Pregnancy Madlibs

Remember Madlibs? This website has a fun pregnancy madlib. Thanks to the Pregnancy Weekly June 2005 board for this great idea. :) Try it out and leave a comment with your madlib! In case you've forgotten the various parts of speech, here's a quick review of the basics: A noun is the name of a person, place or thing. Examples: umbrella, sidewalk, telephone and policeman. An adjective describes someone or something. Examples: creative, red, ugly and short. A verb is an action word. Examples: run, jump, swim and fly. Past-tense verbs would be ran, jumped, swam and flew. An adverb tells how something is done. It modifies a verb, and usually ends in "ly." Examples: greedily, rapidly, modestly and carefully. Here was mine --- who knew that men could give birth?? "Is that water or did my water just break?" john wondered aloud. "ohmigod!! Call the plant," shouted mary, grabbing the car and running into the kitchen. Holding her boob, john walked like an plant scissors toward the flower. "Remember what they said to do - to get through the contractions, you need to wiggle, wiggle, wiggle," mary said slowly. "Calm down! If this is labor, I'm madonna." "But we have to be ready! Do you have a focal point?" "Yes," john said. "The diaper." "I'll go see if I can happily fit it in the laptop. You stay here and spin," yelled mary, and ran out the door. john jumped back into the kitchen and sniffed. Maybe it was water, after all.

Birth Balls

I posted about birth balls last month but I thought I would post about them again. I was recently given a new birth ball from a friend and I am so enjoying it and so I'm spreading the birth ball love. Now you might look on a ball and think, "I'm just going to roll right off." Not true! Birth balls are incredibly giving, stable and comfortable. They can be a godsend during your last weeks of pregnancy. Using them can better your pelvic mobility and stability which all help for labor. Sitting on a ball encourages you to move around, bounce up and down, move side to side. You can use them post-pregnancy as well since babies like rocking motions and sitting on them can give you that gentle movement. Want to lose that pregnancy weight after giving birth? Of course! The birth ball! You can use the birth ball for abdominal crunches and see that belly minimize. So you wanna buy a birth ball? Now that I've fully convinced you, pay attention to some details before you buy a birth ball. Make sure it marked as being "burst resistant," so that if your ball were to deflate, it would deflate slowly rather than erupting entirely. Also take note of weight capacity. Most burst-resistant balls can hold up to 660 lbs but make sure the box clearly states what it can hold. Size will the ball will depend on your height. When sitting on one, you should be able to have your legs bent at a 90 degree angle and your knees directly above your ankles. 5'2" and under -- 55 cm ball 5'3" to 5'7" --- 65 cm 5'7" cm and taller --- 75 cm Happy bouncing!

Sick of Saltines?

Here are some remedies which may help you through your oh-so lovely pregnancy symptoms. For morning sickness -- or as we like to refer to it as ALL DAY sickness, try anything with ginger. Ginger ale, ginger snaps. If you're experiencing heartburn, try drinking papaya juice (100%, not diluted). The thickness of the juice can help coat your stomach. For that darn swelling, try eating some parsley. Might be great for that last trimester when you feel especially large. Feeling constipated? Granola can be a good friend. Oatmeal, bran, sunflower seeds, flax seeds and nuts is a good mix to try. What remedies have worked for you?

What Can I Eat if I'm Pregnant and a Vegetarian?

A good friend of mine is a Vegetarian. When she was pregnant, she was concerned about eating healthy for her baby but at the same time, following her lifestyle and eating habits. What she learned was she could continue her vegetarianism and have a healthy baby. Along with prenatal vitamins, her doctor also had her take supplements.

To break it down, here are some things you should be aware of if you are a vegetarian:

Calories You need 300 more calories a day when you are pregnant. So this is not a time to start dieting. Vegetarian foods are usually lower in fat and calories than meat so you might need to eat more to get enough nutrition.

Calcium If you don't eat dairy, try to have calcium through other foods such as tofu, broccoli, beans, dark green leafy vegetables, calcium enriched orange juice or calcium fortified soy milk.

Protein If you're a ovo-lacto vegetarian, you can find protein in milk and eggs. You can also get protein through nuts, legumes, whole grains and meat subsitutes such as veggie burgers.

Vitamin B12 Be sure that you are taking vitamins that have B12. Vitamin B12 can also be found in breakfast cereals.

Vitamin D This vitamin is found in fish liver oils as well as milk and soy milk that are fortified with vitamin D.

Buying a Crib and Car Seat

There's a lot of pressure to buy the *right* things and the *best* things. Here are some things you should pay attention to when shopping for a crib and car seat. These are two items on your shopping list that you should pay absolute attention to when buying to make sure you go for safety and function rather than "it looks cute" are the crib and car seat. Crib Investing in a safe crib is a must, absolutely. When looking for a crib, make sure it meets the current safety standards. The current regulations require the spaces between the side slats to be no bigger than 2 3/8 inches wide (size of a soda can, roughly). There should be no corner posts, projections or decorative cutouts in the headboard or footboard and the mattress supports should be able to be lowered as your baby grows up and can stand up in the crib. To get your baby in and out, you can look for drop sides but make sure it securely locks in place. The matress should fit snugly with no more than two fingers width between the matress and crib side. Car Seat Hospitals require that you have a carseat in your car otherwise they won't let you leave the hospital with your newborn. Here in the US, it is the law to have your baby in a carseat. Carseats come in two different kinds -- Infant (up to 20 lbs) and Convertible (up to 40 lbs). Many parents choose to buy an infant carseat and then later a convertible carseat because the infant carseat can also be used as a carrier. The convertible carseats are economically smart and you can find one that adjusts for babies to toddlers. Most car seats that are currently for sale in stores have already met the strict requirements so it is better to purchase a new one rather than using a secondhand car seat. Always ask the salesperson if the carseat has met the latest guidelines. Car seats must meet current government standards. It's important that you install them correctly so be sure to follow those instructions exactly. You can have a certified child-passenger safety technician go over your installed car seat to make sure you did it properly. Call (866) 732-8243 for more information. Here are some good links to research before purchasing: AAP's Info on Safe Cribs Child Safety Seat Inspection Station APP's guide to Car Seat Safety Child Passenger Safety

What Kind of Cheese Can I Eat When I'm Pregnant?

Ah cheese. I love love love cheese. With bread, with crackers, in salads or on its own. Yummy. And my pregnant belly is definitely craving cheese! Unfortunately I can't have some of my favorite cheeses while pregnant. The FDA warns against certain cheeses which might be contaminated with listeria, a bacteria that can make you feel ill and can be harmful for your baby. You can have some cheeses, but they should be hard cheeses and they should be pasteurized. So what kind of cheese can I eat while pregnant? Cheese that you should avoid include: - Feta (goat cheese) - Brie - Camembert -Blue-veined cheeses, such as Roquefort -Mexican-style cheeses such as queso blanco and asadero Some safe cheeses? - Semi-soft cheese such as mozzarella - Pasteurized processed cheeses - Cream cheese - Cottage cheese So when you go out to eat or are preparing some dinner and you reach for that wedge of cheese, be sure to look at the label and make sure it's a cheese you can eat.

Where Are All These Pregnancy Pounds Going?

The recommended amount to gain when you are pregnant is between 25 - 35 pounds. Of course this depends on if you're overweight, underweight or carrying more than one baby. But where does that weight go? Here's an idea of where the weight will go (these numbers are an average): Baby 7.5 pounds Amniotic fluid 2 pounds Placenta 1.5 pounds Your body 7 pounds Fluids and Blood 8 pounds Breasts 2 pounds Uterus 2 pounds So you see, you are only putting on 7 (average) pounds on your body --- the rest of the weight gain is going to important places! I mean, 2 pounds for your breasts, that's important!