My bouncing baby belly balance ball

One of the best items I've found for one's child-bearing years, based strictly on it's ability to multi-purpose, is the Balance Ball. Pre-pregnancy, things like waist circumference and the effects of gravity really didn't monopolize my thoughts and a little bit of exercise went a long way (my post-baby self laughs heartily at this) - mostly in the mood altering department (hello endorphins!) I liked a straight posture so a balance ball helped keep that up. Then when I got pregnant and we signed up for class to inform us of all the eye-opening things that encompass 'birth', the instructor showed us a pregnant woman's best friend -the balance ball. We could kneel next to it, drape our arms across it, rest our heads on it and let the belly hang in the breeze. It was one way I knew I could take a break from holding up all that excess weight. The ball transitioned nicely into an early-stage labor accomplice for that same reason or I'm sure it probably could have provided something to punch endlessly during the pain. Since I had a c-section (baby was breach the whole time) I didn't get the chance to roll around with the balance ball while enduring contractions but it sure looked like a good suggestion. After our sweet little girl was born, the natural parenting instinct to rock a baby to sleep kicked in. Seeing as how we are challenged in the space department in our little Brooklyn apartment and the nursery had just enough room for a crib, it meant no rocking chair. But, once again, the balance ball delivers. We held her while bouncing gently on the balance ball, working out our core muscles while putting the baby to sleep! She loved the bouyancy it created - must have felt like the womb. I'd like to say my mid-section has benefited but that would imply that I put some effort into it. Ha ha. However, when not utlizing all the many personalities of the Balance Ball, baby and I like to relax with simultanous, side-by-side Downward Dog. Isn't she the cutest?