Archive for May, 2008
Prenatal Counseling, Birth Hypnosis & Bonding with your Unborn Child
posted by Dr. Gayle Peterson
Prenatal Counseling, Birth Hypnosis and bonding with your unborn child
I find that moms and Dads enjoy bonding with their baby more when they know just a little bit about what it is like inside the womb! These two articles give food for thought to bonding with your baby and with each other before birth ….and addressing anxieties which come up that impact labor……
Tips for Bonding with Your Unborn Child
Body Centered Hypnosis for Childbirth
“Medical research has shown that fear can affect labor by decreasing blood levels of oxytocin. My prenatal counseling program incorporates body-centered hypnosis and techniques for coping which allow a woman to anticipate her physical and emotional response to labor, to master her fear, thus allowing a greater potential for a smooth, uncomplicated childbirth…” from An Easier Childbirth. Read the entire article.
NEW Online and DVD Certification Training in Prenatal Counseling and Birth Hypnosis
Add comment May 30, 2008
Dealing with Conflict: Healthy Discussions with your Spouse
By Gayle Peterson, Ph.D.
Copyright 2008. Gayle Peterson All rights reserved.
Dealing with Conflict: Have Healthy Discussions with your Spouse
The brief article below introduces family research on how to communicate with your partner under pressure. If you follow the links at the bottom, you will be able to identify what your blind spots are and how to change patterns so that conflict brings you together rather than apart. Have fun! More free seminars and articles can be found at www.makinghealthyfamilies.com
“Conflicts are not only inevitable in the natural course of family life, but they are necessary for growth.”
It is the way we express ourselves and listen to our partners (and children) that determines our capacity to successfully negotiate with our loved ones when conflicts arise. Skillful communication prevents misunderstandings and keeps your partner apprised to the emotional changes and development that happens on quiet levels inside each of us every day.
But with busy schedules, it is often difficult to carve out enough time for the discussions we need to have together as a couple to resolve problems, much less to keep each other informed about our changing perceptions, experiences and growth! So it is inevitable that we sometimes depend upon “heated” discussions with our partners to inform us about what is going on inside.
We all have the ability to destroy our relationships. No one is immune to destructive patterns of communicating when under stress and we all use them at some time. The key to health is not perfect communication, but an awareness of when we express ourselves in destructive ways and what patterns each of us have a tendency to “default” to in times of stress.
It is our ability to communicate effectively under pressure that will make the difference in our lives and relationships. In order to increase our tools for communicating more effectively, we must take an honest look at our own discussion-busters.
Add comment May 30, 2008
Kids & Cabbage: Summer Cabbage Slaw
posted by Wendy Van Wagner
The health benefits of cabbage are now well known and still, this vegetable does not seem to be present in our diet. Studies suggest that it should be brought to our table 2 to 3 times a week. This salad is puts a new twist on traditional “slaw,” and is a great way to get your kids to eat cabbage. By replacing the mayo with olive oil, you highlight the natural brilliance that the purple, orange and green create when paired together. Cabbage is very high in fiber and is also an excellent source of vitamin C and beta-carotene. In addition, when eaten raw, cabbage is good source of folic acid
Carrot, Cabbage and Herb Salad
1 head red cabbage
3 carrots
1/3 cup chopped parsley
½ clove garlic
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt to taste
Peel and wash the carrot. Use a grater with the small holes to grate the carrots.
Peel back the first layer of the cabbage and then grate it the same way you do the carrot, but using the large holes
Pick the leaves off of the parsley and chop them.
Chop or grate the garlic.
Stir all of your ingredients together with the vinegar and the olive oil, salt to taste.
Add comment May 28, 2008
The Unintentional Family Bed
posted by Carol White
For a family that hasn’t really ever been “family bed” people, we sure have a lot of family in our bed. My first daughter has mostly always been in her own bed, partly because she likes it that way, and partly because I wasn’t going to have a “family bed” when she was born. But then I had a second baby, and loosened up (a lot).
My second daughter used to start the evening in her own bed in the room she shared with her sister. That would last for maybe a couple of hours and then she’d be in our bed for most of the night. I loved having her in bed with me, and still do. She is the warmest, snuggliest, loviest little lump next to me in the middle of the night. She is now five and probably ends up in our bed around 3 or 4 a.m. most nights. While I’d have her there all the time, my husband doesn’t love having her in our bed. It’s a queen, she is getting pretty big, and it’s quite cozy with her there.
When we put the kids to bed at night, I get a chance to sleep with my older daughter. She is eight, and we have gone through every imaginable scenario of bedtime routine. My husband and I have taken turns putting the kids to bed. We have had the children put themselves to bed (good luck). We’ve had them fall asleep on their own, and we’ve had them fall asleep with us.
Now, they are 5 and 8, and while I’m sure they are perfectly capable of falling asleep on their own, they will only go to sleep with a grown up. My husband and I alternate who puts who to bed, so one night I’ll put my younger daughter to bed, and the next night I’ll put my older daughter to bed. We finally figured out, after lots of fighting, that they need a little time at the end of the day without their sibling.
Personally, I love the one-on-one time with each child at bedtime. We read stories, talk about our days, and then we fall asleep with them. My husband often gets up and reads, and I almost always stay in bed. I’m making up for years of lost sleep. And, it’s my chance to wrap myself around their little bodies and hope they never get any bigger.
1 comment May 2, 2008
Carol White
Wendy Van Wagner
Lindsay Dunckel
Amanda Scheerer
Stephanie Gomez
Dr. Gayle Peterson
Tulum Dothee
Laurie Chamberlin