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Written by Natalie Klejwa, Contributing Writer
The following question came in my e-mail box a couple of months ago:
I am a mother of a one-year-old girl, and I am due with our second in June 2012. :)
After I had my daughter, I was told to rest when I came home from the birthing center. Instead, I was going up and down our stairs, trying to upload pictures of our newborn to email to the grandparents. I was more worried about pleasing other people than getting rest.
What is your wisdom about how to recover during the postpartum weeks? What do you use (certain herbs, pads, etc.) to help recover from the pain of birth? How do you rest with other children who need you?
It brought back a lot of memories (9 postpartum recoveries here so far), so I thought I'd address it since it's something many of us will still face at some point in the future.
I'm going to come at this from a Type A personality angle...since that is my perspective and experience. If you are not a Type A, you'll likely wonder what the fuss is all about. Read no further. (Unless, of course, you want to snicker at our expense.)
Being Type A has its pros and cons. We tend to get a lot done. We also tend to get burnt out and turn into emotional basket cases periodically. The good news for our husbands is: we eventually bounce back and turn into our Type A selves again.
When a Type A has a baby, she tends to get off the delivery bed and serve dinner to her family that night. Why? Is she insane? Partly. But also, she has a desire to meet the needs of everyone around her. And since they are all used to that...they tend to let her do it.
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Guest Post by Christina Szrama
Getting to the birth of your child took a dozen medical decisions at least, some small, some large. Well, your baby’s been born, you’re recovering, and the decisions just won’t let up. Welcome to parenthood! :)
Let’s walk through each of the 10 decisions you will probably be asked to make before leaving the hospital, birthing center, or at your child’s first pediatric visit (if you delivered at home). I’ll present each issue, ask the questions “Why would you want this?†“Why might you decline this?†and then offer several options.
1. Cord Clamping
At some point between your child’s dramatic exit into the world and his first bath, you’re going to have to physically sever the link that kept him alive in your womb for so long: the umbilical cord. Many doctors or midwives don’t think twice about clamping and cutting it within the 2 minutes of birth, often sooner for a baby struggling to breathe. There is also the new pressure to collect your child’s “cord blood†stem cells, either for your family’s use or for donation to others.
Why might you want to cut the cord early?Â
Stem cells in umbilical cord blood carry the potential to treat several forms of cancer, blood, immune & metabolic disorders. To obtain enough blood to harvest these stem cells, the cord must be cut & clamped very soon after birth. If a family member has these diseases (and your child doesn’t) this is an option you may want to explore. This is from the AAP's 2007 statement on the topic: [click to continue…]
So here I sit, waiting for my sweet baby to arrive (yes, I'm overdue once again). I hoped to have baby news to share by now, but instead, I have a little surprise for the rest of you...
As contributing writer Courtney and I commiserated together these past few days about waiting for babies to arrive (she's also pregnant with her 6th, due in April!), she came up with a fantastic idea. Why not have a little fun while I wait and bless someone with a "baby shower" giveaway?Â
Courtney has pulled everything together and is graciously hosting it on her blog, just in case I end up in labor in the meantime. :)
This prize package is valued at $172 and it's amazing! It includes:
So, do you want to win it yet? Or if not for yourself, maybe to bless a new mom that you know?
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Written by Courtney, Contributing Writer
The birth of a new baby brings an abundance of joy and excitement...and lots of rest, for both mom and baby. Frequent nursing keeps a new mother from extending herself too much, forcing her to sit down and relax often. In those first weeks, it's important for a new mother to keep her focus on recovering from birth and nurturing her new baby, but eventually a more normal schedule will resume and the demands of the household will return.
I'm anticipating the arrival of my sixth baby in April, and nesting is in full swing! One of the things I'm planning for is the frequent nursing that allows me to sit back and fully soak in the abundance of the blessings before me. Sometimes it feels like I'm glued to the couch for the majority of the day in those first few weeks, though!
I always get a lot of reading and writing done in those newborn days. Homeschooling thrives as well, as we get a lot of reading aloud in as we sit together in the living room. Since I am nursing so much throughout the day, I'm usually always available to go over lessons or help with explanations.
The "nursing basket" has revolutionized my life in those early days with a new baby. It has really simplified my days and relieved a lot of stress. Just knowing I have essentials close at hand helps me to manage my home even though I can't always get up and do things.
The nursing basket is basically a basket (tote, bin, bag, or crate) that holds mama and baby essentials. It keeps everything in one place and can be moved easily from one spot to another. I find that I tend to favor one spot for feedings, but it's nice to be able to move everything from one spot to another when needed.
It can be completely customizable to meet any mom's needs, from the container you use to the things you put in it. My basket changes as my needs or baby's needs change over the course of the nursing years, taking away or adding to what I start out with in the newborn days. [click to continue…]
Written by Rachel, Contributing Writer
Everyone loves brownies or at least everyone that I know. There is something about that rich, chocolate-y, fudge-y taste. Most brownies are about 400+ calories per serving, loaded with unhealthy fats and are carb rich most of the time.
For a while, I have been wanting to try black bean brownies but I was skeptical that they would actually taste good. After looking through several recipes, I decided to make my own batch. While making them and smelling the aroma while they baked in the oven, the house smelled delicious! However, I was still a scared-y cat to try them once they were finished... needed to see someone else eat them first.
My kids tried them and loved them! My hubby tried one and he said "aren't you going to try one?" I did after hesitating for a couple seconds and they truly are good, not GREAT like the bad brownies we're used to but they would definitely satisfy a chocolate craving. After my husband and I ate ours, we discussed ways to make them have a more traditional feel/taste toward them and decided that adding a gluten free flour and chopped up walnuts into the batter would make them even more tasty!
If you're like me, you just have to get over the weirdness of it!
February 2, 2012
From my 4th month of pregnancy onwards, most early mornings would find me sneaking downstairs in the dark, donning sweatpants, a t-shirt and hoodie. After drinking half a glass of water, then filling my large glass back up to the top, I entered my private exercise studio, otherwise known as my husband's freezing cold, converted-garage [...]
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Christina on 1O Decisions for Parents of Newborns