Things to know about the health of you and your baby.

The most important thing you can do when you have decided to have a baby is to take good care of yourself.  The parental period is a time to build a strong foundation for you, your baby and your family.

One of the best things you can do for you and your baby is to eat healthy. Making smart nutritional choices will help promote your baby’s growth and development.

Pregnancy Nutrition

During pregnancy a balanced diet is the most important part of good health.  Pregnancy Nutrition is the only source of nutrients for your baby.  You will need to learn how to make good food choices for you and your baby as well as the nutrients your baby will need.  You have to avoid things that can be harmful like alcohol, drugs,smoking cigarettes.  These things are very harmful to you and your baby.

Emotional Changes

We all think of pregnancy as an exciting time and you think mostly of how your body will change.  Some of us don’t realize the emotional changes that occur.  Feeling sad or worried about every little thing is normal and is usually due to changes in hormone levels.  The following represent some of the most common changes even though every woman’s pregnancy is unique to them.

• Hormones – Mood swings are very common because of these hormone changes.
• Self Image – You will start feeling bad about yourself that you are fat and unattractive.  Instead you should feel proud of the signs of your fertility.
• Anxiety about the health of the baby – You will feel and worry about the health of your baby. Talking with other mothers will help.
• Concerns about Labor – It’s very normal for mother’s to worry about childbirth, the pain, if you will embarrass yourself are common.

Although you will have ups and downs in your emotional crises most will be perfectly manageable.  Just remember that all the emotions you feel are felt by most pregnant women.

Pregnancy Complications

As we have mentioned before how important it is to visit your doctor on a regular basis to make sure you are on top of any complications with your pregnancy.  There are tests done in the beginning stages and some screenings later in pregnancy to help prevent these problems.  It’s important to follow your doctor’s advice so you have a safe delivery and a health baby.

Here are a few complication that could occur:

• Gestational Diabetes
• Ectopic Pregnancy
• Hepatitis B
• Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG)
• HIV Infection
• Placenta Previa
• Urinary Tract Infection
• Toxoplasmosis
• Listeriosis
• Fetal Problems
• Premature or Pre-term Labor
• High – Blood Pressure
• Placental Abruption
• Post-partum Depression
• Mastitis

One Step

Discount Newborn Boys/Girls Clothing for Spring – Children’s Wear Outlet is a third generation family owned business, specializing in children’s clothing and school uniforms.

Baby Catalog

Baby Catalog.com

Baby Carriers

Baby Safety Products

Breastfeeding

Co-Seaters

Diapering Items

Infant Health Products

Baby Feeding Products

Glider Rockers

Nursery Furniture and Accessories

Baby Nursery

Special Baby Gifts

Diaper Bags

Car Seats

Baby Bedding

Baby Strollers

KidsSurplus

KidsSurplus.com

Playmobil Beach Chair

Nutrition Before Pregnancy

So you have decided to have a baby and you know that eating well and eating the right healthy foods will ensure the well being of your baby.  Now is the time to plan for the good health of your baby by eating nutritionally sound meals so your baby will have a good health environment to grow in. 

Since you have decided to start a family you should begin evaluating what you are eating to make sure you are getting enough nutrient stored in your body to carry your baby full term.  First thing to do to make sure you have the nutrients you need is to take  a prenatal supplement with the proper amount of folic acid.  Check with your doctor for recommendation of the amount  you should take.  Some of the benefits of Folic Acid are:

• Helps to prevent congenital disorder like spinal bifida
• Helps facilitate proper cell growth
• Helps proper development of the embryo
• Helps reduce risk of neural tube defects
• Helps reduce the risk of recurrent miscarriage
• Helps reduce the risk of preterm delivery and even low birth weight babies.

The importance of a balanced diet is a known part of good health in anyone’s life, but it’s even more important when you are pregnant.  Just remember that the only nutrients your baby gets is through you and what you eat.

Nutrition During Pregnancy

Now you are pregnant it’s essential for you to continue eating as good as you can through the nine months of your pregnancy.  One thing to realize and be careful of within the first three months is how hard it is to eat a balanced diet when you are having morning sickness and food aversions.  Eating junk food is not going to help your baby and give your baby the nutrients they need.

When you eat well during your pregnancy it helps your baby eat well after she/he is born.  Research has shown that what your baby is exposed to when developing like fruit and vegetables will be less fussy when they are growing up.

One of the most important nutrients that you and your baby needs is iron.  Not having enough iron could lead to anemia.  If you think that you are not getting enough iron check with your doctor about taking an iron supplement.

Finally, one of the best things you can do for your baby and yourself for that matter is eating right during your pregnancy.  Just look at the foods in your diet and make sure that they provide the nutrients you and your baby needs.

Nutrition After Pregnancy

Just as important as good nutrition before and during pregnancy is the importance of proper nutrition after the birth of your baby. It should be easy to continue your good eating habits by eating a good-quality diet just as you have been doing.  If you are not going to breastfeed you should eat just the way you were prior to getting pregnant.  If you are breastfeeding you need special nutritional management.

You will have a few problems after the birth of the baby as far as you are concerned like getting your iron back up to normal again, dealing with fatigue, maybe a little constipation here and there but just take a creative approach to your eating habits by choosing the right foods will help.  The secret to post-pregnancy nutrition is to gradually regain a desirable figure, while maintaining or restocking nutrient stores.

It is also important to first consult your physician before starting any physical activity program to start your healing process.  Ask your doctor about any precautions you need to take before you start getting your body back in shape again to prevent any injuries you could experience.

Is Your Baby Sleeping Through The Night?

One of the main problems you have as a new mom at home is to establish some really good nighttime sleeping habits with you baby.  One of the primary goals is to get your baby asleep on his/her own. 

When you start out you just about have to nap when they sleep and most of the time that’s together.  Every baby will have to go through a transition from sleeping with their mother and getting into a bedtime routine and sleeping by themselves.

Here are some baby sleep tips  to help the transition. Just remember that these baby sleep tips and tricks are not hard rules and you should always consider your parental instincts as a mother.

Daily Feeding Habits

One consideration when trying to teach your newborn to sleep at night is your daily feeding habits.  You should make sure that your baby is eating all the required meals that was recommended by your doctor.

This does two things  – create an important association that feeding goes with the daytime and your child’s appetite will be satisfied for the night.  If your baby wakes up during the night make sure that he’s getting a full meal the first time awake. Night time is not snack time.

Set a Bedtime Ritual

You need to set a bedtime ritual for your baby as soon as possible.  When you baby starts off not sleeping well at night it’s usually because they are use to the naps  with mom. Try to think about and focus on a consistent bedtime routine because your baby is dependant on routines. By repeating the same routine every night like a full feeding, maybe a warm bath and changing will slowly begin to associate these things with sleep.  The main thing to remember is to make these rituals consistent.

Your Baby Needs To Be Comfortable

When putting your baby to sleep at night always try to make your baby physically comfortable as you can.  Baby’s sometimes takes times for them to learn to breathe through their mouth so you need to pay close attention to their nasal breathing and make sure you move the stuffed animals and loose blankets and pillow away from your baby. 

You should make sure that your babies clothes are comfortable to them not cute to us.  Try different clothes out and see which ones your baby may like the best.

The thing to remember is trust your own instincts when it comes to your baby’s comfort.

Your Baby Needs to be Relaxed During the Day

It is very important to encourage restful days at a peaceful pace.  If you spend the time rocking, holding your baby in your arms and kept peaceful you have a better chance that it will carry over into the night.  Also if your baby’s day is stressful like is on his own a lot, and cry for a while to be feed will also carry over into the night. Think about how you are as an adult you have a stress day you have a stress night, same with your baby. 

Develop a Good Attitude

You want your child to develop an attitude in which sleep is both something they enjoy and also a secure safe state of mind.  Your baby should think of sleep as something that’s comforting and something that comes naturally.  When you pay attention to your baby’s feeling and what they want you will encourage a healthier attitude toward their night’s asleep.

A Familiar Environment is Important

Most people think that you have to tiptoe around your baby when they are sleeping to not awaken them.  Just remember where your newborn has been sleeping for the last nine months. 

Your baby slept in many situations that was far from quiet with no sounds and even more so when the mother was out in public socializing with others. You should try to have some back ground noises to help the sleep process.  There are many products on the market today to create these soothing noises. 

The Ferber Method

The Ferber Method was invented by Dr. Richard Ferber which is also known as "graduated extinction" is the most well known sleep training program for children.  This method usually works within a couple of weeks.  The only problem I see with this method is that some people just can not stand to her their baby cry and you have to let your baby cry some before you go in and intervene. 

Associations That go with Sleep

Babies when very young develop sleep associations which are things that you associate with bedtime.  The way you put your child to sleep by holding them, putting in a sleeper or  maybe using a pacifier is creating a sleep association.  Without you doing anything your baby is going to create their own sleep associations.  What you want to do is try to help create associations with items that the baby will have under their control. 

I hope these tips and tricks help with your baby sleep but just remember that these are just tips and tricks and not the hard rule that you have to follow.  Remember your parental  instincts are just as important. 

What is pregnancy.

Pregnancy is the term used to describe when a woman is carrying one or more offspring, known as a fetus, inside of her. In most cases, the fetus grows in the uterus. In a pregnancy there can be more than one gestations like in twins or triplets.

One of the most exciting times in a women life is becoming a mother.  Whether you’re considering motherhood, trying to conceive or already pregnant, expectant mothers must be concerned not only with their developing babies health, but also they have to be concerned about their own health.

Even though pregnancy can be a fun and joyous time it can also be a time of uncertainty and in some cases worry in the up coming weeks.

You should prepare yourself for your pregnancy with some good preconception planning.  Finding the latest information on child health care is important.

The first step is to get the knowledge you need to keep yourself and your baby healthy from the beginning.  There’s a lot to learn especially if it’s your first pregnancy.

There are also a number of areas of interest to describe the things you need to learn about from fertilization to the day your baby is born.

Things such as:

• Getting Pregnant
• Pregnancy Test
• Labor and Delivery
• Pregnancy Signs and Symptoms
• Pregnancy Stages
• Pregnancy Types
• Preconception
• Breastfeeding
• Pregnancy Tools
• After Pregnancy
• Cord Blood Banking
• and mush, mush more…

The next thing we recommend is to find a health care professional that you are comfortable with to care for you and your child throughout your pregnancy.  There are many changes your body will go through, like hormonal changes, emotional changes, physical changes and many more.  Your body must change its physiological and homeostatic mechanisms in pregnancy to ensure the fetus is provided for.

The most important two things is to plan from the beginning (even before you get pregnant if you are planning to conceive)  and find your health care professional.  Your health care professional will help to determine your due date and what month or months you are in if you are pregnant.

This website is to help you explore the research in this field and to help answer the questions you have about your pregnancy.  I am not a medical doctor and this information is solely for informational purposes. It is not intended to provide medical advice.

We will attempt to guide you through your fertility time, the early signs of pregnancy and the three trimesters through postpartum. Now that you are pregnant you will have many questions that you will need answers to and we hope you’ll find them here.

Each stage will have something unique to offer and each trimester will have a different effect on you and your baby.

Early Pregnancy Stage

Just the fact that you can create a living being is an exciting thing to most women, but to learn that you are pregnant fills you with excitement beyond anything you could have imaging.  In the early stages of pregnancy you should outline the planning of your pregnancy. Planning your pregnancy is the first step toward having a health you and baby.

In the early stages of pregnancy things can go wrong like spotting or vaginal bleeding and even miscarriage.  That’s why it’s important to be extra careful in the early stages to prevent some of these problems.

First Trimester Stage – What To Expect

The most crucial period of pregnancy is during the first trimester of pregnancy.  Women start feeling sick and exhausted and their body undergoes many changes. Here are some of the most common changes you could experience in the first trimester:

• Many women find they get tired or exhausted.
• Many women get morning sickness causing    Nausea and Vomiting.
• You many see a change in the Frequency of    urination.
• All women will see a weight gain.

By the end of the first trimester the size of your baby is about three inches long and weighs about half an ounce.

Second Trimester Stage – The Most Comfortable Period

For most women the second trimester is a better time because the morning sickness and exhaustion is going away.  In this stage people will start realizing that you are pregnant because you are finally expanding more.  The breasts will secrete colostrum, or milk,and they will also grow larger.

Your rate of growth is nothing compared to the baby’s.  The baby will have more defined features at this stage of pregnancy.  All the baby’s major organs have formed even though they will continue to develop further.  The baby is around 12 inches long now and weight about 2 to 2-1/2 pounds.

Third Trimester Stage – The Final Hurdle

The most exciting stage is the third trimester stage.  This stage starts from the 29th week of the pregnancy.  The mother will experience a lot of changes during this stage. She will start gaining excess weight (about 25-35 pounds) and experience a problem in breathing as well as swelling in the hands and feet .  She could also experience heartburn, indigestion, shortness of breath and tiredness, constipation, frequent urination.

The mother’s emotions may be tested because you may feel nervous and start wondering all kinds of things like if you will be capable of raising a child and start worrying about if the child will be normal. Now it’s the end of the third trimester and you start forgetting about all the pain and discomfort of your pregnancy and start feeling joys of bringing this newborn in the world.

Postpartum Stage

Most women do not know what to expect in the first few weeks after pregnancy. Everything is going though your mind about how you will feel, how long is the recovery, etc. It’s also normal to feel excited, tired, and amazed all at the same time.

One thing very important for mom and her baby is the bonding process.  Things like looking at each other, caressing her leg or arm or just simple touching. Talking to your newborn also helps start a good relationship between the two of you.

Tips to help cope with the postpartum period:

• Eat well to regain your strength and health.
• Drink extra fluids each day.
• Feel good about yourself you did well.
• Accept help from family to take care of the house work, etc.
• Ask a lot of questions when something is not right.
• Limit the visitors to as few as you can handle.
• Get a lot of rest and sleep when your baby sleeps.

This is new to you so it take time getting used to having a newborn baby in the house.  You will make mistakes learning the right and wrong way to doing things so relax and enjoy.

The Benefits OF Regular Exercise While Your Are Pregnant

Pregnancy exercise during pregnancy can help you stay in shape and prepare you for all the upcoming pregnancy stages.

When you find out that you are pregnant it seems like a perfect time to sit back and relax and not worry about what you are eating and how mush exercise that you are not getting.

In the old days pregnancy was treated as if it was an illness and you should rest for 9 months and not worry about exercise until your baby is born.   You need to be physically active during pregnancy.  Today we know that exercising before, during and after pregnancy along with good pregnancy nutrition has many benefits for the mom and the baby.

Most mothers do not realize that pregnancy exercise is so important, and is the key to a happy and healthy pregnancy and birth.  For those that have been following a regular exercise program prior to their pregnancy should be able to maintain a good exercise program throughout their pregnancy.

By continuing your current exercise program you will experience benefits from less fatigue and pain to feeling more emotionally stable during a difficult and emotion driven time in your life.  A guideline to go by calls for women to get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise during pregnancy per week and should be spread out over the week.

Exercise will also help mothers during labor, one of the most stressful times during the pregnancy.  Labor is known to progress faster, lowering the risk of medication and possible Caesarian section.  Many mothers will have a shorter, uncomplicated vaginal delivery due to the exercise that they are doing.

Regular physical exercise after pregnancy continues to benefit a woman’s overall health and increase her cardio respiratory fitness as well as helps women achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

Taking care of yourself and your baby while you are pregnant is important to avoid and pregnancy complications.  That is why doing pregnancy exercise is one of the most important steps that you can take for pregnancy wellness.  You will see just how easy it is to have a happy uncomplicated pregnancy and labor, simply by adding exercise.

When you get pregnant there are many changes your body will go through.  Your body changes in more ways than you think, and it does not stop when the baby is born.  You need to think about the postpartum care and what it involves, managing all the problems that comes after childbirth.  Here’s are some of the important things to expect after delivery.

Contractions

After the first few days after delivery you may feel contractions called after pains. These after pains (contractions) will occur during breast-feeding and they help prevent excessive bleeding.  The way it does this is by compressing the blood vessels in the uterus. The after pains feel kind of like menstrual cramps when you have your menstruation period.  If they are unbearable see your doctor and they may prescribe pain medication.

Soreness in the Vagina

Some women will have a tear during delivery and this could hurt for a few weeks when you sit or walk.  Some of the things you can do to help is:

• Keep the Wound Clean
• Sit Down Carefully
• Do your Kegels Exercises
• Always looks for Signs of Infection
• Soothe the Wound with ice packs

Discharge from the Vagina

For up the six weeks after delivery you will have a discharge that’s bright red heavy flow of blood for a few days.  The discharge will gradually go away. Use sanitary napkins to reduce the risk of infection instead of tampons.

Hemorrhoids

It’s possible you may have hemorrhoids if you have pain during a bowel movement.  Hemorrhoids is the swelling near your anus which is stretched and swollen veins in the anus or lower rectum.  If bad see your doctor for a hemorrhoid medication.

Having a Problem Urinating

Surrounding the bladder and urethra you may have swelling or bruising of the tissues that may lead to difficulty urinating.  It may help to place a hot or cold packs on the tissue between the vaginal opening and anus.  This could also be symptoms of a urinary tract infection so be sure to consult your health care provider.

Leaking Urine

The connective tissue at the base of the bladder  stretch after pregnancy and birth.  This could cause nerve and muscle damage to the bladder or urethra.  Some times when you laugh, strain, or cough you may leak urine.

Bowel Movements

Sometimes because of fear of hurting your perineum or aggravating the pain of hemorrhoids you may find yourself avoiding your bowel movements.  Something else could happen is the inability to control bowel movements (fecal incontinence).  This happens sometimes when you have an unusually long labor.  Again and always if you have these problem or any problem consult your health care provider.

Sore Breasts

A few days after delivery, your breasts may become heavy, swollen and tender.  This discomfort should not last but a few days.  Feeding your newborn regularly will help this problem.

Weight Loss

After you give birth you may feel  out of shape and in some cases you may still look pregnant and flabby.  Don’t get upset this will not last forever and is perfectly normal.  You should loose ten or more pounds during birth from the weight of the baby, placenta and amniotic fluid.  The next few days you should loose more from leftover fluids.  Sorry after that it’s back to eating right and exercise.  This should get you back to your pre-pregnancy weight.

Mood Changes

Many women after childbirth will have some powerful emotions going on.  This is called the baby blues, mood swings, sadness, irritability and anxiety are common.  The baby blues typically will not last long about seven to ten days.

Hair Loss

When you are pregnant you normally do not loose any hair but after delivery you could sheds the excess hair all at once.  Your hair will be back to normal in about six months.

Changes in the Skin

You could notice small blood vessels breaking during the pushing stage of labor causing small red spots on your face.  Not to worry they should go away in about a week.

Just wanted your to know some of the main changes your body will go through after childbirth.  You should have a postpartum checkup in about six weeks or so after birth to make sure there are no problems with your vagina, cervix and uterus and that they are healing well. Even though what you are feeling is entirely normal you still need to talk to your health care provider about any concerns you may have.

There is a lot of changes for your family when you bring your baby home.  My daughter had her baby five weeks ago and the biggest change she has is in sleep, or rather lack of sleep.  Because every child is different you can’t basic it on your other children.  Even though some babies start early sleeping through the night, others make you wonder if you will ever sleep again.

You’ve heard the advice given to moms, sleep when the baby sleeps.  While this may seem simplistic, it really does help. This one isn’t much fun. The free time and quiet time with your spouse (and yourself!) is eliminated.  Many moms treat nap times as work times, to get things done.  But if you aren’t well rested, you won’t enjoy time with the baby when she/he  awaken and ready to play.

Some babies are born with a “different clock”; they seem to want to be awake at night and asleep during the day.  While still in the womb, babies were rocked to sleep during the day by the mother’s movements.  Then when mom settled down for the night, the babies think it’s time to become more active.  So, once the little one arrives, it will take some time to adjust to the new routine and will develop good nighttime habits.

Even though it may be difficult at first, it is important to remind yourself that eventually things will settle into a normal routine.  Daytime napping will change.  But what is normal for one family isn’t for another.  You have to find what works for yours.  Start to establish a nap and bedtime routine as soon as you come home from the hospital, start with the basics.  It will help the transition, and hopefully the baby will start sleeping regularly for you at bedtime.

If your baby seems to be a night owl, and you want them to go to sleep at an earlier hour, try adjusting the time a little bit each day.  It can also be a help to dim the lights as it gets closer to bedtime.  This can help the baby adjust and realize it’s time to sleep soon.  Sounds helps, turn off the TV and maybe play some gentle music.  It will help both of you relax.  Once the baby is in a deep sleep, spend a little more time pampering yourself before getting some sleep.

Babies get hungry during the night’s.  How you handle night-time feedings can make a difference to how much sleep everyone gets. Night waking is not always the answer.  If you are nursing, keeping the baby’s crib in your room, or even co-sleeping, can reduce the amount of time it takes to get back to sleep.  If you are bottle-feeding, you can ask your partner to take a turn feeding the baby during the night so that you get a little extra sleep.

All babies take time to begin sleeping through the night and it won’t happen overnight.  As long as you are consistent in your approach, everyone will soon find they are sleeping better.  Remind yourself that you aren’t a bad parent if you baby doesn’t begin sleeping well right away.  It just takes time.

Do you have any tips to help teach newborns and mom’s to sleep better?  Go down to the comment section and let us here them.

Baby Sleep Solution Some good information if you still having sleeping problems.

Help Your Baby Sleep Your baby will stop crying and learn to sleep better with the help of our soothing sounds – guaranteed.