LilSugar

Gisele Opens Up About Pregnancy, Birth, and Returning to Work

babysugar — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:05:03 -0700

We already know about her bathtub waterbirth that didn't hurt a bit and how safe she felt during delivery. Now, in her first US interview, Gisele Bundchen graces the April cover of Vogue with a photo shoot showing off her six-week-old son, Benjamin, and her post-baby body. She also discusses how she kept her weight gain to 30 pounds, how the baby got his name and who was at her side during the birth – her husband, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, her mom, and a friend from Brazil who served as a midwife. Here are the highlights:

On keeping out of the public eye: “I felt like my pregnancy was a sacred moment for me. I stayed in Boston and I didn’t work apart from the contracts I have, and then I only let them use my face.”

On staying in shape while pregnant: “I did kung fu up until two weeks before Benjamin was born, and yoga three days a week. I think a lot of people get pregnant and decide they can turn into garbage disposals. I was mindful about what I ate, and I gained only 30 pounds.”

On her baby’s name, Benjamin Rein: “I wanted him to be called River because I wanted something always flowing, immortal. My husband said, ‘There’s no way we’re going to call him River.’ But my father’s name is Reinoldo, so it’s a homage to him. And it’s like water.”

On having a big family: “I’m so lucky to have my little munchkin, and I have two because I also have John.”

On returning to work for the first time: “I got to the studio and I felt like I was E.T.-whoa, what’s going on? Hair and makeup? I hadn’t looked at myself in a mirror for a month and a half… Usually, as I walk through the door into that atmosphere, I already feel different. There’s a button that goes On and I’m On. And when I go On, there is almost no me; there is just a character who is doing all this. This time it wasn’t like that… For the first time, I think I actually saw me-the inside-instead of the persona.”

On the secret to getting through each day: “The first is wake up in the morning and be grateful you are here, alive and healthy. And the second is: Give.”

Source: Patrick Demarchelier/Vogue

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Eco Couture Maternity Wedding Dresses

LilSugar — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 06:00:00 -0700

A bride wants to look her best even if she's got a burgeoning belly. Mamas-to-be can look stunning on their big day and make the world a better place for their impending babes by wearing eco-conscious wedding dresses. Santa Barbara designer Jessica Iverson creates breathtaking maternity gowns using natural fabrics that have enough give for a soon-to-be mom and her babe to breathe as they take to the aisle. Check out the extensive selection of beautiful garments that celebrate women's figures without sacrificing fashion.

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Lil Community: When Did You First Feel Your Baby Move?

Lil Community — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:15:45 -0800

Lots of moms-to-be wonder outloud. This post was submitted by Beaner in The Pregnancy Posse group.

At just over 16 weeks prego, I'm getting really excited to feel those first few flutters everyone talks about. I'm wondering, at what point in your pregnancies did you first feel your little one move? I was told it could happen anywhere from 16 to 20 weeks, and I'm hoping it happens on the earlier side for me. Also when will others, like the baby's Daddy be able to put their hands on the outside of my belly and feel him or her move?

Talk about motherly things on your mind at The Pregnancy Posse group over in the LilSugar Community.

Gisele Bundchen Felt Safe While Giving Birth; Did You?

babysugar — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:00:34 -0800

Gisele Bundchen isn't done talking about her birthing experience. The supermodel shared more information about baby Benjamin's December debut in the inaugural post on her blog. After telling reporters that the water birth in her Beacon Hill bathtub didn't hurt a bit, the new mama is now writing about how safe she felt delivering at home:

Giving birth was the most intense and life-changing experience of my life. I am blessed to have had the opportunity to deliver at home, surrounded by love and where I felt safe. It was a really great experience. I never felt so vulnerable, but so strong at the same time.

Maternal safety has become a hot topic following a report that showed California's death rate directly related to pregnancy as higher than that of Bosnia and Kuwait. Safety is also cited as one of the reasons for the increase in homebirths over the past five years.

Did you feel safe during your birthing experience?

Sunday Confessional: She Wants a Baby, He Doesn't

Tres Community — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:00:27 -0800

This week's confessional comes from our anonymous Confession Booth group in the TrèsSugar Community. Feel free to weigh in with your advice in the comments.

I'm ready to have a baby and my husband isn't. Sometimes I consider "forgetting" my pill, but I know it's wrong. When will he change his mind and how can I help him do that fast!!

There's lots of great stuff going on in our community - join it, check it out, share your posts or advice in the great groups, and maybe we'll feature it here on TrèsSugar!

Kourtney Kardashian Is One Calm Mom After Having Mason

babysugar — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:00:27 -0800

They say having a baby changes everything, but does that also mean a mom's overall demeanor? I've witnessed the most impatient and demanding personalities transform into relaxed parents that take each day as it comes. I've also seen laid-back friends turn into frenzied mamas that could barely hold it together on a daily basis.

Reality star Kourtney Kardashian seems to have surprised her own mom, Kris Jenner, with her shift to a cool and collected mom since the birth of son Mason. The reality matron said:

She's just a great mom. It's incredible to see how calm and patient she is. I'm not a calm person. It's like, where did she get that? It's not from me.

Did your overall demeanor change once you had a baby?

Having Sex and Babies Is What Young Women Are All About!

TresSugar — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:00:34 -0800

Hilary Mantel, Booker Prize-winning author of Wolf Hall, has nothing if not a point. Women, she says, should have more flexibility to start a family and a career simultaneously. But women have placed themselves on men's timetables, which is incongruent with their biological ones, in order to catch up in the workplace. Fair enough! But then she gets extreme.

"Having sex and having babies is what young women are about. And their instincts are suppressed in the interests of society's timetable."

What young women are about? How about teenagers?

I was perfectly capable of setting up a home when I was 14, and if, say, it had been ordered differently, I might have thought, 'Now is the time to have a couple of children, and when I am 30 I will go back and I'll get my PhD.'"

Not to sound like all adult, but who would pay for that home? Who would care for the baby until the 14-year-old finishes school? Or is she to just raise a baby with the education of a ninth grader until she's 30?

Lil Community: Happy Birthday to Me at 38 Weeks

Lil Community — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:06:53 -0800

This post was submitted by KWM in The Pregnancy Posse group.
I celebrated my birthday and Valentine's Day a couple of weeks ago at 38 weeks. I was hoping to get a baby for my birthday, but at 40 weeks and 1 day today, I am still waiting...

Talk about motherly things on your mind at The Pregnancy Posse group over in the LilSugar Community.

Pregnancy Makes Some Vegetarians Crave Meat

babysugar — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:00:48 -0800

Pregnancy cravings can get the best of an expectant mama. A chocolate bar here, a scoop of peanut butter there. Researchers say that a woman's desire for certain foods represents her body's lack of certain nutrients. For some mamas-to-be, the cravings can create an entire lifestyle change.

For Tiffani Thiessen, who is due with her first baby this Spring, having a bun in the oven is wreaking havoc on the vegetarian's diet. She told People,

"I was a vegetarian for many, many, many years and all of a sudden I started to crave red meat. Crazy enough, I had a steak before I left tonight and I would never have eaten one before. One day I just woke up and craved meat."

Adding meat to a previously vegetarian diet can be tricky – often requiring gradual introduction in an effort to not disrupt the digestive system. If you stuck to a nonmeat diet, did you stick to it during pregnancy?

Are Women Better Suited to Start Families in Their Teens?

babysugar — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 07:00:16 -0800

What's the perfect age to start a family? With teen pregnancy on the rise, and MTV highlighting the epidemic, you would think that the public has had enough talk about the subject. But a British novelist has an idea that is causing a bit of a stir.

Hilary Mantel, author of Wolf Hall and An Experiment in Love, recently told an interviewer that societal norms are preventing women from birthing babies when they are physically able – in their teens. According to Mantel:

"There is this breed of women for whom society's timetable is completely wrong . . . Having sex and having babies is what young women are about, and their instincts are suppressed in the interests of society's timetable . . . I was perfectly capable of setting up and running a home when I was 14, and if, say, it had been ordered differently, I might have thought 'Now is the time to have a couple of children and when I am 30 I will go back and I'll get my PhD . . . But society isn't yet ordered with that kind of flexibility."

If society allowed it, would you have wanted to start your family in your teens?