Book Promotion

Mind Trumps Fear: Insights from (Nearly) the Top of Camelback Mountain

A few weeks ago, I found myself perched on a rock high above the desert city of Scottsdale, Arizona.  Although I love hiking, I don't do well with heights and this rocky scramble of a hike was more than I was comfortable with. Hopping across the boulders was fun; climbing up a sheer rock wall above a narrow ledge, not so much! Before the hike, I was worried about running into scorpions or snakes or killer bees. During the hike, my only concern  was staying on the trail. If a slide didn't kill one, it was bound to be completely agonizing, judging by the number of boulders and cactuses strewn across the slopes! There were stretches where I had to force myself to focus on the path ahead of me, because the slightest glimpse of the golf course way below immediately had me imagining what it would feel like to go barreling down the slope!

Read, read, read!

"..don't worry about the bits you can't understand.
Sit back and let the words wash around you, like music."
- Mrs Phelps in Roald Dahl's Mathilda

The best advice the pediatrician gave us when our first child was born was to read to him every day. In addition to being a great way to spend time together, reading builds language and listening skills, teaches facts, and feeds the imagination. Being new parents with zero parenting experience, we latched onto this simple and doable piece of advice from the start. My husband would sit and read New Scientist articles to infant James while I cooked dinner. I would read James textbook accounts of Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration as I prepared for lectures. James would drift off to sleep each night to tales of Thomas the Train, Winnie the Pooh, or Curious George. Then, when James was old enough to sit up and paw through board books, we moved onto those. We read The Gruffalo and Go, Dog. Go! so many times that we eventually knew them by heart! We were thrilled when James was able to follow chapter books, as there were so many wonderful stories from our own childhoods that we wanted to share with him. We started with Enid Blyton, and before we knew it, James was hooked on just about any series we introduced him to -- from Harry Potter to Lemony Snicket. We also used this opportunity to read classics that we'd missed as children, like The Secret Garden  and The Indian in the Cupboard.

Moms Need Summer Fun Too!

I just attended my first ballet class in TWENTY-THREE YEARS! We pliéd; we tendued; we waved our arms in wide graceful arcs; and I chasséd right into one of the other dancers. I loved every minute of it! Afterwards, my mom-friend and I had a drink at Lucia’s and agreed that ballet was very slow, but that slow was good and that we’d have beautiful postures by the end of the eight-week course. And now as I sit here with my peppermint tea, toes aching, I feel so happy and alive. Thanks, Anna, for dragging me off to the dance studio tonight and for showing me that moms need to make time for themselves too. I was completely overwhelmed – summers are such a tricky kid/work juggling act. But now I feel energized and calm, and ready to pirouette through the next challenging week of sweaty madness! 

The Importance of Being Motile

Walking has always been my exercise of choice; in addition to being good for the body, it’s great for the mind. When I was a teenager, my mom and I spent many memorable hours walking briskly along the beach in my seaside hometown of Strand, enjoying the view of Table Mountain across the bay and peroxide-blond surfers close to shore.

By the time I was pregnant with my second child, I was living half-way around the globe, in Seattle, a short distance from a beautiful glacial lake looped by a 3-mile path. As soon as my energy returned after a washed-out first trimester, I grabbed every opportunity to loop the lake. When my due date came and went, I started walking around the lake multiple times. One drizzly Saturday afternoon I galloped around the lake three times, kicking up fall leaves and willing labor to finally start! It didn’t do the trick, but it did feel wonderful to move my pregnant body.

Why Confident Birthing?

When I was pregnant with my first child, I decided that I wanted to have a drug-free delivery. As a biologist, I wanted to know what giving birth felt like, and I wanted to experience each moment of it fully. I believed that the female body was capable of wonderful things, and I drew strength from the fact that women have successfully given birth without epidurals for many thousands of years. 

As my due date approached, I started feeling a little nervous. Although I’d set my mind on a drug-free delivery, I worried that the pain would be unbearable. I knew that a contraction lasted for about a minute. Could I really endure any level of pain for a full minute? What would I do if labor hurt too much and I started to panic?

Week-past-your-due-date Carrot Cake

Pregnancy is a magical time! But at some point, you just get tired of huffing and puffing up the stairs, struggling to tie your own shoelaces, and running to the bathroom every few minutes.

So here you are, 42 weeks pregnant, with no sign of labor. Your doctor keeps talking about pitocin, but the thought of an induction sends you into a panic. You want your body to be in control of this birth! You want this birth to be natural from start to finish!  You don’t want to deal with the powerful camelback contractions that an induction can kick off! A quick google search reveals dozens of old wives’ tales on how to get labor started. Eat spicy Mexican food or eggplant parmesan and wash it down with pineapple juice. Watch a sad movie. Go for a bumpy drive or a brisk walk. Knock back some castor oil. Oh, hang on, isn't castor oil a potent laxative? Do you really want to compound labor pains with agonizing gas pangs and diarrhea?