First up, real mamas protest against celebrities’ skinny post-pregnancy bodies.

Let’s face it; it’s annoying when celebrities flaunt their scantily clad bodies just weeks after giving birth.

It creates unrealistic pressure.

Like Heidi Klum who strutted the Victoria Secret runway just a mere 6 weeks postpartum.

Kourtney Kardashian modeled a red bikini on the front cover of magazines, 3 months after giving birth.

It’s important to remember that it’s a celebrity’s job to look good.

Jessica Simpson is being paid $4 Million by Weight Watchers to lose weight.

Most celebs have access to 24/7 personal trainers, fitness equipment, nutritionists, chefs, nannies, and more.

Good for them!

But they are NOT the norm!

We need a post-baby body reality check!

And the ladies of CT Working Moms did just that.

No doubt inspired from the Dove soap campaign, these brave, real mamas joined forces to show a different underbelly.

Bumpy, squishy, soft, curvy, beautiful post-baby belly skin.

Skin reshaped by pregnancy, even months and months afterwards.

And they loved it!

The whole experience allowed them to see, feel and share their beauty.

They encourage every woman, particularly new mamas, to do the same. That’s what I love about Jennifer Garner. She seems like she doesn’t stress about getting back down to her pre-pregnancy weight in a month. She looks like a mom who gave birth and is losing the weight at a healthy pace.

Regardless of what you’ve got – FLAUNT it proudly mamas!

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Let me take a quick break… For 50 weeks now, we have been crunhin up the world, and we’d love for YOU to be a part of it.

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Now it’s time for some community news.

Natural mama Kimberly gave birth to her baby girl Hazel Grace on April 9 at 7:04 a.m. She was 8 lbs. 4 oz and 21.5 inches long.

Mama was desperate to have her third child… she developed symphysis pubis dysfunction or pelvic girdle pain. It was excruciating! So the fact that she was now 6 days overdue was almost unbearable.

It was with great relief that she woke up at 2:30 a.m. on the 9th and felt her first contraction. She knew this was it.

Her husband and friend helped her through early labor, which included random contractions and very little pain. Once they started coming every 8 minutes, they decided to go to the hospital since her friend had a feeling baby would come fast once water broke.

She thought she’d be like 4 or 5 cm when she arrived, so was shocked to learn that she was 9 cm! At that, Kimberly burst out in tears. After three months of pain so terrible she could hardly walk, her daughter’s birth was going to be so easy and she was finally going to be able to hold her!

As Kimberly was signing her paperwork, her water broke and the baby immediately started to crown. The staff was telling her not to push and mama replied “”have you ever had a baby?!”

The doctor barely walked into the room and baby Hazel was born after only 1 minute of pushing and exactly half an hour after getting to the hospital.

Since her arrival everything has gone beautifully- her recovery, breastfeeding, sleeping and cloth diapering. Her two sisters, Ellie and Grainne, are big helpers and they’re all so in love with baby Hazel.

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Next up. In Episode 24 we featured the news that Kailin from TheTurnersJourney YouTube channel got pregnant naturally against all odds.

Well, she had her baby!

But, mamas, it was no easy journey.

When Kailin was 23 weeks pregnant her water broke unexpectedly. She drove to the hospital and they said prepare to go into labor within 48 hours. 48 hours came and went, and the hospital said, well, prepare to deliver within the week. So they admitted her to the high risk floor…

And Kailin stayed there for 10 weeks! She was on strict bedrest and continually leaking fluids, but she held on and the baby grew inside her.

One week before her scheduled induction time, Kailin went into labor, and she was taken down for a c-section because her baby was Frank Breech (we’ll show an image)

At 4:01 pm Kailin’s daughter Cora came out crying and breathing. Born at 33w3d she was 4 lbs 9 oz and 18 inches long.

She was immediately put onto C pap in the OR and taken right to NICU for respiratory distress. But she was a strong one, and within 24 hours she was off the breathing tubes.

Baby and mama stayed in the NICU for 4 weeks, mainly to get feeding down, and then Cora came home right at 38 weeks gestation.

Cora is now he is now 10 weeks old and the best thing that has ever happened to me! she was totally worth it all!

Whew, what a journey Kailin! I am so happy for you and baby Cora, enjoy new baby bliss.

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Finally, what do you do when your toddler grabs a burning candle, runs down the stairs unassisted, or pulls at sister’s hair?

For those of us who don’t want to spank, let’s talk about some alternatives.

#6 – Use the “clap-growl”

Think primitive. Give a good sharp clap to get their attention.

Then, a serious look, extended finger and minimal words – “No Bite!”

Take a double look and repeat the phrase….”No Bite.”

Remember you’re dealing with someone with minimal verbal skills.

#5 – Give explanations, not threats

Threats are a slippery slope, escalating to unrealistic levels:

You can’t do anything until your father gets home
You can’t play with Legos till Christmas
You’re grounded for the rest of your life

Stick with explanations as they can strengthen your child’s cognitive development and give them a reason to behave.

#4 – Refuse to get angry

Think of each conflict as an opportunity to guide and direct your child.

This leads us to #3 – give yourself a time out.

It’s okay to be too angry to deal with the situation at hand. Take a pause.

Tell your child you will talk about it later.

#2 – Give your child a time out.

One minute for every year of age is recommended.

[Does that mean 35 minutes for the mommy’s time-out?]

The theory is that the child should remain isolated for the duration…to disengage from the situation and think about what happened.

And lastly, #1 – Out last your child.

Consistency is the key to discipline.

If you say no, mean it; stick to it; don’t waver.

Sounds simple, but not easy in the moment.

Experts agree more often than not parents don’t stick to what they should.

You have to be willing to say no, one more time than your child is willing to ask.

Even if that is 101 times…..and with toddlers that is very possible!

This brings us to the QOTW: What discipline alternatives do you use?

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For our 50th show we’ve got an AMAZING giveaway from one of the most progressive companies in the world: Dr. Bronner’s.

Dr. Bronner’s make wonderful soaps with those iconic labels.

The labels, if you’ve ever read them, are the “moral ABCs” by Dr. Emanuel H. Bronner. An interesting man, to say the least. There’s a great film about him and the company called Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soapbox.

People love the soaps and the Dr. Bronner’s story. But there are other stories about the company that not everyone knows.

Like that organic integrity is paramount to their business plans, as well as fair trade.

In 2005, Dr. Bronner’s decided to go with all certified fair trade ingredients, but they couldn’t find farms that were certified organic AND fair trade. So their solution was to get into the farming business.

Now they’ve got plantations in Sri Lanka, Ghana, India, and Israel, and in each of these places Dr. Bronner’s give 10 percent of profits back to community

And today they make way more than their iconic Castile soaps. They make hair rinses, shave gels, balms, lotions and pump soaps.

This week, in honor of our 50th Mama Natural show, we are giving away one of EVERYTHING Dr. Bronner’s makes. ALL-ONE! Every product they make here on spaceship earth.