Wellness

Top 5 Tips: Lactation and Infant Feeding

Top 5 Tips: Lactation and Infant Feeding

By Guest Blogger, Melissa Cole, IBCLC, RLC, 1. Your goals matter As a parent, you probably have some thoughts to how you envision feeding your baby. Your goals matter, whatever they may be! If you feel that you feel that lactation or feeding is not going how you envisioned, please reach out for support. There are many ways to love and feed a baby. You deserve personalized care. Whether it

Solid Food Introduction by Carol Gray at MamaSpace Yoga

Eat

By Carol Gray, LMT, CST, RPYT, ERYT-200 Parents ask me about solid food introduction all the time. Here’s my take on it. Babies Need Iron Babies store iron in their bodies while they gestate. Milk has next to no iron in it. At some point after birth, babies’ iron stores begin to diminish. This is often when they show signs of interest in iron-rich solid food. Hopefully, this occurs around

Carol Gray on Epidurals at MamaSpace Yoga

More About Epidurals

By Carol Gray, LMT, CST, RPYT, ERYT-200 I have been thinking a lot about epidural anesthesia for childbirth. Among those who have experienced it, birth is almost universally described as painful. Who wouldn’t want a drug or procedure that takes away the pain? Clearly, most pregnant people in America want this. It is by far the mainstream way to give birth. When Did It All Begin? What I’m wondering about

The Developmental Derby by Carol Gray at MamaSpace Yoga

The Developmental Derby

By Carol Gray, LMT, CST, RPYT, ERYT-200 In 1975 I moved back to LA. My first husband and I had spent three years away while he fulfilled his military obligation. Army life was hard on me. We lived in officer’s housing on an Air Force base in an isolated desert location. My husband was a research engineer assigned to NASA. He never wore a uniform. I was a misfit among

The Things We Do (After Birth) To Prevent Babies From Moving by Carol Gray at MamaSpace Yoga

Things We Do (After Birth) to Prevent Babies From Moving

By Carol Gray, LMT, CST, RPYT, ERYT-200 I can’t leave The Stuck Baby Series without describing baby immobilization and container lifestyle. In this article I outline the most significant ways in which we prevent our babies from moving after they are born. It seems like the perfect preparation for a sedentary life in a recliner in front of a screen. Developmental delays are on the rise. It’s estimated that 15%

How Fetal Constraint Adversely Affects Babies: Things We Notice After Birth by Carol Gray at MamaSpace Yoga

How Fetal Constraint Affects Babies: Things We Notice After Birth

By Carol Gray, LMT, CST, RPYT, ERYT-200 This is part six of the six-part Stuck Baby Series. In part one, My Baby Dropped!, I explain why engagement is pathology. In part two, Why Did My Baby Get Stuck?, I describe the maternal factors that cause babies to get stuck. Part three is Fetal Factors: How Babies Get Themselves Stuck. Part four explores Fetal Constraint: How Culture Immobilizes Babies. Last week,

Fetal Constraint: How Culture Immobilizes Babies by Carol Gray at MamaSpace Yoga

Fetal Constraint: How Culture Immobilizes Babies

By Carol Gray, LMT, CST, RPYT, ERYT-200 This is the fourth installment of the stuck baby series. Last week I described the fetal factors (ways babies get themselves stuck). The week before I discussed maternal factors. Three weeks ago I covered engagement and explained why it’s pathology. Next week I’ll go over how fetal constraint affects labor and birth. Stay tuned! Today I’m going to discuss cultural factors that reduce

Fetal Factors: How Babies Get Themselves Stuck by Carol Gray at MamaSpace Yoga

Fetal Factors: How Babies Get Themselves Stuck

By Carol Gray, LMT, CST, RPYT, ERYT-200 There are many things that contribute to fetal constraint (stuck babies). Any one of them can operate independently, but usually there are multiple causes for less than optimal fetal positioning that have synergistic or additive effects. As I continue to explore the multiple causes, I will provide examples of how these things can work in concert to prevent babies from moving into more

My Baby Dropped by Carol Gray at MamaSpace Yoga

My Baby Dropped!

By Carol Gray, LMT, CST, RPYT, ERYT-200 “My baby dropped!!” People usually say this with great enthusiasm when it happens. I’ve never really understood why people rejoice about their babies dropping. Why Do They Think This Is So Cool? Do they think that this is proof they won’t be pregnant until the end of time after all? Do they think that their labors will be shorter because the baby is