Having a baby on the way can be an exciting and stressful time. While you’re likely over the moon about the prospect of not being pregnant anymore and finally being able to hold your little one in your arms, what it actually takes to get the baby here might be something you find yourself having nightmares about. However, with a little preparation, you can start to feel a lot more at ease about the labor and delivery process. To help you get to this point, here are three tips for preparing to deliver your first baby at the hospital. [Read more…] about 3 Tips for Preparing To Deliver Your First Baby In The Hospital
Pregnancy
3 Post Cesarean Beauty Tips
Having a baby can be exhausting enough as it is. But delivering your baby by c-section can make your recovery time even longer, and more of a process to bounce back to feeling your old self. [Read more…] about 3 Post Cesarean Beauty Tips
The Angry Pregnant Woman
I’m not exactly sure why (hormones, fatigue, aches and pains?), but every time I am pregnant I become very angry. Not all day, and thankfully not at my husband or kids (well, not all of the time), but lets just say I have a short fuse and if anyone makes my day more difficult, woe betide them. With #4 on the way, and the other 3 under age 9, I have a lot going on. So for instance, when a sales clerk (who obviously would rather be texting her boyfriend) can’t be bothered to look for something I just know they have, or a rude lady cuts the line at the grocery checkout or the bank ….my swollen feet stamp on the ground and I see red. I know, these are all small things, but when I’m pregnant, they really don’t seem small at all.
A good friend of mine, K, who recently gave birth to her #3, fired 2 of her staff when she was pregnant. She also admitted to being an angry pregnant woman, and I vividly remember her getting ticked off with someone at the mall practically every time we went shopping together. It was pretty scary because these people are totally defenseless against a heavily pregnant woman. Now that K is back to her sweet old self, I’ve become the dragon lady, in my 4th fire-breathing incarnation. The poor husbands who have to live with this Mrs.Hyde syndrome have to get some sympathy. On our last family holiday, I fumed at our travel agent (who failed to book 3 child meals after I reminded her twice), the hotel receptionist and flight attendant to name a few. By the end of the trip (remind me again WHY its a good idea to travel in your 2nd trim?), hubby said I had to relax and try not to work myself up into a fury every time things don’t go well.
And he’s right. After a bit of web digging, I found that there are prenatal anger effects on the fetus and neonate. One study showed that one hundred and sixty-six women were classified as experiencing high or low anger during the second trimester of pregnancy, and the babies of Moms who showed the high anger were prone to bad sleeping patterns and so on. Whether or not that’s true, I don’t know. What I do know is that I’ve been angry with all of my pregnancies, and all of my kids happy and healthy – equally different in good ways and bad.
It doesn’t hurt though to curb that anger, which can’t be a good thing pregnant or not. Parenting mag gives some sound advice:
If you find you’re frequently furious, try:
* Walking away. Avoid discussions that’ll only make your blood boil — tell the offending party that you’re feeling sensitive and you would rather not talk about the issue. Then give yourself a half-hour and take a stroll, whether it’s around the office or around the block.
* Staying active. Swimming, tennis, walking, gardening — many types of regular exercise can keep your hostility barometer in check while helping to relieve physical discomforts.
* Writing it out. It can be very cathartic to vent on paper — through journal entries, poems, or outrageously nasty letters that you never mail.
* Taking a mental health break. Whether it’s a day off work or a two-hour escape from the kids, pamper yourself: Get a facial, see a movie, buy a pair of shoes.
* Seeking professional help. If you find your anger is making it hard to function, consider talking to a therapist.
Photo via Floyd Brown
US Parents Do Not Know Enough About Babies
Reuters reports that “Nearly a third of U.S. parents know surprisingly little about typical infant development, and this lack of understanding can rob their babies of much-needed mental stimulation, researchers said on Sunday.”
What an alarming statement! Parents are the first teachers of their children and if they do not have a good understanding of what babies need, then the babies will be on the losing side. It is true that there are no clear cut rules as to what a parent must do. Indeed, many say that there is really no way to ensure that you will be a good parent. It is something that comes with experience.
So how did the researchers come to the conclusion that a considerable number of American parents do not know enough about babies? Dr. Heather Paradis of the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York shares:
There are numerous parenting books telling people what to expect when they’re pregnant but once a baby is born, an astonishing number of parents are not only unsure of what to anticipate as their child develops, but are also uncertain of when, how or how much they are to help their babies reach various milestones, such as talking, grabbing, discerning right from wrong, or even potty-training.
The study she conducted covered more than 10,000 parents with 9-month-old babies and asked questions such as:
-Should a 1-year-old child be able to tell between right from wrong?
-Should a 1-year-old child be ready to begin toilet-training?
The passing score is 5 out of 11. Those who got 4 and below are considered to have a lack of understanding of parenting with regard to babies.
Maybe we should all see a copy of the questionnaire and answer them ourselves.
Chocolate And Pregnancy Go Together
When a woman gets pregnant, she gets cravings for the weirdest things. She just can’t help it. She feels the urge and she has to have it. Some people may never understand just what goes on during those times but WE know that those cravings are hard to resist.
Lucky for those women whose cravings lean towards that thick, creamy, brown bar of goodness called chocolate! Dr. Elizabeth Triche from Yale University and her group of researches have recently concluded a study wherein it was found that chocolate is GOOD for pregnant women.
The rationale behind this conclusion is that dark chocolate contains theobromine, a chemical that works in the following ways:
-stimulates the heart
-relaxes smooth muscle
-dilates blood vessels.
So what do these effects have to do with pregnancy? There is a condition called pre-eclampsia, which is actually a major concern for pregnant women. Though only about 8% get pre-eclampsia, those who do experience the complication also experience cardiovascular problems.
This is where chocolate comes in! The study found out that the women who consumed the most amount of chocolate and had the highest amount of theobromine in their blood were least likely to develop the complication. The catch? None, really, unless you do not like dark chocolate. This is because not all chocolates are the same. The milk chocolates and the extremely sweetened kinds will not have the same theobromine content. As such, they may not bring about the same benefits. More so, because of the high sugar content, it might bring about other complications.
So load up on that dark chocolate!