As your baby grows and takes up more room in your body during your second and third trimesters, you may start to feel slightly uncomfortable. In particular, you may be suffering from pregnancy back pain. If so, you’re certainly not alone! As many as 70% of pregnant women experience back pain during pregnancy, according to the American Pregnancy Association. Still,… Read More »7 Ways to Ease Pregnancy Back Pain
Every smoker has been told: “You should quit smoking during pregnancy.” There is little debate that smoking is an unhealthy habit, causing potential harm to nearly every organ in the body. Once a woman gets pregnant, that risk also exists for her unborn baby. Still, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that only about half of women who… Read More »11 Tips to Help You Quit Smoking During Pregnancy
Pregnancy comes with a lot of rules, many of which center around what you should (or shouldn’t) eat and drink. Meanwhile, your hormones and the experience of growing a baby also bring on new cravings. Before you know it, your doctor may be asking a lot of probing questions about your weight. You may also be shocked to see where your line falls on the weight gain chart, compared to what is considered “normal.”
The question of how much weight is acceptable to gain during pregnancy is loaded with implications. It is also highly emotionally charged. Of course, everyone wants do whatever they can to deliver a safe, healthy, and happy baby. Still, you may find that you’re too nauseous to eat right during the first trimester, or that the pounds are adding up fast and furiously in your final weeks. Read More »The Effects of Weight on Pregnancy
Shopping for maternity clothes can be frustrating. Who wants to spend a fortune on new outfits that they may never wear again? Plus, every time you feel like you’ve completed your wardrobe for the upcoming trimesters, something comes up: a friend’s wedding, your nephew’s graduation, or yet another work event. You head back to store racks, credit card in hand. Meanwhile, you’re also trying to save money for the new baby and everything that comes with adding a new little person to the family.
To help you look and feel great, we’ve put together an inexpensive pregnancy wardrobe that will get you through spring and summer. You’ll even be able to continue wearing some of these pieces after the baby arrives! Read More »Spring & Summer Maternity Clothes: 7 Tips for Pregnancy Fashion on a Budget!
Congratulations on your pregnancy! Whether you’ve been trying to conceive for a long time or were surprised by the news, pregnancy can be an emotional roller coaster ride. You may be feeling a sense of wonder, hope, and joy for the future. At the same time, there is typically some anxiety about how your life will change, and how you will manage the responsibility that comes with raising another human being.
During pregnancy there are immediate needs that are keeping you busy such as planning the new baby’s room, picking out names, and choosing gifts for your baby registry. Hopefully, you are also putting long-term protections in place such as purchasing life insurance, setting up a college fund, and researching cord blood banking.
In the midst of the rest of the pregnancy ‘to do’ list, it is also critical that you don’t forget to take care of yourself. Remember that your health during your pregnancy will impact your child’s life, now and in the years to come. There is no time like the present to focus on your health!Read More »Giving Your Child a Healthy Start
Picture this: It’s 3 am, you have heartburn (again), and you’re not sure what to do. Can you take anything? Is there another way to get rid of it so you can get back to sleep? Could you have done something to prevent it in the first place? Or, you’re seven months pregnant and contemplating a delicious-looking deli sandwich platter in front of you at an event. You can’t remember what’s okay and what’s not. You could try to do a search online, but many of the websites don’t work well on the smartphone you have handy. Even the mobile websites may lead you down a rabbit hole of bad information and everyone-has-an-opinion forums. What do you do?
Behold the smartphone apps that will carry you through pregnancy when every day brings more questions. There are a multitude of mobile applications available at your fingertips, and we’ve narrowed down the list to seven of our favorites.
This BabyCenter app is full of videos, articles, checklists, and timers. It also has healthy recipes for meals during pregnancy and breastfeeding. There’s even a special “Bumpies” space to save pictures of your growing belly. There’s even a special offer available to users of this app for cord blood banking at New England Cord Blood Bank, valid through June 30, 2016 – download the app to access it! Read More »7 Best Pregnancy Apps
You’ve probably been to more baby showers than you can count at this point. They’re all pretty much the same, aren’t they? At your own traditional baby shower, you can look forward piles and piles of onesies, mostly in newborn to six-month sizes, which may not make it past the first few months. You may also get a few must-have items, more blankets and stuffed animals than you’ll ever use, and a few ‘unique’ gifts from well-meaning aunts.
Two months in, when you’re staring in disbelief at the receipt from your recent trip to buy diapers and wipes, you might be shaking your head. Why didn’t you just ask for gift cards to stock up on a year’s worth of essentials?
Before you head to the store with your Pinterest boards and that barcode-scanner, check out some different ideas below from parents who have been in your shoes and lived to tell about it. Read More »Five Alternative Baby Registry Ideas for Modern Parents-to-Be
5 Tips For Planning Your Maternity Leave As your delivery date approaches, you may be feeling a variety of emotions from excitement to overwhelm. If you work outside the home, the thought of leaving your job for several weeks may make you feel almost as anxious as the idea of bringing a baby into the world! With proper planning and… Read More »5 Tips for Planning Your Maternity Leave
If you’re pregnant right now, the season has been kind with mild temperatures and less white stuff on the ground. Still, it’s not likely to last. Rest assured, winter is coming! Cold and flu season is also coming, as are shorter days, more time spent indoors, and an abundance of opportunities to overeat during the holidays. It’s a tough time… Read More »Healthy Winter Pregnancy Guide
For anyone expecting their first child, the process of completing a baby registry can definitely be a bit overwhelming. In addition to your own confusion, you’ll likely receive plenty of unsolicited advice from family and friends. From cribs to car seats and swings to strollers, there are so many options! How do you know what’s important or necessary for your… Read More »10 Things You Don’t Need on Your Baby Registry