The 23-year old mother to be is cherishing and documenting every moment of her pregnancy…online.
Lynsee, a teacher in Minneapolis is sharing every moment from start to finish- including the birth.
“We wanted to document the pregnancy and create a one-of-a-kind memento for our baby to have forever,” Lynsee told the website’s partner KARE-TV 11, which is also following her pregnancy (she requested that I not publish her last name, for privacy reasons). “You’ll be at some of the doctor’s appointments… You’ll be there in the delivery room, tastefully, but you will be there.’’
Read more about this internet first.
Think you’re pregnant? If you’re experiencing some of these most common pregnancy symptoms it may be time to start picking baby names.
1. Swollen and tender breasts
2. Darkening areolas
3. Spotting
4. Urinary frequency or constipation
5. Fatigue
6. Nausea
7. Smell Sensitivity
8. Elevated basal temperature
9. Missing period
10. Unusual hunger or cravings
11. Headaches
12. Mood swings
13. Feeling faint or dizzy
14. Metallic taste in your mouth
15. Vivid dreams
According to Today’s Parent
Primp and pamper yourself with a spa for two!
Remember to let the staff know that you are pregnant when you book your appointment so that they can be sure to avoid any harmful treatments. Basically avoid any treatment that involves high temperatures (whirlpools, saunas, steam rooms, heat wraps, etc.) or the use of any herbal or botanical products that could potentially be harmful to the developing baby.
Do, however, enjoy facials, pedicures and mommy massages!
Continue for more dos and don’ts.
If you’re thinking of starting a family here’s a check list you’ll want to consult first!
This “to do” list has everything, from appointments you should make and the state of mind you should be in.
Naming a child is rarely an easy task. And even though you’ve already made the first step, it’s often hard to know where to start. This fun, light-hearted quiz is designed to make your search a bit easier. Simply answer the questions below to find you baby-naming personality.
Visit this website to see what the popular names are in your area.
May 31st, 2008.
That was the day that my wife Christine and I had been looking to - both with nervousness and excitement - since finding out in fall of 2007 that she was pregnant, again. Incidentally, while my wife’s first pregnancy ended with a miscarriage, the first one started off with the death of the my grandmother, the only grandparent I’d ever known.
The Pregnancy
Between October and May, Christine had a relatively healthy and uneventful pregnancy. We did have one scare early on - a bit of spotting - that turned out to be a false alarm; the Jelly Bean was fine. Her sonograms at 9 and 12 weeks showed a healthy little sprout. The amazing 4D images gave us a glimpse into our creation: my wife saw me, I saw my wife…
The Final Countdown
Before we knew it, Christine had grown from a petite gal into one big round women. I took pictures throughout the pregnancy and will add them in the days and weeks to come. By May, we knew that the little fat one could drop at any minute. By mid-May, the bags were packed… but for whatever reason, I figured May 31 would be the day.
False Alarm
Two weeks ago on May 22nd, Christine thought her water broke. Incidentally, she had a doctor’s appointment that same day, so upon further review, that too turned out to be a false alarm. While at the doctor, I noticed that another date had been jotted down on one of the papers, as well. This date said May 27th - the next Tuesday! Our good doctor told us: “oh, forget May 31, it could come on any day”.
Christine has worked with me at our company since March 2006. She’s been my partner in business and in life. I have been telling her to take it easy, but she pretty much worked until Friday May 25th.
Showtime
On Tuesday May 27th, Christine told me that she thought it was the day. I was still stuck on my May 31 target date… but I figured maybe she had a hunch… or more likely, I’d be hearing “today is the day” until it was in fact the day. Christine had asked her mom to meet her for lunch… we live near our office, so I asked her to meet her mom for lunch at our office just in case.
I had set up a lot of meetings Monday through Thursday, expecting her to go into labor on Friday for a Saturday delivery.
By 11am, I noticed Christine was lugging her big body around, going to the washroom frequently and by the time her and her mom went to lunch, I noticed she had been jotting down the time of her contractions; they were coming frequently but irregularly. We’re talking every 5-15 minutes… but it was certainly ongoing…
I had a couple of meetings in the afternoon, I left the office at 1pm for my 2pm meeting… but by now, it was clear that upon my return, we’d be heading to the hospital. Mind you, few things as are disappointing as getting to the hospital and being told to go back home… but the instant I left the office at 1pm I regretted leaving and wanted to go back. I spent all but 5 minutes at my 2pm meeting before excusing myself to return to Christine.
Once back at the office, I took her mom and her to the hospital. I began to call everyone: my parents, her father, my sister and brothers, etc.
We got there and by the looks of it: everyone was giving birth, and everyone was shooting out little girls. We got to the hospital at 3:26pm. Within 20 minutes, a nurse looked at Christine… she was now at 3 centimeters. We were staying; the Jelly Bean was on the way.
Labor Had Begun
I went back to my car, got all of her bags and off I went to register. Yes, it was a blur. One by one, our family began to trickle in into the waiting room.
The ground rules were simple: 3 people were allowed in Christine’s room, but it had to be the same three people. I was one of the three, of course, and I thought our mothers would be good picks because between them we were looking at six child births…
We told them all that this would be a long process… the nurses told us that “while no two women or pregnancies are identical”, a woman dilates one centimeter each hour, you’re not supposed to push until you are at 10 centimeters.
In case you are curious, here is the breakdown according to Wikipedia:
That meant that it would be seven more hours to go from 3 and 10 centimeters. We were now at 4:30… that meant Jelly Bean would not be here until 1:30am. Bear in mind, that’s just to get to 10 centimeters… you then have to push. That could take hours longer.
Christine’s contractions were getting stronger and more regular… we were now at every 5 minutes. In fact, they were coming on every 2-3 minutes at one point. During the pregnancy, we were warned about the chance of undergoing an emergency C-section and advised to consider taking a shot (or two) of Epidural.
After one hour of severe contractions, Christine’s mother began to ask about an epidural. I cannot say that Christine and I were for or against any of that, we sort of understood that the entire process could go either way and the epidural was one option to consider… In all honesty, I did not want people making decisions for Christine, either, but she was in great pain so I realized that taking the edge off was not a bad idea. It’s worth noting that an epidural is not a sedative, it’s akin to freezing of the mouth before one is pulled off. Eventually, Christine gave me the thumbs up and the doctor came in to give her a dose.
Within 15 minutes, she felt less pain and in all honesty, I am glad her mom recommended this.
From 5pm to 10pm… it was more of the same: contractions, adding more pain relief and a lot of waiting.
The mothers returned to the waiting room, and I sat there next to Christine just looking on helplessly. For once, there was nothing I could say to make things better, nothing I could do could make time move faster.
Damn it was frustrating.
Breaking the Water
When we got there at 4pm, Christine was at 3 centimeters. The doctor on hand asked us if we wanted to accelerate the process and break Christine’s water. For a few reasons, we passed. In the end, I don’t think it would have been a bad idea… ultimately, before midnight, around 10:30, the doctor broke her water to accelerate the process.
From 11pm to midnight, it was clear that our child would not be born on the 27th, but the 28th… I began to dream of the things I’d be doing with our little girl.
A Big Scare
The human mind is a funny thing. One second you are day dreaming, the next you are living a nightmare.
We lack perspective, and it takes a jolt to inject some sense into us.
Throughout the pregnancy, the doctor told us that our little munchkin has a good heart. Throughout labor, all signals were strong… but then a few minutes after midnight… I could not help but see that the nurse and doctor became concerned. I would not say alarmed, but certainly worried.
They told me that all of a sudden the baby’s heartbeat had slowed down, Christine was bleeding too much for the stage she was in (she was at around 5-6 centimeters dilated) and that we might lose the child - if not Christine, too - if we did not consider an emergency C-section.
I told the doctor and nurse that they were the experts and that if there was a risk to either Christine or the baby, I did not see any reason to delay the inevitable. The doctor was relieved to hear that, saying that they would give Christine something and put on an oxygen mask to get help the little fatso that was coming down Christine body.
You’ve Got to Pray
I excused myself and rushed to the waiting room and told my mom to come with me. On the way to Christine’s room, I told her not to panic, but that there was a hiccup and that she had to pray. I’m not the most religious person, heck I’d say I am atheist/agnostic… but like all self-respecting doubters, when the doubt of success creeps up, I will err on the side of caution. So my mom began to pray for Christine, the baby, myself and the doctors.
For a good six hours, I could hear the baby’s every heartbeat, beating rapidly. I kid you not, from midnight and for the next few hours, I listened attentively to the big machine and prayed for the heartbeats to keep beating, and beating faster. My nightmare was that the beats would stop… but they kept the beat and even began to take an uptick.
The doctor and nurse looked less worried… but I was frazzled.
At around 1am, my mother-in-law came in to Christine’s room. We had not told her about the details, simply saying that we were not in the clear… she got nervous, but by then, the worst was sort of over.
At around 1:30am, Christine’s bleeding had stabilized, the baby’s heartbeat had accelerated and I was a bit less worried. I kid you not, the prayers worked… I don’t know or care if they actually did… I just believe that they did.
We were at over 8 centimeters.
Almost There
By 2am… the nurse came in and the doctor was about to go into a C-Section in another room. So we had to make a decision: either we opt for a C-section now or the doctor might be busy and we go for a natural birth (Canada has an amazing health care system, but its got its quirks, too).
As I said, there were a lot of babies on that evening!
The nurse and doctor convened and the decision was made to opt for a natural birth. Bear in mind, a C-section is less risky for the child insofar that the doctors cut up the mother and pull out the baby. It’s not riskless, au contraire, it is risker for the mother. Moreover, while a woman giving a natural birth can be up and running in 24-36 hours… a C-section requires 5 days of recovery at a hospital and up to weeks of rest.
By now, I did not want to be excited prematurely, but the Jelly Bean was on the way, we were at 8 centimeters.
From 8 centimeters we seemed to leapfrog to 10 centimeters; by 2:30am, the nurse came in and said the kid could be here by 3am. It was surreal. Christine was not in her 15th hour of labor, we had been at the hospital for nearly 12 hours and after a considerable scare, things were now on pace for a natural pregnancy.
Push!
At 3am, we called the doctor who was tending to a few pregnancies going on at once. Christine was now at 10 centimeters, it was time to push.
I always figured that I would want to be in the room alongside Christine, but I would not be able to be near here or see the main event. I guess the scare at midnight made me man up and stand by her side. I was actually holding one of her legs and chatting it up between contractions.
Ah yes, the contractions. They were now coming every 2-3 minutes… and lasting some 30-60 second.
At each contraction, the nurses would ask Christine to:
- take a deep breath
- push for ten seconds.
While some of the women in the other rooms would be screaming, Christine was silent throughout at the suggestion of the nurses.
Between 3am and 4:30am, Christine breathed, pushed, repeated…
In fact, by 4:15am, when I would veer over, I could actually see the little girl’s head… her dark hair made her look like an avocado… contraction after contraction, she was getting closer to seeing the light of day…
By 4:40am… it was pretty clear that she would be arriving at any second.
And then, at 4:34am, Christine pushed one last time and out came a 6.002 pound miracle.
We had decided to name her Roxana, after my grandmother…
More to come soon.
My wife and I are expecting a baby girl next month. Maybe it’s because she skipped breakfast?
Women on low-calorie diets or who skip breakfast at the time of conception are more likely to give birth to girls than boys, British scientists said on Wednesday.
New research by the universities of Exeter and Oxford provides the first evidence that a child’s sex is associated with the mother’s diet, and higher energy intake is linked to males.
“This research may help to explain why in developed countries, where many young women choose to have low-calorie diets, the proportion of boys born is falling,” said Fiona Mathews of the University of Exeter.
There has been a small but consistent decline, of about one per 1,000 births annually, in the proportion of boys being born in industrialized countries over the past 40 years.
Not sure, but that is what one study suggests.
One out of three pregnancies is from a C-section.
Watch the video on CNN.
PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Together, Motherhood® Maternity and the March of Dimes® want all new babies to lead a healthy and happy life. This year, the Motherhood Maternity Be Healthy Be Happy(TM) bracelet is the latest accessory available to support healthy pregnancies and healthy babies.
As of February 7, 2008, Motherhood Maternity stores will feature this pretty lilac bracelet with a satin band and silver ring, to help educate expectant moms and families about the importance of a healthy pregnancy so every baby can have a full and happy life.
For just a dollar donation, and with 100% of all profits benefiting the March of Dimes, this trendy token will help fund research, education and increase public awareness about the importance of a healthy pregnancy. It also serves as a wonderful gift for friends and family at the next baby shower!
Included with each bracelet, Motherhood Maternity offers these nine helpful hints for a healthy pregnancy:
— Get regular prenatal care
— Take prenatal vitamins every day
— Avoid alcohol, tobacco and drugs
— Avoid uncooked meats, fish containing mercury and unpasteurized dairy
products
— Eat balanced, nutritious meals daily
— Manage stress in your life
— Exercise moderately
— Maintain healthy teeth and gums
— Know the warning signs of preterm labor
For more information contact your doctor or visit www.marchofdimes.com
Motherhood Maternity is thrilled to have raised over $1 Million for the March of Dimes and their crucial efforts. Help make a difference and spread the word.
For store locations or to place an order online or by phone, visitAs of February 7, 2008, Motherhood Maternity stores will feature this pretty lilac bracelet with a satin band and silver ring, to help educate expectant moms and families about the importance of a healthy pregnancy so every baby can have a full and happy life.
For just a dollar donation, and with 100% of all profits benefiting the March of Dimes, this trendy token will help fund research, education and increase public awareness about the importance of a healthy pregnancy. It also serves as a wonderful gift for friends and family at the next baby shower!
Included with each bracelet, Motherhood Maternity offers these nine helpful hints for a healthy pregnancy:
— Get regular prenatal care
— Take prenatal vitamins every day
— Avoid alcohol, tobacco and drugs
— Avoid uncooked meats, fish containing mercury and unpasteurized dairy
products
— Eat balanced, nutritious meals daily
— Manage stress in your life
— Exercise moderately
— Maintain healthy teeth and gums
— Know the warning signs of preterm labor
For more information contact your doctor or visit www.marchofdimes.com
Motherhood Maternity is thrilled to have raised over $1 Million for the March of Dimes and their crucial efforts. Help make a difference and spread the word.
For store locations or to place an order online or by phone, visit www.motherhood.com or call 1-800-4mom2be. As always, first time Motherhood Maternity shoppers also get a free gift bag (while supplies last).
SAN FRANCISCO, CA–(Marketwire - January 30, 2008) - Getting Pregnant is so easy these days… and now with Due Maternity’s cheeky website you can pop the big news in style!
Candlelit dinners are so 2007, this is definitely more fun. Pick a body that suits your style — Brown Sugar, Milk & Honey, or Fire Fox — then upload a picture of yourself and watch as your boobs and belly grow. Then shake it like a “Supermama” with some Ben & Jerry’s.
Once you share the big news you will automatically be entered to win one of Due’s weekly Skin Care gift sets from Mama Mio and you will also get a coupon code for 10% Savings for all Mama Mio products — which are all about increasing skin elasticity. You’re gonna grow, you’re gonna shrink and no one tells you your skin doesn’t have to suffer, but it’s a battle and you have to fight! Your secret weapon is the continual and plentiful use of Omega 3, 6 and 9 (EFAs) to nourish the lipid layer of your skin, helping maintain the strength and elasticity, because elastic skin is fantastic skin.
So please use with joy and accept our heartfelt congratulations on your amazing achievement! Due Maternity & Mama Mio — skincare for Supermamas.
ABOUT DUE:
Started in 2003 by husband and wife business partners, Shannon & Albert DiPadova, Due ranks as the No. 1 online shopping destination for maternity fashion and stylish maternity apparel and has expanded into a collection of five fabulous boutiques in San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Atlanta and Austin. http://www.duematernity.com
ABOUT MAMA MIO
Mama Mio was founded in London by three Supermamas. With 40 years experience in the beauty industry and, more importantly, 62 years being Supermamas, we know being a mama takes a toll on your skin. Of course we will never be 18 again (phew!) but we still want to be gorgeous and feel great in our bikinis. Which is why we created Mama Mio — to help you feel beautiful in your skin, whether your baby is in your tummy or in college.
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