Let’s Share Some Tips!

So we all have a time of day that is rough – whether you are at work or at home with your child(ren). Tell us about it.
For me, the answer is clear. It is 4:00 in the afternoon! That is not to say when I am teaching those 3:45 classes that I am “out of it,”by any means – it just means that I am feeling slowed down and in need of a good snack! So here is my tip for that time of day: Bring me a smoothie you 3:45 people – you know who you are!
In all seriousness 4:00 was always hard for me. My kids were kind of grumpy and we were all in the need of some type of entertainment. My tip is to get out of the house – take a walk with a friend or go the bookstore to leaf through some books. Before you know it will be dinner time and you have made it through.
You know you could always join me for a fun afternoon class!
Namaste,
Lisa
What are your tips?

Bye Bye Disposables

So, I have been thinking about cloth diapering long before my little man was even brought into the world. I went back and forth, cloth vs. disposable, of course, I wanted to do the right thing for his little bum and for this environment I was bringing him into. And it was obvious that the pros of cloth diapering outweighed the cons-but there was still that whole convenience factor that seemed to win. I had some cloth diapering materials-there is a lot to choose from, and very little knowledge about cloth diapering, so when my little man arrived the ease of the disposable WON. Now my little man is over 1 year old, I have guilt quite often about my decision ( especially when I take out the garbage). I kind of felt as if it was too late to make the switch, so much time had gone by, I could’ve saved all that trash and money. A couple of months ago I was helping a customer at Bellani with cloth diapers, she mentioned that her son was 15 months old and she was making the switch. She made some very valuable points, he was still going to be in diapers for maybe another year ? and she planned on having another child. Ah ha she would already have everything and I was inspired! I’m doing it! Now that the fear of not knowing- anything-when you have your first baby is gone, I now have a year of experience, and Bellani offers Cloth Diapering 101, I am going into this with a whole new confidence. The expense up front seems big, but it will save me in the future, I’m just thinking what If I had done this a year ago? I would be way ahead of the game.

Jamie

Take this quiz…

So you want to take a class and you are just not sure which one to take? Of course, it can be decided by the age of your child or even by what time your baby sleeps during the day. This process can narrow done your choices -but if you are caught between a few choices -check this out.
1.) Your child is active – likes the idea of moving. T or F
2.) You like crafts, books and some free time to talk with other parents. T or F
3.) You are ready to display some adorable child made art projects in your home? T or F
4.) Your child loves music and movement. T or F

If you answered true to any of these questions you should go to www.bellanimaternity.com

If you answered true to`1, 4, 5 you can take Little Explorers can be a great class for you and your child. There is time to stretch, sing and play with your moving child (and what I mean by moving is scotting, crawling, pulling themselves up or even walking)
If you answered true to 2, 3, 4, 5 you can take Busy Bees or Inchworms and get just what you are looking for. We read books, make our own crafts, dance to music and explore.
If you answered true to number 3 you should really take Little Van Gogh class. Miss Andrea does a great job of finding the perfect mediums for the youngest of artists!

If you answered true to 4 – get to Kindermusik. I took music classes with my children for many years. They grew up to just love the way music makes them feel. We still have dance parties after dinner some night!

We are also hear to answer any questions that you have.
See you soon ~ Lisa

A “scentsational” article

We’ve all given the adorable Lavender Lab from Cloud B (here at Bellani) a whiff at some point! The relaxing aroma of lavender claims to be able to help everyone, baby to adult, fall asleep. But does it really work? Today during my daily Yahoo visit (I am addicted to the featured articles that show up on the homepage) I noticed an interesting article all about how certain scents can help us fall asleep, relax, even perk us up! They even have examples of numerous studies defending their findings! It’s pretty interesting! I know I am definitely going to give some of their suggestions a try! Here is the link!

The bla bla have come alive!

So it’s 8:20pm, and here I am studying for a humongous exam I have on Friday. As I look up for a brief second at my muted television I happen to see a Bla Bla sock monkey moving as if it were alive. As you can imagine for those of you familiar with the adorable, soft, hand-knit, perfectly squishy Bla Bla stuffed toys I thought I was imagining things…maybe zoning off thinking about something I forgot to do at work today (this happens alot!) but no I wasn’t imagining! There is a movie called Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium (it has Natalie Portman, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Bateman and a few other noteables) It is about a toy store, I think it is supposed to be FAO Schwarz in NYC and in one scene they show a Bla Bla sock monkey that comes to life amidst a sea of other assorted Bla Bla’s…anyways to make a long story short it was really cute! And for those of you who have no clue what a Bla Bla is you must become acquainted with them at Bellani because they are truly unique and make for a very special little gift for a very special little someone!

~*Maryann*~

We all need a little music in our lives

Is music a part of your family life? I personally love music, it is emotional to me, and it is good for us-and our babies. Infants respond well to music and research shows that exposure to a wide variety of musical experiences can help brain development. Also, research supports that music helps prepare the mind for specific disciplines of learning; skills learned through music carry over into study skills, communications skills, cognitive skills and abstract reasoning skills useful to all parts of life, according to a 1997 article in Neurological Research. Whoa! With that being said, you can always pull out a Beatles cd and hope that your child enjoys it as much as you do. I have made endless compilations of all the music I like hoping my child will like it as much as I do. Sometimes he does, we rock out. And for the times he’s not so into it, I found new cool music for babies and us parents too at Bellani! Rockabye Baby, lullaby renditions of The Beatles, Metallica for those of you who love the metal, Johnny Cash for the the country folk, Cold Play, Led Zeppelin, Bob Marley and more. Also, not here at Bellani, yet? when your not in the mood for lullabies, I have been enjoying an artist a friend shared with me, Elizabeth Mitchell, fun children’s music! Its’ sorta folk-ish, also some Bob Marley, Neil Young, and more covers. I find myself listening to her music with no child around. So, relax and enjoy music with your child; sing, dance and move with them. Sometimes, when I’m taking a drive and a song comes on that I use to listen to with my dad, I get a warm feeling, so music has and I hope will continue to create family memories for me.

Here comes the snow again…

Can you believe that the cold weather of the winter is knocking at our door again? It is so difficult to say goodbye to days spent at the beach and at the park. I am in denial as I watch the leaves change colors, as I am pulling sweaters out from my closet and even as I sing our season song in Itsy Bitsy Yoga – you know the one…”Lampa, Lampa Fall, Lampa, Lampa leaves” followed by the WINTER! I always shudder. Why am I writing this? Surely there are winter fans out there..but we all need to get out of the house with our young ones and burn some energy..so…registrations for our next session are opening up now! You can check out the schedule online at Bellani Maternity
If you have a pre-crawler come join an Itsy Bisty Yoga class! It is so much fun to be around other Moms. The class is very relaxed with conversations, feeding of the babies, changing diapers and doing yoga of course. All you need is a receiving blanket and maybe the slight need to be nurtured.
How about for your growing baby? If your child is 6-12 months you can join a class of everything by doing Inchworms …sign language, reading stories, some crafts and exploration. If your child is 12-18 months join on to the Busy Bees. This class also has stories, painting, water tables and MORE.
Lastly (for my classes that is), is Little Explorers – this is by far perfect for the cold months – a place to climb, jump, crawl, roll, tumble, and swing. Can’t wait to spend some time with all of you soon! It keeps the chill of the winter to a minimum.

A “Scentsational” Article

We’ve all given the adorable Lavender Lab from Cloud B (here at Bellani) a whiff at some point! The relaxing aroma of lavender claims to be able to help everyone, baby to adult, fall asleep. But does it really work? Today during my daily Yahoo visit (I am addicted to the featured articles that show up on the homepage) I noticed an interesting article all about how certain scents can help us fall asleep, relax, even perk us up! They even have examples of numerous studies defending their findings! It’s pretty interesting! I know I am definitely going to give some of their suggestions a try! Here is the link!

Life Can Be Messy

Caught your interest – didn’t I? We all know this statement is true – especially having children. Nothing ever stays in the same place. The floor you just cleaned is sticky with juice. The books you just stacked have fallen on the ground. The laundry basket you just emptied is part way full again. It just goes on and on. But you know what? The messes are really a great thing! It is so important as parents that we remind ourselves of that. While our children are “rearranging” there are a lot of good things happening. I do believe it is more us than them. If our home is in order or clean – then some how our lives feel in order. If you need some help in letting go and letting the messes happen – (well the messes will happen anyway but that your blood pressure will remain in a healthy state) you should try reading a few of these books:
MomfiDence by Paula Spencer
Favorite quote from that book: “Momfidence is using perfect only To describe such wonders as a ripe peach, a cloudless day at the beach, a husband who does diapers and dinner and has no application whatsoever in describing motherhood”
The MomsTown Guide to Getting It All by Mary Goulet & Heather Reider – they were on Oprah!

AND MY FAVORITE…I Was a Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids by Trisha Ashworth & Amy Nobile
Honestly, you must read this. It will make you laugh and remind you that perfection and tidiness is not what mothering is!
So I know they are not technically my kids and this is not technically my home BUT it is my mess…we made one in Busy Bees today – water everywhere. The kids looked like they just took baths. The Moms were awesome at letting it be and enjoying the moment. There were smiles galore…now that I think about it…the Moms were really happy too…they got to leave a pretty big mess behind!

My stroller love triangle…

So this morning when I walked into Bellani I was acquainted with Bob…(the Bob stroller not an actual man named Bob) and I fell in love!!! I loved the way it moves, I love the shock absorption, I love the sporty style…I just plain love. By about 3pm The Bugaboo stroller came into my life and then I fell in love with the bugaboo (I like to call the bugaboo the Mercedes of strollers). The bugaboo is super versatile, can turn into a bassinet and can have your little one facing toward you or facing forward (traditional stroller style) and once again this one has unbelievable range of motion. So as I stood torn between which one I liked better (and can you believe we still have MORE strollers coming!!) Shannon reassured me that I don’t have to play favorites because the choice really depends on lifestyle. Whether you love to jog with your little one, or if shopping is your cardio,or whatever lifestyle you may lead chances are one of these strollers is going to fit your lifestyle perfectly! So I can relax because now I don’t have to pick a favorite all I have to do is show all of you what each one has to offer and you can pick your favorite!!

~*Maryann*~