Who doesn't love a good sale?

We thought we'd pass along a whispered-to-us deal about an upcoming sale. Trot on over to Hot Mama Feb. 1-3 for 25% off all denim. That means all premium denim and maternity, too. Suddenly this mama is dreaming of a new pair of Citizens of Humanity jeans. Oh yes.

Love,
Alisa, Sarah & the women of Blooma

Update: Countdown to St. Paul!

Our guess date for Blooma-St. Paul was this Monday, but it looks like we are a week overdue. (We all know how hiccups with construction projects can take longer than expected!) So, in the true spirit of birthing and patience, we are taking a deep breath—the studio will open at just the right time!

Please join us in our beautiful, new St. Paul studio starting Monday, Feb. 8. And pass the word along to all your St. Paul, Roseville, and Woodbury friends.

Mondays         Prenatal Yoga, 6-7:30 p.m. w/Cynthia Levine

Tuesdays         Prenatal Yoga, 9:30-10:45 a.m. w/Summer Michael
Wednesdays   Prenatal Yoga, 9:30-10:45 a.m. w/Cynthia Levine
                          BYOB (Bring Your Own Baby) Yoga, 11 a.m.-12 p.m.

                                w/Alisa Blackwood
                          Prenatal Yoga, 5:30-6:45 p.m. w/Emily Maclaury
Saturdays        Prenatal Yoga, 9:30-10:45 a.m. w/Cynthia Levine

Blooma St. Paul is located at 968 Grand Ave., inside Health Foundations Family Health & Birth Center (across from D'Amico). When you walk in, head upstairs to the lovely, light-filled studio, take a deep breath, and roll out a yoga mat. Prepare to be replenished.

You can sign up for any of our classes online at Blooma.com. Click on Class Schedule, then choose "Blooma St. Paul" from the drop-down menu on the upper right side. Make sure you forward to the week and day you're looking for. We can't wait to see you soon!

Love,

Sarah, Alisa & the women of Blooma

Milk needed for babies in Haiti & the U.S.

It feels like we're all looking for ways to help the victims of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. If you're a nursing mama with an abundant supply, now there's a tangible way for you to help: donate breastmilk.

The Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA) issued an urgent call earlier this week for human milk donations for premature infants in Haiti, as well as for sick and premature infants in the United States.

Following this news, an e-mail from Twin Cities' Dr. Amy Johnson-Grass landed in my inbox:

"Health Foundations Family Health & Birth Center has partnered with the Ohio Milk Bank (a HMBANA milk bank) and is a breast milk donor collection site. We are the only HMBANA, a non-profit, collection site in the State of Minnesota. If you or moms you know would like to donate breast milk they can call our office at 651.895.2520 or visit our website at www.health-foundations.com (look for Donate Breast Milk button on the main page) to learn how to become a donor! After being approved, women can drop off their milk at the Center and it is flown by Angel Flight (a volunteer non-profit organization) to the Ohio Milk Bank monthly. As well as being a breast milk donation site, we have a small supply of donor milk available for moms in need and can order larger quantities directly from the milk bank if needed."

This week the first shipment of human milk from mothers in the U.S. will be shipped to the U.S. Navy ship Comfort stationed outside Haiti. Comfort is currently set up with a neonatal intensive care unit and medical personnel to provide urgent care to victims of the earthquake.

Thanks for all you do, mamas, whether it's donating milk, money, or sending healing energy out into the world!

Love,
Alisa, Sarah & the women of Blooma

Curl up and snooze...

A friend sent us this link to sheets that share our namesake. They're called "Blooma Sateen Bedding." Ooh-la-la! They make me want to get all cozied up and relaxed just like I feel at the end of a really fabulous Blooma savasana!

Love,

Alisa, Sarah & the women of Blooma

It could happen to any of us...

This is a bit off-topic from my usual parenting/pregnancy/yoga postings, but it's about women's health and that's important, too.

      It's with a heavy heart that I learned recently about a close friend's shocking diagnosis of breast cancer—at age 34. She has no family history of breast cancer. She's a runner and yoga practitioner. She eats well. In other words, she's healthy in every other way. Just days after her diagnoses she ran her first half-marathon. 
      After finishing the race strong and crying as she crossed the finish line, she announced her diagnosis on Facebook: "Last week I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Yesterday I ran my first half marathon. TAKE THAT, YOU FRIGGIN' CANCER CELLS, I DON'T GO DOWN EASY!"
      How I love this woman and her spunk!

      Unfortunately, her situation is not totally unique. Most of us know at least one person affected by some type of cancer. Sometimes those loved ones are old. Sometimes they are young.
      I felt it important to reach out to the amazing community of Blooma women and remind each of you to do monthly self breast exams. For reminders on how to do self exams, follow this link. 
      Meanwhile, I keep hearing advertisements about the Susan G. Komen 3-day For the Cure breast cancer walk. It's hard to fathom walking 20 miles a day, three days in a row, for a total of 60 MILES. Then again, it's hard to imagine the surgeries, radiation, chemotheraphy, hopes and prayers that go into battling breast cancer. 
      If my friend can hit her cancer battle with a running start, the least I can do is walk 60 miles and raise money for breast cancer research. If you've walked this journey before, tell me—how was it?

      As for the 2010 walk, it's scheduled in the Twin Cities for Aug. 21-23. Who wants to do it with me? Team Blooma perhaps? E-mail me: alisa@blooma.com.

Love,

Alisa & the women of Blooma

Uganda birth center - the foundation is built!

Sarah leaves in just a couple of weeks for Uganda! In the meantime, the Shanti Uganda blog keeps us up-to-date on how projects are going. Check out one of the most recent blog postings, which is specific to the birth center developments. It begins:

Last week we held a community meeting on our land to gather the thoughts, ideas and questions of the three villages that surround the birth house. As the meeting went on more and more people came flowing in – babies, mothers, men in their best dress pants. We sat on benches, on bricks and on the earth surrounding the tree on our land that has naturally become our meeting place and shared with them our ideas, asked them about theirs and invited the community to walk through the birth house for the first time.... The women clapped when we told them there would have an emergency transfer vehicle to take women with complications from our birth house to the hospital in town. They told us stories of walking long distances into town while in the birth process only to receive poor care at overcrowded hospitals in Kasana. (Read more...)

Natalie, executive director of Shanti Uganda, stands in the middle of the building foundation which will be the birth center. It includes 2 birth rooms, a bathroom and a sterilization room.

Eat, drink, and push out your baby!

Labor is hard work. That's why many women plan to have snacks readily available during their labors. A mama has to keep her energy up! 
     Still, some hospitals have long-held rules telling women they can only eat ice chips during labor. Why? The idea is that just in case a mom should need general anesthesia for a Cesarean-section, she should not have food in her belly that could possibly be regurgitated and inhaled into the lungs.
     On the flip side, many birth professionals have long believed that without proper nourishment for a body working as hard as a birthing mama's is, labor is more likely to stall. 
     So it's great news that a review by The Cochran Library showed that there is no benefit to restricting food or drink during labor. Also, "poor nutritional balance may be associated with longer and more painful labors, and fasting does not guarantee an empty stomach or less acidity," the review says. Therefore, Cochran recommends that women should be free to eat and drink during labor as they wish. Watch a CBS news segment about this announcement below.
     A few ideas: soup broth, toast, apple sauce, oatmeal, popsicles—things that can be digested easily and chewed easily between contractions. Mamas and birth professionals, please share—what were some of your favorite labor snacks? 
    Moms-to-be, take note and pack your bag with nibbles that will nourish your body and mind during the amazing work of birthing your baby!


Love,
Alisa, Sarah & the women of Blooma





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