Work It Out

Our neighbors at Inbalance Fitness (794 Cooper St.) have just started up "Fit Momma," a 60-minute cardio and strength training class for new moms and their little ones (from 6 weeks to 3 years old). This indoor/outdoor class is designed to help mamas find time to take care of themselves even during the most demanding stage of motherhood, with modifications for each exercise to accomodate all levels and abilities. (And of course, be sure to get the okay from your doctor before beginning a post-partum exercise regimen.) Classes are $15 for drop-in, or $42/3-classes, $75/6-classes. The schedule is as follows:

Tuesdays 12:30-1:30pm (right after our Breastfeeding Group!)
Thursdays 12:30-1:30pm
Saturdays 11:30-12:30pm

For more details, including a list of needed items, contact Star Ritchey (ph: 901.461.2049) or Laura Charbonnet (ph: 901.726.5166).

The Resource Page: In 3-D!

As much as I enjoy spouting off information and pretending I know what I'm talking about, I have to admit that at least 50% of my knowledge on pregnancy, childbirth and all things parental comes from my voracious consumption of literature during my own pregnancy. (The other 50% comes from y'all, of course.) So in the interest of sharing some of my favorite and most trusted resources, I've compiled a suggested reading list. Even better, the folks at Amazon have let me build my own little mini-bookstore with these top picks, so you can scoop them all up and bring them home without ever leaving your nest. The link to the store will be prominently displayed on the Resources Page, so stop by anytime and browse.

Lost and Found

After many unsuccessful trips through anywho.com, and even a couple phone calls to possible relatives, I have been unable to locate the owner of a well-loved bear that was left at the store a couple weeks ago. It is a blue bear, with noticeable signs of affection on his ears and paws. The bear owner's mother was kind enough to make a purchase while here, so I know that her name is Lauren W. If you're out there, Lauren, and wish to bring the bear back home, just let me know. Of course, if you're happy that it was "accidentally" left behind, I understand that, too.

Gonna Be A Hot Fall

Hotslings not only makes some of the prettiest slings out there, they're also constantly looking for ways to improve on their accessible, no-fuss design. Two of these improved pouches are now here at Mothersville: the reversible Hotsling (shown here in Kaleidoscope) and the fleece Hotsling! The reversible pouch lets you enjoy the best of both worlds by having both a gorgeous, fashion-forward, designer fabric side as well as a basic neutral side. The fleece pouch is a soft and cuddly option that will work especially well as the weather gets cooler - no need to stuff tiny little arms into bulky jackets! Just layer them into the fleece pouch and you're all set! The fleece Hotsling also features a handy little iPod pocket for rockin' mamas on the go.

We also have one adorable child-size Hotsling left, also in the kaleidoscope fabric, so your little one can have a sling just like yours! (We did have two, but they're just so dang cute I'm taking one home.)

What about the moon?

Warning: shameless exhortations of cuteness ahead.

When I was putting M to bed tonight, she spent her last few conscious minutes saying goodnight to ... well, everything. It went as follows ...

"Good night, mama."

"Good night, door."

"Good night, back of the door."

"Good night, open."

"Good night, closed."

"Good night, centerpiece."

(Huh? Can't laugh, it'll wake her up ...)

Rock and roll, baby!

Look out, people! Here comes the 3rd installment of Memphis Rock'n'Romp! It's the only local concert series for families - and no, we don't mean that it features giant trademarked characters or people desparately trying to rock out "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." It's an afternoon show with full-fledged, professional musicians - some of the finest in Memphis, as it happens - playing a casual show that appeals to parents and little ones alike. For just a $5 donation each, parents can enjoy great music, cold beer, and a chance to let their kids listen to real live music. Kids get in free, plus they get all the temporary tattoos, bubble wands and air guitar practice they can handle. The line-up for this Saturday, Sept, 23rd features Sidewalk Talk, Jeffrey James and The Haul, DJ Key Lime, and my boy Cory Branan. For more information and to get the official evite with location details (it is in someone's backyard, so attendance is invitation-only and kids are required for entry), check out the link above.

And yes, Mothersville will be closing early on Saturday so I can get my rock fix without asking anyone else to miss out on the fun. I'll be here 11:30-1:30, if you need to stop by for some sunblock or bugspray before the festivities begin.

This just in: there is a rain plan, so get on the evite list to find out all the details!

Sling Shift

Well, another Cooper-Young Festival has come and gone - the 3rd one that Mothersville has experienced as a CY business and the first one where we've actually had our own booth as well. The expansion of the festival definitely brought a lot more people by the store and I had a great time meeting so many new new mamas and their families. And of course, it's always a twisted sort of fun to hear people walk by and see the sling-wearing mannequin and proclaim things like, "Oh, that baby's gonna fall out!" or "I wish they'd had those when I'd had babies!" Maybe some year I'll make a sign that says "It's worked for the whole of human evolution, it'll work for you, too!"

And just in case you were worried that all the festival fun was over, come on in an enjoy the post-fest clearance sale. I was hoping we'd move a lot more clothing (instead, most folks wanted one of those fancy slings), so now I've got a whole gigantic rack full of summer and fall mama clothes all steamed up and ready to go. At 40% off! It's mostly nursing and transitional clothing (pregnant now? plan ahead!), but I have an entire rack of maternity suits and tops as well, all marked from $5-20.

So come on now, I need to make room for the shipment of organic baby clothes and toys, and the unbearably pretty new Petunia Picklebottom bags.

The Best Fest

(sniff, sniff)

Can you smell that? The combined aroma of corndogs, face paint and hemp? It can only mean one thing: the Cooper Young Festival is this Saturday!

We're very excited this year, because the festival is branching all the way down to the trestle at York and Cooper. That means we're now in the festival proper, instead of just the high-traffic overflow. It also means that we've got an actual, factual booth, which will be jam-packed with super-duper clearance sale items (40% off sunscreen, bug spray, nursing tops and swimsuits!) and some great deals on fall/winter apparel for mamas and little ones alike (come early to grab one of the $30 maternity suits!).

As a new mom, I know that I was a little reluctant to schlep out to CY Fest with my wee one. It's crowded, hot and doesn't really cater to the pre-pre-school crowd. But that's where we come in! Come join us for our own BabyFest, where you'll find a clean changing area, a comfortable place to nurse, indoor toys for the tiny ones and close proximity to a new stage featuring some of the finest acoustic musicians in Memphis (like Kim Richardson @ 2:30!). We'll also have a babywearing workshop (time TBA), a bevy of new literature in the resource area and FREE COLD WATER (doesn't sound like a big deal, but just wait until that noontime suns starts bouncing off Cooper and the line for Coletta's is stretching toward Meda).

So come by to check out the new stuff and chill out the little stuff. It's our neighborhood party, and y'all are the best neighbors ever!

Sneak(er) Preview

I was going to wait until Cooper Young for the grand unveiling, but they're just too cute and I can't wait anymore. The new fall Robeez are here! We have a whole bunch of brand new styles in stock, and have even brought in a few 2-3 and 3-4-year-old sizes for toddlers and pre-schoolers who still love rockin' their Robeez. Not only are they the only shoes that will keep tiny newborn socks on baby feet, they're also great for bigger kids that like to climb all over playgrounds without getting big, rubbery shoe soles stuck on the equipment. Robeez has also added a newborn line, with sweet designs specifically for the tiniest tootsies.

And We're Back ...

Sorry for the unexplained hiatus, there, folks. Apparently something about this blog got the Blogger spam-bots all worked up and they locked us down while they could complete a review and verify that it is in fact a human being spitting out these random blurbs. I guess maybe that 600% spike in traffic that we got after being linked to MemphisBlogger may have looked suspicious.

In other news, today is my daughter's 3rd birthday! At this time, three years ago, I was ... well, I'm not sure. Napping, probably. And wishing the nurses would stop asking me if I'd peed yet. And thinking that I would never, ever, ever have another child ever. Ev. Er.

I never tell other parents how fast the time flies. They'll find that out on their own, once they start getting more than 19 minutes of REM sleep a week. Besides, it's not all fast. There are many long, long moments along the way. The mantra I frequently tell new moms is "the days are slow but the months are quick," and they look at me with this flash of agreement and relief. There are so many days that stretch out in front of you like a Navy SEAL obstacle course, with every rope bridge suspended over a moat of bodily fluids. But then you suddenly look at a calendar and realize that you're halfway to having a one-year-old. Or a kindergartener. Or another driver on your car insurance.

And then, for no very good reason at all, you start sort of wanting another one. Not with the abject desire and naive delusions of a childless adult, but with the wariness and stubbornness and cut-wide-open heart that only a parent can bear.

Or so I hear.

Happy birthday to us, Miss M. I love you. And since you can't read, I'll tell you that later, too.

Hug Your Belly!

As we prepare for fall and get all gussied up for The Cooper-Young Festival, there will be lots of cool new stuff at the store. First off, we just received The Belly Hugger, a very nifty little product that really and truly works for both pregnant and nursing moms. During pregnancy, it holds up unbuttoned pants before maternity clothes are needed and helps bridge the gap between your regular shirts and pants. Post-pregnancy, it covers & keeps your belly and back warm while nursing. It turns every top into a nursing top! Now available in white, black and pink in a variety of sizes designed to fit moms of all shapes. It's one of those "I wish I'd thought of that!" products, and now it can be an "I'm so glad I have that!" product, too.

All A-Bored!

The Parent Guilt Train is all fired up and chugging toward a media outlet near you! It seems to have gotten on track a few weeks ago, when the Internet was all a-twitter with Helen Kirwan-Taylor, the American-born British mom (er, mum) who made headlines by saying that she was "bored" by her children. Or more accurately, with her childrens' activities. You could practically hear the message boards crackle and smoke as the media followed the story by dividing us into sides: the selfish, distant mothers who have their own interests outside the home and the saintly, self-sacrificing but somewhat pathetic mothers whose lives revolve around their children. A lot of vitriol was tossed in the direction of the writer, too, for daring to assert that mothering isn't an especially stimulating experience. Frankly, I agree with her. Mothering, and especially mothering a very young child, can feel like a tremendous drain of mental energy. What I found offensive, however, was her self-centered idea that the rest of us are thrilled to drive to soccer practices or pick Play-Doh out of our hair. Does she never talk to other moms? Heck yeah, it's boring, but it's part of the gig. Whether we're home full-time, work when we can, or commute 100 miles a day, being a mom is a tough job and yes, it does get in the way of the fun stuff we would like to do with our free time.

Speaking of jobs, Linda Hirshman says all women should have one. Based on what I could glean from The Colbert Report (yes, I get all my news from Comedy Central), Hirshman argues that all women should work in order to balance their economic position and therefore their power in society at large. And what about the kids these women might have? Who takes care of them? Hirshman says parents should divide childcare evenly. Well, okay. Yeah. That would be great. Equal contribution from both parents without fiscal penalty to either. In the meantime, before the Grand Restructuring Of Our Entire Social System is complete, what do we do? Feel bad, that's what.

So it looks like we just can't win - working mothers are too interested in their own needs and are depriving their children of crucial bonding time, and at-home mothers are child-obsessed doormats who are causing the inevitable destruction of feminism. Oh, and don't forget - anything negative our kids do once they're adults is all our fault, too.

Sigh. Exhausted maternal sigh.

I think it's about time for me to publish my long-in-the-works parenting treatise, called Get Off Our Freakin' Backs, We're Doing The Best We Can. Book signings will be held at spas across the country, all at least 100 yards from crying babies, ringing cell phones and 24-hour news stations.

Signs of the Times

Based on community requests to have a sign language class available to working parents and in a convenient one-shot package, we'll be offering monthly sign language workshops taught by Tori Hayes, an instructor at Memphis' school for the deaf. This workshop will utilize American Sign Language - not a modified "baby sign" - so you will both be learning a second language.

The workshop will include:
The benefits of learning sign language
Language development
Sign placement
Learn over 50 signs
Learn songs and activities to do with your child in sign language
And more...

Cost for the 2-hour workshop is $50. Tori recommends that participating babies be between 6-24 months, but we're always flexible. The first class will be held on Saturday, Aug. 26 from 10am-12pm and will be held on the 4th Saturday of the month through the fall. To register or get more information, please email Tori or call the store - 272-0081.

As The World Turns

At the risk of posting two preachy entries in a row, I have to start off the week by saying, "CHECK YOUR CHILD SAFETY SEATS AND USE THEM ALL THE TIME!"

We were on our way back from a picture-perfect Sunday outing - kayaking and swimming at the lake, a lovely drive home, followed by a stop for ice cream - when our whole world turned upside down. Literally. I didn't see the other car coming, didn't even hear the crash. The only thing I was aware of was the windshield caving in as our car rolled over. And the total feeling of helplessness as I thought about my daughter in the back seat. Our sturdy ol' truck did a complete 360-degree flip, landing back on the tires. As soon as we were still, I jumped into the back seat to check on M. She was screaming at the top of her lungs - jarring, but reassuring - and demanding to get out of the car. Her car seat was nudged a little to one side, but otherwise intact. I swept her up and took her inside the nearest building to look her over. Once we determined that the only blood on her had come from me, I could hardly believe it. There wasn't a scratch on her. Nor a bruise, nor a bump. She was perfect. Scared, but unscathed.

Amazingly, everyone involved in the accident - me, my husband, M, and the mother and son in the other vehicle - walked away, with the most severe injury being a little glass-infused road rash from where my arm hit the pavement during our roll. But it's impossible to stop thinking about what could have happened. The firefighters who responded to the accident said they were stunned that the injuries weren't more severe. They took one look at the scene and fully expected to be wheeling someone away. If we hadn't all been buckled up, and M hadn't been safely secured in her car seat, the outcome would have surely been much, much worse.

Thanks to everyone - friends, medical professionals and compassionate strangers - who helped us out yesterday. And thanks Graco.

Post-Spaaaaaaaah

It's hard for me to lift my hands to the keyboard after the total relaxation of this morning's Spa Escape. Just having ten new moms get together to talk and relax without their little ones for an hour was extraordinary enough, but then add in the exfoliation, moisturization, meditation and massage and it was downright indulgent. In a good way. We all need some indulgence once in a while, as our personal pre-spa "stress surveys" indicated. I ticked off 19 out of the 21 stress symptoms, and I still wasn't the highest scorer of the bunch. We're a hard-working group, us moms, and it's okay for us to acknowledge that. Proclaim it, even. If we try to act like it's all under control, we're denying ourselves the chance to recuperate and the stress just keeps piling up. And we're also giving the wrong impression to other moms, especially brand-new moms, by acting like the constant juggling act of motherhood is no big deal. It is a big deal, perhaps the biggest deal there is. It's an excrutiatingly tough job with rare and usually intangible benefits.

When I had my daughter, everyone - from Oprah to my dad - told me to take time for myself. And I didn't listen. I couldn't listen. I had a baby screaming in my ear. So instead of exhorting new moms to add one more task to their infinite to-do lists (right between taking a shower and keeping a small human alive until it's old enough to read Salinger and glare at her all the time), I'll direct this to the dads, grandparents, friends and otherwise concerned parties who have a new mom in their midst: give mama some time to herself. Take the baby out of her arms and hand her the car keys. Or grab the toddler and have an adventure at least 50 yards away from the house. Or just let her sleep. As we learned today, it doesn't take $500, a plushy robe and a room full of candles to have a "spa escape." All it takes is someone thoughtful enough to take a little care of someone else.

New Line (and curves) From Bravado!

This just in: the Bravado Lifestyle Nursing Bra!

Many of you love the comfort of Bravado bras, but have wished that they came in a more smooth-fitting and figure-flattering style. Your wish has just been granted! Created to take you from work, to home, to play; The Lifestyle Microfiber Nursing Bra is ideal for when you have established breastfeeding and are adjusting to your ‘new normal’. The Lifestyle Microfiber Nursing Bra has silky smooth microfiber on the outside for a seamless and supported shape, and Bravado CottonFlex™ fabric on the inside so the softness of cotton is against your skin.

Great for breastfeeding and pumping whenever and wherever, The Lifestyle Microfiber Nursing Bra is available in sizes 32B - 38E (DD), 34A, 40B-D. As we introduce this new product, we will have only a limited inventory available, so come in and get yours now!

Paging Dr. Sears

The strange physical effects of motherhood never stop. Over the last six months or so, I've noticed a new propensity for break-outs along my jawline. I thought this might be due to changing hormone levels when I cut back and then eventually stopped nursing, but it kept happening even months later. Then just this week, I was lying in bed cuddled up with M. and realized that my daughter's head was resting in the exact place that I was experiencing the most dermal rebellion. This is something the attachment parenting books never warned me about. The top of her noggin was tucked right up under my chin, and as I smelled the sunblock, detangling spray and plain old oil in her curly locks, I knew what was causing these mysterious spots. And I didn't move an inch.

Breast is Best ... To De-Stress

One more in the ongoing list of reasons to breastfeed ... a UK study recently found that breastfed babies were better able to cope with childhood stress. Read all about it.

Footloose and Tax-free

Put on your festive IRS-issued party hat and come enjoy the Sales Tax Holiday! From Aug. 4-6, Tennessee residents can enjoy an exemption from sales tax on items such as clothing, school supplies and computers under $1500. We here at Mothersville don't have Trapper Keepers or iMacs sitting around, but you can get all your nursing apparel, transitional clothing, organic baby clothes and Robeez shoes sales-tax-free. That 9.25% might not seem like much, but it adds up fast - it's like $10 off your purchase of, say, two nursing bras and a tank.

National Nurse Out: Wednesday, Aug. 2nd, 2006

Happy World Breastfeeding Week, everybody! In the spirit of celebration and education, ProMoM has organized a National Nurse-Out. We don't mean your regular routine; we mean go out specifically to nurse in public! ProMoM hopes that by promoting the image of breastfeeding in this way, more people will accept breastfeeding as a natural everyday occurrence and the normal way to feed infants and young children. We also want to encourage expecting mothers by showing them that it is possible to breastfeed in public without anyone being embarrassed.

Come and join us! Meet up at the Wolfchase mall play area over by Sears at 3pm on Wednesday Aug. 2nd to support breastfeeding. (Or if that's too hectic for you, plop down on a bench outside Motherhood or Mimi Maternity.)