Stretch marks, I hear they are inevitable so I am anticipating. Actually I was anticipating strech marks long before I become pregnant. In fact, as my own little (non-pregnant) gut gathered around my middle like a small innertube I always reminded myself, "it will pay off one day, when I won't need to stretch so far, I'm just preparing."
Once I became pregnant Coco-Butter seemed to be the new theme; coco-butter creme, lotion, paste, etc. Well after a few weeks of rubbing my breasts and belly with coco-butter, I realized the smell was just not settling with me well. Besides, it seemed a little on the thick side. My good friend suggested by-passing coco-butter altogher and use oil. She recommended Bio-Oil, which I too now recommend. It has a much gentle smell, plus is lighter feeling. So religiously, every morning after I shower on goes the Bio-Oil; on the breasts, belly, hips, and don't forget the lower back. Will it elliviate stretch marks? Probably not altogether but I am hopeful that it will help keep them to a minimum. Either way there are still benefits; I have already noticed a lightening in a scar that I have, plus my skin feels softer and the scent is far more soothing and relaxing that coco-butter. Check it out, Bio-Oil. I found my bottle at Babies R' Us but I believe you can get it a health food store as well.
* Speaking of breasts; I just ran accross a great promotional deal (through one of the many emails I now seem to receive), go check it out. http://www.uddercovers.com/ You can purchase colorful breast feeding covers. Once on the payment page type in Family2010 when they ask for a promo code and you get $32.00 off. Basically the full price of the cover, you just pay for shipping. Check it out.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Who designed maternity clothes...seriously?!
All I have to say is, thank God my sister went before me and passed down her maternity clothes. Not only did she save me money (which really isn't the point) but she saved me time and a lot of humiliation!
No one likes standing in front of a mirror in a store's dressing room anyway, let alone someone with a growing belly trying on maternity clothes. My first experience was actually right before Christmas. I decided I wanted to be more comfortable at work and not that I was truly "showing" yet, but I was feeling the tug around my belly button area in many of my work shirts. So I ventured out one morning to discover a very limited selection of maternity clothes, let alone good ones. After a depressing walk through Kohls and Target, I came home with three shirts and a headache. My goodness. A woman who is newly pregnant, even though excited, doesn't really want to magnify her slowly changing body. Not only was the maternity section all of about 3 racks, but it was next to the athletic wear and the plus sizes. Not to mention the lack of style and design. I will be the first to admit, I am not a high maintenace girl, but I like to look nice, and in essessence need to dress nice for work. Whoever designed the majority of maternity clothes, was not thinking "working women," they were thinking soap operas and couch potatoes...let's just add to their growing discomfort by dressing them in hidious clothing. On that note I will say, yes there are some decent maternity clothes, and really my sister already picked them out. So thank you. Actually if you are willing to spend some money (not a lot) and actually pay near full price, there are some okay maternity clothes that look nice. I just have a hard time paying full price for clothes that I will only wear 6+ months. Well, actually I have a difficult time paying full price for "regular" clothes too.
I have since ventured out to find a few more thing to add to what my sister is letting me borrow. I actually ran into maternity lingerie believe it or not, and it was baby girl/boy pick and blue that only my grandmother wore. Check it out. I found it at Burlington called Baby Phat some actual cute top and underwear. Of course I didn't try them on, for fear of the mirrors. Maybe I'll go back after my husband tells me again that he thinks my prego belly is a little sexy, just then I might have the courage.
No one likes standing in front of a mirror in a store's dressing room anyway, let alone someone with a growing belly trying on maternity clothes. My first experience was actually right before Christmas. I decided I wanted to be more comfortable at work and not that I was truly "showing" yet, but I was feeling the tug around my belly button area in many of my work shirts. So I ventured out one morning to discover a very limited selection of maternity clothes, let alone good ones. After a depressing walk through Kohls and Target, I came home with three shirts and a headache. My goodness. A woman who is newly pregnant, even though excited, doesn't really want to magnify her slowly changing body. Not only was the maternity section all of about 3 racks, but it was next to the athletic wear and the plus sizes. Not to mention the lack of style and design. I will be the first to admit, I am not a high maintenace girl, but I like to look nice, and in essessence need to dress nice for work. Whoever designed the majority of maternity clothes, was not thinking "working women," they were thinking soap operas and couch potatoes...let's just add to their growing discomfort by dressing them in hidious clothing. On that note I will say, yes there are some decent maternity clothes, and really my sister already picked them out. So thank you. Actually if you are willing to spend some money (not a lot) and actually pay near full price, there are some okay maternity clothes that look nice. I just have a hard time paying full price for clothes that I will only wear 6+ months. Well, actually I have a difficult time paying full price for "regular" clothes too.
I have since ventured out to find a few more thing to add to what my sister is letting me borrow. I actually ran into maternity lingerie believe it or not, and it was baby girl/boy pick and blue that only my grandmother wore. Check it out. I found it at Burlington called Baby Phat some actual cute top and underwear. Of course I didn't try them on, for fear of the mirrors. Maybe I'll go back after my husband tells me again that he thinks my prego belly is a little sexy, just then I might have the courage.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
The best invention for pregnant women...
The BELLY BAND! I swore that by Christmas time that I would have to pack up all my nice work pants and give them to my mom to wear. But I'm still wearing them, thanks to the belly band. I may only be able to zip them up part way, and there is no way they would ever button at this point, but no one would ever know! The key, wear a long shirt, and preferably one that doesn't show the uneven lumps somewhat disguised under the band. My friend at work the other day went to touch my belly (what is it about people wanting to rub your belly?!) and pretty much rubbed over my covered lumps from my pants. I didn't say anything! The second best thing about the belly band besides extending the life of you favorite pants...it actually makes your belly look more round, more round and less akward fat. Since I am at the stage where my once little "pooch" is being extended now by my somewhat "hardening" baby belly, the band actually makes it look more like a cute little pregnant belly other than the "is she pregnant or just fat" belly. Still afraid of the "naked in the mirrow" look, but I suppose that may some day end, at least I hope.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Prego books for husbands
My husband is not a reader. He might say he is, but reading signs, short newspaper articles, captions that go with pictures, and the Cabela's catalogs do not count. So when I got pregnant and was handed two large books full of weekly and monthly updates for momma-to-be, I knew there was no way my husband would ever pick one up. I thought, how do I get him to read these with out straight out asking him. I tried laying them in places he would look, on the coffee table on the dresser, on the bathroom counter, but with no success.
For Christmas we surprised our families by sharing our great news and I wanted to put something in his stocking that would encourage him to at least gain some knowledge of what is going on inside my body. Looking for an informational book for a man (who does not read) is a little discouraging. There are books for daddys-to-be that are jsut as fat as the books I have, but I knew it would only collect dust, so I kept searching. Finally I found it, the perfect, yes, book! "My Boys Can Swim" by Ian Davis. A small book (it fit in a stocking) that is less than 100 pages and is written by a man, for a man.
This book sits in my living room collecting dust, not really to my surprise. The other day I can out from another room and caught my husband reading it! It was great. I think he's only made it through the Introduction but he doesn't have too much farther to go, just three more chapters: The First Trimester, The Second Trimester and The Third Trimester. Of course I read it in two sittings and found it hillarious. My hope for my husband is that he finishes it before the baby comes!
For Christmas we surprised our families by sharing our great news and I wanted to put something in his stocking that would encourage him to at least gain some knowledge of what is going on inside my body. Looking for an informational book for a man (who does not read) is a little discouraging. There are books for daddys-to-be that are jsut as fat as the books I have, but I knew it would only collect dust, so I kept searching. Finally I found it, the perfect, yes, book! "My Boys Can Swim" by Ian Davis. A small book (it fit in a stocking) that is less than 100 pages and is written by a man, for a man.
This book sits in my living room collecting dust, not really to my surprise. The other day I can out from another room and caught my husband reading it! It was great. I think he's only made it through the Introduction but he doesn't have too much farther to go, just three more chapters: The First Trimester, The Second Trimester and The Third Trimester. Of course I read it in two sittings and found it hillarious. My hope for my husband is that he finishes it before the baby comes!
Pregnancy Info Overload
I am a reader but when it comes to pregnancy books and internet sites, when do you stop? There are so many "week by week" books out there. And far too many web sites to monitor, follow and read about what's going on with the baby, with the mom, how to prepare, what you need, etc. It becomes a little overwhelming. What should I read? When do I stop looking?
That is the question really, isn't it? We all feel differently when it comes to all the pregnancy information that is out there. This is a good thing, if we all felt exactly the same, I think that would be a little weird. But here is a little food for thought...my thoughts: I must be in research mode, because I find myself drawn to information. Yes, it is a lot, and yes it is overwhelming (I think the internet is more overwheleming than anything as whereever you look, there is always something else to look at), but I think some of it is so important. When I think of the actual labor part, I have the same or similar thought that many have; so many thousands of woman of gone before me, I too can do this too, I don't need to read about it. I find it encouraging, yes, that I am not the first woman to ever conceive and have a baby, I could only imagine what she thought! Even though I am not the first, and I am one of millions, I think it is important to gather some knowledge of what it going on. If not for anything else but to recognize that I am different, and our world if different today. Let me step up on my soap box for a minute: What my mother went through and what she was told when she was pregnant is very different than what my grandmother went through and what she was told. Which in essence is different than what our generation is being told. Thus the beauty of ongoing research. There are things that we, in our generation, are being told that we should not eat/drink while being pregnant that were second thoughts to our mother's generation. Not because they were naive, but because the research wasn't necessarily out there, or because the world was different. I often wonder what our daughters will be told when they are grown up and are pregnant and what will be different. The air is different, they way foods are processed, or not processed is different, etc. Not that I believe you necessarily need to surround and overload yourself with information, because, yes, woman have gone before us, and they too have survived. But it is absolutely facinating the information that is out there. To know what is developing inside of you each day and how our own bodies are changing. Yes, each pregnancy is individual, and our bodies will all look and respond to pregnancy differently, but I feel it is good to know (at least for myself) to know what I am missing (like the blessing of morning sickness that never entered my home) or to know what is coming so I can be prepared (if I am having "I feel fat days" now, wait until my hips start to really expand). Although I have always enjoyed to read (although seldom had the time), the idea of reading research and science type information never really facinated me. Although now, I have a different perspective (I am sure my research in college days have a little something to do with this).
So do I think we need to read every book and visit every web site for information, no. But I think to some degree, new, current information is important. My most recent find (not on the internet actually) is a book recomended by a good friend of mine in Montana. She is currently prego with her second child and has been a certified yoga instructor for years. She is my yoga guru when I have questions, especially about yoga when my own doctor says, "yes you can do yoga, just listen to your own body" and my instructor tells me there are yoga positions that I cannot do. The book she recommended is called, "Maternal Fitness" (I think there might actually be a DVD out there, but I like the book thing) by Julie Tupler, R.N. I just received it in the mail a couple of days ago and have been impressed so far as to what I have read. The book is all about preparing yourself for pregnancy, labor, delivery, and thereafter. There are specific muscles to work (transversus muscles and others) that actually will help when delivering. It talks about breathing techniques beyond what the prenatal classes teach and how most doctor's and hosptials make delivery a routine rather than allowing the woman to be the director of her delivery. It also talks about how these exercises and stretches not only benefit the woman for delivery, but benefit both the woman and her husband after a baby is born so that sex is still enjoyable. :) Check it out, at least your husband will be thankful.
That is the question really, isn't it? We all feel differently when it comes to all the pregnancy information that is out there. This is a good thing, if we all felt exactly the same, I think that would be a little weird. But here is a little food for thought...my thoughts: I must be in research mode, because I find myself drawn to information. Yes, it is a lot, and yes it is overwhelming (I think the internet is more overwheleming than anything as whereever you look, there is always something else to look at), but I think some of it is so important. When I think of the actual labor part, I have the same or similar thought that many have; so many thousands of woman of gone before me, I too can do this too, I don't need to read about it. I find it encouraging, yes, that I am not the first woman to ever conceive and have a baby, I could only imagine what she thought! Even though I am not the first, and I am one of millions, I think it is important to gather some knowledge of what it going on. If not for anything else but to recognize that I am different, and our world if different today. Let me step up on my soap box for a minute: What my mother went through and what she was told when she was pregnant is very different than what my grandmother went through and what she was told. Which in essence is different than what our generation is being told. Thus the beauty of ongoing research. There are things that we, in our generation, are being told that we should not eat/drink while being pregnant that were second thoughts to our mother's generation. Not because they were naive, but because the research wasn't necessarily out there, or because the world was different. I often wonder what our daughters will be told when they are grown up and are pregnant and what will be different. The air is different, they way foods are processed, or not processed is different, etc. Not that I believe you necessarily need to surround and overload yourself with information, because, yes, woman have gone before us, and they too have survived. But it is absolutely facinating the information that is out there. To know what is developing inside of you each day and how our own bodies are changing. Yes, each pregnancy is individual, and our bodies will all look and respond to pregnancy differently, but I feel it is good to know (at least for myself) to know what I am missing (like the blessing of morning sickness that never entered my home) or to know what is coming so I can be prepared (if I am having "I feel fat days" now, wait until my hips start to really expand). Although I have always enjoyed to read (although seldom had the time), the idea of reading research and science type information never really facinated me. Although now, I have a different perspective (I am sure my research in college days have a little something to do with this).
So do I think we need to read every book and visit every web site for information, no. But I think to some degree, new, current information is important. My most recent find (not on the internet actually) is a book recomended by a good friend of mine in Montana. She is currently prego with her second child and has been a certified yoga instructor for years. She is my yoga guru when I have questions, especially about yoga when my own doctor says, "yes you can do yoga, just listen to your own body" and my instructor tells me there are yoga positions that I cannot do. The book she recommended is called, "Maternal Fitness" (I think there might actually be a DVD out there, but I like the book thing) by Julie Tupler, R.N. I just received it in the mail a couple of days ago and have been impressed so far as to what I have read. The book is all about preparing yourself for pregnancy, labor, delivery, and thereafter. There are specific muscles to work (transversus muscles and others) that actually will help when delivering. It talks about breathing techniques beyond what the prenatal classes teach and how most doctor's and hosptials make delivery a routine rather than allowing the woman to be the director of her delivery. It also talks about how these exercises and stretches not only benefit the woman for delivery, but benefit both the woman and her husband after a baby is born so that sex is still enjoyable. :) Check it out, at least your husband will be thankful.
How it all got started
Each month became a new frustration. I didn't want to say anything, yet at the same time I didn't want to be alone. I'd heard every suggestion and story from: lay on your back with your legs in the air, stand on your head, don't move for 15-20 mintues, you have to wait until you've been off birth control for a year, maybe you're too stressed, we waited 5 years, 10 years, adopt, just wait, be PATIENT. So much advice and stories came my direction I think it only added to my frustrations. Until one day someone mentioned a book, "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Weschler.
Once this book landed on my doorstep I couldn't put it down. My whole perspective of fertility and conception quickly changed. This book seemed to give me a fresh start, a realistic picture not only of conception and how difficult is truly can be, but an honest picture of what it means to be female. If you've haven't heard the Vagina Monologs, that's your first step, but Taking Charge of Your Fertility is the next. In a few short hours of reading, I learned more about my body and my abilities of being a woman than I had ever even come close to taking sex ed. Not only was I facinated by learning more about my body, but I was reminded of the complexity of a God who created me.
The book is worth reading, whether you are trying to conceive, wanting a fool proof birth control, just entering puberty, beginning menopause, or are simply a woman.
Once this book landed on my doorstep I couldn't put it down. My whole perspective of fertility and conception quickly changed. This book seemed to give me a fresh start, a realistic picture not only of conception and how difficult is truly can be, but an honest picture of what it means to be female. If you've haven't heard the Vagina Monologs, that's your first step, but Taking Charge of Your Fertility is the next. In a few short hours of reading, I learned more about my body and my abilities of being a woman than I had ever even come close to taking sex ed. Not only was I facinated by learning more about my body, but I was reminded of the complexity of a God who created me.
The book is worth reading, whether you are trying to conceive, wanting a fool proof birth control, just entering puberty, beginning menopause, or are simply a woman.
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