A mom to two kids, 7 year old girl and a 2 year old plus cheeky little boy (as of 2012).This blog is created to share info and tips on pregnancy, childcare, toys etc.Happy reading!
What are the symptoms that you might have toksoplasma/toxoplasma?
Flulike symptoms
Swollen lymph nodes
Muscle aches and pains for weeks
For those who missed out, toxo is an infection caused by a single-celled parasite called Toxoplasma gondii. The infection is most commonly acquired from contact with cats and their feces or with raw or undercooked meat.
Once diagnosed, for those who are pregnant or with weakened immune system, doctors will discuss with you what treatment is necessary. For those who are healthy and not pregnant, you do not need treatment as the symptoms will go away on its own within a few weeks.
Another common thing between us women. And another thing that could trigger worst than ever during pregnancy.
Why is it that yeast infection is more common during pregnancy?Your body goes through under a lot of things during pregnancy, which of course has a great deal to do you with your hormones.There is more sugar secretion on which the yeast can feed, causing imbalance resulting in too much fungus.
How are yeast infection treated during pregnancy? Only with vaginal creams and suppositories only.It may take 10-14 days for your infection to clear up during pregnancy.It may be helpful to use starch-free powder or Nystatin to keep them from recurring.
They can be avoided by: wearing loose fitting clothes,use cool temperature on your blow dryer to dry your genitals,shower after swim, don't use douche,sanitary pads, feminine spray,bubble bath,any kind or fancy toilet paper.Cut sugar intake, rest a lot and eat yoghurt:)
Through my reading, I found out that children who are breast fed are smarter when they get older.They say:
Children who are breast fed have IQ scores about 7-10 points than those who are on formula based.Numbers are based on hundreds of children...so breast feed is the way to go to have smarter kids!
Better school grades.Even after other school influences is taken into count.
Intellectual advantage gains the longer the child is breast fed.
Nutrients in breastmilk:
Smarty fats-One key ingredient in breastmilk is a brain-boosting fat called DHA (docasahexaenoic acid), an omega-3 fatty acid. DHA is a vital nutrient for growth, development, and maintenance of brain tissue. Autopsy analysis of brain tissue from breastfed and formula-fed infants shows that the brains of breastfed babies have a higher concentration of DHA, and DHA levels are highest in babies who are breastfed the longest.
Nutritip - To ensure that babies have a healthy brain growth,breast feeding mommies must be on a good DHA diet.Rich sources are from salmon and tuna.
Cholesterol -provides basic component for babies brain growth. None in formula milk but there is in moms milk. Bad for adults but good for kids...DHA, cholesterol, and other breastmilk fats provide the right substances for manufacturing myelin, the fatty sheath that surrounds nerve fibers. Myelin acts as insulation, making it possible for nerves to carry information from one part of the brain or body to another. So important are these brain-building fats, that if mother's diet doesn't provide enough of them for her milk, the breasts can make them on the spot.
Smart sugars - Lactose is main sugar component in breast milk.The body breaks it down into two simpler sugars - glucose and galactose. Galactose is a valuable nutrient for brain tissue development. more intelligent species of mammals have greater amounts of lactose in their milk, and human milk contains one of the highest concentrations of lactose of any mammal milk. Cow milk and some cow milk formulas contain lactose, but not as much as human milk. Soy-based and other lactose-free formulas contain no lactose at all, only table sugar and corn syrup.
Smarter connection - During the 1st 2 years of the baby's life, their brain is grows rapidly. Every experience contributes to their brain growth.Because breastmilk is digested faster, breastfed babies feed more often and therefore probably interact with their caregivers more often. Breastfeeding itself, with its skin-to-skin contact, the variations in milk flow, and the closeness between mother and baby, is usually a more interesting, more interactive experience than bottle-feeding.
Reducing breast cancer risk.Women who breastfeed reduce their risk of developing breast cancer by as much as 25 percent. The reduction in cancer risk comes in proportion to the cumulative lifetime duration of breastfeeding. That is, the more months or years a mother breastfeeds, the lower her risk of breast cancer.
Benefit child spacing. Breast feeding causes us to ovulate later.
Promotes good emotional health and bond with child.Some mothers get very emotional when they are unable to breastfeed. If you are able to,you are very lucky. (Remember to use the right techniques!)
Lessen osteoperosis.Women who don't breastfeed are 4times likely to have hip fracture after menopause.
Help you to loose pregnancy weight.Mothers who breastfeed tend to return to their pre-pregnancy size faster than moms who feed their child on formula.They also have more fat lost and large hip circumference within one month compared to those who don't.
Easy on the money. Baby milk/formula can cost you. Breast feeding definitely would reduce cost and...you don't have to constantly prepare milk for your child.
Most mothers carry their baby to term (90%). If you are at risk, your doctor would know by now and would advice you the necessary. Sudden premature birth happens to unknown factors. But with the advance facilities in new borns that we now have, any baby of 28 weeks can survive.
1. Avail yourself of good prenatal care.
2. Don't smoke. Quit before conception if you can.
3. Avoid alcohol consumption.
4. Eat nutritiously and gain the right amount of weight for you.
5. Avoid illegal drug use and use of over-the-counter medications not approved by your healthcare provider.
6. Avoid chronic, unresolved stress throughout your pregnancy.
Signs you are experiencing premature labour:
1. Your water bag breaks and starts gushing out followed by pain (or trickle).
2. Contraction that you thought were normal but now becoming more regular and intense.
3.Sudden pain on your lower back or pelvic that you never felt before.
As we approach our seventh month of pregnancy, we experience shortness of breath. The expension of uterus limits the lungs ability to expand with each breath.Here are methods for you to breath easily.
1.Change position when you feel breathless. 2.Listen to your body signals. Slow down when you feel breathless after walking up stairs etc. 3.Experiment your sleeping position. I prop some pillows so that I can breath easily. But I also notice that I sleep easily when I am super tired. 4.Practise breathing. Try to stand up with your hand to the side. Take long slow long breaths rather than short panting.Hand up while inhaling and down when exhaling. 5.Seek medical help. If you experience anything to sudden that doesn't subside, get medical assistant. Your blood might clot on your lungs, rare, but could happen.
Can you believe that this is normal? I did not have it during my first pregnancy at all. This time I experience this almost every other day. I get better after a few days and then it all comes back to me. So I did a little research on what natural remedies I can take to keep it away! (by the way, hold your lower tummy when you cough to support your uterus!)
Hot tea with lemon.
Steaming with vicks. Put a pot of hot water and some vicks. Cover your head with towel. Do this 2-3 times a day.
Take honey.
Cut a lemon, put salt and pepper and suck. (Never tried. But sounds ok)
Combination of grape juice and honey.
Gargle warm water with salt.
Mix orange juice with 2 tsp of honey and some lemon.Drink 2-3 times a day.
Vitamin C and some sun.
Try to not cough to hard. Frequent caughing can cause your water bag to break prematurely. Try taking lozenges that would help you ease the cough. Stay away from cold water too!
This is very common for expected moms. You have a lot to worry about, whether you are eating the right food, what can you do and not do, doctor’s appointments, getting the nursery ready, labour anxiety etc.
Insomnia: Almost 87% of women face this problem during their pregnancy. Insomnia is when a person has problems falling and staying asleep.
Reasons:
Awaken by baby’s constant movement or urge to go to the bathroom.
Sleep apnea. Can be caused by weight gain. It is rare in young women, where breathing stops during your sleep.This is often due to swollen nasal passage.
Restless leg syndrome(RLS).Research suggested that this could be caused by insufficient folic acid or iron. What happen is your leg starts to twitch, ache or become uncomfortable at night. Luckily it will go away after child birth.
Dream. Vivid dreams about baby’s wellbeing may disrupt your sleep during pregnancy.
Other possible causes: active baby, back and lower back pain,hunger, leg pain, medication, nausea, toilet visits, nose congestions, uncomfortable sleeping positions.Signals that you are experience sleep disorder:
Excessive sleepiness during day time
Forgetfulness
High blood pressure
Night time sweating
Obesity
Frequent waking
Morning headache
Complication that may occur (yikes!)
Average person needs to sleep 7-9 hours and expecting ladies should be having extra 2-3 hours of sleep. This could affect you and your baby’s health if it happens continuously. These are some complication that could happen:
Hypertension.causing you to get high blood pressure.
Longer labour. If you sleep less than 6 hours you may be in labour for longer hours.
Unexpected illness. With your immune system down, it is easier for you to contract unexpected illnesses.
Cesarean section. Women who don’t get enough sleep are 4 times likely to get a C Section.
Try these tips to make sure you get your snooze at night:
Cut your caffeine – no soda,no tea or coffee.
Avoid eating a full meal or drinking a few hours before bedtime.
Avoid exercising right before bed.
Change sleep positions. In the first trimester, try sleeping on your side, with your knees bent. Sleep on your left as you progress.
Do not attempt to sleep on your stomach at any time in your pregnancy, as the pressure can cut off oxygen to the umbilical cord. Also, don't sleep on your right side, because it can put undue pressure on your liver.
Take a warm bath prior to going to bed to relax.
Join a childbirth class or parenting if becoming and being pregnant is causing you to stay up.
Breast feeding can be a challenge, especially with your first child. It is very heart breaking when you are not able to give milk to your child. I only breast fed my daughter for 3 weeks. After much reading after that, I realised that perhaps my techniques were wrong. I asked around from my girlfriends and I received a lot of feedback.
Do read on this article and how to latch your child properly on to your breast. I found this very helpful and quite accurate to one of my friend's advice who nursed her child for a year plus.Remember to eat properly during this time as all the nutrient is shared by your child.
Here's the article http://www.askdrsears.com/html/2/T021000.asp
This is a concern for most women who are pregnant. Not everyone will go through it, some experience mild changes and some quite visible and won't fade for quite a bit.
Stretch marks
No one can avoid a little of this during pregnancy.After all your skin is stretched by a few kgs! Some people are super lucky that they have more elasticity in their skin causing them not to have stretch marks while others have thinner skin and will have stretch marks, which will take a while to fade.The only way is not to increase your body weight too quickly and rub tons of preventative stretch marks lotions.
Linea nigra
The line that runs down in the middle of your tummy.They usualy make presence in the second semester and also will take time to fade. What you can do is rub the dry skin off after your pregnancy.
Spider vains
If you are already prone to them, you might have more during this time. You'll have them on your face and leg. To avoid keep from being too hot or cold.
Choasma
Pigmentation on your face, neck and forehead. Its brown patches that appears on your neck, face and forehead. I have a friend who had them during her pregnancy and faded after the baby was born. Wear sunscreen when you're outdoors.
Chaffing
As your body puts on weight, you might get chaffing happening between your thighs or breast. Tell your GP about it. Keep it dry and put on talc if can.
Sensitive skin,rashes,itching
Your regular soap suddenly causes you itchiness.Some experience thrush(vaginal itchiness) and piles (itchiness around your anus). Talk to your GP if it doesn't go away within a couple of days as we would want it to clear up before the baby comes along.
Intense itching
Happens during 3rd trimester where could possibly link to a rare liver disorder which occours during pregnancy, obstetric cholestasis.From my reading it clears up after 3rd week of pregnancy.
A lot of things can happen during pregnancy. My cousin experience mild diabetes during her pregnancy. In my last pregnancy I had to lie down a lot towards the end of my pregnancy due to water retension and possible high blood pressure and yet, they all dissapeared after giving birth.
