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 THE ESSENTIAL VITAMIN
Woman who consume high levels of folic acid during early pregnancy are not only less likely to have infants with neural tube defects like spina bifida. According to research from the University of Newcastle in England, they're less likely to have underweight babies too. Women who are pregnant or trying to conceive should take a daily multivitamin with at least 400 micrograms of folic acid and eat plenty of folic-rich foods, such as leafy green vegetables and beans.
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The Scoop On Poop
If you are expecting a baby, you probably are collecting information, reading as many informative articles on babies and their upbringing as possible. What you probably won't find is some real, honest to goodness information on what to expect about the end of your baby that makes the most mess. Oh, yes, you'll find out what to do if baby hasn't gone, how many diaper changes you should expect and so on.
What these so called informative resources fail to tell you is that you will become obsessed with poo. Oh, yes. Totally and completely obsessed with your baby's bottom and what comes out of it. Is it the right color? Is it enough? Am I changing enough diapers? All of those questions and more will go through your mind each and every day that you are changing poo-filled diapers.
I have changed literally thousands of diapers in my time as a mom. Four children who have all given me the experience to tell you exactly what's going on down there. When I had my first baby, I didn't think about poop until I was at my daughter's first Dr.'s appointment and this unfamiliar sound reverberated through the room.
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Lesson number One: Breastfed babies have loud noises from the diaper area. If you haven't cared for a baby fed on breast milk, be prepared. You may think a dog has taken up residence in the diaper area. This isn't the case, it's just Junior making you a present.
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Lesson Number Two: Newborn poo is blackish green. And sticky. It also stains. Keep this stuff away from anything you want to wear again.
Lesson Number Three: Breastfed babies poop a yellow-gold curdy stuff. It smells like cheese and will make you not want to have cheese on anything. Bottle fed babies have a tan or light brown poo that smells, well, gross.
Fun Fact: Breastfed babies who are fed any thing blue will have an electric green BM. This happened to me by accident once and was totally mortifying until I realized my daughter was given blue jello. The poo was varying shades of crayola green for about two days.
Breast fed babies are rarely constipated, but bottle fed babies can become constipated. I gave my baby a little prune juice and it cleared up quickly. If your baby doesn't have a movement for a full day, consult your doctor for the best method for results.  |
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Getting Ready For Your New Bundle of Joy 0-9 Months
Having a baby, and preparing for having your baby, can be a fun, exciting, and scary experience. Luckily, there are so many tasks for you to do within those nine months; you can keep a handle on the scary part. Make sure that no matter what your situation, single, married, in a life partnership, have a close friend with you throughout the experience.
You need a confidante, and somebody that you can depend on during those months and the birth itself; this can be your husband, wife, life-partner, parent, sibling, or best friend. It is just very important to have somebody beside you, so that you are not in this alone. Keep an open line of communication between you and your partner in order to stay open and honest with whatever you need.
You also want to make sure to have a gynecologist that you will have throughout the birth period. Going to the doctor is very important in keeping you and the baby healthy. You always want to know sooner, rather than later, if there is something you need to be doing. Most births run smoothly, and you do not have to be worried, only watchful.
To help you get ready for what to expect during the actual labor, you and your partner should enroll in a childbirth class. These teach you breathing exercises that calm you, birthing techniques, breastfeeding, and the stages of labor. Furthermore, you will surround yourselves with other couples in the same situation as you. If you stay in the same class throughout your term, you can find a rigorous support system in your antenatal class. You are not the only woman having a baby; you are not alone.
Questions To Ask
Yourself......
Make a birth plan for your partner and yourself. It is a great tool to keep your brain calm when the actual moment arrives. Questions like “What Doctor do I want,” “What Hospital is closer,” “Do I want an epidural,” and “What delivery position” are a few sample questions you would like to have answered way before the nine month mark.
It is not all tedious scary planning, though, you also get the very fun task of buying toys, clothes, and nursery furniture for your baby. You can buy based on the sex of your baby, if you choose to know it, or you can just buy based on your own taste. This is a fun way for you to fantasize over this bundle of joy that will soon be joining you. It is a good way to keep your mind from wandering to any annoying worries. Picking out baby names is also a fun necessary task.
Above all, make sure that your brain and body stay active, for both your sake and the baby’s. Read, exercise, eat healthy, and stay calm and relaxed. This is a new chapter of your life; you do not want to be anxious and scared, you should approach it with an air of excitement, happiness, and courage. Keep remembering that you are bringing something precious into the world, and all you need to do is love it.
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Prenatal Yoga 
Practicing Yoga while you are pregnant is a good way to calm yourself while exercising your body at the same time. During pregnancy, hormones run wild, and many women can feel the enormity of the life change that is occurring. Emotions fluctuate like crazy and worries abound. There is nothing worse for a woman than working off raw emotions, bizarre mood swings, anxiety over her body, mind, career, future, and even her baby’s future. It is no wonder that depression can seize onto a pregnant woman if she is not careful.
Yoga is meant not only to exercise a person’s body, but it also provides a range of meditative routines that keeps a woman balanced and clear headed. The continuous movement of muscles helps to keep your circulation up, which helps keep swelling down. It also helps to strengthen your muscles so your limbs do not get so tired and sleepy. Just what the doctor ordered.
No, you do not have to do crazy positions that require amazing balance and stamina, even when you do not have a whole different person growing inside of you. Some simple stretches and posture positions are all it takes to lift the stress and aches off your sore, tired body, and lets your mind relax and think about something besides sore muscles.
The cat stretch involves simply getting on your hands and knees and letting your hips rock back and forth, which lets your spine curve up and down. Sound simple? It is in deed, but it is an amazing stretch, which helps to release some of the pent up tightness that comes from walking for two.
 The bridge pose is a little harder, especially when you are further along in your term. You lie on your back with your arms to your sides and your knees bent. By pressing down with you forearms to the mat, you can push up from your heels and lift you bottom and hips off the floor. You can lace your fingers together in order to stretch your shoulders and chest muscles. Make sure that you lower yourself gently back onto the mat, rather than dropping. Try little increments at a time until you can find a comfortable stretched position.
It also helps you to develop some good exercise routines to continue after your baby comes. Yoga and proper posture helps you to get more out of your sleeping pattern, so the times when you have to take care of the baby during the night will not leave you so exhausted. Also, keeping your body in good shape helps keep your morale up and your mind chipper and active.
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FORMULAS
In a review of studies done by researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, they found that babies who consume extensively hydrolyzed casein or partially hydrolyzed whey formulas have lower rates of food allergies up to age 5 than those fed cow's-milk formulas. If your infant already has developed a food allergy, be sure to use extensively hydrolyzed casein, which is designed for allergy prevention and treatment; partially hydrolyzed formulas have only a preventive effect and could produce a reaction.
Breastfeeding?
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