Tips for Curbing Your Sweet Tooth
You may crave sweets during pregnancy, but eating too much sugar will increase your chances of having a big baby and subsequent complications during labor. Everything you eat, your baby eats, too, so eating a balanced and healthy diet is important. That being said, no one expects you to cut out sweets altogether. Here are [...]
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Choosing a Labor Support Person
No one should ever have to give birth alone. Whether it is a husband, a mother, a sister, a doula or a friend present – the importance of a personal labor support person is paramount. Labor is scary at times and the pain can make it difficult to speak or think clearly. The new [...]
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Time Goes By So Slowly
As my son’s first birthday approaches and I look back on my first pregnancy, the whole nine months, in memory at least, feels like nothing more than a blip on the radar screen. In the final weeks, I recall feeling like I had been “pregnant forever.” I remember actually saying that on more than one [...]
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Time Savings Tips to Prep Your House for Baby
Getting ready for a baby in your home involves more than just baby-proofing. Sure, locking away dangerous cleaners, protecting electrical outlets and blocking stairs are all good ideas, but you will discover that adding convenience for your sake will help you keep your sanity. Taking care of a baby takes up a lot of time, [...]
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Minimizing the Stress of Commuting While Pregnant
Commuting to work is a pain to begin with, but pregnancy can makes things even more complicated. Pregnancy and stress don’t mix well; unfortunately, commuting and stress do. Add the possibility of being far from home when your water breaks or complications arise, and the stress compounds. Here are some tips for keeping commuting stress [...]
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Quiz: Life Before and After a Child
Once you have your first child, your life will change dramatically. You’ll redefine the words busy and tired. Sleeping in might become something you have to bribe your spouse to experience. You’ll mark every week of your child’s life and forget your own birthday. Whether these changes seem good or bad depends on your perspective, [...]
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Recovering from a Tear or Episiotomy
Not every baby has a tiny head, is born at the perfect speed and in the perfect position, and not every woman is blessed with the abilities of “Stretch Armstrong” when it comes to childbirth; so it’s not surprising that more than half of women either tear or have an episiotomy during labor. It’s [...]
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Would You Compromise Your Beliefs for a Pregnancy Craving?
I just read an interview with Tiffani Thiessen, a long time vegetarian, in which she expresses remorse over indulging in her pregnancy craving: red meat. Pregnancy cravings are strange like that. They often completely contradict our normal preferences. For one, where I had always loved hamburgers, I could not stand the site of beef while [...]
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Please Be Kind
Dear Future Pregnant Self,
Congratulations, you are expecting baby number (2? 3? 10?)! Do you remember the first time you were pregnant? Your poor husband cringed every time you opened your mouth. Go ahead; ask him if he remembers that first pregnancy. “You were mean,” he’ll say. It’s time to face the truth. You were not [...]
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Top Ten Pregnancy Milestones (Part 2)
As promised, here are your top five pregnancy milestones:
5. First time dad feels a kick
How many times have you felt the baby move from the outside, placed the dad-to-be’s hand on the spot, only to have the baby stop moving? The first time he finally does feel the baby’s kicks, it’s a big deal! [...]