Ramona Women's Clinic Archives | Ramona Women's Clinic

Intimate with Intention

As February comes to a close; a month with a central focus on Valentine’s Day and the theme of love, let us remember that our call to love our husbands expands beyond the socially constructed season. It can be easy, especially in the early days of motherhood to forget that our husband is actually first on our priority list; although our children may demand more of our time, that is not an invitation to neglect our spouse. In the midst of the everchanging, yet ever-present chaos of raising children, it is more important than ever to intentionally cultivate intimacy in your relationship. Parenting is a partnership and a team effort. It works most effectively when both participants are on the same page with clear expectations and goals. The only way to achieve that level of unity is through intimate and intentional communication. It has become normalized in our society to perceive physical touch as the core definition of intimacy, however, the root from which intimacy grows is communication.

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Account for grace in the schedule

As if postpartum anxiety didn’t pose enough blatant challenges, the pressure from society surrounding baby schedules creates the perfect niche of manifestation. During a time of life where control is seemingly unattainable, there’s an appealing notion that the struggle can be countered by conforming your life to follow a structured schedule that allows for little to no error. As you enter motherhood, it becomes your responsibility to guard and guide your baby through their developmental stages. You are their advocate, and the pillar upon which they lean. As empowering as this is in theory, the reality becomes daunting when you hardly know where much less how to stand and offer the support for them to rest upon.

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Valentines Day? Every Day?

Contrasting momentary romance with a constant state of love.

We are entering into the season of LOVE where our culture markets a consumer-driven picture of romance; encouraging the world’s idea that love is measured by material gifts, monetary value, and sensuality. As if these well-advertised lies weren’t hard enough to dismantle and refute before you had kids; I’m willing to bet that your mom bun, dirty leggings and constant state of overstimulation aren’t making it any easier to reject. The image they’re trying to sell; even just for a night– jewelry and flowers (specifically long stem roses), an expensive dinner (just the two of you), wine and dessert (top-shelf, and indulgent), and of course the night ends in lingerie. Now this idea heavily contrasts the “I Love You!” sticky note on your fridge, as you make a box of mac-n-cheese sipping a glass of $3 wine you bought at Aldi, still strutting the milk stained oversized t-shirt you stole from your husbands drawer. It’s no wonder that when we look to the world’s idea of love and romance, we feel our own relationships fall short and our efforts of love are in vain.

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Establishing Your 2024 Goals and Resolutions With Intention

Establishing your 2024 goals and resolutions with intention

With the year coming to a close, this is normally the time that we’re sitting on the couch feeling guilty for binge-eating our way through the holidays; promising ourselves we’re going to be better starting the first of the year. However, our idea of “doing better” commonly manifests itself through extreme and unrealistic expectations we set for ourselves under the disguise of a “New Year’s resolution”. It’s hard enough to navigate the process of setting intentional goals for ourselves when we are not pregnant or nursing, but then throw those hormones, cravings, sleep deprivation, and mom-brain into the mix, and not only is our diet out the window but so is our drive to do anything physical. As if the daily pressure of motherhood wasn’t heavy enough, let’s just add some unnecessary self-deprivation into the mix.

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Redefining Your Holiday Spirit

Whether you’re spending this holiday season in maternity pants or your first set of matching pajamas, odds are this year is looking far different from those prior. While its easy to get caught up in the consumer driven rat-race we call the holidays, easy to be offended by the “eating for two” dinner comments, and equally easy to be consumed by postpartum anxiety at the sight of your baby being passed around like the sweet potato side dish; you are encouraged to take this season to establish traditions that are intentional and unique to your family.

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Healing & Health in Postpartum for the New Mom

Healing and Health in Postpartum for the New Mom.

The postpartum period is referred to as the fourth trimester for good reason, as the drastic changes your body undergoes continue after birth. Though challenging in its own ways, the postpartum transition can be just as trying if not more so than the previous three trimesters. While the hormonal and physical changes of pregnancy increase gradually with the size of your belly; the fourth trimester begins the minute delivery ends and to put it gently there’s nothing gradual about it. This is arguably one of the most vulnerable seasons of life, so the prioritization of your health in this period is something to prepare for.

Postpartum has become characterized by the emotional rollercoaster that results from the hormone regulation, sleep deprivation, and the overwhelming information overload of learning to nurse and care for a helpless baby. While these are all valid characteristics of the season, what’s often overlooked is the importance of combating these challenges with the prioritization of Moms’ health to minimize the effects.

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Child Safety Awareness Month

Can you believe we’ve reached the ninth month of the year?!? September is observed as Baby Safety Awareness Month, a month where retailers, doctors, and all others in positions that influence parents and caregivers are encouraged to highlight baby safety. Since the month-long awareness originated from “Expectant Mothers Day,” it seems fitting that we share with our expecting mothers. “Baby Safety” is broad and commonly a source of anxiety for new and expecting mothers who will all but wrap their babies in bubble wrap in order to protect them from the world. (Which would be a suffocation hazard.) So instead of overwhelming you with an overabundance of information that could be packed into such a topic, let’s look at three areas of baby safety that you CAN control; car seats, sleep, and baby-proofing.

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Honoring Breastfeeding Awareness Month

The wonder of breastfeeding is a process that perfectly depicts the intention in God’s flawless design.

· The maternal powers are not merely instinctual but in fact physical.

· Our bodies are able to produce an ever-changing source of nutrients specifically tailored to the current needs of our baby.

If that doesn’t leave you breathlessly in awe of the maternal design, I don’t know what will. Understandably when you’re engorged and milk soaked at 2 am, it’s a little harder to appreciate, but a gift nonetheless.

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The Italics That Should be in Every Birth Plan

Whether you’ve spent hours meticulously mapping out your birth plan, or yours simply consists of the word “EPIDURAL”, there are three truths and reminders that should be italicised and included in each birth plan.

Labor is unpredictable

This truth cannot be emphasized enough. Not only is every labor experience different from the next, but your experience may differ from the one you’ve come to expect through your nine months of anticipation. As much as we all want our labor to go according to our expectations, with minimal surprises, very rarely will our experience perfectly reflect that which we’ve been imagining. Often our preconceived expectations can inhibit our experience and mindset if we allow ourselves to be consumed by disappointment when reality doesn’t perfectly align with said expectations. This is why the unpredictability of labor should be expected and accounted for in each birth plan. Even if your plan relies simply on an epidural; sometimes epidurals fail, only work on one side, or you arrive at the hospital and are too far along to even receive an epidural. Such unpredictability can be expected in each and every labor experience.

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Women’s History Month

March is Women’s History Month and we are Ramona Women’s Clinic. Therefore, I felt it would be perfect timing to lift each other up as women in the community.

My favorite woman in history is Mary, Queen of Scots. I know, she is not relevant to us here today but I find her life to be one of strength and in the end, she did what she felt she needed to do to survive. Oh, perhaps she is more relevant for today than I thought!

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