pregnancy

Growing your family, one baby bump at a time. All about the ups and downs of nature's 9 month miracle.

Taking Care of Your Body During Pregnancy
Being pregnant is a very special time in your life that you will never forget. You will get to experience all of the stages and trimesters of pregnancy, and as they come and go you will notice significant changes in your body. The first six to eight weeks of pregnancy are a little rough as your body is adjusting to the spike in your hormones. This often causes morning sickness and there is very little you can do to help it. Eating crackers and getting up slowly in the morning will help ease the symptoms of morning sickness, but some pregnant women have morning sickness all the way through the entire pregnancy. During the second trimester, you will start to gain weight, the baby will start moving, and your breasts will get larger. You should start to feel better by this point in the pregnancy. The third trimester is the last and final one when the baby is almost fully developed and you are definitely feeling the pregnancy weight. You might even be retaining a little water at this point and it may become difficult for you to sleep at night. The baby is usually very active during this phase and it this makes it difficult for you to get comfortable. It’s important that you take extra care of your body during pregnancy so that after you have the baby you can try and get back to some sort of normalcy.
By Paisley Hansen7 years ago in Families
Pregnancy Body Shaming
It takes nine months, more or less, for a woman to grow and birth a new life into this world. That’s 42 weeks. 294 days. 423,360 minutes. In that amount of time, our bodies undergo changes unlike anything anyone has experienced before. Pregnant women go through spiritual, psychological, and physiological warfare within themselves—and more so than not do we talk about the psychological, spiritual, and even emotional portion of this experience. For the most part, we know that you can get postpartum depression, and with that, there are resources directly after birth to help combat that. For example, we are asked, and sometimes given, questionnaires as to how we are feeling emotionally. But rarely do we ever discuss the physiological effects that our society as a whole throws onto us about the way a woman should look immediately after giving birth.
By Japhia Spencer7 years ago in Families
Pregnancy
In early December last year, I found out that I was pregnant. Me and my partner had not been together long and we were already in a sticky situation due to him trying to gain access to see his daughter. Getting pregnant was such a huge shock for me and my partner, as I had previously been told that having children was never going to be an option for me because my womb was deteriorating—not only that, but we were using contraception.
By Deanna Melia7 years ago in Families
Make Room for the Baby: Your Pregnancy Symptom Guide
You're over the moon that you’re expecting, but also a little unsure about what to expect over the next nine months. From fertility facts and myths, to outlining the physical and emotional changes that may happen in each trimester, we’re here to take the guesswork out of being pregnant.
By Paisley Hansen7 years ago in Families
Pregnancy Massage: Beneficial for You and the Baby!
Are you embarking on a new journey in life? Are you starting out in the world of motherhood? Are you waiting eagerly for your little one to step out in this world? If you answered yes to the above, chances are that you are blessed with happiness, and are on your way to giving birth to a bundle of joy. But, pregnancy, as joyful as it can be, is an even more stressful and critical time for both the mother and the baby. Well, sometimes the father too, especially when he forgets to bring to-be-mommy her favourite ice cream.
By Natalie Ige7 years ago in Families
Prepping for Baby
Expecting a new addition to your family? Whether this is your first, second, or fifth time doing this, this list may benefit you, but it's especially beneficial to first time moms and dads to be.
By Misha Alsleben7 years ago in Families
A Calm Birthing Despite Unexpected Turns
I had a beautiful first pregnancy. After a first trimester with very mild to no nausea and mostly fatigue, I made a point to enjoy every moment. I got into hypnobirthing (by myself, no classes) quite early on, during my fourth month. It involved daily meditation and relaxation sessions, which helped me stay positive and approach my birthing with very little fear (and giving birth had actually been my biggest fear for years beforehand).
By Laure7 years ago in Families
Young & Pregnant
Sweet 17, only it’s not so sweet. More bitter than I thought. Getting this kind of news can make your mind wander miles away. What will I do? Everyone will think of me differently. No longer innocent, more like a fuck up who’ll end up living off welfare. My Boyfriend and I met at school. He sat next to me in drivers ed. Black hair with brown eyes that hold desert sands. He’s 19 with a car, so we feel like we got it together. Only we don’t. We’re dumb. I tell him it’s positive, but the outcome feels negative. Is it a boy or a girl? But does it matter? Should I keep it? The stress is killing me. Only it’s not. I see love. Everyone else sees failure. I’ve decided, now ready for the days to come, finding out I’m 10 weeks already, so there’s no turning back. He tells me it’ll be OK. I’m young and pregnant. Only I’m 17, not 16. So not so stereotypical.
By Donna Rae7 years ago in Families
Marriage Expectation: Children
Before you start reading, this entry comes from a wife who is not yet a mother or even pregnant. This is coming from a girl who hasn't always wanted to be a mother, but is really thinking about it. This is also coming from a woman who is being pressured by not only her family, but society and social media.
By hailey clark7 years ago in Families
Single Parent (Pt. 1)
My own personal story begins when my daughter moved out of our place to start her life. And my story begins when I found out I was pregnant with her 21 years ago. You see, with her starting her own life, I'm left with the empty nest syndrome. I'm left with a lot of time to review my life. I was a single parent for her whole life. Her father left when I was pregnant and I never got together with anyone else.
By Nicole Cormier7 years ago in Families
Pregnant at University
University is a significant experience of every student's life; you’re pushed outside of your comfort zone from the get-go. Whether it’s learning how to live on a budget or how to use a washing machine, university constantly confronts you with new challenges. The idea of becoming pregnant during such an intense stage of life is a daunting one. As someone who has never experienced being pregnant at university, I reached out to a good friend of mine who gave birth to a beautiful baby girl this March all the while completing her most intense year at university yet.
By Katie Gaster7 years ago in Families
What They Don't Tell You About Pregnancy
"A baby fills a special place in your heart that you never knew was empty." —Unknown Water Break I'm sure almost everyone out there has seen a labor scene in some sort of movie sometime in their lives. In the movies, it's always way exaggerated when the woman suddenly shoots water out of her lady bits and immediately goes into contractions. As a kid/teenager this always terrified me, maybe that's what the media wants to portray pregnancies to prevent so many teens from having kids. Whatever the case maybe, this is most defiantly not realistic what so ever. When your water breaks, you could either have a drizzle of water come out or more like the feeling of peeing yourself. It all depends on the person and how their bodies respond. For me, it felt like I had peed myself, stopped for a couple seconds and then start again and this time it didn't stop. Following my water breaking, I didn't get the shooting pain of contractions like in the movies.
By Kayla Triplett7 years ago in Families