Practice Makes Better.

To get the minutia out of the way:

Yesterday was Elena's 2nd birthday, and Josh and my 4th wedding anniversary.  We are not gift people, and I am happy that the feeling is mutual.  I care about my loved ones tremendously, but my inherent lack of regard for receiving gifts translates into not really valuing giving gifts.  I'm sure there is a remedy for that--maybe children?  Josh bought Elena some Borders slashed price Play-Doh accouterment set as well as some backup sidewalk chalk... I had intended to wrap the Play-Doh thing to give to her yesterday, but it didn't happen.  Maybe for Sunday's family party?  If not, there's always Christmas!

Elena did "circle around the sun" at school with her friends, and showed me her birthday collage when I picked her up yesterday.  She was seated at a little table with three of her classmates with three animal crackers and 6 blueberries lined up, berries in a line on top of the cookies.  "I having a snack!" she told me, and made no move to get her things together to go home, so I hung with her buds.  One wanted to know my name, and then told me his mom was Angela.  Another told me that her cousin was her best friend, and the third kept pointing at me and saying, "Mommy!"  He chimed in when Elena started singing ABCs.

We had a pasta dinner at home--penne tossed with homemade pesto and butternut squash--followed by cake at Something Sweet, complete with candle which the birthday girl tried to extinguish with her fingers, and then she tried to get as close as possible to the flame before Josh blew it out.  Despite some mini-meltdowns before dinner, I'd say it was a success (and thanks to Tia Stephanie and Ibba for dropping a gift by yesterday--it kept her happily occupied for much of the evening!).  Or the birthday was, at least.  I think it'll take a few tries (or a few years more of our children growing up) to be able to fully celebrate Elena's birthday and our anniversary.  (Hey, that actually ties in to my blog title!)

On a completely different note, I got a request to know more about pork products in infant formula, something that had been alluded to in a recent talk on breastfeeding.  It appears that all formulas need some sort of enzymatic processing of the proteins (most formulas use cow's milk proteins, obviously soy and elemental formulas are different).  Since most formulas are based on cow's milk, and cow's milk is NOT advised for consumption for at least the first year of life, this enzymatic breakdown is needed to aide babies in digesting the proteins.  (That being said, formula causes micro-hemorrages in the intestines, leading to iron deficiency anemia, hence the addition of iron to formulas!  Chew on that one a bit...)  Some of those enzymes come from some yeast strain, but many (specifically trypsin from what I've read) are derived from pork.  This finding is kind of gross, but if you've ever looked at the packaging for parmesan cheese and read "animal rennet", the idea is sort of the same.  I love parmesan so much that I don't really care about rennet despite my not eating beef, pork, chicken.

So for many formula-using families, the pork enzyme thing isn't that big of a deal.  It's observant Jews and Muslims (and those who care for those babies) that really need to be aware of this if they keep Kosher and Halal.  If you are interested in reading more, here are some sites (for this last one, go to the top, click on "Food product by category", and type in "infant formula" for a nice chart).  Note, though, that this processing with pork enzymes is not heavily advertised and information from formula companies is hard to come by.  I think Nestle has been the most forthcoming.

**********************************
So, without further ado, here's what has got me posting.

I've been practicing yoga regularly (though in busy/pregnant times regularly might be once a week or every two weeks!) since 2000.  In those 11 years, I have never had a consistent home practice.  I've enjoyed zoning out, following the instruction of teachers, and floating on the energy of the others in class with me.  Yoga has allowed me to simultaneously work out the kinks from my body, mind, and spirit in a way that no other practice has done.  I've been incredibly grateful for the gift of yoga, and since moving to Tucson have enjoyed the connection to others that such an experience facilitates.

When pregnant with Elena, I was a Broga regular--that is short for Bruce yoga, a term coined by my clever husband and adopted by a few of my friends.  Having a teacher that understands the changing needs of your body is so important, be it pregnancy, an injury, a past knee replacement.  My last Broga class was on a Friday, and I delivered Elena on a Tuesday.  I was back at Broga at 2 weeks postpartum, eager to test out my new body shape and get back to my old one.  As I went back to work, my Broga-ing got less and less since evening classes interfered more and more with daycare pickup and family dinner time.  Between Josh starting fellowship last July and wanting to be home for dinner as a family, I haven't been to Broga in months.

Nina's pregnancy was very different from Elena's, which allowed for introspection and pampering--two of my favorite things!  I don't want to think about my cortisol levels during this last pregnancy, and what their potential effect could be, so let's not even go there.  With Nina, I was lucky to get a practice in once every week or every two weeks, and even then it was for hour-long classes here and there which tend to whip through poses quickly in an effort to give the mostly college-aged group the biggest caloric bang for their 4 bucks.  These classes are very unlike the leisurely 90 minute "intro" Broga classes that I am partial to, but they did the job in helping me clear the muck.

These mini-classes have also opened a door for me to start developing a home practice (finally!!).  Yesterday I practiced for the first time since the week before Nina's birth, using a 30-minute playlist (love i-Tunes and Apple TV).  I acknowledged tight rectus abdominus, hip, quad, and calf muscles along with a restricted ability for backbends.  All in good time.  Today I made another 30 minute play list, and was happy that my abdominal muscles were more stretched and less restrictive, and happily focused on my hips and legs.

Yesterday my intention was easy given all of our reasons to celebrate.  Today I had to sit for a bit longer before deciding on one that felt fitting for the weeks to come, but I feel that if I continue to mini-practice daily, my actions will align more with this intention.  Yesterday, through the mini-meltdowns of my birthday girl, I felt better able to exercise patience and am hoping that that trend will continue.  Of course, if I continue to go to bed at midnight (damned Hunger Games!) and be awoken at 4 am by a baby who doesn't fall back asleep until 9, it might be a different story.  But for now, my practicing is making things infinitely better.