Pregnancy

Your iPhone/BlackBerry has gone a long way in streamlining your life. Your MP3 player has helped you organize decades of music, including finding a home for all the songs from the Pretty in Pink soundtrack. But the whole pregnancy thing has thrown you for a loop, and no little piece of technology can help you navigate this strange new world. Time to go low-tech with some face-to-face interaction with live human beings … and a hula hoop.

This Wednesday, The Pregnant New Yorker is hosting an “alternative health event” featuring a panel of experts who will discuss tips for labor and delivery, breastfeeding, prenatal massage and yoga, and acupuncture. Joanna Lindenbaum, the woman behind Soulful Coaching for Busy Women, will be on hand to advise moms-to-be on managing their time and energy in the first few months of life with baby. (There’s no app for that.) And the piece de resistance - a prenatal hula hooping demo. It’s called Pre/Postnatal Hoopnotica Hoopdance and combines hula hooping with dancing. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Long live the 50s … minus the saddle shoes.

When: Wed. 9/16, 6:30-9pm; $10 in advance, $15 at the door. Register at thepregnantnewyorker.com.
Where: Yummy Mummy, 1201 Lexington Ave. (bet. 81st and 82nd Sts.)

The irony of being in this age of information overload - it’s never been harder or easier to learn what to expect when you’re expecting.   Try Googling “pregnancy.”  Got time to sift through 137 million hits?  And we haven’t even started with Facebook, Twitter (and, of course, UB), and the parenting magazines and books.

Midwife Cara Muhlhahn, featured in Ricki Lake and director Abby Epstein’s film The Business of Being Born, is headlining a seminar to pare down the essentials for you.  A vocal advocate of home birth, she’ll explain birthing options plus touch on key topics related to maintaining a healthy pregnancy.  Other speakers at The Pregnant New Yorker’s “alternative health event” include a doula, registered dietitian, prenatal massage therapist, GYROTONIC/GYROKINESIS trainers and an acupuncturist.  You can also learn how to green your home for Junior.  And there will even be a Henna artist talking about temporary body painting for pregnant women.  Visuals included.

Tweet that.

When: Tue., 7/14, 6:30–9pm; $10.
Where: Kinespirit, 40 E. 23^rd St. (between Park and Madison), 3rd floor.
Register at thepregnantnewyorker.com.

You’ve developed a calm and cool demeanor when dealing with toddlers, in-laws, pushy co-workers and class parents. But sometimes, you just want to punch something.

Get out your aggression — and get a great workout at the same time — at Punch Fitness, a family-friendly boxing gym on the Upper East Side (also in Bridgehampton for the summer). Instead of an intimidating, bare bones, Million Dollar Baby-inspired studio, Punch is warm and welcoming with a strong female client base. Owner Adelino Da Costa will whip you into shape with his special system of jabs, kicks and crunches (prices range from about $109 to $145 for a sweat-inducing one-on-one session). Da Costa even trains women throughout their pregnancies, as evidenced by black-and-white photos of a rather ripped mom-to-be (though you should begin his workouts prior to getting preggo).

Your triceps may scream for mercy, but your stress level will stabilize.

1015 Madison Ave., lower level (bet. 78th & 79th St.), 212-288-2375, punchfitnesscenter.com.

Your friends and family are scattered across the globe (thank goodness), which means you’ve settled in the city by choice.

Nomadic parents-to-be are the stars of the new comedy Away We Go, starring John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph and directed by Sam Mendes, opens in NYC today. This film follows the journey of an expectant couple as they travel the country in search of the perfect place to put down roots and raise a family. Of course, the pair encounters misadventures along with way, thanks to a wacky assortment of relatives and old pals (who are either moving to Antwerp or anti-stroller).

You can relate.

Visit filminfocus.com.

Pumping and dumping, latching, proper positioning — you’re learning all the techniques, but breastfeeding is not going so swimmingly.

Stop by Yummy Mummy, a just-opened uptown boutique that focuses on everything related to breastfeeding. This full-service, one-stop-shop for new and expectant parents focuses on nursing products and resources, as well as classes on lactation-related topics taught by Certified Lactation Consultants. From nursing bras and pads to books and DVDs, the specialty store run by an UES native and mother is all about making the breastfeeding experience a little easier.

1201 Lexington Ave. (bet. 81st & 82nd St.), 212-87-YUMMY, yummymummystore.com.

Is ice cream for dinner every night bad for the baby? Should you eat entirely organic? Must you really gain that much weight with twins? More importantly, who can answer all these pressing pregnancy questions?

Make a date with registered dietitian (and mom) Meg Tubman at her cozy Tribeca studio, Fresh Start Nutrition. Specializing in maternal nutrition, Tubman offers one-on-one education and counseling for all stages from conception through postpartum. Whether it’s eating for fertility, pregnancy health and weight concerns or coping with a picky infant, she will work with your needs and goals to help you formulate a (realistic and attainable) plan of action. Even better, this French culinary grad focuses what you can eat (whole foods, yum) rather than what you can’t (major restrictions equal stress).

Go forth and snack.

Visit freshstartnutritionstudio.com.

Hips, shoulders, knees and back — you could write a song about all the body parts that need extra attention during pregnancy.

No matter your trimester, try the prenatal Pilates class at Core Pilates NYC that goes beyond the typical mat class. Using the famed tower apparatus and special breathing techniques, this workout helps create synergy between the abs, lower back and pelvic floor — a band of muscles that is much-needed for pregnancy, delivery, and getting your pre-baby bod back (it’s helpful if you have prior Pilates experience). Limited to just four moms-to-be, the weekly Saturday class (by reservation, $32) offers semi-private attention from the center’s expert (certified prenatal Pilates) instructors. Or, book a one-on-one session at this cozy Union Square studio to really focus on stretching, easing swelling, increasing circulation and maintaining muscle.

You and your belly will be singing a happy tune.

99 University Place, 212-260-5464, corepilatesnyc.com.

Having a baby has changed everything, including your mind and body. Those last 10 pounds (which you’ve easily shed BB) just won’t leave your belly, and your brain doesn’t function like it used to.

Get rebalanced: Mindful Health, headed by holistic nutritionist Nicole Glassman, offers a total body fitness plan with new technology like electrodermal screening, detox foot baths and antioxidant scans (it’s not as scary as it sounds) that can help with everything from PPD to fertility issues. Or, join the 90-day program (coming up in October and November) that combines group fitness training with nutrition counseling.

Think of it as an energy boost from the inside out.

Visit mindfulhealth.biz.

Attention yogis: September is National Yoga Month. So if you’re a newbie to the world of downward dog, now is the time to start — even if you’re pregnant.

NYC’s Prenatal Yoga Center recently opened a satellite studio in Cobble Hill (the other four locations are in Manhattan), with classes that link yoga postures with breath to build strength and a connection to your baby.

If that isn’t enough to get you stretching, PYC founder Deb Flashenberg says that yoga helps moms-to-be strengthen the uterus and pelvic muscles (less chance for tearing or the need for an episiotomy), aids digestion (bye-bye heartburn), and alleviates back pain, fluid retention and carpal tunnel.

Om.

Visit prenatalyogacenter.com.

With your upgrade to larger digs during the eighth month of pregnancy and the arrival of the new baby, you’ve hardly had time to unpack. Who knows if you’ll ever locate your pre-pregnancy clothes or the TV remote.

Out of the Box Organizing can liberate all those boxes from the dark corners of your apartment. Not only will they unpack your stuff, they’ll also arrange it so you’re not stuck with a mound of mismatched shoes and old skis in the middle of the living room. Or if you’re getting ready to sell, they can de-clutter and pare down your abode so perspective buyers don’t feel so, well, boxed in.

What a moving experience.

Visit outoftheboxorganizing.com.