pregnancy
Growing your family, one baby bump at a time. All about the ups and downs of nature's 9 month miracle.
Let's Stop Comparing Birth Stories
Once you have a baby, you enter a new community. Motherhood. When meeting another mom, you already have some common experiences. You have both taken on the challenging feat of bringing a child into the world and dedicating your life to that child. When meeting with people who share common experiences, it is natural to want to share those experiences with each other. Most mothers love to talk about their birth stories, but bringing up such an intimate experience can be damaging if done the wrong way. Having spoken to several other women about birth stories, I struggle to understand why it has to be a competition. Birth is a very personal and tender experience, not a competitive sport. While that statement might sound obvious, it's shocking how quickly women will put on their 'game face' as they dig into the details of their labor experience in comparison to another woman's.
By Rebecca Hale7 years ago in Families
God Bless the NHS
On Friday, May 24th, I gave birth to my son after nearly 36 hours of labour and an emergency C-section. In total, this will have cost the NHS thousands of pounds, and two nights of 1:1 care. Did I get a bill? No. I was waved off with a smile and a hug, clutching on to my precious bundle.
By Natalie Fairypants7 years ago in Families
Tips for Relieving Heartburn While Pregnant
When you are pregnant and suffering from heartburn it is often hard to choose an over the counter product to help you feel better. Considering the fact that at least half of all pregnant women will suffer from some form of heartburn during their pregnancy it is helpful to learn a few tips and remedies that can help you avoid these symptoms. If this is something you or someone you know is dealing with read further to hear a few easy remedies for heartburn at night or tips that are just as useful throughout the day.
By Paisley Hansen7 years ago in Families
Prenatal Massage and Its Benefits
Pregnancy is a special time in any woman’s life. You’re carrying a new life and looking forward to a whole new chapter of your own. Though this part of women's life is beautiful, it can sometimes be a little stressful for the body. After all, your body is going through a lot of changes now to accommodate the person living and growing inside you. To make things easier on yourself, you can make use of prenatal massages.
By Lena Hemsworth7 years ago in Families
Getting Pregnant Naturally
Menstrual cycle The first way to conceive naturally is to make sure that you record the frequency of your menstrual cycle. This is one of the best things that you can do when you are trying to have a baby naturally. This is especially true if you have a regular period, where the days of the period are on the same amount of days each month. You will be able to predict better when you will be ovulating if you are tracking this information on a calendar. When you ovulate, this is when your ovaries will be releasing an egg every month.
By Paisley Hansen7 years ago in Families
The Mountain and The Mushroom
Birds sang their melodies high in the pine trees bathed in the hot sun of mid-spring. The silky strands of web connected grass to twigs, branch to branch, making a hammock for a spider who’s just looking for a place to relax, and for lunch to be served. If I had to let my imagination run wild I would accuse him of looking for a larger snack than a few flies who happened to pass through. Probably something a little more like my face wide eyed with sweat trickling down my temples, as I meticulously scan the soil for any signs of life besides more spiders and caterpillars. The ground was dirt dry, the river was roaring, and somehow the wild flowers found enough water to grow, but the mushrooms laid dormant deep in the earth without even a strip tease of what may come. It was the second time this year my boyfriend and I went Morel mushroom hunting, and found nothing. My brain tried to reason that it was still too early, and maybe the conditions weren’t quite right yet. The other half of my brain played on repeat how I had no clue what I was doing, and half the locations I sought after were merely guesses on maps I threw darts at. It was the beginning of my fourth year as an active forager, my first year as a pregnant forager, and I kind of knew the basics of what Morels needed to thrive, one of them being a recent forest fire. Since our valley is notorious for fires—every year we brace for the damage—I was not lacking in the need of fertile, scorched earth. I just wish I could put the wild in wildfire, since that would be a natural and common thing in our forests to occur on their own, but more often than not it’s caused by a stoner ashing a pipe with too hot cherries, an owl flying into power lines in an electric spark of feathers, or plain intentional arson. Whether it was caused by pure thoughtlessness of human, or a freak accident of birds, it still gave all of us foragers a reason to look forward to every spring, and whatever bounty may follow.
By Jesemynn Cacka7 years ago in Families
6 Reasons Why I'm Not Scared of Giving Birth...
Here I am, in all my 38 week pregnant glory. This was last week though, so imagine me marginally more pregnant now. This baby is very much wanted, so although I appreciate that accidents do happen, in our case it was planned and prepared for, so maybe that has something to do with my mentality. From the day I found out I was pregnant I've been excited, and haven't had many negative thoughts at all. I've had a relatively easy ride of it too, which can't hurt.
By Natalie Fairypants7 years ago in Families
A Letter to My Creations
My first real love, my precious little baby girl, I was so scared when I first found out you was growing inside my body. I was in real disbelief. I was mad, sad, and happy all at the same time. Why?! Well, firstly I was young and had a different life plan. But I guess that's why they say it's not always good to plan, cause sometimes plans don't go as planned. In short "SHIT HAPPENS."
By Born Empress7 years ago in Families
Giving Birth Again 11 Months Later
Luckily for me, giving birth for the first time had turned out to be a much more enjoyable and less harrowing experience that I had anticipated. The fact that I had such a pleasant experience the first time definitely contributed to the fact that I ended up pregnant with baby number two when my son was only three months old. Everyone thought my husband and I were nuts for having a second kid so soon, and I can’t say we planned for her to come so soon. However, I knew I wanted my kids to be close in age and it had taken a while to conceive our first baby, so I felt more excited than overwhelmed at the thought of having another baby so soon.
By Haley Peterson7 years ago in Families
