Another Daisy Mum Blogs ......

.... not only about her journey in Lazy Daisy® antenatal classes but also about her pregnancy and her hopes for her birth!

Due to the popularity of our pregnancy and birth video diary series with much loved Daisy Birthing® mum Jess, we jumped at the chance of featuring Yorkshire based mum Lucy.  Lucy has not only joined us to enjoy Daisy Birthing® classes (during pregnancy number 2) but has also enrolled as an antenatal teacher in training (in order to bring more classes to mums in the Yorkshire area - specifically Halifax)!  So this seems the ideal chance to track her journey through pregnancy, birth, motherhood and training!

Lucy introduces herself, her bump and her family situation today, talks honestly about why she joined a Daisy Birthing® antenatal class and also talks about 'feeling unprepared' even 2nd time around!

Lucy would love to receive your comments ....... so feel free to post them here!

After training with Lazy Daisy in April 2011, Teresa opens a full time provision

I am so excited about opening my own venue to run Lazy Daisy® classes.  

There seems to be a shortage of decent studio/hall space in the area so after being messed about by several venues and struggling to fit in with other peoples timetables, opening my own venue was the perfect solution!

Opening my own studio was quite a daunting thought but rather than going it alone I have joined forces with my sister who is a Hypnotherapist and another therapist friend we have both known since school to create Harmony. We are all working with natural therapies and techniques so really complement each other.

Meet a mum and meet a teacher ......

This week we break the mould and hope you will forgive us for giving a wonderful Lazy Daisy® teacher the chance to talk about her life, her local business and her time with Lazy Daisy .... and a thriving Lazy Daisy business in Scotland!

DaisyRadioEpisode5-Sian-Gilmartin by LazyDaisyChain

How do I run my own mini Lazy Daisy Ltd and not only teach, but recruit my own team of teachers too?

We are delighted to confirm we now have 26 UK Lazy Daisy® sectors in place and ready for Sector Managers to run them under franchise agreement with the Head Office!

The Story So Far ....

Up until now all applicants have joined Lazy Daisy® as a licensed teacher - so purchasing a 3 year grant and right to teach our birthing and baby method, and to work under our trade marks, all within an exclusive postcode territory (usually containing around 1,150 people and thus producing around 1,150 bumps a year).

We are delighted to team up with Jo Jo Maman Bebe, one of our fav baby store

From April 2012, Jo Jo Maman Bebe and Lazy Daisy® will be working together to promote fantastic mother and baby products and great classes too!

Visitors to Jo Jo Maman Bebe stores will find framed Daisy Birthing and Daisy Baby literature displayed and available at the till points in all forty four stores. WOW - we're so excited that Jo Jo believe our services can be of interest to their customers;  especially as Jo Jo is one of our founder's favourite maternity and baby store and you will find her a frequent visitor at the Bury St Edmunds branch!

My Daisy Birth

This week Sophie talks to mum of two Emma Coburn, about her own Daisy Birth, about motherhood in general and her top birthing tips.

Emma reflects on attending NCT classes during her 1st pregnancy, on Gina Ford and her parenting book and on her experiences of Daisy Birthing® with Nicky Woodhatch, our Guildford teacher.

The session finishes with a family anthem chosen in honour of her daughter!

Enjoy listening!

An Ode to Mothers Day
(A poem for my dearly missed mum and for my much loved babies)

What came first birthing or mothers?

To celebrate one, we have to celebrate the other

This week is a tear jerker but with a really powerful message!

We are absolutely delighted that this week Sophia Mason, founder of foetal monitoring charity Count The Kicks, was able to find time in her hugely hectic schedule to talk to our resident presenter Sophie.

We won't soft soap ladies - at times this can be highly emotional listening but it has such an important message to help you empower yourself and to help you safe guard your unborn baby  - And that at the end of the day matches completely with what Lazy Daisy® is all about.

Sophia is a lady who despite having the challenges of a disability herself, after suffering with meningitis earlier in life and then of course the huge emotional journey she went through during her own pregnancies and births (the interview explains all), is such a positive mum who looks forward and looks to make and inspire productive changes!

Listen in to her story, the back drop to the charity she founded, the celebs who have nominated this as their charity of the year and how you can get involved!

Inspired by Penny's blog on birthing partners  Birth Partners and Last Weeks TV yesterday, I thought I would put pen to paper and come up with my top ten tips for birthing partners.

I have been in the fortunate position of being a birth partner at 10 different births - all very different:  some at home, some at hospital, one ending in a section, one super super fast, one 3 days in duration ....  In addition of course, I have had five children of my own and know what I really appreciated in my own birthing partners (not my ex husband buying my midwife sandwiches during labour number 1, before tuning into the football scores, I hasten to add!)

Every mum will have her own personal preferences and every birth partner, their own little touches to add.  But these 10 tips give a really good grounding

Stretching body and mind for a happy mum and a happy baby

The gentle upward stretch and half moon routine demonstrated in this video clip is a nice variation to the standard 'chest opener' you probably use in your weekly Daisy Birthing classes, and will really benefit your body.

We space make a lot like this in Daisy classes, but why?  ..... surely birth prepartion is all about the hips isn't it, not the upper body?

Well, to quote my sister in law, whose baby is due later this month: "I feel like I have too many ribs and not enough vertebrae" and I think this is a feeling most mums will empathise with.

That feeling of - "just make me a bit taller to fit this bump and baby in!"

Meet a mum (and teacher!): - Spotlight on Emma in Bristol

This week I was delighted to be able to interview Emma Walters, our Daisy Birthing® teacher in Portishead and Bristol.  Emma was delighted to talk to me about her experiences of having two early babies and her experiences of teaching Daisy Birthing now .....

Hi Emma, we understand you are a mum and Lazy Daisy teacher in Bristol and portishead.  Tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m a mum of 2 little boys Joshua who is 4 and Kasey who is 18 months old. My background was previously in recruitment but it was never really my passion and I always longed to do something that would help other people but at the time I just didn’t know what. After the birth of my 2nd little boy Kasey I decided to train as a Lazy Daisy Teacher as I am passionate about childbirth and really want to help other women have positive birth journeys.

We all focus on what to pack for baby .....

We merrily tick off baby vests, body suits, baby groes (aren't they all the same?), baby socks, hats, mits, nappies ...

But what about you?

Taking some time to chose some special pieces for our labour kit, can really make your day extra special!

Meet Uju of http://babesabouttown

Uju has already created a real buzz and following on the Lazy Daisy® site with her sparky posts (such as Is Parenthood the Death of Cool?) as she writes and reflects on life as a mum to two boys!

We knew therefore, that her interview with our resident presenter and fellow mum Sophie would be really fun and it does not disappoint!

In this interview you will hear Uju talk about cool parents, the need for a sense of humour, the support she received post baby and about her own birth.

And her family anthem - it brought a lump to our throats as we revisited a poignant and super cool track!

Your 2 year old still sleeps with you ..... are you mad?

When I tell my friends my 2 year old still sleeps with me, they roll their eyes!  Comments like ‘isn’t he in a bed yet’, ‘how the heck do you cope with that’, ‘how are you ever having a relationship’ are common and yet for me sleeping with Master M. feels totally normal.

I am not what you would call a continuum concept mum.  Don't get me wrong, I so admire those who can have baby attached to them 24hrs a day, with baby on board in sling, and who fly in the face of us buggy pushers.  Whilst I will freely admit I am no where close to going as far as many attachment parents, I do love cuddles and felt really strongly about wanting my baby with me at night.

I guess I am proof that co-sleeping isn't exclusively attached to some kind of  'eco parenting style' like many people still believe it to be.  I didn't breast feed (those of you who have read my bio will know why), I used a sling but not all the time.  Surely therefore I can’t possibly be a fan of co-sleeping can I ……?

What a treat from Daisy Radio this week...

Meet our resident presenter Sophie T, as she not only talks about her own experiences of childbirth but interviews mummy and blogger (and indeed regular contributor to the Lazy Daisy blogs) Mrs Penny Alexander.

Sophie takes Penny's blog Reach out and touch me published earlier this month, as inspiration for this interview and together they chat through birth, c-sections, bonding moments, parenting heros and family life.

This is a really uplifting broadcast, especially if you are a mum who knows your birth journey may need a little extra help (watch out for our residential workshops in Surrey, giving a beautiful day of extra support too) and finishes with Penny selecting her all time fav parenting song and family anthem - it's a classic so get ready to have a bop with your bump or baby!

Muscle Memory is a wonderful thing

…. and never ceases to amaze me!

Yesterday 15 recruits joined us for the 1st day of their practical training.  Yes some of them were former Lazy Daisy® mums themselves, and yes we have been working on written assignments and virtually for the past 2 months, but the real amazement to me is that 2pm yesterday when they taught their first practical segment they were mums trying to stumble their way through a movement based routine (sorry girls!).  Yet just 24 hours later, today, they were evolving into real life teachers …… is this because I am an amazing trainer;  whilst I would love of course to say I am, I have to credit the power of muscle memory.

This is the amazing ability the brain has to create inherent pathways for movements or actions repeated over and over, so that they simply happen!  Like riding a bike or driving a car…..

In an interview with Natural Childbirth's Elizabeth Jones, I was asked about daisy, family and PND ...

Here is just a short extract

By Elizabeth Jones 07 Feb 2012

Julie Long founded Daisy Birthing in 2004 and since then has gone from strength to strength. Having had five children herself, trained as a HypnoBirthing practitioner and in pregnancy yoga, Julie was in an excellent position to launch her unique approach to antenatal preparation. Daisy Birthing offers antenatal classes which combine traditional active birth with unique birth movement sequences, affirmations and relaxations. It is a complete antenatal education class ideal for any expectant mother with instructors across the UK.

Chill out and relax ..... and boost that oxytocin!

Welcome to week 3 of our broadcasts - it's great to hear so many of you are enjoying these broadcasts and using them to help support your weekly classes and practise at home!

This week is all about relaxing and chilling out. Something which are a week of VAT returns, I really need to do!

Are you sleeping?

Nope, well mother nature is definitely a sneaky gal and tries to get us ready for interrupted sleep post baby, by doing her best to interrupt it pre baby.  So most mums to be feel a real need to chill out and let go from time to time!

In this week's broadcast, you can experience techniques to help you relax but more over understand why relaxation is so important for you, for your hormones, for your baby and for Optimum Foetal Position!

Finding your Pregnancy Symmetry

In our Daisy Radio antenatal podcast Daisy Radio - 2 of 6 Episodes (Series 1) last week, we considered the importance of balance to the uterus (womb).  This is something we work on a huge amount in our weekly antenatal classes.

Think of a hammock tied to two trees and how important it is that the ropes attaching it are even, in order to allow you to lay in the hammock without falling out.

Now think of baby in the womb - a symmetrical womb will allow baby to turn more easily into their optimum position - in short OFP is all about balance!

Balance and Bolly .... creating the ideal hammock for your bump!

This is the second in a series of Daisy podcasts designed to help existing Daisy Birthing® class mums practise their newly acquired birthing skills but also to allow mums-to-be who are new to us, to give us a try!

In our first episode which went live on 19th January, Daisy Radio is here!, we worked on the importance of breathing and how to link the breath to a birth visualisation.

Here in this second episode, we think about one of the fundamentals underpinning our Lazy Daisy classes - bringing symmetry and balance to your uterus and your pelvic floor.  Why?  Well to help your baby move more easily into the ideal position for birth (torsions in the uterus can prevent this and hold baby posterior or breech) and to help you feel more comfortable in your back and abdominal area!

Some of you may have read about our ethos and the hidden birth muscles, like the psoas and the piriformis, in February 2012 edition of Practical Parenting & Pregnancy magazine.  This broadcast will really help you understand why we talk so much about using movements to lengthen the psoas muscles and to work on the piriformis, and why these muscles are so relevant to labour.