Feeding Baby- What To Feed Your Baby

One of the most important things you need to worry about when you become a mother or a father is what to feed your baby. There are a lot of magazines and books, which tell exactly how many ounces of this and how many ounces of that your baby needs. I agree that you should be very well informed about what you feed your baby, but this doesn’t mean that you should spend all your time with your nose in a book, or your eyes on the kitchen scale. You should know the basics of healthy eating for a baby, and if you still feel you need expert advice after that, go ahead, although, but I believe that the basics are enough in most cases.

 

 

1.    Iron –Rich Cereals. This should be the first solid food type that your baby should try. Generally babies should be given solid foods at about four to six months of age. At about this time the babies iron supplies will be dwindling. This is why cereals such as rice, barley or oats, which are rich in iron, are the usual first solid food that the babies try. At the beginning you should try to mix the cereals up with breast milk, or formula, to give it a soup texture, but you shouldn’t sweeten it by adding things like mashed bananas or apple juice. If you do this form the beginning than the baby would want anything you give him or her to eat to be sweat. Rice is the most popular of these cereals but barley and oats are just as healthy; when it comes to wheat you should lay of it in the babies first year, because they can be allergic to it. Consistency wise, you should start with a very runny mixture, four parts milk, one part cereal, and than slowly, thicken the consistency.  So, iron-rich cereals with milk are the answer to the question what to feed your baby for the first time when it comes to solid foods.

2.    Puréed Fruits Or Vegetables. The next stage in the diet of baby will be t introduce fruits and vegetables. This should be done at around six to eight months of age. You might want to try with fruits and vegetables that don’t have very strong flavors, and gradually work your way thru. You will see that your baby is very picky at first, so you should be perseverant and try offering him or her, the same kind of fruit or vegetable over and over again at different times, until it gets used to it. You should start with mashed bananas, applesauce or pear purée. All of these fruit have a milder flavor, and your baby should take instantly to them. When it comes to vegetables you should start with orange or yellow colored ones, such as sweet potato or well-cooked carrots, and gradually work your way to the greens such as spinach or string beans. So, this is what to feed the baby after six months of age.

3.    Puréed Meat. After you get the baby used to eating some solid foods you should make the next step at around the age of eight months and introduce him or her to meat. You should start off with well cooked poultry, and boneless fish. Use a blender or any other way to ensure that your baby doesn’t need to chew a lot, because his teeth aren’t ready for that yet. Fish is very important in a baby’s diet because it is one of the principal foods that contain Omega-3, a fatty acid that has been linked to longevity and better brain function. You can also introduce the baby to beef or pork, because by now he will be curious to taste everything there is to taste. By this age you could also try giving the baby un-mashed pieces of ripe bananas, apple juice and you could even start them on pasta. Cow’s milk is of the table until the age of one, but things like soft pasteurized cheese, yogurt or cottage cheese get the green light. By the end of the baby’s first year the question of what to feed the baby gets a very simple answer: everything.

 

A baby’s diet is very important in the first year of his or her life. So you should be very careful, and consult with specialist about the right time to introduce certain foods. Every baby has its own distinctive personality, so no diet is going to be exactly alike. The foods I have mentioned above are the usual thing that doctors recommend, but you must always take into consideration your own babies particularities. 

What You Should Not Do During Pregnancy

 

Pregnancy means treating your body with more care because it isn’t just your life and health any more, but your babies as well. Many people tell you that there are some things that you shouldn’t do during pregnancy, and most of them are myths. There are however, valid scientific facts that strongly advise against certain foods or activities during pregnancy. I have made a short list of these facts bellow. I hope they can be of use and will help you have a strong, healthy, happy baby.

 

1.    Avoid raw meats and un-pasteurized milk or cheese products. Things like sushi or feta cheese should be of the table. They have chemicals that can affect the immune system when it is not at its full capacity, which is the case during pregnancy. You should always cook your meat products thoroughly, and give up for while blue vain chesses, or other soft chesses that haven’t been pasteurized. Liver should be consumed in limited amounts because it is very rich in vitamin A, which in large quantities can be damaging for the embryo. Also uncooked hot-dogs can be harmful. So, remember, eating raw meats or un-pasteurized cheese are definitely things you shouldn’t do during pregnancy.  

2.    Avoid dehydration. This is one of the problems that can occur during pregnancies. The doctor’s advice of drinking plenty of liquids should be adamant for all mothers. Dehydration can lead to a number of minor and major problems for your baby. So, you must avoid overheating, and most important of all drink plenty of water. You shouldn’t count on other liquids such as sodas, juices, or tea, because they can sometimes be counter-indicated for some women during pregnancy. Bottled water is the safest and in most cases the best way to re-hydrate.

3.    No alcohol. If you take anything away from this article than I hope it is this: consuming alcohol is the one thing you shouldn’t do during pregnancy, along with smoking. There is no safe amount of alcohol that you can consume during pregnancy. This is because alcohol freely passes thru the placenta. So if you’re drinking something, than your baby is as well. The risk of your baby suffering from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome goes up with every drink you take. And the effects of this illness are irreversible and will last for the baby’s entire life. This syndrome can cause birth defects, along with other problems involving decreased mental capacity, or physical disorders.  

4.    No smoking. I can’t be adamant enough about this: smoking will have grave implications on your baby’s health. As with alcohol, the placenta doesn’t filter all the damaging chemicals that you ingest while smoking. Second hand smoke is almost as dangerous, so you should definitely let people know, that no matter the occasion, smoking is not allowed in your house. Some of the effects of smoking are premature births, and babies that have low body weight at birth. Recreational drugs such as marijuana are also forbidden, even though some studies that are emerging place marijuana with a lower risk of causing illnesses in reference to tobacco and alcohol.

5.    Don’t drink excessive amounts of coffee. Studies have shown that low birth weight along with other minor problems of the fetus can be traced to excessive ingesting of caffeine. The limit should be around three cups of coffee a day, anything above that will be harmful for the baby. Caffeine can be found in sodas as well, along with other chemicals such as sweeteners that have been proven to cause cancer and affect a baby while still in the womb, if consumed in excessive quantities. This doesn’t man that you can’t have you’re regular diet Coke once in a while, the idea is not to over do it.  

6.    Pets are not such a good idea. It would be ideal if you could limit your contact with pets during your pregnancy. Every contact with an animal can be potentially dangerous. If you have a cat, let your partner take care of the kitty litter, because there is a chance of infection with toxoplasmosis. You should take more precautions in order to protect yourself from tick bites. They are a carrier of lyme disease that can be exacerbated during pregnancy. So getting a pet to celebrate the future addition to the family is definitely one of the things you shouldn’t do during pregnancy. 

 

There are many other things you shouldn’t do during pregnancy, but these I believe are the essential. If you are a drinker or a smoker, I’m afraid you will have to make a choice: your baby or your addiction, because the two can’t mix during pregnancy, because the risks of illness for your fetus are just too big. So the main thing you need to remember is that having a healthy diet and a healthy way of life will ensure the best chances for having a healthy, happy baby.  

What To Eat During Pregnancy

 

With more and more super foods appearing on the market each day, a real concern for women has become what to eat during pregnancy. I am against the strict diet of only this or only that. I believe that a healthy diet is a balanced one, with no excesses of any sort, and all the food groups taken into consideration. Of course you shouldn’t eat fast food or something similar because it has been proven that it is not good for you, but this doesn’t mean that you should be paranoid about it and not take a bite once in a while if you really crave it. The only key word is moderation, never an excess of anything, and you should be just fine. Having said that, let’s take a look at some of the most recommended foods that can have a positive effect on you during labor.

 

 

 

1.      Foods that contain folic acid. In the first three months of pregnancy and preferably before getting pregnant, a high intake of folic acid is necessary. This is part of the B vitamin category and it is also known as B9. The folic acid has an important role in developing the fetus’s nervous system. The folic acid is believed to prevent certain tube defects such as spin bifida and others. Folic acid can be found in such foods as: green vegetables, fruit, lentils, and orange juice, peas, rice, and barley beans. To get its full effect, pregnant woman need to take a four hundred microgram supplement of folic acid a day for about two months before the pregnancy, and three during. You should consider foods that contain folic acid if you are wondering what to eat during pregnancy.

 

2.      Iron rich foods. Iron is one of the key components in creating additional supplies of blood in order to provide nutrition to the placenta.  Iron can be absorbed much easier by the body if it is taken in conjunction with vitamin C, either as a supplement or from citric fruits and juice. Iron can be found in green vegetables such as broccoli or spinach, in strawberries, or muesli. You should also know that tea and coffee affect the intake of iron in the body. If you’ve had a healthy diet before your pregnancy and you are not anemic than iron supplements aren’t absolutely necessary. If not you should take iron supplements from the 20th week of pregnancy. You might also want to know that these iron supplements may cause constipation. Still, a bigger dose of iron in your diet is definitely something worth considering if you want to know what to eat during pregnancy.   

 

3.      Sugar rich and fatty foods. Contrary to almost all diets, during pregnancy you should have a high intake of fat and sugar, because they are very rich in calories which you would need. Things like ice cream, chips, pastries cake, can be on your regular menu, but it is necessary to remember the golden rule: never in excess. If you eat this kind of sugary, fatty foods with moderation, than you won’t get the problems associated with them such as tooth decay, or high cholesterol level and weight gain. If you can, you should limit the amount of saturated fat intake and focus more o unsaturated fats that can be found in fish oil, avocados, walnuts, seeds, and sunflower or olive oil.

 

4.      Healthy snacks. For the cravings in between meals it is important to focus on other types of snacks other than just sugar and fat rich foods. This is why you should consider having one of these kind of sandwiches laying around the house: dairy products with less fat such as low fat yogurt that also helps with digestive problems; salads with lots of vegetables especially celery, carrot or cucumber, breakfast cereals such as corn flakes and other unsweetened verities; baked potatoes, or baked beans on bread; berries which are incredibly nutritious, and other ready to eat fruit such as figs or apricots.

 

5.      Calcium and zinc. These minerals are very important for the developing embryo as well. You can consider food supplements, but if you follow a varied diet you should have enough minerals.

 

 

 

I have already told you the golden rule about what to eat during pregnancy and that is nothing in excess. At the same time you should get blood and other types of tests on a regular basis to make sure every parameter is normal. If you have any deficiencies in any of the nutrients I have mentioned above than you should consider taking supplements. As well as knowing what you’re body needs when you are pregnant you should also know what it doesn’t need, and an example of that is vitamin A in excess, so you should limit your intake of liver, which is very rich in this vitamin, that can prove damaging for the embryo.

 

 

  

  

Tips For Baby Care

 

Many mothers and nanny’s have their own tips for baby care. It is pretty hard to make a general rule about what the best tips are because they depend very much on the personality of the baby and how it responds to you. I have tried to make a short list of what I consider to be the most useful tips for baby care, and I hope they can be of help to you. Remember that the only tip you really need to know is to love your baby unconditionally.

 

1.      Swaddling. This is comfort to many newborn babies. It reminds them of being in their mother’s whom. The thing you should watch out for if your going to swaddle your baby is overheating. A baby should be dressed in the same number of layers as adults plus one thinner layer, so don’t over do it with the bundling up. I need to point out that swaddling can make most babies feel at ease and comfortable while others might get irritated. So as I said before, this is one of those bay care tips that depend very much on the newborn’s personality.

2.      Give the baby a lot of care and attention. In opposition to how you should behave with a young child who will take advantage, if you spoil him, with a baby you have nothing to worry about from this issue. There is no such thing as spoiling your baby. When they are this young they need to know that you will be there for them no matter what. So you should always comfort and cuddle your baby when it is crying. Of course, because this will happen pretty often, and you might be in the middle of doing something important, there is no harm done in letting your baby cry as long as it doesn’t happen often.

3.      Get a swing. Many people worry that a swing will be too much spoiling for the baby. Trust me, if your baby is having problems sleeping in his crib, but manages to fall asleep easily in his swing than, this is a very good solution for you. Swings are not dangerous, so for the first few months I believe this is a welcome help for you. I must point out that you should never leave your baby to sleep overnight in a swing or unattended, because there is a concern about breathing issues if the baby curls up. So if your baby likes it than getting a swing is one of the best tips for baby care.

4.      Make a bedtime routine. Trying to establish a bedtime routine can prove to be an extremely good idea in order to spend as much quality time as you can with your baby. It will make him aware and prepare him for sleep, and it will be something they will be looking forward to. A good idea for a bedtime routine is telling stories to your baby. Combining sleep with a pleasurable activity such as being read to will ensure that your baby will get all the rest he needs, even if sometimes, he can be a little fussy. Another thing you could use for a bed time routine is giving the baby a bath before sleep and playing with him.

5.      Use a pacifier. I have heard that some parents consider this form of comforting as being   inadequate, and will not use it on their babies. Scientific studies suggest that a third of all babies find the pacifier as a great comfort, so I can’t see the reason why not to use it. If your baby doesn’t like one pacifier you might want to try different brands and eventually you might find the right one.

6.      TV and PC. I believe that playtime should be an active experience and the PC or game consoles should never take the place of real toys. Having said that I believe that there is no problem with introducing babies to technology, because they will learn to use it very fast. Of course, you should never exaggerate and make shore that your baby doesn’t end up for to much time in front of the TV or monitor. Also you shouldn’t let your baby watch TV for an hour before sleep, because this will affect their normal restful sleep.

 

There are many tips for baby care. I have written down what I think are the most important. And if you should remain only with one thing from reading this article than it should be this: nothing can substitute a mother or a father’s love. So make sure you make time to spend with your baby. This is the only way to have a perfect, loving relationship.  

Things To Try To Get Pregnant

Many couples are seeking fertility treatments nowadays, because medical science and technology has advanced enormously in the last couple of years, and every day, new thing to try to get pregnant are appearing.  Although many treatments can cost you a lot of money and the end result may never come, you should do everything in your power to give it a shot, because nothing compares to having a baby. I have made a short list of some of the most promising methods of getting pregnant, with the aid of the knowledge we have today. So, let’s have a look, shall we?

1)     See a doctor. One of the first things to try to get pregnant is to see your doctor. That seems pretty straight forward, doesn’t it, but it’s surprising how few couples do this, and they do it only after they have been trying for a while to have child. I believe this is the first step you need to take in order to get pregnant. Make sure that everything is ok, both for you and your partner. Sexually transmitted disease, poor hygiene, or some minor infections can easily prevent getting pregnant. So, first thing’s first: see the doctor and get the thumbs up.

2)     Have sex at least three times a week. Knowing when you’re ovulating is an important step in trying to get later, and there are several ways to do this, but we will get to that soon enough. The idea is that you need to have intercourse on a regular basis in order to increase your chances. There are many methods of telling when you will be ovulating but you will find out that sometimes you will not be ovulating when you think you are. This is why you should not just have sex when ovulating, although otherwise it will not result in pregnancy, but since you can’t be a hundred per cent shore when that time is, you should cover all your basis and have sex at least three times a week.

3)     Find out when you are ovulating. There are many methods to do this, and in order to increase your chances of getting pregnant it is a very big help. The most basic method used for telling when you should be ovulating is the calendar method. I strongly advise against it because it relies on the fact that you will always have a twenty-eight day cycle, which is not always the case. This method suggests that you should begin ovulation around the fourteenth day of the cycle. A more reliable form of knowing when you are ovulating is the so called ovulation prediction kits. They work by measuring surges in a hormone called LH that happen prior to ovulation. They are pretty easy to use and are generally accurate, but probably the most reliable tool in the field is the fertility monitor. It to works by measuring spikes in LH but it correlates them with levels of other hormones in your body. At the same time they are very user friendly, so you can get used to them very fast.  Finding out when you’re ovulating is one of the first things to try to get pregnant.

4)     Have sex before ovulation. The egg of the female is only viable for 24 hours, so the window to get pregnant is very small. In order to increase your chances have sex a day or to before when you should be ovulating because the sperm can live from three up to five days. If you put all your eggs in one basket sort of speak, you may end up missing the opportunity to get pregnant.

5)     Have pleasurable sex. Recent studies have shown that your psychological state is connected to your ability to get impregnated. If you enjoy having sex, than there are more chances of getting a baby, so don’t map everything out, and synchronize schedules in order to have sex in exactly the right time in order to have a baby. Keep some romance, and don’t forget foreplay. It will actually increase your chances of getting pregnant. So, actually enjoying sex is one of the things to try to get pregnant.

There are many things to try to get pregnant, but there are no full proof solutions. Some so called solutions have no scientific basis, and are mostly myths, but there are a lot of things that you need to try before even considering the fact that you won’t be able to have a baby. Advances in medicine are making some things possible today, that others wouldn’t even dream of decades ago, such as in vitro fertilization, or surgeries that make people with infertility in their genes, fertile again. So if, you really ant a child never give up, because there is bound to be a solution right behind the next corner, for any problem.

Facts And Myths About Pregnancy

There are many facts and myths about pregnancy going around these days. Some of them are true, while most of them are completely wrong. I have decided that this is a subject worth talking about, in order for people not to have misconceptions about pregnancy.  Some myths refer to the changes going on in a woman’s body; others refer to how men perceive women when they are pregnant and so on. So it is important to separate myths form facts, and this is why I have made a short list of some of the most popular facts and myths about pregnancy.

 

1.      The baby’s sex can be determined by how the mother is carrying it. I have heard this myth many times, and it says that if a woman is carrying high, than the baby is a girl, and if she is carrying low, than it is a boy. This myth has no scientific basis whatsoever. The way the mother is carrying the baby depends on a lot of factors, including the muscle and bone structure of the mother, how far along she is, her posture and so on, but it has absolutely nothing to do with the sex of the baby.

2.      Myths about how to induce labor faster. There are a number of different myths that related to this so let’s take them one by one. Sex is said to induce labor, but facts tend to contradict this speculation. There has been no significant statistic increase in the number of women who have gone into labor after sex, and those who didn’t. Another myth suggests that the full moon would have an effect in inducing labor. Well, this myth seems to be busted as well. There is no significant increase in deliveries during full moons, than in any other night. Spicy food is also deemed to be a trigger, but in scientific terms it is as efficient as the one’s I have mentioned above.

3.      The sex of the baby can be determined but what food you crave. There seem to be a large number of myths regarding the sex of the baby, so let’s clear something up: the only way you are able to tell for real what your baby’s sex is, is to go and get an ecography done by your gynecologist. So the myth that if you crave salty foods you will have a boy, and if you crave sweet foods, you will have a girl, is absolutely false. These kinds of facts and myths about pregnancy can ignite fun conversations at best, but they have no scientific basis.

4.      Heartburn means a bald baby. This is one of the funniest facts and myths about pregnancy I have ever heard. It says that if a mother has heartburn, than the baby will be born with no hair. Of course, these things have nothing in common. Heartburn is a common discomfort associated with pregnancy, because of some pregnancy hormones that slow down your digestive tract in order to get as many nutrients as you can from your food. The food stays longer in your body, which for many people can create heartburn, and not a bald baby.

5.      Having sex can hurt the baby. This actually seems to be a valid question, because I have been frequently asked before. The answer is no. Sex can’t hurt the baby, because the cervix has lengthened and hardened in order to not let anything in the uterus. During sex, you will not harm, reach, or touch the baby, so it is ok. There are exceptions, and some women can’t have sex while they are pregnant, but this is only due to possible complications.

6.      Pregnancy can make you go crazy. Well there is a shred of truth to this myth about pregnancy. During pregnancy, a female’s hormone levels will rise, and this will cause them to slightly change their temperament. She will still be exactly the same woman, so going crazy is an overstatement if I ever heard one, but you will be able to notice some slight changes in her behavior, along with spontaneous mood swings, but these are normal considering the number of hormones racing thru her body.

 

There are numerous other facts and myths about pregnancy. Most, if not all of them, have no scientific basis whatsoever. So, the main idea you need to remember is this: if you have any questions about pregnancy, you should go see a specialist, and not listen to what uninformed people hear or say. In general, myths do start from somewhere, and it usually has something to do with the truth, even if only just a little; but from what facts and myths about pregnancy I have heard recently, I’m starting to doubt that their exists even the faintest resemblance of truth in some of them, because they are just simply put, ridiculous.

Fertility Treatments For Women

During the last decade, fertility treatments for women have become more and more efficient and readily available. I believe that there is still a lot of room for improvement and many scientific and technological breakthroughs ready to happen. In opposition to what things were like half a century ago when almost any women who had any kind of fertility problems would have no hope of ever getting pregnant, today’s treatments seem to have spectacular results. Some women are still expecting a lot from holistic medicine, but I believe that although alternative treatments should be studied further and encouraged, main stream scientific medicine should be the first thing that any woman with fertility issues should try.

 

1.      Clomiphene. This is a drug that works by stimulating your brain to produce eggs for ovulation. Actually, more specifically, it stimulates your pituitary glands which in turn produces a certain type of hormones that trigger ovulation. Ovulation occurs when the ovaries produce mature eggs and than release them to the Fallopian Tubes. These drugs help women with irregular cycle because at the end of the drug cycle, the hypothalamus is instructed to start this whole ovulation process within the next day. Unfortunately, this drug is been known to cause side effects which include stomach pains, ovaries enlargement, mood swings, and even in some cases increase the risk of breast or ovarian cancer. On the other hand, a big percentage, 70 to 90 percent of women who take this drug will ovulate and almost 45 per cent will get pregnant according to some studies. All and all, Clomiphene is one of the most commonly used, and one of the most successful fertility treatments for women.

2.      Human Menopausal Gonadotropin. This drug contains follicle stimulating hormone. This hormone is extracted from the donor urine of postmenopausal women. It works by stimulating the ovaries to create eggs. After a short period of injection based treatment, seven to twelve days, the woman is injected with another drug, human chorionic genadotropin which stimulate the ovaries to release the egg in the Fallopian tubes. This treatment is indicated in general for women who don’t respond to Clomiphene. There are certain risks involved with using this drug. One of the most significant is hyper stimulated ovaries, which can occur in almost 5 per cent of cases, and is a possibly fatal condition. This condition manifests itself by swelling f the ovaries which produce a very large number of eggs, which can lead to leaking in the abdominal cavity. The symptoms that precede this condition are: severe pelvic pain, vomiting and nausea. The use of this drug can also lead very likely to multiple pregnancies, in about 20 per cent of cases. On the other hand, despite its side effects, it is one of the most effective fertility treatments for women.

3.      Bromocriptine. One of the major issues for women who have irregular ovulations can be traced to problems with the pituitary gland. This gland is responsible for producing a number of hormones, one of which is called prolactin, which acts as an inhibitor for ovulation and also reduces estrogen levels, when in excess. The excess of this hormone can be traced to benign tumors on the pituitary gland which are pretty common. The drug reduces the pituitary gland’s secretion of prolactin, which leads to a normal ovulation. The drug can be taken orally or as a vaginal pill. For this specific problem of pituitary abnormality, this is one of the most effective fertility treatments for women. 90 per cent of women who have this particular problem and take the drug on a regular will ovulate normally. The percentage of women who get pregnant after this treatment varies from 65 to 85 per cent. The side effects of this treatment include dizziness, fever, low blood pressure and headaches.

 

Many fertility treatments for women are getting to be incredibly effective. Some clinical trials indicate that for almost all problems of fertility there is a good chance of getting pregnant. At the same time, miracle drugs, that are said to solve any problem, and have not been clinically tested can be very dangerous, so no matter how much you want a baby, you shouldn’t be very gullible, and risk your own health. Sooner or later, I believe that fertility treatments will become close to a hundred per cent effective for many conditions. Of course there will still be some problems that will be impossible to fix in the near future, but for this, you should consider adoption, which many people find just as fulfilling. At the same time, you should always consider the risks you are taking, because many fertility treatments have serious side effects.

How To Keep Your Baby Healthy

Babies can be very susceptible to a number of diseases. Knowing how to keep your baby healthy will definitely save you a few trips to the doctor’s office, and a fortune on drugs. There are some simple steps to follow that will ensure that you’re baby has everything he or she needs for a happy, healthy life. You don’t need special training just a lot of love and caring for your bay. Some of these things that I will talk about may seem pretty straight forward but you would be surprised by the number of people who don’t respect even these everyday routines that others take for granted.

 

1.      Avoid direct sunlight. A baby’s skin is fragile in the first months, so a good precaution to take is to avoid as much as possible direct sunlight. It is probably not the best idea to take your baby out for a play session between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. because at this time the sun is most intense. Make sure that your baby is dressed with long sleeves and pants, when you take him outside, and you should also go for a hat, and if you want, sunglasses. Although the baby needs to wear long sleeved shirts, don’t gat carried away and keep your baby dressed lightweight.

2.      Don’t overdress your baby. Most parents need to bundle a baby up so tight that you can only see its eyes and nose sticking out, from a big closet full of clothes. This is wrong and, despite what many parents believe it doesn’t keep the baby away from sickness. The best way to remember how to dress your baby is to ad another thin layer to what you would wear. A hat is mandatory, because babies lose a lot of heat thru their heads. Dressing him or her adequately is a good start in learning how to keep your baby healthy.

3.      Avoid smoke at all cost. If you want to know hoe to keep your bay healthy, than this is absolutely adamant:  Never sit for any amount of time in smoke filled space with your baby. Smokers inhale about 15% of the smoke from a cigarette, while the rest becomes second-hand smoke. Smoke is poison for the baby, as it is for any human in fact, so don’t linger any amount of time for any reason next to a person who smokes.

4.      Be careful with what your baby puts in its mouse. Babies are curious by nature, so they will put almost anything in their mouth. So you need to be vigilant and if you see one of his or her toys or pacifier down on the ground, make sure you have disinfectant wipes at your disposal. You should also use these wipes in public places such as restaurants to wipe the table or highchair of the baby in order to avoid contamination. This is a good precaution and it is a thing worth remembering if you are thinking how to keep your baby healthy.

5.      Be very careful with your own hygiene. Because you will be handling the baby almost at all times it is very important that you keep especially your hands clean. This means that you should always wash your hands after handling anything that could be contaminated before touching your baby. If you have nowhere to wash, than a great idea is to have a hand sanitizer at all times on your person. After using the ATM, or touching money, or shopping carts and elevators, you should always use a hand sanitizer to wash your hands. If you are clean and healthy so will be your baby.

6.      Keep a strict record of your baby’s immunizations. You should always be up to date with these shots because they are immensely beneficial and can save you from a lot of heartache and hassle, when you think of your baby being sick. You should also take the baby to see a doctor on a regular basis, just to check that everything is in order. Never clutter your mind with other stuff when it comes to your baby’s health, so write down appointments and immunization shots the baby has taken, and those he or she needs to take.   

From my point of view these are some of the essential steps in learning how to keep your baby healthy. Of course just excellent care isn’t enough. You should always consider the emotional factor as well, and always show your baby how much you love him or her. Make as much time as you can free in order to spend it with your baby because otherwise you will find out that it started calling the babysitter mama. A baby is a lot of work, and it is also incredibly rewarding, so make sure you are able to make enough time for him or her.

Easier Methods For Giving Birth

Many easier methods for giving birth have been developed over the years. Some still prefer to give natural births; others can’t do it without pain killers. You should know that there are many methods, each with their pros and cons, and making an informed decision about something like this can prove to be very rewarding.  It will be excruciating nevertheless, but there are some ways of making it easier for you. So, let’s get straight down to it and see what some easier methods of giving birth are.

 

1.      Move, move, move. If you want to know a secret behind easier ways of giving birth, this is one of them. In order to speed up your labor you should move constantly. Sitting down only slows down the process. Walk the halls, pace the room, use a birthing ball, anything is better than staying in bed. You can also try climbing stairs, if you can, even two at a time because this not only speeds up the labor, but actually helps you dilate. Also a good trick to remember is that lying flat on your back, with your legs in the stirrups is not a very efficient way of delivering, because it actually slows down the labor. The most natural way, if we are to look at the female anatomy, seems to be while squatting, because that is when your pelvic outlet is the largest. At the same time it is pretty nice to have a good friend helping you out: gravity.

2.      Water births. This is one of the most popular of the easier methods for giving births. Although delivering the baby underwater is considered to take longer than a normal birth, because you are more relaxed, and thus the contractions aren’t that powerful, it is believed to be less stressful for the woman. Probably the most important advantage of this type of giving birth is the fact that the babies have a smoother transition form the birthing canal to the outside world. The warm water resembles the intrauterine environment, and thus the transition is less stressful for the baby. The baby will always be taken head first out of the water, because it has a natural response to take a breath when its body comes in contact with the cold air. Therefore, if you take the baby out of the water by the legs for example, its body would come into contact with cold air before its head is out of the water, and this way you run the risk of the baby trying to take a breath, and possibly drowning. There are many specialized clinics that have the appropriate equipment and staff to make this kind of delivery, sprouting up all over Europe and North America.

3.      Hypnosis. One of the more unorthodox methods of reducing the pain of childbirth is to hire a professional hypnotist to guide you thru the entire ordeal. Hypnosis isn’t that new, this method has been successfully used in child birth since the 1940s. Some studies suggest that the labor’s length is reduced while using this method, but there s still no conclusive evidence of that coming from clinical trials. Also the incidence of pain medication use is greatly reduced. While in labor, the woman lets the professional hypnotist do his job, in trying to take her mind of the pain and focusing it on less stressful memories. Women who have used this method describe the experience as being interesting, and in any case, a very big help when it comes to relieving pain. Some of these hypnotists even suggest that children that have been birth this way seem to be calmer, and have a better sleeping routine, although no comprehensive study has been done to prove this.  

4.      Yoga. This is another alternative to normal child birth. Actually it doesn’t’ bring anything new to the table. Breathing is one of the most important aspects of yoga, so it matches perfectly with what a woman needs to do in order to try and relax during delivery. Yoga exercises can prove to be very useful before the birth, because it prepares the muscles for what is about to happen. The most important aspect of yoga that can greatly influence a mother’s birth is the ability to meditate. If a woman giving birth can train her mind and her body to detach from the pain, then giving birth should be very easy. This is why Yoga is considered to be helpful and part of the easier methods for giving birth.

Some of the easier methods for giving birth that I referred to in this article may seem to be unorthodox, but each one f them has been previously tested, and worked very well. Of course, you should choose the method that mostly suits and benefits you the most. 

Changes In The Body During Pregnancy

Your body will suffer a lot of changes during pregnancy so it is a good idea to get mentally prepared for it, before you get pregnant. The changes in the body during pregnancy will not be very pleasant: constant need to go to the bathroom, morning sickness and so on, but when you think of the ultimate reward, your child everything seems a lot easier. Of course many people say that during pregnancy a woman is glowing which is also true, so remember that you should under no circumstances go to extreme measures to try to cover up the fact that you will gain weight, because it is normal, and you should actually take pride in the fact that you are growing a whole new human being in your whom.

 

1.      Morning Sickness. This is one of the most common changes in your body, which all women experience during pregnancy. Morning sickness doesn’t necessarily happen only in the morning. It is a feeling of nausea, and vomiting, that can be set of by any kind of taste or smell. Morning sickness happens due to pregnancy hormones, and will usually appear after you have mist your period, and will ameliorate if not go away completely by the end of the second trimester. Most women say that they feel sicker when they have an empty stomach. Morning sickness is normal and is just one of the many changes in the body during pregnancy

2.      Growing Belly. Well this seems to be one of the most obvious changes in the body during pregnancy, after all, you do have a brand new human growing inside you, so it is to be expected. Depending on the size of your waist before getting pregnant, you may only see changes at the beginning of the second trimester. The growth in size of your uterus that contains the baby has other effects, maybe more annoying than the sudden weight gain. First off all, it puts pressure on your bladder, which will lead to a constant need to go to the bathroom. Frequent urination can become a real hassle by the third trimester, but you will also start to notice that you will be much hungrier all the time. Of course this is due to the fact that the embryo needs a constant supply of nutrients in order to grow which it gets from your body, but the other reason for constant cravings is the fact that your stomach will be compressed by the uterus as well, so you can fit less food in it. This means that you should stop eating fast food and go for more healthy and nutritious things, because you will need them.

3.      Digestive Issues. One of the big changes in the body during pregnancy will be the fact that you will start to have some digestive issues. One of them is heartburn, and this happens because pregnancy hormones in your body slow down your digestive process in order for you to get as much nutrients as you can. Another issue that arises during pregnancy is constipation. This, along with bloating and gas, is also due to the slowing of the digestive tract. Iron supplements, which most doctors recommend to take during pregnancy, can also have a secondary effect that causes constipation. If the problem becomes severe you should talk to your doctor, but the usual treatment involves taking stool softeners or fiber supplements.

4.      Growing Breasts. One of the noticeable changes in the body during pregnancy will be the fact that your breasts will begin to grow in size and feel fuller. This is because your body is preparing for breastfeeding the baby.  When you get closer to the due date, they will grow even more, and you will start to feel them tender. At this time, during the third trimester, you will probably start secreting the first milk you produce for the baby, which is called Colostrums. This milk has a yellowy color and it is very thick. It is full of antibodies that will help your baby fight of infection.

5.      Skin Color. You know how people always talk about the fact that pregnant women have a certain glow. Well, it’s true, and it is due to the fact that you will start to notice slight skin color changes due to the increase of blood circulation. Your skin will look more shiny and rosy.

There are many other changes in the body during pregnancy, but here I have listed just some of the most important. Pregnancy isn’t easy and you will definitely feel uncomfortable most of the time but when you think of the incredible reward you will get at the end of it, it might just seem a lot easier.