Paul & Jenn's Adventures

Debra is a fantastic physical therapist specializing in pregnancy and postpartum fitness in the Capital Region. I had the pleasure of taking her prenatal exercise class when I was pregnant with Micah. Besides learning great exercises and feeling relaxed after each class, I also made great connections with other women in the class. I started to get sciatica in one hip starting at about 20 weeks pregnant, and after one private session with Debra, the pain nearly disappeared instantly. I've been recommending her class to all my pregnant friends ever since. In this interview Debra shares a bit about her own motherhood experience and offers practical tips for all expecting and postpartum moms. Enjoy! How did you get interested in physical therapy and decide to pursue it as a career? Growing up I was a dancer, so I was always interested in exercise and how the body worked.  Originally, when I went to PT school, my goal was to work with professional dancers.  After graduation, ...

1. Eco Straw Cup It was always a challenge for me to to remember to stay hydrated even before I was pregnant. And since staying hydrated is the number one reason for pre-term labor , it was even more important for me to stay on top of my water in-take. It took effort to remember to drink water periodically during the hussle and bussle of the work day, and it was a pain to carry around a heavy water bottle everywhere I go. This double-wall insulated cup keep my water cool and looks cool too. The best part is that I can take little sips without having to unscrew a lid and lift up the bottle to my mouth to take a gulp. I know it sounds really lazy, but I was amazed at how much more water I was drinking without even trying with this cup. I also like to flavor my water with a fresh slice of lemon. With this cup, I didn't have to worry about it clunking on my face if I had used a stainless steel bottle instead.

Jenn: Our birth story really started with our pregnancy story. Like most of my girlfriends as I was growing up, I was terrified of giving birth. The thought of having a baby was almost subconsciously taboo from all the abstinence education from school, then soon I was married and it seemed like everyone around us was suddenly having babies. It seemed unreal that it was now "OK" to be pregnant, and even somewhat enviable. I found out I was pregnant 3 days before I was leaving for a business trip to China in July of 2010. Paul: We had just gotten our brand new Simmons World Class king size mattress from mattress.com on June 16, and I am pretty sure it was the sperms from those first few nights that did the trick.  By July 17 (week 4), Jenn started to have regular night time wakings to pee.  Another week passed and Jenn started to have an extremely heightened sense of smell.  I used to smell things before she does, but now she can detect smells that even I didn't notice. ...