What’s the one workout that suits pregnant women of all stripes? “Walking,” chorused the group I interviewed for my book, Walking Through Pregnancy and Beyond (The Lyons Press, 2004). For everyone—from the Texas triathlete and coach who needed to scale back, to a Colorado woman who simply pledged to walk the short distance to work—walking was both as gentle and as challenging as they needed it to be. “I recommend walking to most of my patients who are pregnant,” says Tanya Ghatan, M....
When you’re housing an extra person, your body has some extra nutritional needs, and taking prenatal vitamin supplements every day is an important way to get in those essentials. But is there a best time of day to take them? The answer is whatever time of day you’ll best remember to take it, says Sharon T. Phelan, MD. For some women, that might be in the morning. For others, it might be at bedtime, right after brushing your teeth....
Maybe. Maybe not. “Breastfeeding does consume more calories. It also makes a woman’s metabolism more efficient,” says Nancy Mohrbacher, IBCLC, FILCA, author of Breastfeeding Made Simple and creator of the Breastfeeding Solutions smartphone app. Once you wean, you will no longer be burning 500 calories a day simply by nursing your child. But you’ll probably be less ravenous too, so you might not eat as much. “It’s a natural thing that women feel anxious about,” says Denise Altman, IBCLC, spokeswoman for the International Lactation Consultant Association, who adds that every mom is different....
The highlight of your baby shower? Why, the cake of course. More than the party favors, the silly games or the opening of presents, it’s the cake that everyone really looks forward to. Whether you’re looking for something pastel or sparkly, full- or bite-sized, there’s plenty to delight the eye and tastebuds. Scroll on for sweet inspiration. 22 Unique Baby Shower Cake Ideas Make room! Set these striking creations at the table, and you’ll give your shindig an instant upgrade....
Maybe I was naïve, but I thought getting pregnant was as simple as having unprotected sex, and I’d be a mom in nine months flat. We spent years trying to prevent pregnancy, waiting until we were ready and having panic attacks if my period was late. So naturally, once we stopped preventing—boom!—it should’ve happened, right? Silly me. Here are the five things I wish someone had told me before I started trying to have a baby....
The arrival of baby number two is an exciting time—but things can get tricky if you plan to have baby share the nursery with an older sibling. When it comes to sleeping through the night, you’re back to square one with a newborn, and that could signal some sleepless nights for your toddler. First of all, you shouldn’t expect baby to sleep through the night until after four months or so....
Being one of a handful of female engineering majors in her class at Stanford wasn’t a distinction Debbie Sterling was happy about. “It bothered me, and I started doing research into why [there are so few women in STEM].” A key reason, she learned, is that boys are introduced to engineering concepts early, through construction sets and other building toys, while girls get dolls, ponies and dress-up clothes. That insight fueled both a new career and a four-word motto: “Disrupt the pink aisle....
Douches are one of the mysterious products that live on in pharmacies and drugstores around the globe for no good reason. The simple fact is that for most of us, our vaginas are in a state of happy balance. Bacteria and other organisms naturally coexist there to create a healthy environment. So there’s really no point in messing the whole thing up with a douche. If you’re trying to conceive, there is some evidence that douching can make things more difficult....
*_Ambitious and Passionate *_2012 falls within the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese Zodiac. Dragons are known as one of the most powerful signs of the Chinese Zodiac. Dragon babies are determined and enthusiastic. They know what they want and will work hard and take risks to get it. But there’s a downside to too much energy and ambition: Dragon signs can be left feeling unfulfilled. That means you might need to engage baby more....
It’s hard to wait for most things in life, but waiting for the day you get to bring your adopted child home might be one of the hardest tests of patience. The process of adoption brings all the feels with it. It’s a process of hope, grief, powerlessness, anxiety, joy and everything in between. It involves a myriad of decisions, endless paperwork, scrutiny of your relationship, unknown waiting times, financial strain, hard conversations and plenty of stress....
We all hate seeing our kids unhappy—but when baby is too young to speak, it can be hard to know exactly what your little one wants. Are they hungry? Tired? Do they need a diaper change? Plus, it’s also probably just as frustrating for baby when their message just isn’t getting across. In recent years, more and more parents have been turning to baby sign language to help boost communication with their preverbal kids....
Before you became a parent, you probably thought you’d never use a toddler safety harness (aren’t leashes just for animals?), but now that you have an unpredictable, high-energy toddler, it’s tempting. You know your child better than anyone else. If you’re pondering a harness or leash, there’s probably a reason for it, and that reason is probably because you know that toddler can quickly get into trouble when he’s free to wander in public....
You already know a healthy packed lunch consists of some type of starch, protein, fruit and vegetable. But to think of ones that your toddler will actually eat? That’s can get pretty tough. (And to make things even harder, many day cares are now peanut and tree-nut free. Forget about a trusty PB and J!) The keys for toddler lunches are variety and fun — but you don’t have to go too crazy....
Once upon a time, there was a boy and his best friend, a blue monkey named “Ah-ah”. For years, they were inseparable, like a real life Woody and Andy. One day, the kindergartner lost his Ah-ah while camping! Now, every mom who has a kid with a lovey can relate to the panic of this situation! (We do have a back up Curious George in our house now). Sadly, the monkey wasn’t found and life moved on....
Wondering when the best time is to have your baby shower? We put this one to our users, and it sounds like earlier is better. Here’s what they had to say! “My shower is planned when I will be 35 weeks along, and I would have preferred it much earlier for planning and shopping purposes. We had to pick the date we chose due to everyone going on vacation for Easter and Spring Break....
When I was pregnant with my first son, his due date of February 28 was seared into my brain. This was when I was expected to become a mom, when my life was expected to change forever. My ob-gyn at the time liked to do an ultrasound during every visit. After my second scan, she changed the due date to March 4. I thought that was kind of weird, but I was pregnant for the first time and figured this was just something that happened....
If you would’ve told me three-and-a-half years ago that I’d eventually become a full-time stay-at-home dad for a couple of toddlers, I would’ve socked you in the shoulder and said, “Good one. What else ya got?” But I left my TV executive job in Hollywood. I traded in the personalized parking spot and corporate card for potty training and temper tantrums. So here I am, on a Thursday morning in my kitchen, clutching a cup of tepid coffee with my eyes closed, silently praying for a moment of serenity as my kids fight each other with a yardstick and plastic sword....
Guys, it’s true–having a plethora of information and knowledge will help pave the way to your successful role as a dad. And these days, it’s easy as there are ample resources available to help moms- and dads-to-be understand what to expect along the road ahead. There were three resources I used to prepare for my role as a dad, and trust me, I’m so glad I did. Want to know how you can get ready for baby’s arrival?...
If you’re trying to get pregnant, better tell your guy to keep his mouth away from down there. Sorry to spoil the fun, but while saliva doesn’t exactly wipe out all sperm, it does have a slight spermicidal activity. Research has found that when saliva was added to normal semen, it induced a “shaking movement” in 12 percent of the total sperm population. It only happened in high concentrations of saliva, but researchers did find that sperm motility (their ability to swim) was cut down significantly....
Danielle Walker is the author of New York Times best-selling cookbooks Against All Grain and Meals Made Simple. After being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease when she was 22 years old, Danielle realized that she needed to make dietary changes to end her suffering. She removed grains, lactose and legumes from her diet, and started her blog Against All Grain to help others suffering from similar ailments continue to enjoy food....
