1. Your Mind Matters

Stress is sneaky! It piles up between spilled milk and endless notifications. Even five minutes of mindfulness can shift your whole day.
-Try a mini-meditation in the car before pick-up.
-Breathe deeply while the coffee brews.
-Sneak in a 10-minute reset after lunch.

If you need a little guidance, Headspace is like having a pocket therapist……short, calming meditations that help you hit pause before the overwhelm takes over.

2. Move in Micro-Moments

Forget the idea that fitness has to mean sweating buckets at the gym. Movement is movement. Period.
-Do squats while folding laundry.
-Stretch while watching Netflix.
-Take the kids for a walk after dinner—it counts!

If you crave structure, Peloton offers short, no fuss workouts. Pop in your earbuds, hit play, and you’ve done something good for your body in under 15 minutes.

3. Fuel, Don’t Just Fill

Caffeine and Goldfish crackers aren’t a food group (though let’s be honest, they sometimes feel like one). What your body really craves is balanced fuel.
-Keep cut-up veggies and hummus ready in the fridge.
-Prep overnight oats for grab-and-go mornings.
-Blend a shake when you’re too tired to think.

Orgain Organic Protein Powder makes this ridiculously easy. Toss it in the blender with almond milk and frozen fruit, and you’ve got energy in a glass with no crash and no sugar guilt.

4. Quick Wins That Add Up

-Say no to one extra obligation this week.
-Carry a water bottle everywhere.
-Go to bed 20 minutes earlier.
-Swap scrolling for stretching.

Tiny choices → big changes.

Being a mom means your schedule is rarely your own. But wellness doesn’t have to be all or nothing. By working in little bursts of care, whether it’s mindfulness with Headspace, movement through Peloton, or daily fuel with Orgain Organic Protein Powder you’ll keep your tank full so you can show up as your best self. Because here’s the truth: when mom feels good, everyone feels good.

The post Finding Balance: Wellness Tips Every Busy Mom Can Embrace appeared first on AKAMom Magazine.

Pre- and postnatal care is important facets of ensuring a healthy mom, which in turn, helps to ensure a healthy baby. Aside from the standard 9 months of care for expecting mothers, the crucial times of pre- and postnatal care are sometimes overlooked.

Healthy prenatal care can begin with a healthy intake of essential nutrients. Obtaining crucial nutrients such as folic acid can help prevent neural tube defects, conditions that affect the baby’s brain and spinal cord. Additionally, an adequate intake of calcium and iron can help moms during pregnancy to keep their body healthy while carrying a baby. WebMD also recommends pregnant women taking a supplement that includes vitamins B and D.

Some women may find that they have difficulty selecting a supplement or may be frustrated with the daily chore of having to take large pills to obtain the nutrients they need. For those women looking for another option, products such as Premama are available. This drinkable supplement offers women the benefits of prenatal vitamins without the need for large pills. Premama provides key nutrients during pregnancy, and can also help with the nausea and digestive problems associated with pregnancy.

Postnatal care for mom and baby is also important, especially when it comes to breastfeeding. It’s undeniable that there are extensive health benefits to breastfeeding during the first six months of a child’s life—but what most people don’t know is that breastfeeding provides new mothers with benefits of their own.

One benefit of breastfeeding is that it is cheaper. On top of the other mounting expenses of having a baby, the cost of baby formula can add up quickly. Breastfeeding is a natural and free way to ensure a baby receives all the nutrients he or she will need. In today’s economic situation, this can help reduce the costs of having a newborn.

Additionally, breastfeeding can help moms lose their baby weight. According to WebMD, mothers can burn up to 500 calories by simply breastfeeding. Losing that stubborn baby weight can lead to a mom who is more confident in herself physically, which in turn, will improve her overall self-esteem. Better post-partum emotional health, including less anxiety and depression, is also seen in women who breastfeed.

Breastfeeding also assists mom with baby spacing, giving her time to recover before she is able to get pregnant again. The National Institute of Health states those moms who breastfeed have a lower risk of breast and ovarian cancer and potentially a lower risk for osteoporosis, a disease that causes thinning of the bone density.

Despite all of the benefits to breastfeeding, some moms may still find it difficult to breastfeed exclusively for the first six months of their child’s life. Some of the difficulties that new moms face is not having enough time to breastfeed, pain and soreness of the breasts, problems positioning their babies comfortably, and an inability for the baby to properly latch.

These problems can be overcome with the help of health care providers, such as lactation specialists and OB/GYNs, who can offer a multitude of solutions, like pumping breast milk, improving latching techniques and tips for positioning your baby for feeding. Supplements are also available for postnatal care to improve the quality of a mother’s breast milk. It is important that mothers take the recommended amounts of vitamin D and B-12 to ensure their baby is getting a healthy amount of both vitamins. Products such as Nursing Blend are available to provide key vitamins and other nutrients for postnatal care. Breastfeeding moms can find helpful products online at websites like Simplisse.com.

The post Healthy Mom, Healthy Baby: How pre- and postnatal care can keep both mom and baby healthy appeared first on AKAMom Magazine.