Prenatal Lullabies for Babies and Moms-to-be

How to interact with your unborn baby (fetus),

If you're like me and crave social contact with other parents, or you just need some fresh ideas on how to interact with your baby, you have more than enough reason to sign up for a Mommy & Me or Gymboree class. But if taking one doesn't fit into your schedule or budget, here's how you can make the most out of your private "mommy and me" time at home:  Shake, shake together. Put on some upbeat music and give your child maracas to shake. Place your hands on hers to show her how. The maracas enhance your tot's listening experience and teach her to bounce to the beat.  Speed it up. Teach your baby the difference between fast and slow with this little game: First, stroll around your house slowly holding her in your arms. Then, increase the movement by taking big, exaggerated marching steps. Finally, break into a little jog (be sure to watch where you're going so you don't trip over the Exersaucer in the kitchen). She'll love anticipating the different tempos and will delight in the movement.  Get animated. Liven up story-time by using silly voices for the characters and adding sound effects (like tongue clicks for a galloping horse). Make your eyes big, your smile wide: Babies are fascinated by exaggerated facial expressions, so feel free to be a ham when reading Green Eggs and Ham.

Making a connection with your unborn child can strengthen the bond you share, make you feel closer, and enrich you and your baby's lives. 

One of my favorite Fetus Interaction Videos!! ♥

Fatherhood Involvement PSA

Help a Homeless child,

Featured Project   Featured Community project Give comfort to a homeless child In the US, one in 50 children will face homelessness. Project Night Night helps kids have sweeter dreams with their care packages. Each package contains a new blanket, a children's book and a cozy stuffed animal, all tucked away in a new tote bag. While these reliable, comforting objects are no big deal to most of us, they help reduce trauma and advance the emotional well-being of homeless kids. Today, we're asking you to help give a homeless child comfort. Learn More Thanks for all you do! Get involved: Give a minute Give money Learn more

Like Causes   |   Follow Causes

Chère Femme - Dear Woman

Healthy Pregnancy Diet,

A healthy diet is very important when being pregnant. Following a good pregnancy diet will bring only benefits to the mother and especially the baby as he needs proper nourishment for developing and growing without any problems. 

 

Most people say that a pregnant woman has to eat for two persons. This is partially true. It is recommended that the daily intake of a pregnant women to be increased with 100 cal in the first trimester then in the second and trimester with 300 calories. Extra snacks like a fruit, a sandwich, or yogurt can cover up the daily food supplements the pregnant woman needs. Prenatal vitamins are also recommended to be included in the pregnancy diet. They will often make up for any nutritional deficiency that the mother might have in her diet during pregnancy.

Folic acid must be included in the pregnancy diet as is good for reducing the risk of having a baby with malformations of the brain and spinal cord, also known as the "neural tube". For example one of the most frequent defects that occur in the neural tube is Spina bifida. The baby suffering of this malformation will have a spine that is not closed and several nerve damaged that will make him paralyzed or suffering of mental retard. Folic acid is also a good at increasing maternal blood volume. This supplement can be found in green leafy vegetables, beans, nuts, and citrus fruits. If used as a pill, the pregnant women should take one pill daily during the first three months of pregnancy. 

Another useful supplement that must be included in the pregnancy diet is the Iron. This supplement helps the blood of the mother and baby carry oxygen. Daily supplement of iron during the second and third trimester is needed as the iron storage of the mother is mostly not enough. This mineral can be found in fish, poultry, cereals and dried fruits. 

Calcium is also good for pregnant women and is a must have in pregnancy diets. Calcium and vitamin D are good for the future bones and teeth of the baby and also in preventing the mother from loosing her own bone density during the 9 months of pregnancy. 

Avoid taking supplements of vitamin A as they can harm the baby. Vitamin A is found in fish liver oil so do not eat that either. 

pregnancy diet should not include some aliments as they might harm the baby. caffeine should be limited to one cup of coffee a day, fish like Shark, Swordfish, King Mackerel and Tile-fish should also be avoided during pregnancy and artificial sweeteners should moderately be consumed. 

If you have nausea during pregnancy and see that the vitamins you take are making it worse ask your current doctor to change them for a different kind of vitamins that can be chewable. This form of vitamins is easier to tolerate than the form you have to swallow. 

Also the pregnancy diet should have lots of fruits and vegetables, rice and potatoes, food that is rich in proteins (try chicken meat, eggs and pulses). Fiber is also recommended as it prevents constipation that usually affects pregnant women. Fiber is found in pasta, vegetables, fruit and wholegrain bread.

Pregnant women should also consider cutting down on biscuits, cakes and sweets as they will only contribute with fat and sugar and it is not good to gain to much weight during pregnancy.

But REMEMBER this is not really the time to worry about your figure it's best to worry about WHAT foods are best to benefit your growing child inside of you because face it what YOU do these 9 months WILL and DO affect the child their entire LIFE so PLEASE CHOOSE WISELY. And Thanks for reading.

A little about us and this blog and some information on symptoms of pregnancy,

Welcome to our pregnancy blog. This website was created for woman/men looking to be pregnant or expecting a pregnancy soon (and even the one's who have lost one OR who are just thinking about it, EVERYONE is welcomed)!!! We have tried to collect as much information possible at one place for you to help.

If you need any more information, please do let us know.

Pregnancy is a very important stage in a woman's life. She has to deal with a lot of things before, during and after pregnancy. She has to monitor her behavior and rectify it in favor of her expecting child. Pregnancy diet plan(we will post more on Pregnancy and diet as well) but you should ONLY do it IF it benefits the child. Also her stress level should be very low during pregnancy.

Symptoms are an indication of change from normal feeling; pregnancy symptoms indicate that one's body is preparing to give birth to a new life. Pregnancy symptoms may vary from woman to woman therefore one has to observe the pregnancy symptoms very minutely, so that one can start taking precautionary measures accordingly.

Signs of Pregnancy or Common Symptoms of Pregnancy are:

• The most common or basic sign of pregnancy is delayed or missed menstrual cycle. Ideally, your next period should be missed but in many cases, bleeding takes place but shorter or lighter then normal periods.
• Feeling fatigued or tired is an early sign of pregnancy.
• Lower backache, however it is found that mild lower backache persist throughout pregnancy.
• Morning sickness.
• Headache.
• Frequent urination.

One has to take a lot of care during pregnancy, especially during the later stage when the child grows quickly and needs lot of nutrients. It is found that women need extra 300 calories per day during pregnancy. Therefore, mother not only has to check how much she is eating but also what she is eating.

Stress during pregnancy can cause harmful effects. Study shows that high level of stress during pregnancy can cause high blood pressure, increased heart rate, which is not good for the fetus. One should constantly work hard to reduce the stress level during pregnancy.

Pregnancy calendar is a list of things, which prepares you for what to expect during pregnancy periodically i.e. you can compare your symptoms with the expected symptoms listed in the calendar.

For healthy a pregnancy, one should eat food rich in nutrients, exercise regularly to reduce stress level and sleep well.

Coming NEXT:Detail information on signs of pregnancy ..as well as healthy dieting. GOOD Luck and Thanks for being our FAN! ♥