By Gabriela Resto-Montero
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER EAST SIDE — Even with sit-ups and exercise, physiologist Lisa Hoffman couldn't get rid of her "mommy mush", the after-pregnancy belly that cropped up after the birth of her two children.
When she learned that the belly was due in part to a tear in stomach muscle caused by the pregnancies, Hoffman, the owner of personal training business Solo Fitness, decided to educate and train other new mothers about checking for the tear, called a diastisis, and getting their pre-baby bodies back.
“If I ask a mom, where’s your mommy mush? Everyone will go to here,” Hoffman said as she pointed to her stomach. “It doesn't take a lot of time to take care of yourself because when we're moms, we don't have a lot of time."
Hoffman's class is one of several support groups, classes and parenting centers in the Upper East Side focused on helping new mothers.
So in honor of Mother's Day, DNAinfo took a look at some of the other services geared towards new parents in the neighborhood.
Hoffman's free "Mummy Mush" classes, which focuses on strengthening abdominal muscles, at Metro Minis Baby Boutique, located at 821 Park Avenue, every other Wednesday at 1 p.m.
Hoffman’s SOLOPop program offers a post-pregnancy, in-home training that includes pilates, yoga, massage and nutrition at $190 for the initial 90-minute consultation.
Metro Minis co-owner, Joanna McNeilly, hosts low-cost or free classes on the ins and outs of cloth diapering and infant massage every week.
The store specializes in babywearing, or the practice of carrying infants in soft slings, pouches and wraps, which retail from $48 to $198.
“If a mother is really comfortable with her carrier, the result is that she and baby will work better as a team in terms of bonding,” said McNeilly, who is a certified instructor on babywearing and carried both of her children in slings.
"Both a baby carrier and a cloth diaper can be very fashionable," she said.
As more parents opt to use the slings, it’s important to know how to properly use them, McNeilly said. Staff at the store hold classes on safe babywearing techniques weekly.
Last March, the Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled two baby sling models after three infant deaths resulted from Infantino’s “Sling Rider” and “Wendy Bellissimo” models.
Getting their babies to sleep through the night was the main topic of choice for mothers at Jessica Shapley's new mom support group, also held at the boutique.
“Especially in the beginning, the most important thing is connecting to other new moms,” said Jessica Shapley, a mother of two who runs new mom support groups every week.
“You’re not alone and you and your baby are not an anomaly,” Shapley said.
At a recent Shapley meeting, a group of moms rocked newborns in their strollers and discussed swaddling, or how to to wrap babies in swaddling clothes so they don’t startle themselves awake.
The weekly group meetings are held in the back room of Metro Minis and cost $15.
Other post-pregnancy services in the neighborhood include Amanda Cole's Yummy Mummy breastfeeding store at 1201 Lexington Avenue.
Cole opened the shop while she was breastfeeding her daughter Alexa in 2009 and needed a one-stop shop. The store has a collection of breastfeeding clothes, books, DVDs and gifts.
"I knew that there was a need for this," Cole said.
The store also offers an expectant mother support group along with breastfeeding, Prenatal Yoga and baby CPR classes and follows up with a breastfeeding support group.
The collection of services for new moms helps them get through the difficult first months of their babies lives, Hoffman said.
"During this time everybody's babying the baby and someone needs to baby the mom," she said.
