A review of the Lotus Yoga and Pumping Bra by a full-time stay at home Mom, a fellow instructor at Biker Barre (although she's the one that makes us shake instead of sweat), a part-time worker, and my favorite advice consulter. Who says you can't do it all? ;)

​It’s absolutely beautiful today, the sky a perfect cerulean blue.  White clouds are scattered across the sky, creamy, bold, and a little rugged, like the edges of a freshly torn biscuit.  I refuse to drive my car today; it’s too pretty, especially with a snow forecast for the weekend. 
 
I walked to a breakfast date with a friend and decided that later I’m going to unearth my bike from its winter storage to ride it to an appointment in Northwest.  On my walk home from Maketto, I stopped at Concetta’s house to try on the new pumping/nursing/sports bra she just got in (it’s a fun and summery blue).  I stopped my rigorous schedule of pumping (I struggled with low supply initially) when my daughter was about eight months, after it became clear that I wasn’t going back to work full time and that my supply wouldn’t disappear if I stopped pumping every five minutes.
 
Somehow, in the short time between when I ceased pumping and starting working on Fridays, my trusty (and battered) pumping bra completely disappeared! (Maybe my husband threw it away, although the resolutely unsexy Target bras should have been the first to go.)  Anyways, I found myself with the need to pump again and no pumping bra.  The first Friday, I cut two janky holes in a sports bra and tried to make that work because someone told me it worked for them.  Nope.  Doesn’t work at all.  I pumped approximately half an ounce the whole day because it wasn’t tight enough.  The next week, I dug out the 75 million plastic pieces that came with my pump that you’re supposed to attach to the pump to make it “hands free.”  These pieces get the job done, but they make me hate pumping even more than I already do, and they’re constantly popping off, risking a spill of my liquid gold.  
 
Enter my knowledgeable and conveniently employed friend, Concetta, who recommended just the bra for me.  I tried it on and was sold immediately.  I wore it out of her house and then pumped, biked to Northwest, biked home, picked up my daughter from childcare, and nursed her, all without changing my clothes!  The bra is great for pumping, great for working out, and it’s way more supportive than my other stretched out nursing bras. If you are looking for a bra that does it all, I’d highly recommend trying this one! 

​I’m excited to introduce you to my friend, Kim Hawkins, with District Birth Services! Kim has lived on the Hill for nine years with her husband and has two children, four and two years old. She left her job working at a non-profit public health think tank in October to start working with pregnant and new moms to help support them, and their partners, during and after their pregnancy.

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I'm excited to have Kim share a little about the what, why and how she does what she does!
 
What are your personal experience with childbirth classes and doulas?
 
We took the Bradley Method class when we were pregnant with our first child. There was so much more we got out of the class than just talking about what to expect. From my husband’s point of view, he was given tools and the encouragement on how to be an active partner during the pregnancy and labor. Often partners feel like they are on the sidelines and aren’t really sure what type of support to give beyond helping more at home for their pregnant partner. The class walked us through how as a couple he could best support me and that was empowering for him. The class also taught me coping strategies for labor. What most people seem to forget is that they are usually laboring at home for a while until it’s time to go to the hospital. Learning coping techniques will help you manage labor better earlier so when the time comes to go to the hospital you’re able to have energy to finish the job! I had a birth assistant with both of my children and having a person there to help provide answers to our questions and as well as additional comfort measures made a world of difference. As much as you can learn during the pregnancy a lot of those things can go out the window when you’re in labor. Having her there was an immeasurable help!

Why did you decide to start working in the “birth world”?
 
My entire career has been public health based in some aspect and after I got pregnant and had children, I started to realize how little help some families had with pregnancy, birth, postpartum and breastfeeding. At first I thought working on the policy side would help but started to realize that while changing policies, such as breastfeeding support and better maternal leave policies, are really important it’s also important to support families individually as well. Washington, DC also has a lot of people who aren’t from the area. Usually families who come into town can’t stay long and often they are leaving right after the “honeymoon” phase of the baby coming home from the hospital and when partners are returning to work, which is right when the most support is needed!

How are you supporting families?
 
I’ve been trained to teach childbirth education classes as well as provide labor and postpartum support. I take an evidence based and research approach and studies have shown that having childbirth classes and having a doula can have better outcomes for the mother and child. I liked the idea of helping to educate families on the many choices available as well as the various ways they can have more support. By providing an opportunity for childbirth education classes outside of the hospital, they are getting non-judgment support that is informing them of their options and informed consent with the time comes to give birth. I’m will start teaching a childbirth education class at the Hill Center on March 20th and I work with Doulas of Capitol Hill to provide labor and postpartum support.

Thank you so much, Kim, for sharing your experiences with us! We are so excited to have such great options right here on the Hill! Please go check out her website to see all of the exciting things she's doing www.districtbirthservices.com and feel free to shoot her an email with any questions at districtbirthservices@gmail.com.

On a challenging week full of (many) spouts of vomit, huge poops in the tub (which never gets easier for those of you sans children) and straight up exhaustion one of my Mama friends texted out to our Mom squad, "What is your happiness today?".  She went on to say that hers was "having 2.74 minutes to clean up old, splattered milk off of one half of the car's back seat in the Target parking lot." She went on to say that she's been trying to do that FOREVER and that she WILL have a clean car again (hear that, Ryan? all of our cars are a mess... we have CHILDREN :).  Another Mom chimed in that hers was eating a piece of cake during the 38 minutes that her child napped. Another said that hers was turning on the stovetop fan so she could eat her first real meal of the day (at 2pm) in peace while standing in her kitchen and trying to drown out her daughter fighting her nap. Another was a nap she shared with her daughter after a hard work out and another was letting her baby go to the nanny so she could have a REAL sick day after throwing up EIGHT times! 

It was such a beautiful and enlightening thing hearing about all these small feats of happiness and it really made me think and appreciate all of our blessings. So, I challenge you Mama, what is your happiness today? 

I couldn't be more excited to be featured this week over at the Doulas of Capitol Hill. Check out the interview here to find out my favorite bra as well as what it is like to run your own business! As an added bonus, I leave you with this key on how to select the perfect nursing bra for you :)