Having a ball

I'm blessed to have several rather spectacular mommies in my life to watch, learn from and (try) to emulate. I've asked questions and gained tools to make mommyhood easier and less scary. Personally, I often still feel quite clueless and hesitate to offer advice to new mommies I encounter.

However, I do have one piece of advice I'd like to pass along: get a yoga ball. 

My trusty blue friend has served me well beginning with pregnancy through to today. To be honest, I don't know how parents manage it without one.

Pregnancy:
From about 28 weeks on, my joints ached ... a lot. Walking and sitting became very painful. I had been using my yoga ball for preggo yoga routine and discovered it was a more comfortable sitting option for my hips. Thus, I rolled it out into the living room area and it became my "chair" of choice.

When we wrote our birth plan, I included the yoga ball as one of the options. I wasn't particularly keen, but figured I'd rather have it available and not use it, than regret not having it. Of course, as is often the way with plans, ours went by the wayside when circumstances required a cesarean performed prior to me going into labor.

Newborn:
We found great success with the "Happiest Baby on the Block" method and M responded perfectly to the motion from bouncing on the yoga ball. We eschewed rockers and gliders, and bounced him to sleep.

Once we hit the six week mark and I could workout again, it was great to have the ball there to use to stretch my back or sneak in a few crunches in my few spare moments.

Baby:
I continued using the ball to bounce M to sleep for several months after we stopped swaddling and shushing. I gradually used it less and less, but kept it nearby for those times when nothing else worked.

The ball became a sort of baby massaging tool. I could place him on top-either on his back or stomach, hold onto his ankles and give a few small rolls. He loved it. 

Toddler:
Even now, when M can't sleep, he'll say "bounce" and he's usually out after two rounds of "Twinkle, twinkle little star". Granted, it's a bit more difficult to hold, balance and bounce a 19-month-old, but I like to think I get a quick core workout in while helping him fall asleep.

Plus, he has a giant blue ball in his room to play with. And what little boy wouldn't love that.

The ball may just work for me and M. I've never read or heard of anyone else using it as we did/do. But, who knows, maybe it's the thing you've been searching for and didn't know you needed. Consider or disregard as you see fit.