Baby Blog – News & Tips on Organic Parenting

Finding Out How Baby Yoga Can Help Your Child

March 19th, 2010

A lot of people have started using yoga to help them remain physically fit and centered; however, you may not realize that there are baby yoga options available for your young children to help them grow into healthy adults.  People who use yoga on a regular basis have found that they feel better and that they stay in shape and are more flexible on a consistent basis.  These same benefits can also be used to help keep your young children feeling great and growing safely.  Plus, the videos run only about an hour in length, so it is not difficult for you to set aside this small amount of time each day to work with your child and to teach them about yoga.

Some people are skeptical about the use of baby yoga because of the fact that babies are inherently flexible and that they are not born obese or overweight.  But, in addition to helping children build up muscles and to remain flexible, it also offers parents the ability to do something healthy with their child and to have a bonding experience with them.  This sets forth a pattern of good physical behavior, which hopefully will continue with your babies into their teenage and adult years.  By starting out on the baby yoga program when they are young and keeping it as something that you do together as a family when they grow, you will be helping them to develop important patterns that will keep them healthy long into their adult lives.

While it is not a necessity, some parents have even found that they like to buy baby yoga mats and clothing that their children can wear.  These yoga accessories are not important to the program, but all parents like to buy their children outfits that they feel are cute, so why not yoga workout outfits?  If this is something that you are thinking about doing, then you will want to make sure that you choose baby yoga clothing that is organically made.  This way you can be sure that you are not exposing your newborn child to dangerous pesticides and chemicals that are used in much of the common clothing that we wear today.

Tags: baby, yoga
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Breastfeeding Yoga Mom

October 20th, 2009

We highly encourage practicing yoga with your baby as well as breastfeeding, but this mother (and opportunistic baby) take them to a new level! *Warning: Brief, non-sexual nudity*

Tags: baby, food, formula, humor, video, yoga
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Baby Yoga and You

October 1st, 2009

Many people who do yoga have discovered that it truly does make their bodies more fit, makes them more flexible, and has helped them keep in shape and be healthier.  But when people hear about yoga for babies, some are skeptical.  Why do babies need to do yoga?  Aren’t they already incredibly flexible?  And babies don’t need to become more fit or work on their weight.  However, many parents have discovered that doing some of the various yoga for babies programs is actually a great way of bonding with their child.  There’s something about going through the various yoga poses designed for both parent and child to do together that makes them become closer.

Of course, as babies grow up, continuing to do yoga with their parents is a very good way for them to build up muscles and keep their flexibility.  It can even lead the way for them to continue yoga as children, teens, and young adults.  These age groups are often at risk for becoming obese and inactive, so if you can get your children interested in yoga and get them into a yoga routine early, you’ll help them stay health their entire lives.

As with any activity, there are a number of different accessories and items you can purchase for your baby related to baby yoga.  You’ll find several different DVD programs out there that will guide you and your baby through the various positions and yoga activities.  Then there are different baby yoga clothing for your child to wear that are both comfortable and stretchy.  Finally, every baby yoga exerciser will need his or her own yoga mat, and you’ll find these in a number of bright designs.

Tags: baby, organic, yoga
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How to Buy Baby Clothes

June 30th, 2009

So you would think that with all of the crazy super important decisions that you are called to make while having a baby that buying baby clothes would be a piece of cake, well guess what, it’s not. Buying the wrong baby clothes can potentially stunt your child’s growth, lead to difficult teenage years, and cause diabetes. Now, while none of those things are true it is still an important part of preparing for your child’s  time in this world. As a father I can honestly say that when Ruby (daughter) came into this world I had no idea how the respective sizes of baby clothes worked. It was a sphere of knowledge somewhat akin to women’s shoe sizes, by that I mean that it is different then my sizes, probably important to someone else, and something I don’t care about at all. That being said, I wanted to take a moment to write some tips on buying baby clothes to save you from some of the bumbling mistakes and eventual research I had to do to figure it out for myself.

1. Function is King

There are some pretty awesome outfits out there for your newborn or toddler and many of them are completely ridiculous when it comes to actual utility. I don’t care how awesome that baby biker or cowboy outfit is, if you cannot get in there quickly to defuse whatever diaper bomb is cooking they are not real baby clothes. Look for clothes with a snap-crotch for easy access; you will be glad you did. As for the top half of things weight your choices towards necks that are stretchy and or have buttons to widen the opening. Your baby will love you more for not trying to forcibly squeeze their head through anything more then is necessary, and you want your baby to love you, don’t you?

2. Think Season Appropriate

When purchasing baby clothes before the child’s birth, spare a moment to figure out what the general temperature will be when that kid meets the world and shop accordingly. How would you feel if you went to visit some family in January and you lost your bags, and as chance would have it  also happened to be naked when you got there. It would be pretty great if your hosts had some nice warm clothes for you to wear.

3. Sizes

For most new parents this is where things get a bit weird. Baby clothes sizes are by age, so for example 0-3 months, 1 year, 2 year, etc. Of course, this system is insane, but it is the best that we have come up with so far. I mean can you imagine if we stuck with the baby clothes model of sizing throughout life? Shopping for a size 34 year could be wacky and potentially embarrassing. Anyway, the rule of thumb with baby clothes is to aim for a little big at the start (babies grow) and then once you get to know the baby, assuming you like him or her, and feel like buying them more things, you will know where they fit in relation to the universal age size scale.

And so to sum things up, the best way to buy baby clothes is to use common sense. Think of the weather, remember that babies grow so aim for bigger rather then smaller, and the most important thing is function.

Tags: baby, clothing, how to
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What is Yoga for Babies?

March 12th, 2009

Some people have heard about yoga for babies, but unless you’re a mom or expectant mom, you may have no idea what this is. Does it involve making your newborn do the downward dog position? Well, it’s not quite that complicated, but yes, it does involve doing yoga with your young child!

While yoga for babies doesn’t involve doing many of the more complicated poses or doing anything that babies aren’t quite capable of, such as some of the balancing yoga poses, it does involve helping them learn to stretch and develop muscles. By assisting babies to practice yoga (or young children—many yoga for babies products can be done by kids up to four or five years old), you’re helping promote their motor skills and development. Doing yoga also helps wear them out, and who doesn’t want to improve their newborn’s sleep? Yoga has also been shown to help sooth upset stomachs and improve their digestive and immune systems.

There are benefits for the parents, too. You’ll get exercise, first of all, which is great if you’re afraid of not getting your figure back. You will also leave, along with your child, how to focus on one part of your body at a time and how to properly exercise that area. You and your child will also develop a closer bond while doing yoga together. If you continue exercising with your child over the years, this could even become one of your special activities. You’ll also be teaching your child good exercise habits, something that many older kids and teens seem to have forgotten in this day of video games and television.

Yoga for babies may not involve the downward dog, but it will help you and your baby learn good exercise habits, improve your body-awareness, and become closer as a parent and child, and all it takes is a few minutes a day.

Tags: baby, yoga
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Baby Yoga – A Natural Way to Bond

August 29th, 2008

Baby yoga is a wonderful way to bond with your new baby. It helps baby’s muscles grow and stretch and is a fun activity they enjoy. Here are some easy ways to get started.

First of all, make sure baby is wearing clothes that allow them to move easily. The clothes should not bond anywhere.

The simplest yoga pose for baby is to simply hold him or her to an adult’s chest. The adult should breathe deeply and normally through the nose while keeping the mouth closed. This simple breathing can go a long way toward soothing a crying baby. It can also help calm parents frustrated at being unable to calm baby any other way.

Another fun pose is to lay baby on his or her back. Then slowly move their knees up to their chest. This is an excellent way to relieve colic. A variation of this pose is to move baby’s legs in a bicycle pattern.

You can also exercise baby’s arms moving them gently into the prayer pose or up above their head as high as they can reach. Baby will love it – not only will they like the movement; they can also watch Mommy or Daddy’s face.

As yoga becomes more main stream, there are many books and videos available to help introduce it to children, even babies. While it will be some times before baby can do a downward-facing dog or a tree pose, they will get a lot of benefit by starting baby yoga at a young age.

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