Blooma Blossoms: Spring 2008

Ah, babies. Do we even need to say how much we love meeting these new little Blooma Blossoms?! They're the highlight of the studio! Here's a peek at some of the newest arrivals ... Meet 100% organic Baby Priya, Baby Emily in the "Who's Your Doula?" cap, Baby Conor, and sleeping Baby Tullah. Welcome, little beans!

Blooma Blossom: Baby Aden

April 27, 2008
7 pounds, 12 ounces
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For Mother's Day: MAMAsana & Refreshments

Join us for MAMAsana at 1:30pm on Mother's Day. Mama-yogini Bridgett Erickson will host an hour of breath, restorative movement, well-being, and insight into the blessings of motherhood, followed by time to chat & enjoy refreshments with other Blooma mamas!

Here's what Bridgett has planned for the special class:

We'll be reminded that a connection to our breath and body through yoga enables us to experience each moment fully ... a reminder to forget the "shoulds" or "should nots" and just act from our intuition in the now. This will be a class that reminds mom that she rocks! :-) It will be on the more restorative end -- approachable for all moms and even accessible to new yogis. In fact, it's the perfect time to invite grandmas, aunts or other visiting moms who are celebrating with Blooma moms that day.

Afterwards, we'll take time to connect with other moms, celebrating a special day that is all about us ... just a few moments away from our sweet families to celebrate motherhood through yoga and community. Truly, this will be a time to rejuvenate after spending a morning of brunch and fun with your family!

TM@B: This Month at Blooma, May 2008

Please join us for this month's special workshops & events. We'd love to see you there!

* HypnoBirthing 4-week childbirth education course
May 1, 8, 15, 22
Thursdays, 7-9pm
With Sarah Tracy
Fee: $350

* Enlightened Mama, 2-day childbirth education course
May 3 & 4
Saturday & Sunday 12:30pm-6:30pm
With Liz Abbene
Fee: $175

* A Different Kind of Baby Book: Journaling to Our Children
May 4
Sunday, 12:30-2:30pm
With Janna Brayman Krawczyk
Fee: $50

* Yoga Bonding for Newborns
May 4
Sunday, 3:30-5pm
With Lisa Bergly
Fee: $35

* ReEnlighten Me, afternoon childbirth refresher course
May 10
Saturday, 12:30-4:30pm
With Liz Abbene
Fee: $75

* Family Yoga, for families with kids age 3 and up
May 10
Saturday, 3-4pm
With Jessica Rosenberg
Fee: $30

* Happy Mother's Day!
MAMAsana & Refreshments
May 11
Sunday, 1:30-2:30pm
With Bridgett Erickson

* Prenatal Yoga Intensive childbirth prep workshop
May 17
Saturday, 12:30-3pm
With Sarah Longacre
Fee: $75

* Mamas Rediscovered
May 18
Sunday, 12:30-3:30pm
With Sarina LaMarche, featuring Julie Kesti
Fee: $75

* Yoga Bonding for Newborns
May 18
Sunday, 3:30-5pm
With Lisa Bergly
Fee: $35

* You Oughta Be in Pictures: portrait sessions for expectant mothers and tots under 1 year
May 31
Saturday, 1-4pm
With Tanya Villano
Fee: $125

Blooma Blossom: Marco David

April 2008
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Mom says: We ended up having a surprise C-section – his head and my pelvis just weren’t a good match. But through the labor leading up to the C-section and the recovery, I can tell that my body (and mind!) really benefited from the prenatal yoga practice. Thanks for making such a difference! My nurses and doctors were also surprised at how quickly I was back on my feet.

Blooma Blossom: Baby Chloe

April 21, 2008
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Happy Earth Day!

Our retail maven Michelle is our guest blogger for Earth Day. Check out her gorgeous, green recommendations, available at Blooma of course!:

Michelle writes:
So, Earth Day is tomorrow, and I was reminded how far green shopping has come as I navigated the very busy aisles of Whole Foods on Saturday. It's nice to see green is more of a way of life now instead of a trend! At Blooma, we have a lot of great ways to shop green, from simply local (yogini Jaime Pellegrene's gorgeous jewelry) to local & organic (Sassy's super cute infant dresses, tot jeans, and yoga pants), and even renewable resources (super-soft bamboo yoga lounge pants from Be Present).

Coming soon to the Blooma collection: Organic logo tees for men, women, babies, and kids! Yay! My favorite green tee of the moment is Amy Tangerine's Organic Tree Hug Tee. Tanks arriving soon!

The best thing about this whole movement is that what's good for the earth is even better for our sweet little babes. I just read a fab book Healthy Child, Healthy World, and I highly recommend The Complete Organic Pregnancy by Deirdre Dolan & Alexandra Zissu for all you expectant moms. Be warned though, you may find yourself peppering your conversation with the dangers of parabens and phthalates, annoying your in-laws with green baby shower requests, and pestering your husband for an organic crib mattress. You might even be inspired to cloth diaper! (so totally easy, truly!)

One more thing for you eco-fashionistas: Check out these fun reusable shopping bags and glass baby bottles.

Happy Earth Day!
xoxoxox
Michelle

Petition for Safer Baby Bottles

Calling all eco-mamas:

MomsRising is a nonprofit that serve the interests of mamas, babies, and families. Here's a message from the organization about the danger of chemical leaching from baby bottles:

The evidence is mounting. After years of concern about the safety of baby bottles, children's care products, and other food and beverage containers that contain the chemical bisphenol A (BPA), the verdict is in--and it's not good.

Yesterday the Canadian government announced it is planning to ban the use of BPA in baby bottles, and declared BPA dangerous. And, earlier this week, the Los Angeles Times reported that the U.S. based National Institutes of Health (NIH) concluded that there is "some concern" that babies, fetuses, and children are in danger because BPA harms animals at the low levels found in nearly all human bodies. Sadly, a recent study found this chemical in all five leading brands of American baby bottles.

It's enough to sink any mother's stomach.

Let's take a second to take a collective deep breath, and then mobilize for major action. Sign a petition calling for the CEOs of the leading manufacturers of baby bottles to stop the use of BPA in our baby bottles and other children's products.

TAKE ACTION: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1768/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1177

Sign on now and we'll send the petition to the CEOs of Avent, Disney/First Years, Dr. Brown's, Evenflo, Gerber, and Playtex in collaboration with Center for Health, Environment, & Justice and other organizations. The more signatures, we have, the more the CEOs will get the message that consumers want healthy products, not toxins. With the current media attention on BPA, this is a critical moment to take advantage of that momentum and push these CEOs to stop using it in baby bottles.

WHAT DOES BPA DO? Growing children are especially at risk to chemicals as they face greater exposure per pound of body weight. Even fetuses are susceptible as chemicals, including BPA, cross the placenta in pregnant women. Over 130 studies suggest that BPA exposure, even at low doses, is linked to many health problems, including early puberty, breast and prostate cancer, obesity, attention and hyperactivity disorder, brain damage, altered immune system, and lower sperm counts.

This is a widespread issue which we need to address together. A 2007 study by the Environment California Research and Policy Center found that all five leading brands of baby bottles leached BPA at levels found to cause harm in numerous laboratory studies.

WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO? A recent Washington Post article offered tips on how to limit exposure to BPA.

Blooma Blossom: Baby Paxton

April 14, 2008
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Founder Sarah Longacre Welcomes You to Blooma!

Blooma Blossom: Baby Wilder

April 11, 2008
8 pounds, 11 ounces
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Southwest Journal: Yoga for Mommy

Wow, what a fantastic story the Southwest Journal published about Blooma! Huge photos (by Robb Long), a great story, and even a video. We're thrilled, humbled, and grateful! Check it out!

Blooma Blossom: Baby Arabella

Baby Arabella
April 3, 2008