It’s no secret that exercise and pregnancy are an excellent mix – for most women. But not everyone needs to be hauling off to the gym for a session of free weights and elliptical trainers. Mixing exercise and pregnancy should be done carefully.

Are You Comfortable with the Mix?
Most exercise is perfectly fine during pregnancy and can actually help many pregnancy symptoms like nausea and muscle cramps. But some women become stressed when exercising. They worry about the welfare of their unborn baby. For women with history of miscarriage, bleeding and other symptoms of high-risk pregnancies, it might be best to lay low for a while – consult your doctor if you’re not sure.

Take it Easy
The first trimester is the easiest physically for exercise, but the worst in relation to feeling like it. Not only are you overwhelmed with the news, you’re also sick and bone tired. This is just a sign that starting now your exercise should be low key and easy. Take a walk to clear your head, or do a bit of water aerobics to stay loose and de-stress. You can continue these classes right up to delivery in most cases.

Pregnant moms are plagued with random symptoms that aren’t always in the medical books. Other moms can collaborate, however, about how uncomfortable pregnancy can be and how you’re always caught off guard by a pregnancy-caused sensation that you simply weren’t expecting.

Charley Horse
For many women, leg cramps and muscle spasms in their calves and feet occur thanks to the pressure and weight those poor legs carry. These usually unexpectedly happen in the middle of the night when you’re suddenly awakened by an intense cramping in your legs you can’t get rid of. You must simply wait it out. To help the spasms increase your potassium intake naturally with a banana a day and plenty of stretches to loosen the muscle.

Constipation
It’s not mentioned much around the lunch table, but more women than not get severe constipation during pregnancy. You can’t use much to help, but a brisk walk, plenty of water and some delicious fruit and vegetables might help clear the system.

Forgetfulness
At first you might think your mind is simply too full to remember all the details you used to, but soon you realize that somehow or another you simply don’t remember well anymore. It’s frustrating, but work on a system of lists and reminders and you’ll get through it.

Unfortunately pregnant women tend to swell toward the end of the day, particularly at the end of their pregnancies. This swelling might be indicative of a condition called preeclampsia, but if your doctor tells you your swelling is the more typical kind related to general pregnancy, you likely want to find a way to return your ankles and face to their previously svelte size.

Drink Water
It seems counterintuitive, but drinking water will help your body release some of the stored water that might be causing your swelling. If your body feels it needs more water, it hangs on to what is already in the system causing swelling (and water weight.) Give your body what it needs, which is more than eight glasses, by the way, and watch some of your swelling disappear.

Skip Sodium
Nothing keeps water and swelling around like salt. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables and keep salt to a healthy minimum.

Exercise
A good walk will move blood around the body and help to dispel toxins and stored fluids that might be causing your swelling. You might swell more after exercising, but given the chance, your body will level off shortly after.

Prop Your Feet Up
During the day and every chance you have, elevate your feet. Fluids including water and extra blood settle in your feet making your ankles swell and your shoes feel tight. Prop those feet up to get fluids circulating again.

The worst part of the first trimester for most pregnant women is morning sickness, or as many complain - all day sickness. Morning sickness affects almost every pregnant woman differently. Cases range from slight and general nausea to dehabilitating vomiting that even lands some moms in the hospital.

Morning Sickness

There is no universally accepted cause of morning sickness other than your body’s reactions to hormones created by the pregnancy. Thus far a cure has not been developed, although there are ways to try and help manage the symptoms. The vast majority of pregnant women are affected by some form of morning sickness with symptoms beginning around six to eight weeks and lasting through the beginning of the second trimester or week fourteen.

Some women are lucky and breeze through the first trimester without so much as gagging on a toothbrush. Others wind up in the hospital with severe weight loss and dehydration. This extreme morning sickness is called Hyperemesis Gravidarum or HG. It should not be taken lightly – consult with your doctor immediately if your morning sickness is interfering with your hydration level or preventing you from consuming adequate amounts of nutrition.

Handling the Symptoms

While there is no cure for morning sickness, there are ways to handle the symptoms. Just like many things about parenthood, finding the solution for you may be a matter of trial and error.

Rest – It’s hard to feel sick while you’re sleeping, and you need plenty of rest anyway. If you start feeling bad, climb in bed, lie down and stay there as long as possible.

Eat – It could be that you only feel sick when you’re hungry. If that’s the case, eat! If certain foods sound especially good and filling, eat those. So long as you’re getting all of your nutrients, there is no reason to not eat Macaroni and Cheese with dinner every night – although you do want to watch your overall calorie consumption as well.

Snack – If the thought of food makes you ill, you still need to eat. Find the foods that are the least undesirable and snack constantly all day. Some tummies tolerate only small amounts, so graze all day to help keep your stomach settled.

Drink – If you’re dehydrated you’re going to feel worse, so sip on tepid water during your sick periods and drink plenty of water the rest of the day to keep your hydration levels up.

Walk – Exercise can help keep nausea at bay, so go for a light stroll. Of if the first few steps make your head swim, stop and go climb back in bed for another rest.

Well, 

I’ve been away from you, my friends, because it’s happened. Exactly a month after conception I became nauseous, and started vomiting. What are you gonna do? That’s the way the cookie crumbles. 

So, I’ve been suffering, and the symptoms may have been a tiny bit easier this time around, but the fact that I now have a toddler to take care of and a full time job, made it seem so much harder than the last. Last time I could lie around and play “dead”, tread my path to the bathroom and back, and wallow in my misery. So I looked around if I could find anything to soothe my symptoms. I found something on the internet (they didn’t have it in any of my local pharmacies) called Morning Sickness Magic, by Mommy’s Bliss. It is an over-the-counter supplement which contains Ginger, Vitamin B complex, Folic Acid, and Red Raspberry Leaf. All of these ingredients are supposed to ease the symptoms. The toughie of it was that you’re supposed to take it up to 4 times per day, and the relief of symptoms may take up to five days. What do you know, it took exactly five days (and not a moment sooner) for me to feel better. And as soon as that happened I got a cold. 

In the midst of all this I had called my doctor and begged them to prescribe something. My doctor prescribed Zofran, but to be honest with you, I still haven’t picked it up from the pharmacy since I got sick. 

So I’m getting over a cold, and toughing out the “All-Day” Sickness, and my son is throwing nightly tantrums. Seth has finally had it with Elija’s nightly “sing-me-bye-bye” at 3 a.m. So last night, I was “Ferberizing” Elija. I did it once before, and it was great, it was much easier last time, because he wasn’t speaking yet and didn’t comment everything I said. Last night it was plain torture. 

My husband grabbed his pillow and went to sleep on the couch, while I battles with my 22-month-old son. After an hour of my refusing to sing to him, cover him with a blankie, find his pacifier, or just generally listen to his hysterical sobs, I laid down in my bed (his crib is in our bedroom, since we have a one bedroom apartment), and he stopped crying and went to sleep. I’m reluctant to say that it worked, and I am dreading tonight will bring another battle. But It has to be done. 

The last time Elijah was able to fall asleep on his own. It was magic. But Seth and I went away on a Weekend Getaway and my son panicked. He would let go of us for a long time. I’ve tried to get him to sleep the “nice way”, staying with him till he falls asleep. But he’s crossed all borders, and he’s old enough to do it all by himself. 

Well, that’s the way it’s been since my last note. Please drop any suggestions possible regarding easing Morning Sickness or teaching kids to fall asleep on their own. All suggestions are welcome. 

Regards, 

Amy

So, 

I am all in anticipation of the queasy, nauseous self I remember being when I was pregnant with Elijah. My morning sickness began exactly one month after conception last time, and it lasted for almost five months. It was severe to the extent that my best friend The Toilet would get more hugs from me than my husband. All I wanted to do was give up my dinner (the little food that my stomach would allow me) and sleep. It was plain ridiculous when my husband showed up for our second month anniversary with a new toilet bowl brush wrapped as a bouquet of flowers, and I was ecstatic! 

Although we are reaching the one month mark, I am beyond the “due time” when it comes to sleeping. I doubt, however, that it’s the pregnancy, and I am very sure that it is the sleepless nights I am spending with Elijah. He wakes up several times at night and occasionally I (or sometimes my husband) must stay by his bedside for 30-40 minutes until he falls back to sleep. But that is a whole another discussion, one that is begging for advice. 

I am extremely hungry. As typical of me for sweets and dough (cake, bread, cookies, you name it, I want it). And I’ve been wanting butter. This is crazy, I haven’t had any cravings during my first pregnancy, just major aversions to food in general (although I never gave up the sweets). 

No one in the family (either mine or Seth’s) knows anything yet. His family will start jumping for joy, as his mother has been nagging me ever since Elijah was born to have another one, and they are all wanting a girl, since there almost all boys in Seth’s family. And Seth and I are almost sure that it will be a girl this time. We haven’t told my family, because they have all been dying for me to get back to work, and this means that I will be home for at least another year. The will surely be glad to have another baby in the family, but my mom is real big on The Profession, and according to her (and my two older sisters) I have a great one (and I agree), and I may lose my qualifications the longer I stay home (I don’t agree). 

Regardless, my first Ob/Gyn appointment is at the end of September and we won’t be telling anyone until at least then. 

Well, I’ve babbled long enough. I hope you guys have something to say about this. All comments and suggestions are welcome. 

Regards, 

Amy

Pregnancy produces the absolute most precious being a woman could ever ask for. It also can produce some rather unfortunate side effects on a woman’s body. During pregnancy, a woman begins to notice a difference almost immediately all over and inside her body, long before she can feel even the slightest motion from the baby within.

Skin

One of the worst victims of pregnancy is your skin. It makes sense that the belly would grow to accommodate the baby developing within, and of course the skin on the belly must stretch as well, but pregnancy is a full body experience. That means that it is highly likely you will grow everywhere – at least a little bit.

Unfortunately, even an extra inch or two around your thighs and hips may result in nasty stretch marks. That’s not to mention the stretch marks so many women get on their stomachs and breasts. (Breasts can grow more rapidly the belly!) Since your skin is taking a beating, give it the love and pampering it deserves. Deluxe skin care such as the special creams to treat those stretch marks can make a difference in how you feel and how your skin looks both during and after pregnancy.

Swelling

One of the most common symptoms of pregnancy is swelling. Some women swell a bit in their hands and feet, and others seem to keep a full cushion of water present on the body at all times. Of all the swelling that occurs, only the size of your feet, and possibly your hands is permanent. The rest is simply one more uncomfortable aspect to bear until delivery.

Help ease the swelling by drinking plenty of fluids, resting as often as possible and massaging the affected areas with lotions designed for pregnant women. This not only helps reduce a bit of the swelling, but relieves the tension and aches of the day as well.

Aches and Pains

It is not until about halfway through pregnancy that you begin to take note of just how much of your body is affected by the baby inside. Suddenly, a routine walk through the neighborhood is making your feet ache, your back hurt, and causing random shooting pains in your inner thighs.

Ligaments are loosing throughout pregnancy, and as you approach the end, you need to treat yourself with kid gloves. Your hip bones are spreading, the weight of your belly is making your back arch, and your feet have to bear all the weight. It can be a heavy burden to bear, so take a break and just rest with your poor feet up as often as possible.

Are you ready? Not that it matters a great deal as your baby will arrive whether you are ready or not. Trying to prepare for a new baby’s birth is one of the most stressful, yet enjoyable aspects of pregnancy. As too much stress on an expectant mom can be bad for the baby, it is important to take the pregnancy one day at a time. You can get ready, but be forewarned that no matter how ready you think you are, your baby’s birth is mind-blowing – in the best way possible.

Pregnancy

The first stage of preparing for your new baby is your pregnancy – obviously. Despite the fact that the baby is still inside the womb, he must be lovingly cared for. The only way to do this is to care for the mother. Healthy foods and exercise are a given, but other treats such as the Basq Deluxe Gift Box will not only make her smile, but give mom an excuse to soak in the tub and take a much needed break.

Don’t forget the expectant father. If he is relaxed, he can help mom stay relaxed and healthy. Practical items including diaper bags especially suited for him, such as the DadPad, can help him feel a part of the pregnancy and let him know you’re thinking about him, too.

Newborn

Immediately following delivery, the hospital provides almost all necessities. With the exception of a special “going home” outfit, there is little or nothing required for this brief stay. When you walk in the door at home, however, the game of parenthood starts in earnest. This is not the time to be running to the store for last minute items.

Buying large items such as cribs, high chairs, and swings are all well and good, but they not necessarily the items you will need immediately. Generally speaking, it is the small items that make the biggest difference with a newborn. Burp clothes are necessary from the first feeding for many babies and bibs can catch all manners of things – before solid food even enters the picture.

Some items you might never think of as being lifesavers, but Weeblocks by Sozo and Pee-pee Teepee by Beba Bean can help stem the proverbial tide during diaper changes, and specialized Baby mess kits by Mullins Square have all the clean up answers you will need. Even though baby can’t take a full bath for many days, it’s hard to resist a bit of washing and lotion. The basic baby lotions may be too harsh for your little one. Consider stocking up on baby skin care products that are safe for baby. Vitamin rich skin care is the perfect solution to keeping your little one’s skin as soft as the day he was born.