Pregnancy Awareness Month (Part II)

With the support of “Healthy Child Healthy Word.” P.A.M. are getting the word out about healthy pregnancy. Today’s blog will focus on what P.A.M. has found to be the Five Things Pregnant Woman Complain About. Number One: Excess Weight Gain Pregnancy plays quite the number on the pregnant woman’s body. During pregnancy a woman’s body goes into storage mode. So that pint of ice cream you could eat pre-pregnancy and burn off with a good cardio, isn’t going to happen during pregnancy. The recommended weight gain for a pregnant women with a healthy BMI is 25-35 pounds. There are many … Continue reading

Pregnancy Awareness Month (Part I)

May is pregnancy awareness month! In honor of the 4 million + babies born in the United States each year, P.A.M (Pregnancy Awareness Month) and O.N.E Coconut Water have teamed up to provide pregnant women with helpful tips for a healthy pregnancy. According to P.A.M., there are five things pregnant women want. Number One: Easy Uncomplicated Labor Easier said than done in some cases. I too desire and easy and uncomplicated labor. With my first pregnancy, I wouldn’t say labor was easy. Labor is hard and largely painful work. There are certainly factors that can make labor more difficult. For … Continue reading

Hip Pain and Sleep

I had the worst hip pain during my pregnancy. It got so bad, that at one point, I couldn’t leave the house. Whenever I walked, I could hear this clicking sound that felt like it was coming from the center of my pelvic bones. It was really hard to cope. The worst part about it was trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in. It was nearly impossible. I finally found a few tricks that helped alleviate the pain enough to get some rest. The first trick I tried, which worked until I got too big to maneuver the … Continue reading

Pregnancy Apps for Smart Phones

I’ve blogged about a few apps that are available for iPhones, but did you know there are many pregnancy apps for other smart phones as well? Android phones are becoming very popular these days and offer quite a few apps via the Google Marketplace. This month I had the thrill of test driving an EVO 4G for the purposes of trying out some of the pregnancy apps, courtesy of the generous people of Sprint. (Can I just note that I am in love with this phone and I’m already mourning having to mail it back this week? It’s a fun … Continue reading

Make Your Own Humorous Pregnancy T-shirts

You’ve probably seen the cute maternity t-shirts that have funny slogans like “I’m a Baby Machine.” Sometimes the shirts feature puns or funny pictures. The only problem I had with these shirts when I was pregnant was how expensive they are. Some of the shirts I found were running for $40. That is just too much for a shirt that I’m only going to wear a few times during the next 6 months. Making your own funny t-shirts is easy if you have a few basic, solid color maternity shirts and iron-on-transfer paper for your ink jet or laser printer. … Continue reading

Practical Ways to Deal With Mood Swings in Pregnancy

Is pregnancy really an excuse for behaving badly? I’ve written about my not-so-sweet demeanor during my last pregnancy. It wasn’t exactly my proudest nine months. I’ve resolved to be a better pregnant mom the next time around when it comes to the way I treat my family, more specifically my husband. But how can we put those goals into practice when our hormones are raging? What are some practical things we can do to rise above our crummy, snippy moods that seem to settle in with the rest of the pregnancy symptoms? They say the first step to recovery is … Continue reading

ICP: Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy

Yesterday I blogged about PUPPP, a pregnancy-related skin rash that causes intense itching on the skin and usually appears on the abdomen first. Another pregnancy related condition that causes intense itching is Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy, or ICP. As I mentioned yesterday, ICP is a much more serious condition that involves the liver’s ability to secret bile. When bile backs up in the liver, bile acids in the bloodstream increase and deposit in the skin. The bile acid deposits cause extreme itching. Unlike PUPPP, ICP does not cause a skin rash. Another difference between the two conditions is where the … Continue reading

Kelle Hampton’s Beautiful Blog

Kelle Hampton is a talented photographer and blogger, and the words and photographs that appear on her blog have attracted the attention of so many people. Her photographs are stunningly beautiful, and would not be out of place on the pages of a parenting magazine, or in an art gallery. Her words are honest, and come from her heart, even when it would be easier to sugar coat what she is trying to say. Together, the words and photos tell the story of what life is like as a mother of two beautiful daughters, one of whom happens to have … Continue reading

Addressing Fears of Pregnancy and Motherhood

Girls, we often sell ourselves short. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard a woman express insecurities about her pregnancy, delivery or becoming a mom, and all I want to say is, “you will be great!” It’s time to give yourself a pep talk and face those fears head on. Here are some of the most common fears I’ve come across and reasons why you should throw them out the window and focus on the joy of meeting your baby instead. I need at least nine house of sleep. How am I going to function with a newborn? … Continue reading

Dealing With Aches and Pains

Aches and pains are pretty common during pregnancy. They are so common that it’s unusual if you don’t have them. Headaches, backaches and sore hips and joints pretty much come with the territory. The tricky part is dealing with the pain in such a way that will not present any risk to the baby. You may have popped two or three Ibuprofen before you were pregnant, but it’s no longer so simple. While some over the counter pain relievers, such as Acetaminophen, are perfectly safe during pregnancy, other common pain killers, like Aspirin, should be avoided. For those who want … Continue reading