Wave: feature – from pregnancy to birth & beyond

Make health & wellbeing the main priority for all the family during pregnancy & beyond

Our children are the centre of our universe. We love them unconditionally and nurture them, creating ideals and values they will then carry through to adulthood. A healthy and happy childhood begins with the mother’s pregnancy. Regular check-ups to ensure mother and baby are healthy are vital. Alongside this, new parents can prepare for their new arrival and take advantage to a plethora of information and products available to them to help them adjust to parenthood.

So, whether it’s your first child or fourth, by looking at the products and events available to parents and their babies can make the first steps easier.?The early years count, and by preparing for parenthood, you can approach it by being as informed as possible. That’s not top say there won’t be hiccups along the way (no-one’s perfect) and all of our experiences differ. But by taking advantage to the information available to you, a lot of the stress can be lifted. There will be sleepless nights, so added stress is most definitely not required.

If there’s one date for the diary this autumn it’s the Brighton Baby Expo for new parents and parents to be. The annual event is bigger and better each year, and this year is to be held at the newly opened American Express Community Stadium. Expert advice, exhibitors, products and entertainment is available all through the day. You will return home inspired and informed, buzzing with new ideas for you, your family and your little bundle of joy.

To meet other new parents can be beneficial to both you and baby, as they can interact with other babies while parents get to exchange tips – and some adult conversation. Combine this with keeping in shape and you have Buggyfit classes – the workout for mums. Buggyfit classes are held across the UK with daily classes in Brighton and Hove – one mum puts the class to the test for us.

Losing the baby weight is often one of the first things on new mothers’ minds after they’ve given birth and settled into motherhood.?While it seems that celebrities seem to shift their baby weight effortlessly and in no time at all (model Miranda Kerr, we salute you), there is a lot of time and sweat gone into this. (Staying out the limelight for a period of time leads to a before and after with a huge difference. Remember, it’s not that instant.) Buggyfit classes can help this along, combined with fitness classes tailored toward new mums. Pilates before and after pregnancy is a gentle form of exercise that works on strengthening the core, so it’s ideal as a low impact fitness method to keep in shape before giving birth. Post pregnancy, Pilates is perfect for toning and getting your pre-baby body back. We take a look at Body Rehab Studios and Revitalise – both offer classes catered toward pregnancy. We also find out about Fit Freedom, the workout method devised by mum Livia O’Toole, who tailors a fat-loss programme to each individual. Meanwhile, relaxing treatments for mums-to-be and babywear and maternity wear can be found at Brighton’s Mamissima.

We also have some great giveaways, including pampering sessions for mums (and dads)-to-be at Purple Turtle Therapy over at the King Alfred Leisure Centre, and Weleda’s luxury new Calendula Bath for babies up for grabs.

For mums making the return to work but wanting to be in control, the Business Mums Summit comes to Brighton in October.?It’s the chance to network, realise the potential of your ideas and turn your plans of being a working mum into a reality.

Body Rehab Studios
Your baby bump; there to carry baby and keep them safe for nine months, but for your body it brings about some huge changes. The muscles that would usually support your tummy and back become stretched and weakened and this can lead to back and pelvic pain. The weight of your baby pressing down on your pelvic floor can also cause unwanted leaks. If you are struggling with pelvic pain or symphysis pubis pain during pregnancy there are things you can do to help. A specially trained physiotherapist can help to ease the pain and teach Pilates exercises to support your pelvis. They will also help after the birth to bring your abdominals back together avoiding or correcting the separation known as diastasis recti.

Don’t struggle when help is at hand.?For more information about physiotherapy and Pilates classes during and after pregnancy please contact Jodie or Dawn at Body Rehab Studios.
Body Rehab Studios, 30 The Drive Hove, 01273 746898, info@bodyrehabstudios.com

Fit Freedom
Feel fit, fabulous and free: you too can lose your baby belly! Following the birth of three children, Livia found getting back into shape the hardest thing she has ever done. But she did it. Using more than 15 years’ experience in weight training, nutrition and fitness, Livia now provides fat loss and body shaping programmes to mums wanting to regain their pre-baby figures.

Livia tailors the fat loss programme to each individual mum, depending on what she wants to achieve and it lasts for at least a year, changing every three months to keep the body challenged. It includes guidance on eating sensibly, weight training and carefully planned cardiovascular exercise, for an all-round approach to getting your pre-baby body back.

Enjoy a glass of wine and nibbles at The Claremont in Hove and hear how you can get your pre-baby body back on Thursday 15 September at 7.30pm. There are only 30 places available, so call or email to reserve your place 07931 771 457/ livia@fitfreedom.co.uk – don’t forget to tell your friends!
Fit Freedom: contact Livia on 07931 771 457.

Weleda Calendula Bath giveaway

Latest 7 has teamed up with green beauty brand, Weleda, to offer parents the chance to win the bathtime treat for their baby: the new Calendula Bath (rrp £8.50). It contains a mix of pure plant extracts including thyme extract, to calm body and soul so your little one can relax and unwind at the end of the day in preparation for a good night’s sleep (which is also great news for sleep-deprived parents). It’s aromatic fragrance immediately calms the senses if your tiny tot is feeling a little delicate or off colour. Other essential oils in the natural fragrance include calming lavender and reviving pine. The ingredients soothe skin that is easily irritated. Calendula Bath has been dermatologically-tested.

For the chance to win one of three bottles of Calendula Bath, just tell us: Which anniversary is Weleda celebrating this year?

Clue: check out their website www.weleda.co.uk
Email your answer to competitions@thelatest.co.uk with ‘Weleda’ in the subject box and your answer and contact details in the body of the email. Closing date for entries: 26 September 2011.

Brighton Baby Expo
The Baby Expo is back in Brighton with a new autumn date – 13 November – and a fabulous new venue: the American Express Community Stadium. Visitors can look forward to top parenting advice from experts as seen on TV, a fun-packed entertainment programme, over 150 national exhibitors, fashion shows, flexible working zone, the natural parenting zone, mums-only pampering area, designer buggies, the innovation alley, showcasing the most exciting new products to market and the chance to win £1,000 worth of prizes! Tickets cost £2.50 which goes to support the presence of the NCT and Chestnut Tree Children’s Hospice. But Latest 7 readers can win free tickets – just go to www.brightonbabyexpo.co.uk/comptickets. Terms and conditions apply. Hurry as a limited number of tickets are available!

Brighton Baby Expo, 13 November, The Amex Stadium, for full information go to www.brightonbabyexpo.co.uk/baby-show

Business Mums Summit
The Business Mums Summit will be held on Monday 10 October at The Thistle Hotel in Brighton, this year combined with the national mumandworking awards!

The event will welcome hundreds of business mums and would-be ‘mumpreneurs’ along with a fabulous range of exhibitors and sponsors. Headline speakers include Kate Garraway from Daybreak and founder of Goodypass.com, and Laura Tenison MBE, Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year and founder of Jo Jo Maman Bebe. Delegates will enjoy an inspiring and energising day, learning top tips and business strategies, the chance to network and connect with key business women, meet with contractors and suppliers and leave with an accountable plan to take their business forward, at whatever stage they are at.

One lucky Latest 7 reader can win a free ticket to the event. Just tell us: Daybreak can be seen on which TV channel?

Email your answer to competitions@thelatest.co.uk with ‘Daybreak’ in the subject box and your answer and contact details in the body of the email.?Closing date: 26 September 2011. For more information go to www.businessmumssummit.co.uk

Purple Turtle Therapy
Purple Turtle Therapy on Hove seafront offers a vast range of holistic treatments including massage, aromatherapy and beauty treatments. Purple Turtle Therapy specialises in pregnancy and is keen to raise the industry’s standards in pregnancy treatments. “I want to offer pregnant women a haven where they can come and enjoy a variety of treatments knowing they are in experienced, safe hands,” says director Amy Taylor.

The therapists are highly qualified, caring and experienced but best of all the massages are priced by the time you have, you don’t get charged extra just because you are pregnant! Also available are Purple Pamper Packages and dads and partners aren’t forgotten with the Purple Pregnancy Duo Massage and the Purple Pregnancy Duo Workshop.

Purple Turtle Therapy also runs baby massage classes for mums, dads and carers. The Tiny Turtles club gives clients exclusive discounts throughout pregnancy and beyond. The Purple Turtle Therapy Academy runs accredited courses for therapists keen to learn Pregnancy Massage.

Purple Turtle Therapy Rooms, King Alfred Leisure Centre, Kingsway, Hove
BN3 2WW, 01273 447890, www.purpleturtletherapy.com

Wave has teamed up with Purple Turtle Therapy to offer mums to be the chance to win some fabulous, pregnancy pampering treatments…

1st prize: Purple Pregnancy Duo Workshop – Partners can learn some soothing techniques to massage their partners during pregnancy then be rewarded with a 45 minute duo holistic massage for themselves and their partner.

2nd prize: Baby Massage course – Learn the wonderful art of baby massage with your child in a safe and enjoyable environment.

3rd prize: Pregnancy massage – A 30 minute pregnancy massage to relax, revive and restore.

Just tell us: What was the name of the purple Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle?

Email your answer to competitions@thelatest.co.uk with Purple Turtle as the subject. Don’t forget to leave your name and contact details. Closing date for entries: 26 September 2011. Prizes must be claimed by 30 November 2011.

Buggyfit

Katy Wayne tones up and meets new mums with Buggyfit classes in Brighton & Hove

“It’s not just a walk in the park,” promises Brighton and Hove’s Buggyfit, and it doesn’t disappoint. Led by the lovely Kelly Bassett, the newly established post-natal exercise class is a fun, challenging and rewarding way of getting back into shape after childbirth.

The hugely experienced and deeply personable Kelly instills confidence in the most anxious and unfit new mums. With an implicit understanding of women’s post-baby bodies, exercises are suitably challenging and tailored to the wants and needs of the group. Classes take place everyday in Brighton’s beautiful parks and on the seafront. But this is no glorified coffee morning: classes take place come rain or shine and there’s no strolling and gossiping at the back! That’s not to say these classes aren’t sociable. It’s a great opportunity to meet other new mums and their new charges. Sessions often end with a cuppa and a gossip in the park café and a well-deserved (small) piece of cake.

Like all good exercise sessions, they start with a warm-up – usually a brisk walk/gentle jog with pushchairs. Resistance work also forms a key part of the session with the use of resistance bands differentiated according to the individual’s strength and fitness levels. Abs get a work-out too after nine months of baby-growing. Hove Park offers the opportunity to use free, communal gym equipment. Classes are so varied that they may involve some action on the basketball court, resistance work on Brighton’s pebbled beach or a few circuits of Preston Park’s velodrome. For those growing in confidence and fitness there are advanced sessions too. Some members are even training towards a 5K charity run in September.

Buggyfit has its own Facebook page with up-to-date information on classes and encouraging personalised feedback from Kelly on the day’s activities. The group recently enjoyed a sophisticated afternoon tea at one of Brighton’s premier hotels – a welcome opportunity to get out of the trainers and tracksuits and bond with new-found friends.

So, if the idea of dusting off that celebrity fitness DVD or digging out the gym membership card fills you with dread, then check out Buggyfit. Babies, Brighton’s finest parks, like-minded ladies, expert advice and toning up – what more could a new mum ask for? It’s definitely not just a walk in the park; Buggyfit offers a whole lot more.

Buggyfit Brighton & Hove, Kelly Bassett: 07500 081 227, www.buggyfit.co.uk/trainer.php?id=168&lid=356