For most couples, one of the first conversations they have when they start talking about babies is about money. Financially speaking, they wonder, what will life after baby look like? Can we afford it? What will it really cost? My husband and I got married a little later in life than your average just-graduated-from-college-now-time-to-get-married couple. By the time we met, married and got the positive pregnancy test, we were in a great financial position....
You’ve gotten all the essential baby gear, set up the nursery and brought your newborn home from the hospital. But when it comes time for baby’s first bath, there are suddenly so many questions. When can I give my newborn a bath? How often should you bathe a newborn? What’s the right water temperature? Not to worry. We’ve got all the bases covered to prep you for baby’s first bath—and beyond....
When it comes to babies, there are few absolutes. After all, no two babies are alike, and what works for one may not work for another. But there is one thing all babies have in common, and that’s a tendency to cry. The extent of those little wails will of course vary from child to child, but most new parents can expect to deal with one to three hours of baby crying every day....
Like most parents, you probably have several ideals for raising your kids. You want them to be smart, successful, happy, kind—but which values are you actually demonstrating as important? Concerned that “our youth’s values appear to be awry,” researchers from Harvard decided to tackle this question. As a part of the Making Caring Common project, researchers interviewed 10,000 US middle and high schoolers between 2013 and 2014. And 80 percent of those kids reported their parents taught them that personal happiness and high achievement were more important than caring for others....
Figuring out what to eat during pregnancy—and what not to eat—to help support baby’s growth and development can get tricky. There are all kinds of superfoods moms-to-be should regularly incorporate into their diet, including lean meats, beans, sweet potatoes, eggs and nuts. But with the rise of peanut allergies in American children, it’s only natural to wonder if peanut products are safe to consume when you’re expecting. Will snacking on PB&Js increase baby’s risk of a peanut allergy?...
Repulsed by your regular favorite foods? Congrats, you might be having a boy. A study from the University of Wrocław in Poland suggests that women carrying boys are more squeamish during their first two trimesters than those expecting girls. The reason? Your increased aversions are actually your body’s way of guiding you away from potentially harmful substances, protecting especially vulnerable male embryos. Study author Agnieszka Żelaźniewicz says that while this feeling of disgust is different from nausea, the two symptoms are probably linked....
And the Winner Is: Beyond Yoga There are a whole bunch of benefits to working out during pregnancy—it can reduce the risk of certain complications, help clear your mind and shed stress, strengthen your body for birth and even boost baby’s language and motor skills later in life. You’ll need a pregnancy-friendly exercise routine, a filled-to-the-brim water bottle (got to stay hydrated!) and some moisture-wicking maternity wear that’ll not only accommodate but support your growing belly....
As we approach my baby girl’s 6-month birthday, I’ve been reflecting on the things I’ve learned over the past six months. Becoming a parent, there is definitely a very steep learning curve. You are forced to jump right in and must quickly learn the practical skills: changing diapers, feeding baby, calming baby, changing their clothes, unclogging a stuffy nose, checking their temperature, etc… You also quickly learn to do things one-handed and much faster than you used to because you have to squeeze all of your chores into your baby’s quick 30-minute nap each afternoon....
What is uterine irritability? Uterine irritability is when you get very mild contractions that ultimately feel a lot like menstrual cramps. It can be confused with false labor, but it’s different because the contractions are much lighter. What are the signs of uterine irritability? You might feel cramping or tightening in your abdomen — those are very weak contractions. Are there any tests for uterine irritability? Usually your doctor will monitor your contractions....
Parent-Trap-style switcheroos aren’t far-fetched “When we were in elementary school, we switched language classes. My twin sister, Shari, went to my Spanish class and I went to her French class. The only problem is that I didn’t know French at all and the teacher gave a pop quiz the day I was in Shari’s class! We also played tricks on boyfriends. I had a boyfriend who insisted he could easily tell us apart, so one day I had Shari go out with him as me....
If you’re not sure if all those postbirth kegel exercises are working, here’s a new solution: the kGoal Pelvic Floor Trainer. The kGoal (get it?) is a device (that kind of resembles a sex toy, but 100 percent isn’t) and an app that tracks your pelvic floor exercise progress. Much like exercise tools Fitbit and Jawbone UP, the kGoal measures the force you exert doing kegels and wirelessly syncs with your phone to give you feedback....
Your Walls Exposure to glycol ether, a solvent found in certain water-based paints, varnishes, thinners and stains, can disrupt your menstrual cycle or even cause a miscarriage. It can also diminish sperm quality. What you can do: If you’re planning to do any painting or to refinish any furniture, avoid using paints, stains, varnishes, etc. that contain glycol ether. Your Bed Although flame retardants used on mattresses, sofa cushions and carpet padding are meant to keep you safe, they may not be a safe bet if you’re trying to conceive....
And the Winner Is: Bombol Pop-Up Booster Everyone deserves a seat at the table. When baby is ready, a booster seat makes the transition from a high chair a little easier. Most booster seats are designed for 18 months and up, and much like high chairs, they’re bulky and hard to travel with. Not the Bombol. Its genius design makes it a winner in our book. When collapsed, it’s about the size of a restaurant menu (really!...
As with any party, the best baby showers are those where the conversation is lively and time seems to fly. And nothing does that better than a few well-chosen baby shower games. We’ve rounded up our favorites, from co-ed baby shower games that all your guests will enjoy, to easy baby shower games you can pull off in a moment’s notice and even unique baby shower games that’ll impress even the most jaded of guests....
Everyone knows the bond between a mother and her baby is intense, a bond of pure love and necessity. Many times new dads can feel left out of the bonding experience, creating tension in the relationship and leading to feelings of inadequacy. As a dad, you can’t make breastmilk on demand—but there are other ways you can be involved with baby. Dad glow extends beyond dirty diapers and late night feedings when mom is catching up on ZZZ’s....
Confession: Before becoming a parent, I had never wiped someone else’s butt. Maybe I don’t go to the right bars. Anyway, it just hadn’t come up. But if it had, one might have expected a polite thank you. Perhaps an invite to dinner. Certainly not someone screaming in my ear like I was stabbing him. After all, I used a warm wipey. We didn’t want to spoil the child, of course, but as first-time parents, we went overboard and purchased this machine (two of them, in fact) that pre-warms the butt wipes....
A “birth plan” is just that—a game-plan for baby’s arrival. You can never be totally in charge of your labor and delivery (childbirth is generally a pretty out-of-control thing), but a birth plan ensures that you and your partner are on the same page as your doctors and nurses when it comes to issues like pain meds, people allowed in the delivery room, episiotomies and cord cutting. How it works: Document your wishes, talk them over with your doctor, make sure they fit in with hospital policies, and then see to it that you, your doctor and the hospital each have a copy....
At my first visit to the infertility clinic, the doctor recommended strongly that I cut back on exercise; he advised me to keep my heart rate below 140 beats per minute. Good hard sweat sessions had been one of the few things keeping me sane between ovulation predictor kits, sex on a schedule and monthly depression jags. Now I worried that I’d selfishly ruined my chances at conception for the past year thanks to my four weekly workouts....
“When you look good, you feel good.” You’ve probably heard the old adage a hundred times — even supermodel mom Molly Sims swears by it — but when you no longer fit into 90 percent of your old clothing, it can seem impossible to achieve either of those things. Luckily, a few awesome brands offer chic, comfortable maternity collections that don’t break the bank. Time to take on your new baby body in style!...
Finding out that you’re expecting is always exciting—and a little nerve-wracking—no matter how old you are. But when you’re of advanced maternal age, you do have more to think about when it comes to keeping you and baby healthy throughout your pregnancy. “Advanced Maternal Age (AMA) is the term for the general reality that the risks of having trouble conceiving a healthy pregnancy, as well as carrying a healthy pregnancy, are increased in ‘older’ women,” says Joshua U....
