationship. For this show I wanted to highlight two locations that provide a venue for quality time together, as well as romance and opportunities to reconnect.
The first destination is a 10 acre private island off the coast of Georgia called Eagle Island. With a 1700 sq foot lodge that sleeps 12, has 2 full baths, a 1500 sq. foot wrap around porch, and is fully equipped with everything a family needs, it provides a total getaway that can be rented for the week or a long weekend. The best part of staying at this lodge is the tremendous customer service. Andy Hill shares how guest services can stock the refrigerator before arrival, can rent and have delivered any baby items that are needed such as a crib or high chair, and can purchase diapers and baby food to have on hand as well. Guest services can also arrange activities for older kids and provide boating over to the local beach -- whatever their guests need, they are ready to accomodate!
It sounds like a heavenly retreat.
Then Mark Vandaloo, the General Manager of the Casa Marina Hotel and Restaurant, located on Jacksonville Beach, Florida talks up his family friendly historic hotel. With 23 rooms and parlor suites that come complete with ocean views and outdoor seating, the hotel provides an Old World Charm and Romance, with family friendly amenities. Being a beach property the hotel has it's own allure, but is also centrally located between the city of Jacksonville with its many activities, and St. Augustine with its trolleys, carriage rides, tours and museums, providing plenty to do with the family.
Tap in and learn about two destinations that you may want to escape to with your family!
Friday, March 13, 2009
Tracey's Tips #7 -- Being a Balanced Mom
If you and your partner are happy, it makes your life much brighter. Your days are more in harmony when you feel your other half is there loving and supporting you.
So if your relationship is feeling out of balance address it through communication, and discuss ways to clear out any disharmony.
So if your relationship is feeling out of balance address it through communication, and discuss ways to clear out any disharmony.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Strengthening Your Relationship (FM)
I have worked with children and families for over 15 years and I have found one thing to be true; if parents are happy in their relationship, than kids feel more secure and happier overall.
On this show I wanted to talk to two experts about relationships after baby. Michele Weiner-Davis is a marriage therapist and maintains a therapy practice called "The Divorce Busting Center." She has also authored a book entitled The Sex Starved Marriage. While on a couple of previous shows I have talked about the importance of sex and intimacy in a couple's relationship, Michele confirms that emotional intimacy and the quality of ones marriage can be viewed as a barometer of what is happening behind closed doors.
Loving relationships are based on mutual care taking and if the sex is not happening as much as one of the partners would like, that person needs to ask the question 'what would make you feel closer to me to be more physical?' Again it comes down to open communication with your partner and how to work as a team to turn around the decline in your sex lives.
The importance of communication continues with my second guest, Harlan Cohen, author of the book Dad's Pregnant Too and founder of the website www.DadsPregnant.com. Harlan shares how playing an active partner role during moms pregnancy sets the foundation for continuing that role after baby arrives.
Through his book and website, dads are provided with information about what's going on with the pregnancy, how that is affecting their partner, and how to spoil their pregnant partner. With this knowledge dads are able to understand their role better and can acknowledge what makes them feel uncomfortable. This ultimately opens up more dialogue and hopefully continues after baby's arrival.
He also has a Pregnancy Tracker for expectant fathers on his website that is another informative tool just for dads!
To strengthen the relationship there are 4 factors that come into play:
1 -- Playing an active role
2 -- Having open communication about what is going on, or not going on in the relationship
3 -- The emotional and physical intimacy with your partner sets the stage for...
4 -- The deeper connection that is gained through sex with your partner
On this show I wanted to talk to two experts about relationships after baby. Michele Weiner-Davis is a marriage therapist and maintains a therapy practice called "The Divorce Busting Center." She has also authored a book entitled The Sex Starved Marriage. While on a couple of previous shows I have talked about the importance of sex and intimacy in a couple's relationship, Michele confirms that emotional intimacy and the quality of ones marriage can be viewed as a barometer of what is happening behind closed doors.
Loving relationships are based on mutual care taking and if the sex is not happening as much as one of the partners would like, that person needs to ask the question 'what would make you feel closer to me to be more physical?' Again it comes down to open communication with your partner and how to work as a team to turn around the decline in your sex lives.
The importance of communication continues with my second guest, Harlan Cohen, author of the book Dad's Pregnant Too and founder of the website www.DadsPregnant.com. Harlan shares how playing an active partner role during moms pregnancy sets the foundation for continuing that role after baby arrives.
Through his book and website, dads are provided with information about what's going on with the pregnancy, how that is affecting their partner, and how to spoil their pregnant partner. With this knowledge dads are able to understand their role better and can acknowledge what makes them feel uncomfortable. This ultimately opens up more dialogue and hopefully continues after baby's arrival.
He also has a Pregnancy Tracker for expectant fathers on his website that is another informative tool just for dads!
To strengthen the relationship there are 4 factors that come into play:
1 -- Playing an active role
2 -- Having open communication about what is going on, or not going on in the relationship
3 -- The emotional and physical intimacy with your partner sets the stage for...
4 -- The deeper connection that is gained through sex with your partner
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