Category Archives: expecting

40 Weeks of Pregnancy – Week 4

It is Monday. You know what that means, the newest update for those of you expecting, or looking to be doing so soon. Last week we left off with Week 3, so moving forward…
Week 4
So all sorts of wonderful things are happening with your baby that your doctor would love to tell you about. In a nutshell, the baby starts to form. As for you, you may start feeling queasy. Everyone has their own experience with this, and every pregnancy is different. For example, with Munchie I had mild nausea for the entire first trimester. With Ducky I had very intense sickness, but it only lasted a few weeks. I am not sure which was better. You will have your own version of this. Some days it will be better than others. Just remember, it is temporary. It will eventually stop, even if you are one of the unlucky few who has it right up to giving birth. Which is really the worst case.
They call it morning sickness, but really, that is a misnomer. It is more like all day sickness, often coming in waves where you get to have several hours off in between. Laying down definitely helps, but for most of us that is not really possible.
I found that eating small pieces of starchy, carb heavy foods helped with the nausea. My favorite was lays chips. Sometimes they can be too greasy, so you can substitute some crackers instead. If you have the time, half a baked potato without any toppings also works.
As for your physical appearance, I didn’t find any changes at this stage. Except that I seemed to look a lot more tired. Probably because I was. All I wanted to do was sleep. Otherwise, everything else was normal.
Also, if you would like to catch up, Week 1, 2 and 3

40 Weeks Of Pregnancy

I have been planning a long term project for this blog for some time. And this is a topic I have wanted to share with everyone. We have all read, or at the very least heard about, What To Expect When You Are Expecting. I have also seen others do blogs about what to really expect when you are expecting. I found the latter to be riddled with pregnancy horror stories, making pregnancy out to be one of the worst experiences ever. I understand some people did have a truly horrific time, but I am not out to scare anyone. Especially since both my pregnancies went fairly smoothly.
The scientific/medical information on pregnancies can be found just about everywhere. So I am not going to focus too much on that. Not to mention I am not a doctor, so before attempting any of my advice I suggest you talk to your physician. Some things worked for me. Some things may work for you. And some things should never be done without adult supervision. I will try to point out which things fit into what category.
Every Monday from now on I will discuss another week of pregnancy. To start, I am going to combine the first few weeks because unless you have been trying to get pregnant, and are constantly monitoring everything, including your basil body temperature, not a whole lot happens during these first weeks. So, without further introduction…
Week 1 and 2
What doctors call the first week of pregnancy, actually occurs prior to actually getting pregnant. It is when your body gets ready for pregnancy, but the egg and sperm haven’t met yet. So, during this period you are unaware of any changes. At some point your egg will get fertilized, but you will continue being unaware for a few more weeks.
If you are not planning for a baby, you will probably be living your life in the same fashion as before. Unless your normal life includes smoking crack, you are not hurting your baby. At this stage you cannot cause brain damage from having a few drinks, or lung damage from smoking. The foods you eat are always important, but an unhealthy diet at this stage will not later result in childhood obesity. As long as you start making the necessary changes once you find out your pregnant, your child should be fine.
 
Week 3
This should really be referred to as Week 1 because at this point you actually have a baby inside of you. The egg and sperm were reported to have met at some outrageous party the other night and have been an inseparable couple ever since. At this point you might be realizing you missed your period. Some women get a “mini” period or spotting. At any rate, you figure something is up. A pregnancy test would be able to detect if you are indeed pregnant, but not with a whole lot of accuracy. If you are like me, three different pregnancy tests will do as well. Make sure to schedule a doctor’s appointment. They have fancier methods for this sort of thing.
Check back next Monday for the newest installment!

Best Baby Shower Gifts

I have had baby showers on my mind. Don’t worry Mom, I am not pregnant again. This may have to do with the upcoming baby showers I will be attending. But I attend baby showers all the time, so really it may just be the season. I mean, Spring is coming up, and that is the season for fertility. It is also the season for a lot of other stuff… but those are like five different posts that have nothing to do with baby showers , so  we will get into that later.
I have been doing my baby shower shopping (because I have leaving things for last minute). Now, none of the lovely women who will having baby showers are first time mommies, which means they already know what they want or need. They also already have the big ticket items. But nevertheless there are a few essentials that are welcome to most baby showers.
Diaper Cakes
Most baby showers have a diaper raffle, where everyone brings diapers, gets a ticket and someone wins a prize of some sort. Even if there is no diaper raffle, diapers are always welcome. A diaper cake is just a super decorative way of bringing diapers. Also, depending on what you got, you can put most, if not all, of your gifts inside the “cake” for an added surprise. If you have no idea what I am talking about, thisis what a diaper cake is.
It takes time. I remember the first few I ever made. They were horrible. I practically wanted to cry. Now, I do a pretty good job. In fact, people request them. So if yours doesn’t come out the way you wanted. Don’t give up. Keep at it. If you are nothing like me, and don’t attend 523 baby showers a year, which means you won’t have time to practice and hone your diaper cake making skills, then call me. I will do it for you (because I love you, and making diaper cakes is super fun).
Older Baby Clothes
Itsy bitsy newborn onesies are adorable. But guess what, everyone is going to be getting them for the mommy to be. She will be overloaded with tiny onesies. More than the kid may ever wear. I have almost an entire box of really cute onesies Munchie never got to wear (I am saving them for when my brother in law or my best friend has a kid… and with my luck they will both have boys that probably won’t want to wear Munchie’s pink and frilly onesies).
9-12 months baby clothes are also cute. And it will save the parents having to buy as many clothes when the child grows. Also, from personal experience, some babies are bigger and grow faster than others. Ducky was huge, and he grew very, very quickly. Some newborn onesies never even fit him. And the ones that fit stopped fitting within a month. He is five months old wearing twelve months clothes.
Bigger is better when shopping for baby clothes. Babies grow at different rates, but eventually they will fit in the outfit you got them.
Gift Cards
I love gift cards. When I get gift cards it allows me to buy all the stuff for an occasion that I did not receive. For a baby shower they are great because the mommy to be can hold on to it until after the baby is born and use it for stuff she didn’t even know she needed. For Munchie’s baby shower I received a lot of gift cards and they became very useful in her first few months. As a new mom I did not know everything I would need. And all babies are different. Just because my friends used product X doesn’t mean I will have any use for it. There is also the stuff I thought I would not need, and turns out I was wrong. You really can’t go wrong with one of these.
Boppy Pillow
You can’t have too many. I received three of these at Munchie’s baby shower. I thought I would surely return at least one because what do I need three for? Turns out, they were great, and I ended up using all of them. At the time we were living in a two story town home, so I had one upstairs by the bed for night feedings. I had one in the living room so Munchie could lay on it during the day and I could use for afternoon feedings. The third resided in my car for when we went anywhere. We are now using them for Ducky.
Make sure you get the kind with a removable cover. Babies spit up. Enough said.
Honestly, you can’t really go wrong with a baby shower gift. In the end, it is the thought that counts. And anything is usually appreciated. If the mommy to be has a registry, consult it. If not, hopefully this gift guide has been helpful.
What are some of your favorite things to bring to baby showers? What are some of the best things you received at yours?