The great debates of parenthood: Breast vs. bottle, cloth vs. disposable, epidural vs. meds free…and diaper pail vs. good old garbage bag. The main function of diaper pails, no matter what the brand, is to control the odor of soiled diapers in a container that stays right in the nursery. This means no running back and forth to the outdoor garbage with every poopy diaper or letting smells linger in the house....
Pregnancy introduces you to a host of new terms, and sometimes it can feel like you’re learning a whole other language. One term you may come across is “incompetent cervix,” also known as cervical insufficiency. Name aside, the important thing to know is that it can have an impact on the health and longevity of your pregnancy. Fortunately, there are things doctors can do to intervene. Here’s what you need to know about having an incompetent cervix, plus what to do if you’re diagnosed with one....
In many ways Latham Thomas has a more intimate relationship with some celebrities than their Hollywood handlers. As a certified doula for more than a decade, Thomas has guided clients such as Alicia Keys, Rebecca Minkoff and Doutzen Kroes through the birthing process. “Right now, I’ve got a bunch of [other] high-profile babies on the way,” says a coy Thomas, whose résumé also includes yoga teacher, nutrition coach, author and founder of the lifestyle site Mama Glow....
There are many surprises that come with having your first child. Everyone tells you you’ll never really be prepared, and we bet you never believed it until you realized you were never prepared. Sure, the poop, the spit up, the exhaustion—they’re surprises. But so are the lies we told ourselves before we became parents. Whether you adopted, blended or birthed in a bathtub, you thought your life with this new baby would be one way....
Seeing your body change is never easy, even when change is positive. Pregnancy is one of those examples. The shifts begin almost immediately: Breasts swell, blood and fluid levels rise, the uterus starts to expand and you feel bloated. You may not look pregnant at the beginning—but you certainly feel it. I’ve been a model for 21 years, a doula for three and a prenatal yoga and fitness instructor for a year....
You’ll have plenty of tests over the next nine months to make sure both you and baby are progressing well, and this is one you can expect to have in your first trimester. The nuchal translucency screening (also known as the NT scan or nuchal fold scan) is basically a special (totally painless) ultrasound that tests baby primarily for Down syndrome. Either the ultrasound technician or sometimes your doctor will lather your belly with gel and run a transducer wand over it, which emits sound waves that then become electrical signals, and voilà!...
There are many uterine (womb) abnormalities. Bicornuate uterus literally means “two horns,” and refers to a congenital uterine formation problem. Embryologically, the uterus is formed beginning at five weeks of gestation. It starts out near the kidney as two separate structures called horns, then migrates down into the pelvis as the two horns fuse into one. The area of fusion is a septum dividing the two, and is reabsorbed to make a normal intrauterine cavity....
Some people say “never wake a sleeping baby,” but some moms actually do this a lot. And that could be a result of postpartum depression. According to a new study from Penn State University published in Child Development, moms with depression symptoms were worried and anxious about their infants’ sleeping habits at night, and were more likely than moms with fewer or no symptoms to wake their babies and disturb them....
1. Watching the clock. Standard maternity leave lasts just 12 weeks (if you’re lucky) — and you’ll constantly focus on how that seems like a teeny sliver of time. But that just makes things worse. Instead of obsessing about how few days of freedom you actually have, focus on living in the moment, says Heather Wittenberg, PsyD, a family psychologist and founder of BabyShrink.com. “Yes, it’s going to hurt like hell to drop your baby off that first day, week or even year,” she says....
You’ve seen the meme: “Who knew that the hardest part of being an adult is figuring out what to cook for dinner every single night for the rest of your life?” Truth. Add in a baby or a toddler, and the dinner dilemma is next-level. When co-founders and CEOs Whitney Tingle and Danielle Duboise started Sakara, a meal delivery and supplement brand, they weren’t thinking about dinner. “Sakara was really born out of each of us hitting our own rock bottoms,” says Duboise....
For most of us, the answer to the question “Do you want a boy or a girl?” is: “As long as the baby’s healthy, it doesn’t really matter.” But deep inside, many of us do have our heart set on little blue or pink booties. And for years, so-called experts have done all they can to stack the odds for having a boy or a girl. One of these was Elizabeth Whelan, a doctor of science (ScD, a degree equivalent to a PhD) who devised a method of timing intercourse to match ovulation: If you want a boy, have intercourse four to six days before your ovulation temperature rises....
Part of the joy of watching baby grow is seeing them try new things for the first time, especially when it’s a mouthful of something sweet. But one delicious confection you’ll want to hold off on introducing is honey. Pediatricians advise against giving little ones this bee-made sweetener for a while. But why is something so natural off-limits? And exactly when can babies have honey? Here’s what you need to know....
Your healing process? Baby’s eating schedule? How much sleep does baby need? See all newborn Q&As Yes, your baby looks kind of like ET Don’t panic if baby looks a little…off. It’ll be a few weeks before your newborn looks like what you pictured. A cone-shaped head, flattened nose, swollen genitals, and puffy eyes are all gifts from baby’s preparation for delivery and trip through the birth canal. Some babies, especially preemies, also emerge covered in fine, downy hair called lanugo, which should disappear in a week or so....
Remember how unsure you were during your first pregnancy? Everything was a bit of a mystery. Was the pregnancy test really positive? Are you allowed to eat that piece of cheese? Was that your baby’s first kick or just plain old gas? When it comes to your second pregnancy, you might assume you’ll the drill. Been there, done that, right? Well, maybe not. It turns out, there are aspects of subsequent pregnancies that may surprise you....
Alternative Schedules Are Safe Robert W. Sears, MD There’s a demand for alternative schedules. Many new parents feel overwhelmed by the number of vaccines given to young babies today; 24 doses are given in the first year alone. When parents realize the medical establishment is trying to push unnecessary vaccines on them, they begin to question the entire process. The result is that parents simply want to vaccinate more carefully, and be smarter about it, instead of blindly following the system....
In the pre-covid days, the first few days at the hospital with a newborn might have felt like a minivacation, except you didn’t realize it at the time: Nurses took care of your needs, someone brought you food, you could sleep as much as you liked and a lactation consultant was a call button away. Two to four days later, assuming it was an uncomplicated birth, homecoming was a mash-up of emotions, sleep exhaustion and, possibly, minor chaos—and, since the pandemic, it may be happening much sooner for new moms....
Picking a name you think will suit your baby-to-be is hard. Technically, you spend every moment together during pregnancy, but your child will have a whole personality you’ve yet to discover. For guidance, try looking to the zodiac to predict what character traits baby will have, and choose names inspired by their astrological sign. Below are the best baby names and their meanings to match every zodiac sign. Image: Kitkat Pecson Aquarius (January 20-February 18) Aquarius babies tend to be spontaneous and keep you on your toes....
With all the effort that goes into breastfeeding and especially pumping, every new mama knows she’s not about to let a single drop go to waste. After all, breastfeeding for baby’s first year can protect baby from infections and diseases, and reduce SIDS, diabetes and obesity risks. That’s why mother’s milk has frequently been dubbed “liquid gold.” But not every mom can breastfeed. That’s why, these days, online sites catering to new moms are selling the stuff for up to $1,200 for a month’s supply....
During my pregnancy, my husband was involved, but not overly so. By mutual decision, he only came to three of my doctor’s appointments: The first one where they confirmed the pregnancy via ultrasound The 20-week ultrasound appointment to do the anatomy scan One near the end when there was concerns about baby’s growth and position For the most part, until the end, I had an unremarkable pregnancy. I didn’t need too much help from my husband....
Breastfeeding my son was something that I was so excited to do while I was pregnant. I read everything that I could get my hands on to prepare myself, listened intently during my Lamaze class, and prayed for an easy transition into it. The hours of reading and praying were very helpful, but now that I am five months into breastfeeding, I realize that there was one critical component missing from all of the literature: the dad....
