Getting ready for baby

Preparing for the arrival of a baby is exciting!  Your life is about to change in a major way whether this is baby #1 or #6.  I've found there are a few unique things you can do for yourself, your family and your home that will make the last few weeks of pregnancy more relaxing and help you survive and even thrive in the days after baby comes home.

1.  Get a chair massage (aka take time for yourself):  
Chair massages have been such a great treat for me these last few weeks.  A full prenatal massage is also a great option if you have the time, can find someone with the right table and have the funds, but for me, a 20 minute chair massage once a week has helped me relax and feel "treated" without disrupting my schedule or bank account too much.  I also suggest getting your hair and nails done :)

2.  Practice Yoga:  
Maybe it's because I'm not getting any younger, but this 3rd pregnancy has been tougher on my body and I've been crabbier than ever. Yoga has helped with both the body and mind issues of late pregnancy.  And it's a nice little escape from the rest of the world.

3.  Consider your gut health via probiotics:
When a child is born and when you hold him in those first moments, the baby's gut is colonized with your bacteria so it's important to do your best to make it healthy.  Also hospitals are nasty, germ infested places.  Having a healthy gut helps you to be equipped to fight any bug you might encounter.  Here are some ideas for how to get your gut healthy with probiotics.

4.  Get in the water:
Similar to yoga, being in the water has felt great on my joints.  And there's just something about being in and near water that makes you feel refreshed.  Who doesn't need a refresher after 8-9 months of pregnancy...

5.  Have a "bringing home baby" outfit for yourself:
There will be lots of photos in the first few days and weeks, and most of them will be of the baby, but have someone take some photos of your new family on the day baby comes home.  A nice shot at the hospital or in front of the house is a great keepsake.  Find something you can breastfeed in (if you're choosing to breastfeed) and something loose fitting....there will still be a bump (the Duchess of Cambridge had one, and you will too).  Here are some ideas for cute and comfortable postpartum style.

6.  Buy baskets:
Babies have so much stuff.  Keeping a few extra baskets around the house helps keep that stuff organized.  Toys, dirty clothes, clean clothes, diapers, pads, etc. etc.  Put it in baskets and help keep your sanity.

7.  Prepare for the pain:
You'll be sore after birth.  A former colleague introduced me to the idea of soaking pads in witch hazel, wrapping them in foil and putting them in the freezer.  This will feel great for the first few days home after baby...trust me!  And on that note, there are serious uterine contractions even days after the baby is born, especially when breastfeeding and especially with each subsequent baby.  Stay on top of your pain meds (if you're taking them) or brace yourself and your family.  I didn't realize this with my second and was wailing on the couch the first night home...thank goodness my mom was there.

8.  Buy gifts for the other children from the baby and vice versa:
My 4 year old has been talking to my belly requesting his new toy for weeks.  The baby will take a lot of their attention away, but they also need to accept that and learn to give and welcome this new little member.  I can't wait for the gift exchange in the hospital!

9.  Think about food and water.
Prepare a few extra meals for the freezer, stock up on trail mix, bars, good cheese, smoked salmon, hard boiled eggs, frozen fruit and veg for smoothies etc.  Most days when you're the only adult in the house, you won't sit down to a meal but maybe grab a handful of trail mix, an apple and some cheese.  And regarding water, your thirst level if nursing will be out of control.  Treat yourself to an extra large glass or stainless container with a straw.  It will be your new best friend!

10.  Consider placenta encapsulation:
If you're worried about postpartum depression, low energy or low milk levels, placenta encapsulation might be a good idea for you.  I've read about this a lot lately and a friend and acupuncturist just told me that she did it and it helped her immensely with energy levels and balanced emotional health.  It's touted to help ward off postpartum depression, balance hormones, increase milk supply and replenish nutrients lost during birth.  I haven't tried this before but am considering it this time around.  This article about placenta encapsulation on For The Love Of is very informative.

Good luck and ENJOY!!!  This will truly be one of the most amazing experiences of you life...soak it all up!

Also, the power of touch: skin to skin contact 

How to get a healthy gut: probiotics

10 tips for surviving and thriving in the 1st Trimester of Pregnancy

I'm excited to finally share that baby #3 is on the way!  We're thrilled, so so blessed and especially excited that the first trimester is over :).  With so many physical and emotional changes and demands in the first 13 weeks of pregnancy, I thought it would be nice to share some facts, anecdotes and ideas about how to achieve a healthy and balanced 1st trimester.

Here are my 10 professional and personal tips for making the most of early pregnancy:

The power of touch for all ages

Valentine's Day is all about LOVE, and one of the best ways to convey love is through touch.  Here's just a little reminder about the amazing power of touch.  And as you go around today wishing a happy Valentine's Day to all, why not include a thoughtful touch (just keep it within reason ;)

* When a baby is born and is allowed immediate skin to skin contact with his mother, his temperature, breathing, heart rate, digestion and blood sugar regulate, his stress levels are reduced, he tends to latch on to breastfeed easier and his skin is even colonized with the same beneficial bacteria as the mother.  The mother also benefits: hormones to promote breastfeeding and mothering are stimulated and she is more relaxed.  My dear friend recently had her 3rd baby via  C-section and asked to be given the baby immediately.  The hospital where she delivered said they had never done this but agreed to it and recognized the benefits.  She said it was such a sweet time and was so glad she asked and they said okay.  She'll likely remember that moment forever.  This skin-to-skin contact is important throughout the first days and weeks and is ideally practiced with the father as well.  According to a recent study, the lasting positive benefits of skin-to-skin contact were seen in 10 year olds who were born premature and included a better response to stress, more mature functioning of the autonomic nervous system and better cognitive control than 10 year olds who were preterm and received standard care.

is fragrance bad for us?

You've probably heard or know from first hand experience that when you're pregnant, your sense of smell intensifies....dramatically. 

For me, the biggest offender is fragrance.  There is no way I could use perfume right now, and actually haven't been able to since I was pregnant with my 2 year old.  Any strong fragrance instantly gives me a headache and irritates my sinuses and throat.  My husband recently brought me the new InStyle magazine...so sweet, except that the sample perfume pages were making me so sick I couldn't read it for days after I ripped out the offending pages.  

 It's no wonder we want to smell fragrant.  These women all look so sexy/happy/irresistible!

So today when I popped into CVS to grab shampoo, I should have looked at the label a little closer.  I chose a product quickly (no time to really dig into a label with a 2 year old in tow) .  Since it read "sulfate-free" I figured it had to be among the best, "healthiest" options I would find at this particular store.  Later in the shower, I experienced the instant reaction mentioned above as soon as I applied the shampoo.  It left me wondering - what's really in this shampoo that's is causing this and what else is it doing to me besides making me uncomfortable... and what about the baby!!??!

It turns out that the fragrance that makes our shampoo, make-up, deodorant, scented candles etc. smell so nice is loaded with phthalates.  We've all probably heard the word before and know it has a bad connotation.  I know I've read about them and made a mental note to avoid them, but sometimes you just want to walk into a store and buy products without needing a doctorate in chemistry- so you forget about all those big words and just buy the product you're familiar with or that has pretty packaging.  But if you want an easy way to avoid at least some phthalates, look for a product that's fragrance-free.  And here's a quick little explanation why:

• A study by Dr. Shanna Swan, an epidemiologist at the University of Rochester Medical School found that the higher the level of phthalates in the mother's urine during pregnancy, the greater the problems occurred in young boys.  Asked what she found in babies, Swan said, "We found that the baby boys were in several subtle ways less completely masculine." 

• Dr. Howard Snyder, a pediatric urologist at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, says Swan's findings line up with what he's seeing in newborn baby boys: an alarming increase in deformed sex organs. 

• A three-fold increase in hypospadias, a birth defect that causes problems in urination. 

• A two-fold increase in another abnormality: un-descended testicles. Snyder says something seems to be interfering in the womb with the production of testosterone, causing the male organs to form improperly. And he suspects it may be phthalates.

• Phthalates in fragrances consist mostly of chemicals called volatile organic compounds, or VOCs.  Some VOCs, such as formaldehyde, ethanol and d-limonene, cause eye, nose and throat irritation, difficulty breathing, allergy symptoms and headaches. Formaldehyde is considered a probable carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

• Women of childbearing age had the highest levels of phthalates. Since phthalates are particularly dangerous to fetuses, this is of great concern.

• Phthalates are added to cosmetics and perfumes for multiple reasons. For example, their oily texture helps lubricate other substances in a formula. Phthalates also help lotions penetrate and soften the skin. They’ve become essential to scented products, however, because phthalates help fragrances last longer, according the American Chemistry Council.

• Phthalates aren't required to be listed as an ingredient by the FDA because they're claimed as "fragrances" or as a part of trade secret formulas, and are exempt from federal labeling requirements."

So I'm not suggesting that we all stop using our favorite perfumes.  Just maybe eliminate fragrance where you can and indulge when necessary :)

To read more information on this topic check out these where I found many of the facts listed above: healthy child blog, CBS News