Author: SquamishBABY

A friend and I were joking around about how nice it would be to have a break from mom-ing. What a sweet relief to have a break for a month. Even 90 minutes could be life-changing!

I know we can be friends if I can joke about this! Obviously, I love my mom gig.

I also love me-time where I’m not putting others needs above my own. Making space to honour who we are as individuals can be tough to balance.

Whether we have time for self-care isn’t the question…

We all know the answer is there is never enough time.

It happens every year. The season where our kids are coming home with all the nasty cold and flu bugs. I got to thinking about I could manage not getting sick too.

I’ve got six practices to share with you.

Some of them you might already be doing. Others are very easy to incorporate into your already full life.

Want me to share them with you?

Yes?

Read on my friend.

But first, a Coles notes on the immune system.

We all know our bodies are mostly made of water. Some of this fluid gets pumped around in our circulatory system. Some make our cells plump. Some fill the space between cells.

The lymphatic system is part of the immune system. It drains fluid from body tissues into the blood and clears the garbage out. The lymphatic system does not have a pump. It relies on body movement for circulation or it will become stagnant.

When working well pathogens are removed quickly, and inflammation and pain decrease. We become sick less often.

Here are six practices to support the movement of lymph, boost the immune system and make you feel great.

Bouncing on a trampoline

Bouncing on a trampoline gets those fluids moving like nobody’s business. NASA tells us that bouncing is better for your cardiovascular health than running! If your pelvic floor is not in a state for bouncing, not a problem. Even sitting on a trampoline and bouncing is good for you. It’s that rocking up and down motion that gets your fluid moving.

What you need: a rebounder, a mini-trampoline. The kind with the bungee is far gentler on the body than the brands with springs.

How to: Start with 3 minutes and increase bounce time to tolerance. Bounce sitting or standing, as gently or as vigorously as feels good in your body. Watching you bounce is pure entertainment for babies

Drybrushing

One-third of your body’s toxins are excreted through the skin. Dry brushing helps unclog pores and excrete toxins that become trapped in the skin. Dry brushing daily helps to boost your immune system, give your skin a glow, improve circulation. Your body will quickly get used to the feeling of the bristles and leave you pleasantly tingling all over.

What you need: a natural bristle dry brush.

How to: brush each area of your body from the extremity towards your heart several times. Start at the tips of your toes or fingers and work your way centrally.

Gratitude

Daily gratitude practice improves happiness and health, sleep and immunity. Spending 20 full seconds in gratitude is key. 20 seconds doesn’t seem like a lot, but our busy brains tend to jump around even faster than that.

What you need: a willingness to feel your mood shift.

How to: Identify something that you are grateful for and then explore why you are grateful for the thing. I am grateful for X because it allows XYZ.

Infrared Sauna

The infrared sauna feels AMAZING! Some health experts say that having a home sauna is as important as having a refrigerator! Sauna strengthens your immune system. It increases white blood cell production, releases impurities, improves circulation, regenerates cells, and promotes relaxation.

What you need: Zero EMF infrared sauna.

How to: Spend 20-30 minutes in a sauna 3-4 times per week. Dry brush before the sauna, and cold shower afterwards for best results. Stay hydrated with mineralized water.

Cold Shower

If you haven’t heard of the benefits of cold water for the immune system you need to look up Wim Hoff. That guy is intense!

I’m certainly not brave enough to sit in ice water for half an hour and I won’t ask you to do that either. I do encourage you to turn your water to the coldest setting you can tolerate for a minute or two at the end of your shower. This supports your health by constricting the tiny muscles in your blood vessels. Doing this right before bed helps you to fall asleep quickly and sleep soundly.

What you need: Just your regular shower

How to: Turn water to the coldest temperature that you can tolerate for one minute at the end of every shower.

Massage

Massage supports circulation and the movement of fluid in the body. There are many ways to get a massage. During my first pregnancy I would go to The Brick because they have these incredible massage chairs. If only I had space in my house for one of those!!!

What you need: A friend, partner or Registered Massage Therapist.

How to: Convince your friend or partner to either give you a massage or watch the baby so you can visit your favourite Massage Therapist.

What I’ve come to know is that most people have no idea how good their body is meant to feel.

When I started working these six practices into my self-care routine I could not believe how great I felt.

Seriously!

I wish I was a poet so that I could eloquently describe the sensation. I’ll do my best… I would fall asleep so soundly and sleep so deeply. I know this to be true because I have smartwatch data.

I felt like I was sinking deep into my mattress my body was SO relaxed. I would wake up eager to take on the day, up for whatever challenge came my way. This practice is transformative and I can’t encourage you enough to give these six practices a try.

Most of us don’t have a home sauna or Bellicon trampoline and aren’t ready to make the investment. So I was motivated to create a treatment that I’m calling “The Ultimate Massage Experience.”

During 90 minutes of bliss, we cover all the immune-boosting practices above, including an infrared sauna session.

You’ll receive your own dry brush and an RMT receipt to claim with extended medical. If you are interested in “The Ultimate Massage Experience” you can book here.

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Parenting is a beautifully monotonous existence. So much so that I dread the question “what did you do today?”

How do you answer when every day feels the same.

When every day IS the same.

Except it’s not – there are subtle differences.

There is a slow progression of healing and development My baby made a new noise. It was really cute!
Her nap shifted slightly later. After her major explosion, I bathed her in the tub instead of the sink.

There is subtle sameness.

My love grew. I wore a dirty pair of sweatpants. Again. I didn’t have a single adult conversation.

You are completely normal if this monotony makes you feel lonely. Aloneness makes it easy for isolation to set in.

It gets hard to reach out to friends only to cancel because of nap time,
or a cough,
or the rain
or,
or,
or.

Instead of parents receiving the support they need, we feel the burden of overwhelming expectation:

Expectation to do it all. Expectation to be everything for everyone. Expectations to bounce back (what does that even mean?!).

Instead of parents receiving the support, they need we give cliches and unsolicited advice.

Advice like the following:

Don’t hold your baby too much it will spoil them
Don’t lose yourself in motherhood
Put them down drowsy but awake
Sleep train so you can sleep

You get the picture and this is not what is needed.

If you really want to support a new parent, listen to them, ask for the full story, be generous without expectation. and check-in even when the baby is no longer brand new.

I’m saying this all with love.

We are perfectly imperfect humans, each with our own struggles, all doing our best, and it is good enough. Even if we forget to listen and even if we give misguided advice.

What new parents need is connection, community and support – When we have this we feel heard and we have fewer lost and lonely moments.

That is the motivation behind SquamishBABY. Which is a digital space that holds support for parents, from my service offerings, events, and right down to the community group.

With so many baby-related offerings and events happening in Squamish, the trouble is knowing where to find them. Truthfully, who has time to search a dozen websites only to give up as your baby cries for attention?

What we need is a centralized resource for all the goings-on.
This is what I hope SquamishBABY will become.

The vision for SquamishBABY

My dream is for Squamish to be bursting with easy-to-access resources for new families…

This is why I offer massage, sleep and developmental programming and have partnered with health care providers to offer resources outside of my zone of genius.

This is why I have made an events calendar that anyone can populate with their offerings.

This is why I have created a Facebook community where we can offer practical support.

I’m so excited to bring SquamishBABY into the world!

I would love to hear more about your early parenting experiences. Where could you use more support? What is going well? What is missing? Join the Facebook Group and keep this conversation going.

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Before I had my first, I didn’t give breastfeeding much thought. I figured the baby would know what to do, and I just thought it would come naturally.

As the delivery nurse pinched my nipples into the shape of a hamburger and I awkwardly held my newborn, I realized I was in for a significant learning curve.

We call it liquid gold for a reason. Breastmilk is a superfood like no other. And for this reason, and many others, many moms want to breastfeed exclusively.

I know I’m not the only one shocked by how difficult nursing was initially. Studies show that 90% of Canadian moms begin breastfeeding, 50% have stopped by six months because it is painful or too difficult.

Let me throw in a little disclaimer: There is no judgement if you chose not to breastfeed or if you were not able to reach your goals. We have the freedom of choice in how we raise our babies.

With the right support, nursing can usually become an enjoyable experience.

I treat babies using osteopathic techniques and craniosacral therapy as a massage therapist. Treatment is oh-so-gentle and successful.

We often don’t think of babies as tight or stiff because they are so soft and squishy. In reality, they get tight, and this tension can make feeding difficult.

Think about the typical birth.

Contractions create a ton of force through the baby’s body.
Maybe the baby’s shoulder got stuck.
Maybe other interventions were part of your baby’s delivery.
These can lead to compression in the spine, stiff shoulders, a stiff neck.

Sometimes you’ll notice that your baby can turn its head quickly one way and not the other. Maybe a flat spot on the head.

Or maybe you notice your baby tires quickly when nursing or cluster feeds All.Day.Long.

Here is the mic drop moment – Neck tension reduces tongue mobility.

A baby will chomp instead of suckle when the tongue doesn’t move in its wave motion. When a baby chomps on the nipple, it HURTS… and you can be sure there is a lot of muscle compensation going on.

When nursing is painful, it will take a very motivated mother to persevere.

In treatment, we work through these muscle imbalances using gentle techniques. Some babies are so resilient that they nurse easily after mobility work.

Others need a little more support. So we stretch, we make tummy time enjoyable, we do muscle re-education and suck training. And, of course, it’s essential to address the baby’s latch. Sometimes the way that baby is brought to the breast prevents feeding efficiency.

If you want to breastfeed your baby and have a tough time, I WANT to KNOW what’s going on for you. Let’s connect and see how baby bodywork can support your tiny human to live their best life.

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