Does light drinking in pregnancy have benefits?
Could a glass of wine a day early in pregnancy yield better behaved kids? Maybe, according to results of a new study.
Read more on Reuters via Yahoo! News
Do pregnancy and bipolar disorder mix?
As recently as 10 years ago, doctors advised women with bipolar disorder not to have children. While that thinking is now dated, bipolar women often face tough decisions about how to handle their medication during pregnancy.
Read more on CNN
Some cool pregnancy images:
LSS2: Small Changes::7 Random Facts About Pregnancy
Image by brungrrl
Shirley Pregnancy Photography 懷孕寫真
Image by ElvisHuang
Shirley Pregnancy Photography 懷孕寫真
Image by ElvisHuang
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There are lots of fun ways to include your soon-to-be born baby at Christmas. Who cares if they don’t know what is going on? For the mother-to-be, this “first” Christmas is just as special as all the Christmases to come.
Christmas can almost begin to feel like a baby shower for a pregnant woman. Family members may have gifts for the new baby, such as clothes or toys, and will enjoy watching the new mother open them “for the baby.” Hanging a stocking for the expected baby is a cute way to give small gifts like teething rings, pacifiers or baby socks.
Another way to include the soon-to-be-arriving family member is to include him or her in the Christmas card. Include a copy of the most recent ultrasound along with the family photo or sign the card from the family “and baby.” Friends and family will be tickled when they see the ultrasound or signature. If you send an annual Christmas letter, you can include details about your pregnancy when sharing each family member’s news.
Add a special ornament to your collection commemorating your pregnancy. You can find a keepsake ornament in the store or create one yourself! Not sure what to do? Make a cinnamon ornament in the shape of a baby foot and imprint the date. Mix equal parts cinnamon and apple sauce to create a dough, roll between two sheets of wax paper, cut with cookie cutters or a knife and add a hole with the end of a straw. Allow to air-dry for 24 hours and then string a ribbon through the hole to hang on the tree.
If you enjoy journaling, take a moment to write a letter to your baby about your family’s excitement to welcome him or her. Include current Christmas traditions and family anecdotes. It can be a wonderful keepsake for your child when they are older.
We all know that a pregnant woman is supposed to drink more water than the average non-pregnant person, right? Like 10 glasses instead of 8 or something like that. So, probably a 6oz cup of 1/2 caf coffee and a couple sips of Coca Cola is not enough for about 8 hours of the day. Nope. Not even close. Know why? I do!
Because you’ll pass out in front of all of your co-workers!
Whoops! I sort of did that yesterday. I ate two pop-tarts for breakfast. Not two packages – just two that come in one foil package. And I had a cup of 1/2 caffeine coffee. It was like my 4th cup since finding out I’m pregnant. I don’t drink a lot of coffee. Then I had a few animal crackers before lunch. For lunch I had half of my Victory Garden Soup. I was full and not feeling the best so I couldn’t finish it. It was still a pretty good sized portion though, I thought. Then I headed over to our West office for a meeting with a new agent. I was very thirsty (who woulda thunk, considering I’ve had approximately nothing to drink at this point in the day) so I grabbed one of the Coca Cola’s left over from Labor Day vacation (yes they’re still in my car!) and had a few sips.
I finished my meeting just fine and walked around the building to see if anyone else had questions. I stopped to talk to Brianna and we were talking about pregnancy and such. She recently lost her twins at about 18 weeks. We started talking about morning sickness and I started to feel a little flush. I figured we’d wrap up the conversation and I’d go get a drink but I didn’t make it that far. All of a sudden I was hot and dizzy and said that I was a little dizzy.
Then I woke up on the floor with my head smashed against the cubicle behind me. Another co-worker was already on the phone with 911. At that point I was somewhat awake but I couldn’t keep my eyes open. The paramedics got there within a few minutes and took vitals. I had a high pulse and normal BP. They stood me up to take vitals again. My BP dropped and my pulse jumped to 126! They asked how I was feeling and I said, “hmm OK. Not good but OK.” and they said, “Well based on your stats and the way you look, I think it’s best that we take you in.” Ok. I agreed because I was a little worried about the baby and I was just so freakin drowsy still that I just wanted to lay down!
So they got me into the ambulance and gave me some oxygen and an IV. I felt immediately better. Got to the hospital for an ECG, blood-work, and fetal heart rate check. All was fine! The stuff they checked in my blood – sodium, potassium, probably some other crap – came back a little low but everything was balanced which showed that I was indeed dehydrated. Heart was fine. Baby’s heart was fine at 168 bpm. After the IV was finished, I was sent home.
We called my dad, who was in the middle of a tattoo 45+ minutes away, because we weren’t sure if I’d be out in time to get Isabelle. Turns out he didn’t need to come but it was good to have him there. Unfortunately, it’s not the first time Johnas has had to call and say, “Um Bill, Jess is in the ER.” Actually, I’m pretty sure I was in the exact same room last time.
I was pretty certain as soon as I realized I passed out that I was dehydrated so all I felt was embarrassed. Well that and tired and nauseous! But, I was lucky to have caring co-workers to take care of me and get help.
So far today I’ve put down about 30 oz of water and 20 oz of juice. That’s pretty good for only being 4:30, right? Well, compared to yesterday anyway.
The drama never stops in Wonderland, let me tell you!
The shoot went mostly very well today – my TV husband was very nice (so much so that I thought he was gay for the first several hours!) and one child was an angel and we wanted to throttle the other one.
I am now back home and the rain is teeming down here. It’s too late for me to drive 6 hours, so I’ll have to leave in the morning to go meet up with my real family in an unnamed American city.
It’s just me and our fat, purring cat on the sofa tonight because puppydog is at the dogwalker’s. I’ve got the first two discs of Season Five of Gray’s Anatomy and organic tortilla chips and salsa waiting for me. I guess it’s really good, after a BFN, to have a whirlwind of busy-ness. The long drive tomorrow will keep my occupied, of course, and there is a huge outlet mall where we are going so I plan to do some serious damage.
Mild cramping, like there’s construction going on down there or something, but still no AF. My BBT was high again this morning (WTF?!). Possibilities? Of course, I am hoping that Thursday was just too early for a test and that I’m pregnant. That would just be too amazing, though, wouldn’t it? Something much more cruel, and therefore more likely, would be a corpus luteum cyst that will delay my period indefinitely. Yes, that’s likely it. Just when you think it’s bad, it’s actually worse!
Maybe I should POAS, just in case…
Holy cow y’all. At 15 weeks, I was pretty darn skinny! If you would have asked me whether or not I thought I was skinny pre-pregnancy, I would have told you HELL NO. And at 15 weeks, I felt like my baby bump was totally obvious to everyone. Now, I can’t help but laugh! Nothing like pregnancy to make you feel thin!
This week, Lizard is between 2-3 pounds. When I was at the doctor the other day (GP, not the OB), she told me that Lizard is “essentially done cooking” and is now just “plumping up”. Speaking of Lizard, many of our family members and church ladies are expressing their dislike for the nickname “Lizard.” I tell them that we like that nick-name, but if they don’t, they’re welcome to call her Liz or Lizzy–not Liza, or Ella, or Ellie, or Beth. I don’t understand those being nicknames for Elizabeth (except for Beth, but if I wanted her to be named Beth, I would have named her Beth!), but that’s another story.
In other news:
-The nursery is coming along…I just need ideas for what, if anything to do on the walls that don’t have the mural. Floating shelves? Frames with wall art?
-Back pain is near constant.
-Did I mention that last Friday the waiter asked me whether I was pregnant or “just really liked beer”? Justin says that in retrospect, he should have looked at me and loudly said, “YOU’RE PREGNANT?! When were you going to tell me?!” I have to admit though, as far as pregnancy comments go, that one is probably the funniest and most unique. The waiter is just lucky that I was in a good mood that day. Any other day, and I just as easily could have cried.
-Sweet Justin told me he’s been praying hard that I have a good night’s sleep, and for the first time in months, I slept for more than 3 hours at a time last night. Speaking of last night, I remember rolling over and feeling this weird kicking by my stomach. While I was sleeping, I remember thinking, “that’s not what Lizzy’s kicks usually feel like!” Then I realized that I had rolled over onto the cat, and she was kicking me and trying desperately to get my big belly off her. Sorry Bones!
-My hair is a big frizzy mess. I am really tempted just to toss it in a pony-tail for the next 3 months.
-I HATE the taste and consistency of plain, organic yogurt, but I’ve been eating it like it’s going out of style to try and ward off any nasty side-effects of the antibiotics that I’m on (and thankfully, I’m feeling much better). Blech! I mixed the most recent batch with applesauce to try to make it taste a little better, but no dice.
-I’m beginning to get a linea negra. But here’s the funny part–I had surgery a couple of years ago to remove my appendix, and they went in lapriscopically right above my belly button. Consequently, I have a small scar right above my belly button. The linea negra goes from my ribs, down to the scar in a nice straight line, then the scar makes it jutt over about an inch, making it go completely around my belly button. It’s just funny that the lines totally don’t line up at all.
Once Halloween passes, you’ll see all of the Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations out in the department stores. This time of year is my absolute favorite, and last year I loved it even more! November and December are the “feast months,” full of parties, potlucks and big family dinners that will make you appreciate the fact that you can indulge a little bit. While “eating for two” is somewhat of a myth, it’s okay to splurge a little bit around the holidays. My OB noticed my extra weight gain in January last year, but I didn’t get in trouble! I’m sure the doctors and midwives know that their expecting patients will be enjoying a little extra of the holiday fare.
While you are enjoying all the extra food associated with the Holidays, keep a few things in mind:
1. Be careful about eating food that has been left out. It is common for holiday food to be served “buffet style” and sometimes it is left out a little too long. Enjoy hot and cold foods when they are first put out, but stick to the cookies and the pretzels after the first hour, once the hot foods have cooled and the cold foods have come up to room temperature.
2. Balance your sweets with healthy foods. Try to avoid packing in too much sugar, since it is hard for your baby to metabolize all that glucose. If you’re starving, have an extra serving of fruit salad or turkey. If you have gestational diabetes, stick to your diet!
3. Double check the punch and the eggnog. Make sure it’s non-alcoholic. I would certainly hope your host would warn you, but you never know if Uncle Bob spiked the bowl.
4. Skip the meat and cheese platter. Deli meats and certain cheeses are especially at risk for carrying the bacteria that causes listeria, which is very dangerous for pregnant women and their babies. If you’re dying for hard salami, heat it up to a safe temperature first.
