How to Avoid Constipation During Pregnancy

It is Murphy’s law that just when you are able to get food into your body without having it come back up, that you suddenly find you can not get the food out of your body.  Nearly half of all the women who are pregnant suffer from constipation during pregnancy.

As with all symptoms of pregnancy there is a reason for constipation.  When you are pregnant your body creates progesterone which in turns relaxes the muscles of the bowels and causes your digestive tracks to work much slower.  Your digestive track works slower to make sure your body absorbs the nutrients from your food for your baby.  This can create constipation, which if it not kept under control, can lead to hemorrhoids.

There are some ways you can help avoid constipation throughout your pregnancy.  Make sure you included plenty of fiber in your diet.  Fiber absorbs water and can help to soften your stools and speed their passage.  Eat plenty of high fiber foods like whole grain cereal and oatmeal.  Instead of eating white bread with your sandwiches, eat whole grain breads.  Add some oat bran to your cereals or yogurt.

Fresh fruits are also an excellent way to get your fiber in.  Melons and plums have a high amount of fiber in them as wells as dried fruits like figs, raisins, apricots and of course the well known favorite prunes.  Prunes and prune juice have a like laxative effect and will help keep things moving properly in your body.  Aim to eat at least 25 to 30 grams of fiber a day.  You can tell you are getting enough fiber if your stools are large and soft and you aren’t straining to pass them.  Keep in mind though that too much fiber can lead to diarrhea which can lead to dehydration so do not over do the fiber in your diet.

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Gaining Weight Too Slowly During Pregnancy

Just as gaining too much weight can be harmful to you and your baby, not gaining enough weight can be harmful also.  There are some women out there who are so terrified at gaining weight that they eat next to nothing during their pregnancy.  Please do not do this, you could be depriving your baby of the vitamins and minerals it needs and you increase your chances of having a small baby.  Babies who are underweight at delivery are at a greater risk for health problems than babies who are of average weight at delivery.

If you find that you have gained nothing during your first trimester, do not worry. Some women do not gain anything during those first three months and some even lose some weight thanks to morning sickness.  Your baby’s needs are relatively tiny at that point.  It is when you are in your second and third trimesters that you should make sure you are gaining weight according.

If you find that you are not gaining as much weight as you should, you should try to fatten up your diet.  Increase your fat intake by a serving or too.  This will increase your calorie intake but won’t decrease your appetite.  Do not increase your fat by more than a serving or two.  There are better and healthier ways to increase your weight gain.

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Homemade baby shower party favor ideas

When throwing a baby shower you are not obliged to give party favors to your guests. But still, it would be nice to hand out a memento of the special occasion. Worried that you might spend a fortune buying ready made baby shower party favors? Then why don’t you just make the party favors yourself.

Below are some creative ideas for baby shower party favors.

1.    Buy baby bottles, baby socks or even cloth diapers (if you can still find one) then fill it up with assorted goodies like candies and chocolates. After filling the items, you could tie cute little ribbons around them. The items would prove to be useful. Some of the guests may even give them back after a few weeks.

2.    If you bake then you can prepare cookies (choco chip, butter, sugar, oatmeal, etc.) in the form of baby bottles, baby rattles. Babies and other baby related shapes. You can package the cookies in colorful plastic or paper wrappers.

3.    As you probably already know, candles are a big bit among women. That why they probably would be a big hit for the guests on your baby shower party. Buy scented votive candles. These candles are usually sold in sets to make them cheaper. Then decorate the candles with ribbons. Colors of course will depend on your personal taste or to the theme of your baby shower. Of course it would usually be blue if the baby is a boy and pink if the baby is a girl. The candles smell great and they would even look great when they are wrapped. Candles are an ideal party favor for any occasion since they mix very well with any theme.

4.    If you have a green thumb and likes plants in general then maybe you can give away some of plants in your garden. All you have to do is buy some small seedling pot. Graft a stem on some plant and plant them into the pot. This type of party favor is symbolic since your gusts would be obliged to take care of the plant just as if they have their own babies. You could also buy coffee mugs or wine glasses and a bunch of flowers. Then put a flower in the mug or glass as if they are flower pots. This baby shower party favor would definitely be a big hit. 

5.    Baby bath items like baby soap, baby shampoo, baby oil, baby lotion, etc. can also be a big hit among your guests because they can be either used for their very own babies or for themselves if they are single. You can also include other bath accessories like sponges, loofahs, scrubbers, small towels, etc. You can arrange the items in mini baskets or hampers. Then tie a ribbon in front of it for it to look cute.

6.    You could baby stuff made of fabrics like cloth diapers and bibs then paint them using craft paint. Make colorful designs such flowers, animals, insects, cartoon characters, cars, clowns, candies, etc. The end product can be use as a decoration or as a hanky.

There you are, six creative homemade baby shower party favor ideas that your guests will surely love. Who knows, you might end up making a business out of your masterpieces. Remember, all you need is some creativity and crazy ideas to make these baby shower party favors.
Resource: Maria Schasteen is editor of aromatherapy4moms.com, the online resource with articles, tips and recipes from moms for moms.

Tips on Choosing the Right Baby Shower Favors

Having a baby is such an exciting part of the married couple’s life. Enjoying a baby shower is twice the fun because the parents-to-be get to share the excitement and happiness that they feel with their friends and relatives.

A baby shower is actually a type of party that the couple’s friends or relatives had prepared. Because it is a party, it entails the gifts, food, and of course the party favors that are usually present in any other party or celebration.

Like any other party, choosing the right baby shower favor can be very tedious especially if it aims to make the event memorable. There are so many baby shower favors that choosing the best can be pretty confusing.

So, for people who wish to know how to choose the right baby shower favor, here are some pointers that can be very handy.

1. Always consider the personality of the mother-to-be when choosing a baby shower favor.

Even if the friends or the relatives are the ones who prepared the invitation, it is still a must to consider the personality of the mother-to-be when choosing baby shower favors.

After all, you would not want to create misunderstanding or misconceptions just because you have chosen baby shower favors that do not fit to the personality of the mother, right?

2. Shop around

It always pays to shop around before deciding on something. This will give you enough time to contemplate and compare which baby shower favor is suitable for the occasion.

Best of all, you get to choose the most affordable, most attractive, and most appropriate baby shower favors available in the market.

3. Use a lot of resources when looking for the best baby shower favors.

Today, there are many available resources where you can find great ideas on baby shower favors.

In print, you can find some great ideas in the magazines and books about baby showers. You can also find some useful ideas in the Internet.

What matters most is that you have plenty of resources where you can get the best baby shower favors for the guests.

4. Ask the other people about some of the ideas used on baby shower favors.

There are people who have already attended baby shower parties, so, their opinions can be a lot of help. You can ask them what kinds of party favors are usually being used in the baby showers or what would they prefer to have on their own baby showers.

5. Consider the baby shower favors that are already tried and tested by a lot of baby shower parties.

These kinds of baby shower favors will be a sure hit even if the personality of the expectant mother had not been considered. This is because for so many events, these kinds of party favors had been appreciated but most people, and the people who will attend on the baby shower will appreciate it, too.

Indeed, baby shower favors can be really tedious but with careful planning and considerations, the baby shower event will turn out to be very memorable because of the favors that the guests have received.

Nothing comes close to ending this wonderful event than to have baby shower favors that would reflect the merrymaking of the delight and joy of all the people who came to celebrate the upcoming arrival of the new baby.

Resource: Maria Schasteen is editor of aromatherapy4moms.com, the online resource with articles, tips and recipes from moms for moms.

Food for Breastfeeding Moms

In your third trimester, your baby was old enough to start getting a taste of the foods his or her mommy likes.   Now that your baby is here and you’re breast feeding, your baby will get an even better taste of your favorite food.

Typically if you are nursing your baby you should produce anywhere from 23 to 27 ounces of milk a day. In order to do this, you need to increase your calorie intake by about 500 more a day.

You also have to increase your water consumption to at least 2 1/2 to 3 quarts of water a day.  You may notice that you are thirstier during nursing session.  This is because the water you drink goes right to milk production.    Try not to drink more than 3 quarts of water a day.  Anything more than 3 quarts can reduce the amount of milk your body produces.

As stated earlier, you need to up your calorie intake. Plan to take in about 2500 calories a day or more if you are planning to nurse for longer than three months. These extra calories should not come from junk food. Junk food and sweets are just empty calories and offer no nutritional value to you or your baby. Eat more protein.  A good rule of thumb is to eat 1 gram of protein each day for every pound you weigh. If you weigh 150, aim to eat 150grams of protein a day.

If you were not doing so during pregnancy, adopt the six meals a day program. Eat breakfast, a midday snack, lunch, a mid afternoon snack, dinner and a night time snack. Your body is going to be making milk continually so it is a good idea to keep it charged with calories through out the day.

Read the whole story of  Food for Breastfeeding Moms, click here!

Resource: Maria Schasteen is editor of aromatherapy4moms.com, the online resource with articles, tips and recipes from moms for moms.

Pregnancy and Nutrition

You are besides yourself with joy as you see that your pregnancy test is postive.  You find yourself already caressing your stomach in hopes that your little one can feel you.  The next nine months are going to be an exciting time for you and your baby.  You are going to have a human life grow inside of you and feel them move as they get bigger. Your baby is going to go from a single sperm and egg into pounds of adorable flesh that you can't help but kiss over and over again.  It truly is a miracle. 

In order to help this miracle along, it is essential for you to eat as good as you can through out most of your pregnancy.  The first three months might be a little difficult to eat balanced meals when you are dealing with food aversions and morning sickness.  If you are one of the rare lucky ones whose stomach doesn't so much as move during your first trimester, then you can take full advantage of eating healthy right out of the gate. 

Making sure you eat balanced nutritious meals is laying down the foundation for your baby.  A diet of junk food is not going to help your baby with bone development and organ formation.  Potato chips will not help with brain development.  Your baby and your body need calcium and vitamins to achieve all of this. 

Eating well during pregnancy is going to help your baby eat well after it is born and on solid foods.   As your pregnancy progresses, some of what you eat will cross the placenta and the taste will be in your baby's amniotic fluid.  Babies swallow this fluid and their taste buds are so develop that even in the womb they are able to taste the flavors.  Doctors believe that babies who are exposed to a wide variety of fruit and vegetables while in utero have less of a chance of being a fussy eater later in life.   They believe that these are the babies who will eat their fruit and vegetables without putting up any fight.  

Doctors also believe that moms who drink their milk through out their pregnancy have an easier time weaning their babies from formula or breast milk to regular milk.   This however is only one benefit, the other benefit of drinking milk throughout your pregnancy is all the calcium you will be giving your baby's bones.  Many doctors recommend that you drink at least one eight oz glass of milk, usually fat free a day.  Calcium is a must have your baby's bones and his teeth, even though you won't see his teeth for at least a few months.

This isn't to say that you have to stay away from all sweets all the time.  You can indulge every now and then and thanks to cravings you may find yourself wanting sweets more often than not.  You do have to keep it in moderation.  Being pregnant should not be looked at as an excuse to eat whatever you want for nine months.  Both you and your baby could pay a dear price. 

Maria Schasteen is editor of Aroma-Essence.com – Nature’s Most Trusted Therapeutic-Grade Essential Oils Store.

Baby Shower Gift

by Maria Schasteen

A baby shower gift is normally given by friends, close relatives or colleagues to the parents-to-be as a gesture of love, affection and congratulations. Giving a baby shower gift is an expression of happiness at the pregnancy and at the nearing birth of a baby. Baby shower gifts add a distinct charm to baby shower party, an important pregnancy celebration.

Looking for the perfect and unique baby shower gift, that is meaningful to baby and mother, can be often hard to come by. Some expectant mothers will provide a baby registry, so their friends and family can shop for a baby shower gift without going through the effort of guessing what the right baby shower gift could be.

Therefore, when you receive an invitation to a baby shower, find out whether or not there is a gift registry. Then choose your baby shower gift from the registry to ensure you will be presenting a gift that is appreciated, expected and needed. A baby shower gift registry makes it much easier for friends and family members to shop.

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Favorite baby shower gifts include the famous “Birthday Cake.” Take a package of cloth diapers and wrap them around a baby bottle until they look like a birthday cake. It’s a very useful baby shower gift, too. It seems, moms can never have enough of these cloth diapers on hand. These diapers are so practical, they will be in use long after baby is grown out of them.

Unique baby shower gifts don’t have to be expensive to be of great value. Unique baby shower gifts are something that mom and babies will cherish for a lifetime. There are personalized baby shower gifts available. A knitted homemade baby blanket will make a lovely baby shower gift. Homemade baby shower gift baskets filled with luxurious and useful items that are not readily available in stores are a great way to pamper mother and baby. One great idea is to make a care basket for the new mom. Choose a suitable baby shower gift that says: “Welcome into a new life!”

Maria Schasteen is editor of Aroma-Essence.com – Nature’s Most Trusted Therapeutic-Grade Essential Oils Store.

Source: Baby Shower Gift