Which one of the following is very common during pregnancy?

a.) an itchy belly b.) swollen arms c.) a faster heartbeat

Pregnancy hormones are also to blame. They can cause dry, flaky skin, which in turn causes itchiness. Although the belly is the most commonly affected area, the skin on your hips and thighs might also itch. To prevent it, apply a thick moisturizing cream a few times a day and always after taking a shower. The itchiness usually goes away on its own after a few days.

Which of the following is the most common early sign of pregnancy?

a.) frequent trips to the bathroom b.) early morning nausea c.) weight gain

If your answer was a.), you are correct. Before you even notice a missed period or start experiencing nausea, you might find yourself running to the bathroom more often than ever. Later in the pregnancy, the need to urinate frequently mostly comes from the baby pressing on the bladder. Early in the pregnancy, you might find yourself with the same problem, but for a different reason: the increase of the human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), or pregnancy hormone, in your body. The urge to urinate is especially intense in the first eight weeks of pregnancy.

Which of the following is not a good workout for pregnant women?

a.) swimming b.) yoga c.) weight lifting

That was actually a trick question. They are all OK when done properly. Swimming is great because it makes you feel lighter, so it takes the pressure off your joints, especially late in your pregnancy. Yoga helps you stretch and learn to breathe properly, which could make delivery easier. Pregnant women can lift weights, but it’s best to stick with light weights. If you are used to lifting weights, switch to lighter dumbbells and do a higher number of repetitions. For example, rather than 10 repetitions with an 8-lb. dumbbell, do 12 repetitions with a 5-lb. dumbbell. You’ll still get results without straining your muscles.

Which of the following is not safe to do during pregnancy?

a.) drink caffeinated sodas b.) donate blood c.) fly

It’s a myth that pregnant women cannot drink caffeine. As long as it’s done in moderation (no more than two cans a day), soda, both regular and diet, is perfectly acceptable. Healthy pregnant women can also fly safely. Note the emphasis on healthy. If you have blood pressure or circulation problems, or are suffering from intense nausea during pregnancy, talk to your doctor before getting on a plane. So, that leaves donating blood, which you can’t do if you’re pregnant, according to the Red Cross. This is because donating blood can leave you slightly anemic, and this can affect the health of the baby.

Online pregnancy quizzes can help you separate fact from myth. But if you have questions about serious issues, don’t rely on Internet quizzes as your primary source of information, talk to your doctor instead.

Pregnant Quizzes: Separating Myth from Truth is a post from: Land Of Babies

Advantages of Breast-milk

Several prominent organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Medical Association (AMA), and the American Dietetic Association (ADA) all recommend breastfeeding because it is a baby’s best protection against allergies, infections, and a variety of chronic illnesses. Breast-milk contains the perfect balance of nutrients and is easily digested and absorbed. It is considered the “perfect food” for babies. The content of breastmilk varies depending on the mother’s milk production stage.

The AAP recommends breastfeeding exclusively for at least the first 6 months and encourages mothers to breastfeed until the baby is at least one year old. They also recommend continuing if the mother and baby have a mutual desire to do so. Regardless, a newborn baby has special needs and breast milk is one of them.

Some advantages of breastfeeding include the fact that it’s easier to get back into shape after your child is born if you breastfeed. Furthermore, breastfeeding is cheaper than buying formula and doesn’t require you to carry bottles around or wake up in the middle of the night to prepare formula. Nursing also helps to form an intimate bond between you and your baby.

Advantages of Bottle Feeding

While it might seem like there’s a clear winner in the bottle feeding vs. breastmilk debate, the truth is that bottle feeding also has many advantages. Bottle feeding is a good alternative for moms who can’t or won’t breastfeed for whatever reason. Some mothers have breastfeeding problems. The benefits of bottle feeding include the fact that both parents can participate in the feeding process and the fact that you and your baby will have an easier time adjusting if you decide to go back to work. Bottle feeding also gives moms more freedom in terms of their diet, schedule, and overall lifestyle.

Ultimately, there’s no better way to feed your child because it’s a personal decision. It’s your right to choose the method that works best for you and your family.

Bottle Feeding vs. Breastmilk: Which Is Better? is a post from: Land Of Babies

Think Practical

When buying baby gifts for boys, you might be tempted to purchase cute toys and decorative items, but it’s best to buy something that the baby and parents will actually need. For example, diapers may not be the most glamorous gift, but the parents will certainly appreciate the gift! Avoid buying newborn size diapers, however, because babies tend to grow out of them quickly. If the baby’s parents have a gift registry, use that to buy them a gift they actually requested.

Buy Clothing in Larger Sizes

When you’re buying baby gifts for boys, you may consider buying clothing. His parents will really appreciate it if you buy clothing in larger sizes that he’ll be able to wear once he outgrows the smaller stuff.

Consider Getting a Gift Certificate

One of the risks of buying baby gifts for boys without knowing exactly what the parents want or need is that you may end up getting them something they won’t ever use. If you don’t want your gift to go to waste, buy a gift certificate instead.

Choose Baby Gifts for the Brain

Choose a CD with music or an educational book or DVD instead of traditional gifts like clothes and toys. The parents will appreciate gifts that encourage their baby’s brain development and the baby will be thoroughly entertained!

A No-Fail Guide to Buying Baby Gifts for Boys is a post from: Land Of Babies

If your child is now halfway to being a one year old, you’re probably asking yourself, “What should my 6 month old be doing?” Here are some milestones that your child may reach at this point in his life. Don’t worry if your child isn’t quite there yet because every child is unique and develops at a different pace.

Skills 6 Month Olds Typically Master

At 6 months of age, your baby may learn to roll over from back to front and have a lot of fun doing it. Avoid leaving your baby unattended on a bed or changing table because he could roll over and fall off. You may also discover that your baby rolls over onto his tummy in the middle of the night. Some babies don’t like sleeping on their tummy and may cause a crying baby. If this happens, turn your baby onto his back.

At 6 months of age, your baby will turn towards sounds and voices. He may also imitate sounds and start to babble in an attempt to talk. You may hear your baby say, “mama” or “dada” every now and again. You’ll probably notice your child repeating the same sounds, such as “da” or “ba” over and over again.

Sleeping Patterns

Most 6 month olds take two naps per day that last about 1.5-2 hours each. Babies at this age are typically able to sleep for 10-11 hours at night. If your child is not sleeping for this long, make sure that you’ve implemented an appropriate bed time routine.

How to Know If Your Baby Is Ready for Solids

When wondering, “What should my 6 month old be doing,” you’re undoubtedly curious to know whether your baby is ready for solid foods since most babies are ready to eat solids between 4 and 6 months of age. Some signs that your child is ready include sitting well with support, holding his head up, being double his birth weight, and taking food off a spoon with his upper lip. If you’re a new mom or just wondering if you’re pregnant it’s still a good idea to do your research on what your baby should be doing even before you’ve given birth.

What Should My 6 Month Old Be Doing? is a post from: Land Of Babies

“Am I pregnant?” This is an extremely common question among adult women. If anything seems slightly off with your body or mood and you haven’t been using birth control religiously, you may be wondering if you’re expecting. If you’d like to verify whether your suspicions are correct, check out these 10 signs that you might be expecting.

1.    Spotting and cramping

One of the earliest pregnancy symptoms is implantation bleeding, which happens around 6-12 days after conception. Implantation bleeding is characterized by spotting and cramping and happens when the embryo plants itself into the uterine wall.

2.    Fatigue

You may feel fatigued and tired as early as the first week after conception.

3.    Backache

Lower backaches are a common sign of early pregnancy.

4.    Headache

You may have headaches early in pregnancy because of hormonal changes.

5.    Mood swings

Mood swings are another common symptom in early pregnancy.

6.    Dizziness and fainting

Some women don’t find out they’re pregnant until they have a fainting spell and then go to the doctor to see what’s wrong. Fainting and dizziness during pregnancy may be related to lower blood sugar, lower blood pressure, and dilated blood vessels.

7.    Food cravings and aversions

While not all women will crave gravel or pickles and ice cream throughout their pregnancy, many do experience specific food cravings and aversions. For example, you may crave chocolate but feel disgusted by tomatoes. These cravings and aversions could last till the end of your pregnancy.

8.    Constipation

Because of increased progesterone levels, which cause food to move more slowly through your intestines, you may experience constipation during pregnancy.

9.    Breast changes

Are your breasts or nipples feeling swollen, tender, or sore? Breast changes are often one of the first symptoms women experience when they are pregnant. Breast changes occur because the breasts are preparing for breastfeeding and hormonal changes are taking place.

10.    Delayed or missed period

A delayed or missed period is the most common reason why women ask themselves, “Am I pregnant?” But a delayed or missed period still isn’t a surefire sign that you’re pregnant. Other causes of a delayed or missed period include stress, illness, changes in schedule, and changes in medication.

Am I Pregnant? 10 Signs That You Might Be Expecting is a post from: Land Of Babies

Period or pregnant? It’s one of the most common questions women ask when they feel the symptoms of an oncoming period but their period hasn’t arrived yet. If your period is a few days late but you’re starting to cramp, you’re moody, and you’re craving strange foods, you may start to wonder if you’re preggers. For women who are trying to conceive, this is probably an exciting time, but for women who are using birth control, it can be a worrisome experience.

The signs and symptoms of early pregnancy are usually easy to spot but since they tend to be similar to the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, telling the difference between period or pregnant can sometimes be difficult. This is especially true for women who experience implantation bleeding.

Implantation bleeding is one of the earliest pregnancy symptoms and it happens when the embryo plants itself on the uterine wall 6-12 days following conception. As a result, some women experience spotting and cramping. Many women who are actually pregnant mistakenly believe that they are having their period when they experience implantation bleeding. Below are some other symptoms that periods and pregnancy have in common:

Swollen, tender breasts

Fatigue/tiredness

Nausea

Food cravings

Mood swings

Constipation

Libido changes

Bloating

Headache

Considering how many symptoms pregnancy and menstruation share, it’s not surprising that many women have trouble distinguishing whether it’s “period or pregnant” they’re dealing with. If you’re not sure whether you’re about to get your period or you’re pregnant, wait till the first day of your missed period before taking a pregnancy test. If you get a negative result, wait a week before you taking the test again.

Home pregnancy tests are about 97% accurate. If you see your doctor, you can take a blood test earlier than a home pregnancy test and find out for sure whether you’re pregnant. The downside is that it will take longer for you to get the results.

Period or Pregnant? is a post from: Land Of Babies

Some women crave soil or pickles and ice cream while pregnant, but no matter what you’re itching to eat when you’re knocked up, it’s essential to prioritize a healthy diet. Learning how to eat healthy while pregnant is extremely important because the growth and development of your baby depends on it.

In order to have a healthy pregnancy, you should consume about 300 extra calories per day. Those extra calories should be made up of an additional 10 grams of protein per day and 50 percent more of important vitamins and minerals. Most women gain about 22 to 28 pounds during pregnancy. It’s okay to gain between 30 and 35 pounds when you’re pregnant if you were underweight prior to the pregnancy.

Eat a Variety of Foods

Be sure to eat a diverse selection of foods so that you get all of the nutrients your body needs. The types of foods you ought to eat include whole grains, fruits and vegetables, dairy products, and nuts and legumes. Eat fats and sweets sparingly.

Foods to Avoid

Part of knowing how to eat healthy while pregnant is having an idea of what foods to avoid. Alcohol intake should be avoided during pregnancy because alcohol is associated with premature delivery, birth defects, and other pregnancy problems. Furthermore, pregnant women should not consume more than 300mg of caffeine per day. Shark, swordfish, tilefish, and king mackerel should also be avoided because of their high mercury content.

Try These Super Foods

If you know how to eat healthy while pregnant but aren’t sure where to start, try experimenting with these super foods:

Avocadoes. Rich in folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin B6, and potassium

Carrots. Contain plenty of vitamin A, vitamin B6, and vitamin C

Lentils. Rich in folic acid, protein, iron, and vitamin B6

Oatmeal. Full of iron, B vitamins, and fiber

Spinach. Contains folic acid, vitamin A, calcium, and iron

These are just a few examples of the many healthy foods you can eat during pregnancy. There are tons of other super foods to choose from. Remember: the more natural the food is, the better it will be for you and your baby!

How to Eat Healthy While Pregnant is a post from: Land Of Babies

Every parent sometimes worries if they have a reliable babysitter. We’ve all heard the horror stories and many parents sometimes wonder if a night out on the town with their spouse is worth all the worry. While most baby sitters will be good at what they do, there will be the few rotten apples that we parents need to watch out for.

The following are seven tell-tale signs that you might be having babysitter trouble:

Your baby is unhappy to see the sitter and changes behavior in their presence. A baby will eventually over time build a bond with a babysitter. It could be that the baby sitter is just not a warm person or like anyone maybe the baby and the sitter haven’t bonded. If the chemistry isn’t right you might want to look for another sitter. If you suspect that an element of abuse may exist, you do need to contact the police right away. If your baby’s behavior changes you should look into it.

Your babysitter is not transparent about their time with the baby. The time your baby and the sitter spend together should be documented. You have the right to hear and understand how the day went and what activities they engaged in. If your sitter isn’t upfront about it, either they’re not good at communicating or they are trying to hide something. Make sure you communicate up front with your sitter that you expect full communication each day.

Your child has been in avoidable accidents. If your child has fallen down or bumped into something just a few too many times perhaps the sitter isn’t watching the child as often as they should. Sometimes a babysitter will nap or temporarily leave the child unattended. Keep your eyes peeled for this type of behavior.

The sitter doesn’t listen. If your requests are going unanswered or falling through the cracks you may have to have a serious heart to heart talk with your sitter.

The sitter is tardy. Being tardy and absent is a tell-tale sign that your sitter is unreliable. Your sitter should honor their commitment with you and show up on time.

Your baby often appears dirty. If your sitter is unable to clean your baby than perhaps they may not be up for the bigger tasks like feeding or changing. Again make sure you don’t see any changes in infant behavior from your little one.

Their words don’t match the facts. You have to be able to trust your sitter so if they are not being up front and honest with you than you need to move on and find a reputable babysitter..

Signs That You Have a Bad Babysitter is a post from: Land Of Babies

Transitioning my son from crib to bed was a challenge, but it became a necessity when he was about 23 months old because he started climbing out of his crib and I was worried about his safety. Plus, I was pregnant with my second child and wanted to use his crib for the new baby. I started making the transition about six weeks before the birth of my daughter to give my son time to adjust. The first few days were definitely tough on all of us, but we learned a lot along the way. The following are some tactics we found to be very effective.

Make an Event out of Buying the Big Kid Bed

To get my son excited about the transition from crib to bed, we started talking about to him about getting a big boy bed several weeks before we actually made the transition to get him used to the idea. Finally, we took a special trip to the furniture store and let him pick out his big boy bed by himself. My son was elated! He got to pick a bed shaped like a car and some cool sheets to go along with it. My son also helped my husband set up the bed, which made him feel like he was in control of the situation.

Take It Slow

Don’t force your child to sleep in his new bed on the first night. Take it slow and help him realize that his big boy bed is a safe, comfortable place to be. Try getting him to nap there, if possible. If he resists the idea of sleeping there, try again in another week or so. Don’t force it!

When talking about the big boy bed to our son, we emphasized that he was going to have a nice bed all to himself rather than focusing on what he was losing: the crib. Our upbeat attitude made it easier for our son to transition from crib to bed.

Another effective way to get your child used to sleeping in a bed is by staying with him till he falls asleep. You can read him a bedtime story or sleep next to him in his bed till he falls asleep. Once he gets used to falling asleep in the bed while you’re there, gradually start sleeping farther and farther away from his bed each night in a futon or mattress on the floor.

Also, while your toddler is still awake, start stepping out of the room for a few seconds at a time. Make excuses, such as, “I need to go to the bathroom” or “I am going to get some water,” before you leave the room. Gradually, extend the periods of time that you step out of the room. Eventually, you’ll be spending more time out of his room than in his room.

Wait Till He’s Ready

Like potty training, transitioning from crib to bed only works when your child is truly ready to make the change. If you find that your toddler is upset about the new set up, don’t hesitate to bring the crib back and try again later. Toddlers must have a certain level of cognitive development to transition from crib to bed. If you find that your toddler takes a very long time to fall asleep at night or gets out of his bed often at night, he may not be ready yet. When you bring the crib back, however, don’t think of it as taking a step backwards. Every child is different and some take longer than others to reach this important milestone!

Is Your Child Still Not Ready to Make the Transition?

If you’re child isn’t ready to transition from crib to bed quite yet, just make sure that his crib is large and stable enough to support him as he grows. To prevent accidents, buy your child a safe and well made crib. Even if your child doesn’t use the crib for very long, it could come in handy because you can set it aside for a future child’s use.

How to Transition Your Toddler from Crib to Bed is a post from: Land Of Babies

Photo courtesy of Karen Sheets via Flickr

Has your baby just reached 4 months of age? If you’re wondering, “What should my 4 month old be doing?” check out the following information, which outlines how your baby should be developing. Remember: each baby develops at his own pace. If you have any questions at all about your baby’s development, don’t hesitate to consult your health care provider.

Language

According to researchers, 4 month olds are capable of understanding the basic sounds that make up their native language. Your 4 month old may also experiment a lot with making sounds and be able to make sounds like “ma ma” and “da da.” To encourage your baby to communicate and teach him the importance of language, mirror his sounds and facial expressions.

Your 4 month old will also smile more often and do things to get your attention, such as fake a cough. Be sure to respond to all of your baby’s attempts to socialize with you to help him develop his communication skills. Your baby will also learn how to let you know when he’s not in the mood to chat by covering his face with his arm or turning his head away.

Nutrition

At 4 months of age, the only food your infant needs is breast milk or iron fortified infant formula. Your baby should be drinking about 5 to 6 ounces of milk 4 to 6 times per day. When your baby reaches about 6 months of age, you can start feeding him solid baby food. Many parents are eager to feed their babies solids at 4 months, but doing so could cause allergic reactions.

Sleep

Your baby may start sleeping on a schedule by 4 months of age. Most 4 month olds are able to sleep through the night for about a nine hour stretch. In addition, 4 month olds usually take naps in the morning and afternoon that last about 1.5 to 2 hours each. Just keep in mind that your baby may make noises in her sleep or wake up in the middle of the night at this age. If you hear your baby fussing in the middle of the night, let him put himself back to sleep. If he can’t fall asleep on his own, speak to him softly or pat him gently on the back till he falls back asleep.

Growth and Development

Here are some milestones that babies typically meet at 4 months of age:

• Roll over from front to back

• Sit with support

• Hold up his head and chest

• Support himself on his elbows while he’s lying on his stomach

• Grasp a rattle

• Raise himself up on straightened arms while lying on his stomach

• Squeal

• Smile spontaneously

• Laugh out loud

All babies are unique and meet their milestones at different times, so don’t panic if your 4 month old hasn’t met these milestones yet! These milestones simply describe what your child has the potential to accomplish at this age. In addition, keep in mind that if your child was born prematurely, he will take more time to meet his milestones than other children his age.

Common Problems That 4 Month Olds Have

Some problems that 4 month old babies commonly deal with include:

Photo courtesy of Neeta Lind via Flickr

• Eczema

• Diaper rash

• Infant reflux

• Colic

If you notice any of these problems, contact your health care provider. To ease your baby’s symptoms and make him feel more comfortable, invest in these trusted products, such as this this Diaper Creamor this nurturing diaper balmfor treating eczema, or these Doctor Brown Baby bottlesthat prevent colic and infant reflux.

What Should My 4 Month Old Be Doing? is a post from: Land Of Babies