Community and support are a vital part of Prenatal Yoga Center. To help encourage relationships and get to know one another a little better, we like to introduce a new mom and her baby each month. This month, we are pleased to introduce you to Jada Strabbing. Jada is a mom of 3, she’s pictured here with her youngest Declan. For our interview Jada beautifully shares how yoga helped with her 3rd pregnancy and the birth of Declan. She also shares some wonderful recommendations for moms of siblings.
What is one of the most important things you feel you can impart to a new mom?
One of the most important things for me as a mom has been to learn from the
knowledge of others. There is so much good information about parenting at
every stage. Sometimes it seems impossible to find the time to learn new
information when there is barely enough time to shower, but I have found that, in
the long run, I save myself time and trouble by giving myself tools to face the
inevitable parenting challenges.
My favorite way to get information is through books recommended to me from
trusted people, such as our pediatrician, early childhood educators, and friends.
That way, I can squeeze in a few pages here or there even when I don’t have
much time. For example, our pediatrician recommended Positive Discipline: The
First Three Years, and that has been an invaluable resource for our family. At
the recommendation of our preschool director, I am currently reading Siblings
Without Rivalry, which has great information to help the relationship between my
three-year- old and a six-year- old.
Of course, as the instructors at PYC say, self-care and calming breaths are also
important!
How has your yoga practice helped you during your pregnancy, during labor, and
new motherhood?
I am so grateful that I did prenatal yoga for my third pregnancy! (I wish that I had
done it for the first two pregnancies.) During my pregnancy, prenatal yoga
helped me to pause to appreciate the baby growing within me and the changes in
my body. Prenatal yoga also helped me to prepare for an unmedicated birth by
working on my focus and breathing.
The focus and breathing that I practiced in prenatal yoga turned out to be
invaluable for the birth. Near the end of transition and during the pushing stage,
when the contractions were so intense that I began to feel out of control, I
squeezed a little red stress ball and imagined myself going into Warrior 2 and
holding it, just as we did in class. As I imagined that, I felt an intense focus and a
regaining of control. I felt that I had the power within me to make it through the
contractions.
Baby and me yoga and postnatal yoga have allowed me to set aside time to care
for my body and bond with Declan at the same time. It has also been great to be
with other new moms and their babies in a supportive, nurturing environment.
How was your birthing experience this time compared to the first two times? How
has your new baby affected the family dynamics?
I had an unmedicated birth each time, but the first birth was hard in that I had
substantial tearing. Fortunately, for the second and third births, I had wonderful
midwives who kept me from tearing. That is especially impressive the third time,
as Declan weighed 9 lbs, 11 oz – by far the biggest of my three! Also, as I
mentioned above, I had more focus the third time thanks to prenatal yoga.
I love having a baby with two older siblings. The older two are so sweet with
Declan and love him so much. Leander, my three-year- old, can’t get enough of
smelling Declan’s head! The harder dynamic is that the older two fight over
playing with and holding the baby. Perhaps that is why I am now reading
Siblings Without Rivalry!
What’s your favorite way to bond with Declan?
I love looking right in Declan’s eyes while talking or singing to him. When he
looks back at me so intently and “talks” back to me, I feel a deep connection with
him. I really enjoy making up songs to sing to him, and some of the songs have
become part of our family repertoire, as the older two now sing them to Declan!
