Search Results for: blog preparing for labor

Safe Beauty During Pregnancy

Before you got pregnant, you may have had a certain routine in place for taking care of your hair and skin. Now that you are pregnant, your hair and skin may be acting differently than usual. Also, many doctors advise their pregnant patients to forego some hair and skin treatments during their pregnancy and while breastfeeding. If you are curious about which beauty treatments are safe during pregnancy and which will have to wait until later, read on. Regular hair cuts, complete with a shampoo and blow dry are just fine. If your hair starts acting oddly after the pregnancy … Continue reading →

My Top 3 Baby Gear Picks

If you are preparing for baby and you want to make sure that you have everything on hand that you might need, here are a few items that you may want to pick up to round out your baby gear selection. These are my top picks for things that came in very useful with both of my boys. Even though I did not have one for Dylan (I used a sling), I must say that the Ergo baby carrier is hands down the best babywearing device on the planet. At least it is for me, and from the reviews that … Continue reading →

Dress Your Baby Bump For Halloween

  There were a couple of things that I forgot to do during both of my pregnancies that I later wished that I had done. One of them is taking maternity photos, and the other is dressing up for Halloween. Pregnant bellies lend themselves to all kinds of interesting costumes from gorgeous to gory. Since there’s only about a month left before Halloween, it’s time to get started on your costume. Need a little inspiration? If you want something comfortable, you can go for an athletic look with a tank top (or sports bra) and basketball shorts and paint your … Continue reading →

A Breastfeeding Story – Part 2

When I became pregnant with my second son, Blake, I knew that I planned to breastfeed him after he was born. After my experience with breastfeeding Dylan, I knew that there could be some bumps in the road as we began our breastfeeding relationship. Shortly before Blake was born, I developed preeclampsia. I knew that I would have to be on the same medications during labor and delivery that I had been on when Dylan was born. What I did not expect was that I would end up with a cesarean birth. When I was able to hold Blake, he … Continue reading →

A Few Good Pregnancy Books

I have always been into reading, but during pregnancy I was even more so. Especially during my first pregnancy – you know, before I had a little one to take care of and had more time available for reading. I read a lot of things, and like many pregnant women, I spent a lot of time reading about pregnancy and childbirth. There are a lot of books on pregnancy and childbirth out there to choose from. If you have a lot of time on your hands, feel free to explore any and all of them. If time is at a … Continue reading →

Deciding Where to Give Birth

When you got pregnant, you took care to choose a prenatal health care provider or team of providers that you could trust to provide the best care for you and your baby throughout your pregnancy. As the time for baby’s arrival draws near, you may be faced with another major health care decision – where to give birth. For example, you may be working with midwives and preparing for a home birth until something happens late in the pregnancy which requires that your care be transferred to a hospital. That just happened to me. You could also be planning to … Continue reading →

The Expenses of Thanksgiving

Holidays are expensive, even holidays that don’t involve gift-giving. As we approach Thanksgiving, I’m noticing how expensive it can be to host a large family gathering. A large turkey, even on sale, was almost thirty dollars, and that’s just the bird. There are other foods to prepare, plus getting my house ready—it’s a little overwhelming. As I’ve looked over my preparations, I’ve come up with some ideas for how to keep the expense under control. Hopefully, these tips can be of use to you, too. 1. Pay attention to which grocery stores are offering free turkeys when you purchase a … Continue reading →

Mastering the Lived-In Look

Mastering the lived-in look while you are on vacation can spare you from having your house ransacked. That’s the word from law enforcement officials, though they aren’t referring to your rental cottage or your outward appearance. Rather, police are encouraging folks preparing to hit the road this Labor Day weekend to follow steps in order to make it appear as though someone is occupying their home while they are away. Some ways to avoid home invasions while you are on vacation include: *Lock all doors. *Secure all windows. *Stop the mail and newspaper. *Rig exterior lights so they turn off … Continue reading →

At the Midwife’s

Posted on by

When our first child was born a few years ago — and what a wonderful son he is — we employed a midwife for our care and the delivery. This was a remarkably fortuitous decision as hospitals have always made me uneasy. In contrast to the sterile hallways and the smell of bleach (something that has always put me off) we were able to spend the labor and the birth in a home with a nice bedroom, plenty of room to move, and zero pressure to do anything we didn’t want to do. I cannot tell you how wonderful it … Continue reading →

How Small Businesses Are Helping Relief Efforts In Japan

The ongoing tragedy in Japan has given the rest of the world many things to think about. From preparedness for natural disasters to planning and preparing for emergencies involving nuclear power plants, the list of questions that have come up over the past few weeks continues to grow. One question that many of us are probably asking as we learn about the devastation in Japan is “How can I help?” Large-scale tragedies like last year’s earthquake in Haiti and the current events unfolding in Japan often inspire massive relief efforts from governments and large corporations all over the world. While … Continue reading →