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Archive for the 'Pregnancy' Category
Mothers, Kids and Smoking
All of us are have heard about the dangers of smoking while pregnant. Yet, one quarter of all Americans had mothers who smoked during their pregnancy. Hard to believe in this day and age.
According to a new study, smoking while pregnant can be very harmful to your kids as they get older. Not only is there an increased risk to the fetus, but nicotine can affect brain development. These changes can make it very difficult for an adult to quit smoking once they have started.
Doctors recommend kicking the habit as soon as a woman knows she’s pregnant. This can be very difficult indeed. And to make it worse, they should not rely on any type of nicotine products (patch, gum, etc.) to ease the process. These products will have the same affect on their baby as if they were still smoking.
Just another way we can help protect our kids.
Best Companies for Moms (to work for)
It’a an important decision for many, and not even a thought for others. But these days there are plenty of working moms out there. Might as well pick a company to work for that is “mommy friendly”.
Below is the recent list of companies that get high ratings from their mom employees.
By VINNEE TONG, AP Business Writer Mon Sep 25, 4:47 PM ET
NEW YORK - Working Mother magazine released its annual list of the top 100 places to work, with its chief executive touting an improvement in mother-friendly benefits in corporate America.
Working Mother CEO Carol Evans, who authored the book “This Is How We Do It: The Working Mothers’ Manifesto,” said that in order to retain female employees, a growing number of companies are offering customized schedules.
“There are some very, very creative ideas, and this is all related to what we saw in the past, with women dropping off the edge of a cliff, when they said it’s either working full time or not at all,” Evans said.
Elbows and Hiccoughs
Submitted by Allison Curletto
Remember the worm-tunnels in that silly 80’s movie, Tremors? The group of young scientists that went out into the desert and discovered these weird giant gopher-looking trails? It takes them until half-way through the movie to figure out what makes them, and, when they do find out, the creatures are totally alien-looking monsters.
That same storyline is taking place on the top of my belly. During the Easter Sunday service, for example, I sat in my pew and looked down at my belly as I feel the all too familiar twitches of baby movement. I wore a silver silk dress my cousin lent me that day and it lay smoothly against my skin. The little lump that was twitching under my skin suddenly started visably traveling a couple inches to the right. I elbowed Paul in enough time for him to see Baby B’s fist make the trip back, like a moving worm-hole, toward my center again at the end her stretch. Kind of an errie occurance to watch – especially at church when you imagine a rebellious exercist baby fighting the sounds of godly hymns and prayer (taking after her Dad, I guess, who squirms through most church services!).
Paul finds these movements a bit unnerving. I’ll put his hand on a hard lump and, at first, he’s curious – he’ll keep it there and wait. But, as soon as the lump starts traveling somewhere or moves up toward him, his “heebie-jeebie” factor becomes too strong. His hand flies off and he’ll mutter something while shaking his head. Sort of like those scientists in the movie Tremors who have this curious, but terrifying experience with their discovery.
I, on the other hand, have become more like Bill Murray in Caddyshack. I’m constantly seeking those hard lumps, trying to figure out where “the gopher” will be next. I’m fascinated, nearly obsessed, trying to figure out what the lump is: a foot, an elbow, a head, a bum? Read more »
The Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy Props
Submitted by Allison Curletto
Now that I’m “officially” in the third trimester, and thus sage and wize, I thought I’d pass on a couple of things I’ve learned along the way that would be incredibly helpful if you or someone you know is just starting down this pregnancy road – there are a couple of items that will become your best friends besides your best friends. I’m sure that every girl will have some that are different, but I’ve listed a few I could not, now, ever live without:
1. Get a nice big Nalgene water bottle and keep in full and with you all the time. Hydration is one of my short comings, I’m sure, but, if properly hydrated, one will avoid (or at least suffer less from) many pregnancy maladies (see “Sitz Baths” below) and will also lighten Braxton-Hicks contractions. Note: ease up on the water intake sometime around 7pm so you don’t spend all of what should be your sleeping hours making quick stops to the bathroom. Read more »