Dana Wood - Momover: The New Moms Guide to Getting It Back Together (Even If You Never Had It in the First Place!)

to my mamas:

Christine, Elizabeth, Gwen, Jeanine, Jenny B., Jenny R., Jill E., Jill S., Katherine, Mara, Melissa, Ninka, Patricia, and Rebekah.

Thank you for sharing your heartwarming and hilarious tales from the trenches.

to my experts:

Christina Attiken; Jill Baron, MD; Michele Bernhardt; Erika Bloom; Fredric Brandt, MD; La Reine Chabut; Helen Garabedian; Anthony Gianzero; Sonia Kashuk; Michael Kane, MD; Alexander Kulick, MD; Jackie Keller; David Kirsch; Gregg Lituchy, DDS; Tanya Mackay; Jeffrey Morrison, MD; Sari Nisker; Lucy Puryear, PhD; Casey Soer; Bria Simpson; Lyss Stern; Julie Tupler, RN; Alycea Ungaro; and Vanessa Wauchope.

Thank you for making time to provide guidance and help to so many new mamas.

to the pilars:

Guzman and Queen

Thank you for providing the bully pulpit and push I needed to make this book happen.

to stine:

Thank you for helping me carve out time to write and for making our lives work so seamlessly.

to hubby:

Thank you for your love, support, and countless 3:00 A.M. pep talks.

to my beloved diapered darling:

Thank you for turning my life on its head in the absolutely, positively best way possible.

There was never a doubt in my mind that Id have kids. Of course I did focus on a few other things prior to setting my sights on motherhood and I waited until I was good and readyphysically, emotionally, and spirituallyand had a million adventures under my belt before I took the plunge. But I always knew that Mom would be a big part of my ultimate job description, the role of a lifetime that I was destined to play.

Yet even with all that prep work, I still wasnt truly primed for the tidal wave of personal change a woman goes through after giving birth. For me, postpartum was the most profoundly elating and devastating feeling Ive ever had (twice) in my life. At first, my focus turned totally away from the outside world and my inner life and I put everything I had toward the welfare of my two little beings. That sounds reasonable, right? Isnt that what moms are supposed to do? But today when I see other new mothers who are in the same self-righteous state of self-deprivation as I was, I realize that I wouldnt even hire someone in that state to babysit, let alone look to them as a healthy example of motherhood.

Physically recovering from childbirth was also challenging. I had two C-sections in a span of 18 months, with a gall bladder removal on top of that! All this triggered a tremendous loss in muscle tone and strength. I also gained around 60 pounds, which was approximately half of my pre-baby body weight. So I went from being a physically strong persona diver, a yogi, a runner, and a dancerto barely being able to pick myself up off the floor.

But happily, my martyr days are firmly behind me. I now make my mental, physical, and spiritual health my number one priority which is, of course, the core premise of the book youre wisely holding in your hands right now. Obviously caring for my kids is still right up there in terms of importance and its a constant juggling act to keep everything in balance, but I need to put myself first and exercise, eat well, and communicate clearly in order to feel centered and grounded.

My children are my greatest achievement and my greatest joy, but theyre also an endless source of questions and challenges that require constant study, prayer, and patience. And its hard to be there for them if Im not there for myself. It took a while for me to find my footing with this whole mom thing, but, from one mama to another, I know youll get to the right destination on your journey. Just remember that every Momover begins with a single step.

Veronica Webb

introduction

momover

(noun) : MASHUP OF MOM AND MAKEOVER minus the pressure to look like a total babe 24/7. (unless that what the mama wants, of course.) Holistic; ENCOMPASSES MIND, BODY, AND SPIRIT. Nudges her to take primo care of herself, with zero guilt & tons of support. BENEFICIAL TO ENTIRE FAMILY.

I remember it as if it were yesterday. Theres me, lying on a blankie on a sweet patch of park behind my New York City apartment building. Beautiful day, the sun was shining, and there I was, blubbering like a whale as I rubbed Coppertone into my pudgy belly and spider-veined thighs. I had recently given birth to my first child, a bouncing baby girl. But, while she was crazy-healthy and completely in charge of the world around her, I was a mess. And as the tears streamed down, it dawned on me that there was no way I was going to recoup my formerly sky-high energy level, laser-sharp focus, and once-great ass unless I expended an insane amount of effort and elbow grease.

In short, I needed a Momovermentally, physically, and spiritually. And the only one who could give it to me, was, well, me. Sure, Id have to call in a fleet of gurus for guidance and Id have to pawn the Diapered Darling (DD for short) off on Hubby for a few hours here and there while I went about the business of looking and feeling fab, but the motivation to hop off the new-mommy self-pity train and get with a new and improved postbaby program had to come from moi and moi alone.