Before Baby Makes Three

Getting pregnant is a life-changing event that requires thoughtful planning. If you and your husband are considering starting a family, think about life before, during, and after pregnancy and birth. Consider every factor in every stage of the process; pregnancy is only the first step!

• Arrival and Newborn Baby - The practical questions need to be discussed before you actually bring a child into the world - before you even get pregnant. Pregnancy is just the beginning, and then the real work begins. Can you afford to raise a child? Is there space in your home, your schedule, and your life for a newborn? 
• These answers are not always easy when you’re being completely honest with yourself, but they’re worth asking. Your life is no longer your own when you become a parent, so are you willing to put aside your free time and your sleep patterns? The benefits are definitely worth it, but are you willing to make the sacrifices?
• Getting Pregnant - Before finding a birthing center San Antonio, you need to talk to your doctor about the possibility of pregnancy. Other preexisting medical conditions might play a role in your ability to get pregnant or carry a baby to term, or you might simply have concerns to address. Speak to your GP before deciding to go off birth control, or perhaps schedule a special discussion appointment and bring your husband along. Knowledge is power!
• Pregnancy - Your body will go through massive changes once you’ve conceived, so stay up-to-date on milestones and what you should be feeling during each trimester. Do research on everything: How big baby will be at specific times; what side effects you should be feeling; and what changes you can expect physically and mentally.
• Your OBGYN is the best person to discuss these with, but in the meantime, it can be fun to see progress on your own with pregnancy apps. 

Having a baby is one of the most personal choices that you can make, but making an informed decision is never a waste of time. Consider every aspect of parenthood and decide if it’s something that you and your husband are truly ready for.

Three Tips for Staying Organized During Pregnancy

If you're a woman who's experiencing her first pregnancy, you might experience what many women affectionately call "pregnancy brain" where you forget a lot. There are so many pressing matters to take care of during your pregnancy, and you don't want to accidentally forget to take care of some of the most important tasks. Here are some tips to help you make sure everything is taken care of.

1. Write everything down.
   If you're someone who loves to use a planner or a pretty notepad, carry it in your purse at all times. Just like you wouldn't go anywhere without your car keys, don't go anywhere without your planner. If you prefer to go the digital route, that's totally fine as well. You can opt to use your digital planner or calendar to write down all of your important tasks. There are some apps that will allow you to sync portions of your calendar with your partner or anyone else who's relying on you for certain responsibilities.
    
2. Make time for breaks.
   If you know that a visit to your licensed birth center tampa bay will leave you wanting a nap afterward, don't schedule anything for a few hours after that appointment. Don't overschedule yourself. You'll only end up feeling extremely stressed out, which isn't good for you or your baby. Instead, make time for breaks. It's also great to consider how you feel at any given moment. If you're cleaning the kitchen and feel a bit winded, take a break for a twenty minutes to sit down and take a few deep breaths.
    
3. Work until something is done.
   Even though this tip might seem like the opposite of taking breaks, it's not. Don't be afraid to live your life as a pregnant woman. Yes, it's important to take breaks and be mindful of your health. However, it's okay to still work hard and get things done. If you were already lifting weights and exercising before you got pregnant, don't stop now. With the right recommendations from your birthing professionals, you'll be just fine. Granted, if you run into complications and need to be on bed rest, this is not optional. If you've been cleared by your doctor to move forward, it's okay to work until you've completed a task.

In all honesty, I think these tips could be applied by anyone - whether you're pregnant or not. It's a tough job getting and keeping organized, and any help is welcome.

Seafood and Pregnancy

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of HealthyTuna.com. All opinions are 100% mine.

Sometimes it's just so confusing trying to figure out what foods are good for you and what foods aren't. First there's a study saying a particular food causes cancer or some other unwanted disease or side effect, and the next week another study says that that same food is beneficial in all kinds of ways. One food I'm sure you've heard differing opinions about is seafood. First you hear that seafood, and particularly fish high in Omega-3 fatty acids, is essential for good health and should be eaten at least 3 times a week. Then you hear that some seafood contains high levels of mercury and should be avoided, especially by pregnant women. It's hard to know what to do. Is eating fish really dangerous to unborn babies?

I personally love tuna, and we all love salmon. Since it's been so many years since I was pregnant (my baby is 17), I honestly don't remember how much tuna I ate when I was pregnant. I've been reading some of the scientific studies on the healthy tuna website, and I really wish I had made a point of eating tuna or salmon more while I was pregnant. There are all kinds of benefits to both the mother and the baby when a pregnant woman eats seafood at least 3 times a week. Marine foods like fish are the only naturally rich source of a special omega-3 fatty acid called DHA, which is needed for the very best possible brain and eye development in babies. Seafood is a great source of lean protein and is high in Vitamin D and Calcium which are very important for a healthy pregnancy.

The Featured Study mentions research that shows pregnant women who ate fish at least 3 times per week were 50% less likely to develop symptoms of depression than those who ate no seafood. The study says:

Depression during pregnancy can have serious effects on a woman's health and that of her baby; emerging science suggests that depression during pregnancy may increase the risk of:

• Having a caesarian section
• Delivering a premature or low-birth-weight baby
• Lowering cognitive test scores and babies' brain and behavior development
• Having depression after pregnancy

I'm not the only one who didn't realize what benefits could be gained by eating more fish, because the study also says that, on average, American women eat one sixth of the recommended amount.

All the health benefits sound great, don't they? But what about the mercury we've heard about? Isn't it dangerous for pregnant women to eat seafood? Do the benefits really outweigh the risks? There's a nice report called Seafood Choices: Balancing Risks and Benefits that really helps with that. There's a nice chart that shows how much mercury is in a 3-ounce serving of different types of seafoods consumed in the U.S. along with the estimated EPA/DHA (omega-3 fatty acids) intake for each. The recommendation seems to be that women who are pregnant, may become pregnant, or who are breastfeeding should avoid large predatory fish such as shark, swordfish, tilefish, or king mackerel - because the mercury content is high while the benefits are fairly low, comparatively. Fish like salmon and light tuna are high in EPA/DPA and very low in mercury content - as well as being affordable and convenient when you buy canned.

After reading some of the health benefits of eating fish, I'm thinking I need to make more of an effort to include it in our diet. 3 times a week? No, I'm not pregnant, but I'm thinking I need to get more Vitamin D and Calcium in my diet, and eating seafood is also supposed to reduce the risk of future cardiovascular disease.

What about you? Do you eat seafood? What are some good ways to include enough of it in your diet?

Nurture the Mother-to-Be in Your Life

Pregnancy is one of the most exciting times in a woman's life. It can also be very stressful and uncomfortable, with all the added weight, changing hormones and various physical and emotional changes. Massage is a good way to help de-stress the expectant mom, as well as alleviating many of the uncomfortable aspects of pregnancy.

Aesthetic VideoSource’s new Nurturing Pregnancy Massage Techniques instructional DVD series can help anyone learn to properly perform a prenatal massage. In the Prenatal Massage Video, instructor Meade Steadman demonstrates step-by-step how to provide therapeutic massage techniques that focus on the special needs of the mother-to-be as she goes through the different trimesters. “The massage should be very nurturing, very supportive,— says Steadman, “Keep in mind that what you do affects the mother and the baby.

Here's an excerpt from part 1:

Pregnancy Massage Video

Massage Videos | Pregnancy Massage

You can order Nurturing Pregnancy Massage Techniques I (2 Hrs. 17 Mins.) for $54.95, and Nurturing Pregnancy Massage Techniques II (1 Hr. 7 Mins.) for 49.95, plus shipping. Or you can order both videos for $84.00, a savings of 20%. Order by calling 1-800-414-2434 or visiting www.VideoShelf.com.

Why wasn't this around when I was pregnant?

Pregnancy Insurance

When I had my babies all those years ago, we had good insurance through my husband's job. Our insurance covered the doctor visits and the hospital stay and all the other expenses of pregnancy and childbirth. We also had insurance to cover doctor visits and checkups for the babies once they were born. I think that Pregnancy Insurance was an extra option on our insurance that we actually had to choose. It wasn't just an automatic coverage. What if we had decided we weren't having kids and didn't need that maternity coverage, and then, "Surprise!" - along came Beth? I don't know what our options would have been then. Fortunately, now MaternityCard is available to help pregnant women cover all of the costs related to their pregnancy, even if they didn't have insurance when they became pregnant.