My Many Thanks For

1. Warm salt water to gargle, Ricola cough drops, and humidifiers.

2.  The tiny baby trying to burrow her way out of my stomach through my (super stretched) abdominal muscles.

3. The best husband in the world who always knows the right thing to do or say.

4. In-laws who treat me as their own.

5. My fabulously crazy family.

3rd Shift Poses Dangers to Women and Their Unborn

My husband's new job is third shift for the moment and I was considering adopting his sleeping pattern to get more time with him. I was thinking I might mess up my baby's sleeping pattern, but it turns out the dangers are much more severe.

You would think that as long as you are getting the proper amount of sleep and you were eating healthily at the correct times that nothing else would be affected. Wrong. Hormone production gets screwed up and this leads to the health risks.

Women who work third shift (especially during their first trimester) are 50% more likely to deliver a premature baby. 50%!

Also, the production of the hormone melatonin gets screwed up and this leads to a much greater risk of developing cancer (breast cancer is a major one connected with working 3rd shift).

I never knew this before, but I'm so glad that I do now! Tell all your female friends and family members.

Sunday Night Sucks... So Cheer Up!

Just another video (I didn't make) to cheer you up on the suckiest night of the week!

This kid just keeps going in for the torture!

 

Walking and Pregnancy: Some Facts

We have all heard that walking is great for pregnant women, but what does it really do? Walking during pregnancy on a regular basis (at least 4 times a week for 25 minutes) helps to:

• shorten labor
• lower your chance of getting gestational diabetes
• keep the extra pounds off
• relieve stress
• get your body back after baby (toned muscles burn more calories than flabby ones)

I have been walking for the past couple of weeks and have noticed that my lungs are healthier and my leg and lower abdominal muscles are toning up.

If you are pregnant and did not exercise much before, make sure to take it easy. If you walk too hard, your lower abdominals are going to let you know! Don't ask me what they have to do with walking, but apparently they are connected. Find your pace and try to keep it steady.

Remember: never walk to the point of exhaustion or breathlessness. Pushing yourself to the limit forces your body to use oxygen that should be going to your baby.

I'm Waiting to Cut the Cord.. Are You?

                           
This is just another thing I didn't know until a couple of days ago: the importance of delayed umbilical cord clamping. Early cord clamping weakens babies and contributes to a host of illnesses later in life. It is well documented that this is so, and that babies whose cords had not been cut until they stopped pulsating are much healthier. How did I not know this?!

Before I go on, let me say this: there is absolutely no benefit to early cord clamping. Quite simply, there is only harm done. Unfortunately it is a habit that many doctors and midwifes have so if you want them to wait make sure you tell them!

If you are pregnant you know about cord blood banking. It's in every pregnancy magazine and website. So why is it available? Because umbilical cord blood really is amazing. However, we fail to notice something very important: if we deprive our babies of cord blood in the first place, we may only be contributing to them needing it later!

Early cord clamping has been associated with respiratory distress, anemia, intraventricular hemorrhage, and late-onset sepsis among others. There is even some speculation that early cord clamping contributes to autism. Delaying the cord clamping for just a few minutes decreases the chances of all of these complications!

If you think about it, it makes sense. If you cut the cord early, the infant is being deprived of nearly HALF of its blood supply! Let mother nature do her thing. She knows a thing or two.

Cord blood is not ordinary blood.

Freecycle, I'm in Love With You. Sorry Hubby.

Have you ever heard of freecycle.org? I hadn't until a couple of days ago when a friend told me about it. Think of craigslist on a smaller scale, but everything is FREE. I'm not joking.

You join a group that is the area you live in and people post things they are giving away or things they want. I have seen everything from couches to high chairs to styrofoam blocks (don't ask) being given away. The only thing you have to do is contact the offerer and pick a time and place to pick up the stuff! Of course, you provide the transportation of the items.

If you are looking for something specific and you need it fast, I might post a "wanted" message in the group just in case, but also check craigslist and ebay because you never know what will be posted. If you have time to acquire things, then this is for you!

Tip for those of you who decide to join your local freecycle group: opt to have a "daily digest" of the messages from the group. If you don't, an email is sent to you every time someone posts something and it gets overwhelming! With a daily digest, you get a daily compilation of everything posted.

Happy hunting!


                         

Oh, the Life of a Poor Couple With a Kid on the Way

My husband and I are in need of fun things to do together that don't involve money. This is easier said than done in today's society, but I was determined to come up with a list of at least 5 things tonight that would cost absolutely nothing. This is what I came up with and I think we might actually do them all!

1. Double date in! Invite a couple over to talk, watch a movie you already own, or play board games (or all of the above!) A date by yourselves is also allowed ;)

2. Stop by your local library and take out a movie. Though the selection is not as extensive as a rental place they usually have some newer movies that you probably forgot you wanted to rent when you saw the trailers  a year ago. If your library is close and the weather is nice, take a walk there! Double whammy.

3. Learn a silly new skill together and have fun watching each other trying to master it. Juggling, learning a card trick, and card shooting all have fun possibilities. Plus, the next time you go to a party you will each have something to show off!

4. Go to a nearby park or beach and allow yourselves to be kids again.

5. Volunteer together. Sounds lame, but it actually feels really great to do something for someone in need. Sharing the experience only enhances the feelings you have for each other.

                           

Sunday Night Sucks... So Cheer Up!

Just another video (I didn't make) to cheer you up on the suckiest night of the week!

One of my all time favorites!

                                                

Found: Zen Moments

The top 5 things that help me when I'm going insane: 

5. Closing my eyes, I breathe in and think "Let it Go". Even if I'm not sure what "it" is. Helps more than you would think.

4. I grab my iPod, turn it to Enya and melt into it for a few minutes.

3. A 20 minute walk outside. I am a nature lover all the way.

2. Closing my eyes I open my mouth and shove in some delicious strawberry ice cream.

and last, but not least

1. I go outside (I live in the country) and scream. Not a bloodcurdling one because I don't want the cops coming, but more like a ROAR. Or a loud grunt.

Ahhhhhh

Pregnancy Brings Out Our True Colors

What is my color? Control freak.

I have realized that I am in fact one of those hideous freaks of control. To me this came as a surprise though my husband laughed at my realization. Apparently he had always been privy to this information.

I try to go with the flow, but it is so hard for me! I remember one time someone read my palm and the first thing they said to me was: "Woah, you need to lighten up." Hmmm... easier said than done.

My cousin is pregnant and she is just the opposite of me. She's waiting until the birth of her child to find out the sex. Me? I found out the first chance I got because I needed to be prepared. She has a "it's natural so things will go the way it should" attitude. I have a chart on my wall to track my daily intake of water, kegals, vitamin and exercise. Not even a joke.

I have started to meditate and it seems to be helping. Marginally.

I suppose every step in the right direction is good...

Ironic Stretchmarks

Turns out I think that my Tummy Butter really does work! Why do I say this? I have been putting it on since I have been about 3 months pregnant and it had been going well for a while. I put it on all the places I thought I would get stretchmarks. This led me to skip the very fronts of my hips and the very middle of my booty. Where has this gotten me you ask?

I have no stretch marks except for in those two places.

You better believe I have started to lather them up, but now all I can hope is that the butter will catch up to my stretching skin and lighten the ones I have. I'll let ya know how it goes.

So the moral of the story is: even if you don't think you will get stretch marks on _name a body part_ use tummy butter there anyway. Because if you don't your body will laugh and stretch that skin to mock you!