Posts Tagged ‘Pregnancy’

Pregnancy is such an exciting time, especially if it’s your first. Your body is changing, your emotions are up and down. A precious little creation has invaded your body and is taking over!

The list that follows is my compilation of pregnancy essentials. Selected with you in mind, each of these items will help to make your pregnancy a little easier, and wonderfully special…

To Make Your Pregnancy A Little Easier

1. Pregnancy Vitamins
These are really important for baby’s development, and for your continued well-being.

2. A Back ‘n Belly Contoured Body Pillow
From neck and back support, to padding between your knees, the body pillow has everything you need on both sides, so you turn over and leave the pillow where it is. It’s great! No more pillow fighting at 3am.

3. A Wheat Bag
After four pregnancies, my wheat bag has become a firm best friend. An absolute must for easing all those minor aches and pains associated with pregnancy.

4. A Birthing Ball
Primarily used as an aid during labor, it’s also wonderful for backache during your pregnancy.

5. Maternity Clothes
Treat yourself to a few well-fitting maternity outfits. A woman’s pregnant body is a beautiful thing — you don’t have to hide it under a sack.

6. Stretch Mark Cream
The last thing you want at the end of your pregnancy, is a bunch of stretch marks. You can minimize the chances of their occurrence by using a good cream or oil.

7. Baby Books And Magazines
When it comes to pregnancy, labor and birth, knowledge is power. The more informed you are, the more confident and relaxed you will be. And a relaxed mommy makes for a contented newborn.

To Make Your Pregnancy Really Special

1. Make a Keepsake Box
Into this little time-capsule, put every little reminder of your special baby-carrying months. (You can add keepsakes of baby’s birth too if you like.)

2. Buy a Digital Camera
Indispensable for taking pictures of the bump and progress on the baby nursery decorating project.

3. Find a Good Pregnancy Calendar
Pregnancy calendars come in the form of online weekly e-mails, or printable 40 week calendars that you can hang on your bedroom wall. Either one will keep you up to date with what to expect next.

4. Keep a Pregnancy Journal
You’ll be surprised at what you’ll jot down from time to time. Remember, those emotions are going to be rocking and rolling!

5. Buy or Borrow a Good Baby Name Guide
Earlier, rather than later. If you really want a stressful experience, you’ll leave choosing a baby name for the last minute.

6. Beg, Borrow or Steal a Doppler
No more waiting for your Ob/Gyn appointment to hear the incredible sound of your baby’s heartbeat.

7. Make a Belly Cast
You can buy a kit, or make your own from scratch, but this is a must do. What a perfect reminder of this wonderful time.

So, you want to become pregnant! Congratulations on yours and your partner’s decision. I am sure that the two of you have many questions and concerns regarding your decision to become parents. First off, RELAX! And when I say RELAX, I mean just that. Conceiving a healthy baby encompasses many intricate details. Of course the first step is to conceive. Sounds easy huh? Well for most couples it is. But for some, nature takes a little longer. Some women have a hard time distinguishing when they are ovulating and when they are not. And maybe for good reason! We’ll get into reasons why in another article. 

This article is about learning how to read your body’s signs and signals to pregnancy. I can’t tell you how important that is for conceiving and conceiving a healthy baby. There are certain tools that can make it easier for you to determine what your body is trying to tell you. We will discuss them throughout this article as well. Ladies, our bodies are like a fine piece of machinery. Every intricate part of that machine, including all the way down to every nut and bolt has a precise job. A good mechanic understands how that machine works and knows how to read the signs and signals to make a proper diagnosis and fix the problem. If just one part of that machine is not working properly, the whole precision for that machine will be off or will possibly shut down completely. Our bodies are the same way! So let’s get started. 

The first thing that women should do is start keeping good and ACURATE records of her cycle. For some of you who are detailed oriented, this will be a breeze. What I mean by this, is to invest in some tools (as mentioned earlier in the article) that will make it easier for you to recognize the changes in your body and when they occur. Such tools include a simple calendar or daily planner that is only used by you, preferably a daily planner so that you can make notes. Another good and very helpful tool is a fertility cart or ovulation chart. They both are one in the same. One reason I recommend having a planner as well as fertility chart is because if you lose one, more than likely you will have the other. But even more so, if you are on a special diet or taking certain fertility medications you can accurately record your activity. Sometimes even having a personal diary and writing down your thoughts and feelings can help with the anxiety you maybe feeling. The purpose of the fertility chart is to record your body’s activity such as when you started and completed your period, body temperature as well as a few other things, depending on how sophisticated your chart is. Writing things down on a daily basis and studying what changes take place and when over a few months will help you see what your body’s pattern is. 

Another sign that you need to pay attention to are the changes to your cervical mucus. Your mucus will change dramatically over the course of your monthly cycle. As you approach ovulation, your mucus will be clear instead of cloudy and with more elasticity (stringy) instead of flaky. For most women, right after ovulation they will see a significant decrease in discharge (meaning their cervical mucus). 

Now let’s talk about your body’s temperature. As women get closer to ovulation her temperature will suddenly rise at least .2 degrees and will last about three days. I recommend that you invest in basal thermometer from your local drugstore or Wal-Mart that can be purchased very inexpensively. Each morning as you awaken and before your feet hit the ground, take your temperature and record it in your planner or fertility chart. Again over the course of a month you will begin to see a pattern. 

As ovulation gets closer some women will also experience tender breast, mood swings, headaches, swelling and sudden sharp pains in the abdomen. All of these are signs that ovulation is approaching. 

For more in depth information on reading your body’s signs and signals to pregnancy, please visit our site below.

Giving birth to a child is one of the most wonderful moments in a woman’s life. One look at the newborn and the mother knows that the pain and hardships of the pregnancy were not in vain. It also means that life must return to normal with new responsibilities of bringing up the child.

Soon after the child birth, the mother starts thinking about how to lose weight gained during pregnancy. Many young mothers resort to quick fix diets, diet pills or cardio programs to lose weight.

However the weight loss will be gradual. After all you didn’t gain the weight in a day! So don’t expect to lose the excess weight in few days.

Plus it is now a medically accepted fact that the body and metabolism of a woman who gives birth undergoes a number of changes that can sometimes make losing those extra pounds more difficult. And some mothers do not lose the last few pounds till the breastfeeding continues.

In order to lose weight after pregnancy both safely, and effectively, you should undertake a program of slow and steady dieting along with exercise that will produce long-term benefits.

You should concentrate on the health of your child and your own health and diet. After all now you have to think about how to regain your lost strength as well as provide good nutrition to your baby.

An ideal diet for a new mom would consist of:

* 2000 calories per day
* Small amount of fiber
* About 50 percent intake of Carbohydrates
* 30 percent intake of proteins
* 10 percent intake of fats

And you can start taking your favorite foods again that you may have stopped during pregnancy. But remember, do not indulge too much as you are looking to knock off the extra pounds gained during pregnancy. And before trying any quick fix diets or diet pills, make sure the diets and pills are absolutely safe because what you eat also becomes the food for the baby.

Combined with a healthy diet, exercise is one of the most effective methods for weight loss after pregnancy.No doubt you will be busy as a new mom, but exercise is still important especially at the early stage as it will help build up your stamina and return the muscle tone you lost during the pregnancy.

Exercise is also a good way to improve moods providing it is not overdone and will help to ensure you do not begin to see it as a chore. The idea is to reduce the overall body fat while improving muscle tone at the same time although this should be a gradual process.

It must be re-iterated that the loss should not be looked upon as something that must be done as quickly as possible as it should really come off about the same sort of pace it was put on.

With a good nutritional program and with moderate exercise, you can expect to lose the weight you gained during pregnancy within a reasonable time rame.

Pregnancy is such an exciting time, especially if it’s your first. Your body is changing, your emotions are up and down. A precious little creation has invaded your body and is taking over!

The list that follows is my compilation of pregnancy essentials. Selected with you in mind, each of these items will help to make your pregnancy a little easier, and wonderfully special…

To Make Your Pregnancy A Little Easier

1. Pregnancy Vitamins
These are really important for baby’s development, and for your continued well-being.

2. A Back ‘n Belly Contoured Body Pillow
From neck and back support, to padding between your knees, the body pillow has everything you need on both sides, so you turn over and leave the pillow where it is. It’s great! No more pillow fighting at 3am.

3. A Wheat Bag
After four pregnancies, my wheat bag has become a firm best friend. An absolute must for easing all those minor aches and pains associated with pregnancy.

4. A Birthing Ball
Primarily used as an aid during labor, it’s also wonderful for backache during your pregnancy.

5. Maternity Clothes
Treat yourself to a few well-fitting maternity outfits. A woman’s pregnant body is a beautiful thing — you don’t have to hide it under a sack.

6. Stretch Mark Cream
The last thing you want at the end of your pregnancy, is a bunch of stretch marks. You can minimize the chances of their occurrence by using a good cream or oil.

7. Baby Books And Magazines
When it comes to pregnancy, labor and birth, knowledge is power. The more informed you are, the more confident and relaxed you will be. And a relaxed mommy makes for a contented newborn.

To Make Your Pregnancy Really Special

1. Make a Keepsake Box
Into this little time-capsule, put every little reminder of your special baby-carrying months. (You can add keepsakes of baby’s birth too if you like.)

2. Buy a Digital Camera
Indispensable for taking pictures of the bump and progress on the baby nursery decorating project.

3. Find a Good Pregnancy Calendar
Pregnancy calendars come in the form of online weekly e-mails, or printable 40 week calendars that you can hang on your bedroom wall. Either one will keep you up to date with what to expect next.

4. Keep a Pregnancy Journal
You’ll be surprised at what you’ll jot down from time to time. Remember, those emotions are going to be rocking and rolling!

5. Buy or Borrow a Good Baby Name Guide
Earlier, rather than later. If you really want a stressful experience, you’ll leave choosing a baby name for the last minute.

6. Beg, Borrow or Steal a Doppler
No more waiting for your Ob/Gyn appointment to hear the incredible sound of your baby’s heartbeat.

7. Make a Belly Cast
You can buy a kit, or make your own from scratch, but this is a must do. What a perfect reminder of this wonderful time.

Being a fitness trainer, over the past few decades I’ve seen quite a few new mothers join the gym in an effort to regain their figure after childbirth. God bless them for working at getting back in shape. But, my friends and I observed an all too common phenomena which could have made their recoveries so much easier had they avoided it. They were eating way too many calories from nutritionally void junk foods! We saw this scenario in the gym so often that we began to refer to this as a weight gain pregnancy.

Many of these mothers approached me for exercise and diet advice. From conversations I had with them, I realized that most were very aware of the additional nutrition needed during pregnancy for both themselves and their babies. And, most of them took precautions to eat nutritionally packed meals along with prenatal supplements. The culprit they seemed to have in common was the additional calories consumed in junk foods.

So the dilemma was in getting most, if not all, of their calories from highly nutritious low calorie foods. And, having the discipline to avoid the foods that have little or no nutritional value. Not only would they be able to avoid the dreaded weight gain pregnancy, but this is the healthy path for both mother and child.

Now, discipline often needs a friend, so here is what you are going to do. Purchase a book with a glycemic index and calorie count of foods, and check what you’re eating. Oh, and that’s before you put it in your mouth.

Count Your Calories

It’s generally accepted that you really only need an additional 300 calories a day during pregnancy, especially in the second and third trimester. You will be surprised at the difference in the caloric content between the right foods and the wrong foods. You can eat more of the right foods, not to mention their nutritional value. Again, refer to your book and don’t be a weight gain pregnancy. I must add here, that any artificially sweetened low or no calorie product is basically poisoned gas. Stay far away from it.

Avoid Refined Sugars

Keeping your blood sugar level is always important to good health. This is especially so during pregnancy. Refined sugars spike your levels, then drop them way down, effecting your energy and moods. It also creates a vicious cycle. You will be less likely to freak out and binge if you can keep your blood sugar level. Eat small meals throughout your day, refer to your book and don’t be a weight gain pregnancy.

Substitute Old Goodies With New Goodies

When you’re dying for that piece of candy, eat frozen grapes or dried fruits. Instead of spooning in that ice cream, mix some fresh berries and nuts into non-fat frozen yogurt. Stay the heck away from soda pops. Instead, mix 100% fruit juice with mineral water. Go from processed to natural. Make this a habit and you won’t be a weight gain pregnancy as they are known in the gym. Try it; it really can be satisfying and effective.

MAYDAY  

If you are about to commit homicide if you don’t get that box of brownies. And you really don’t care if you become a weight gain pregnancy at this point, set yourself aside one day out of the week to have a “cheat day.” Whether it’s Sunday or Tuesday, choose no more than one day a week to indulge yourself. Don’t go overboard, I’m not saying it’s OK to binge. Know that it will come again in just six more days. This can be a great way of helping you eat clean, or cleaner, for the rest of the week as well as keeping you sane.

Pregnancy can and will change your body, but there is so much you can do to regain or even improve your figure after childbirth. So, avoid a weight gain pregnancy, be strong now, and you will be so much closer to getting back into shape after you’re baby is born.