Ballet Baby - 6 Months! Hello Beauties! At six months pregnant I’m amazed by how quickly the time is flying by. Summer is over and today is the first day in NYC that has really felt like fall. It’s crisp and gorgeous out there and I am so grateful to be feeling so good! Pregnancy has a way of really making you pause and think about your life, the way that you treat your body and how you spend your time. The closer I get to giving birth the more I am thinking about and processing it all. Maybe this is part of the preparation of becoming a mom! As the weeks pass I am becoming more and more aware of my environment and doing everything that I can to make it as happy and harmonious as possible. Knowing that the baby in utero experiences what I experience, I am even more focused on making my life as healthy, peaceful and positive as possible! I mentioned earlier how much more sensitive my body has become to the most basic needs like food and sleep. The same is true for stress, loud noises and really anything negative. Suddenly I feel the impact of everything, the good and the bad, so much more. When I sleep well, eat healthy balanced meals and workout I feel terrific! But if I overdo it and don’t give myself enough time to rest, eat a huge heavy meal or even get too hungry, my body really pays the price. My feet get swollen, I feel nauseated (which thankfully I have largely avoided!) and end up feeling all around wiped out. I’ve also been working hard to find ways to better manage stress as I really feel the physical effects that it has on me. Outside of an overwhelming urge to get more organized that must be an early wave of nesting, I’m finding that taking a little extra time to really pamper my body goes a long way for preventing and managing stress. There’s nothing as relaxing or luxurious  to me now as a warm bath at night after a workout and getting lost in the pages of a good book! I know this is the most obvious thing in the world, but each I day feel the impact of how important taking care of myself is for taking care of the baby even more. And how true this must be when my little bundle arrives! Healthy mama, healthy baby! With love! xoxoMary Helen