Mothering Corner

Guest Post

If you and your partner have been trying for months for a new child, knowing for certain if you’re pregnant isn’t all that easy. However, there are a few tell-tale signs of pregnancy which might be worth looking for just to make sure. It’s always useful to know what you should be aware of at any time, because before you know it, you could find out that you’ve been pregnant for some time. There are five main signs that you may be pregnant worth looking for:

• One sign is your breasts becoming tender and swollen. This is one of the easiest signs to spot, and it they appear a little larger than normal, then the chances are that you could be having a new baby. The best way in which to alleviate this main is to ensure you have the right support in your bra. Make sure to visit a bra-fitting service and you could also wear a pregnancy sleep bra in the early stages.
• Any cramping or bleeding might be another sign. This comes about when the embryo settles into your uterus, and as it grows, the cramps could become more pronounced. One way in which to relieve cramping during pregnancy would be to avoid changing your position too quickly and to try bending backwards slightly which may help to relieve the pain.
• For many pregnant women, one sign of pregnancy which can be tough to cope with is nausea. With feeling nauseous, sickness usually follows, and it can come very early on during pregnancy. Some proven techniques for relieving nausea are to ensure you eat small meals and snacks often to prevent your stomach from becoming empty; crackers can be a great snack to relieve nausea and making sure that you don’t become too tired so taking regular breaks and naps in necessary.
• Another thing to look out for is tiredness. Pregnancy can be exhausting, but if you’re feeling more tired than usual, then it’s best to take a pregnancy test to make sure.
• Finally, if you need to urinate more than usual, again, you could be pregnant. This can be annoying, but if you are pregnant, then it will be worth it once your child is born.

By looking out for all these five signs, knowing early on that you’re carrying a child will make coping with pregnancy a little easier. It’s better to do it this way than realise that you’re several months into pregnancy.

I seldom have constipation unless I’m traveling around and too busy for the toilet biz early in the morning. I can’t do it in a rush and by the time I’m idle at night, I don’t feel the motion anymore. So, I’m taking some colon cleanse pills now, but they are not suitable for pregnant and nursing mothers. If you have constipation during pregnancy, you can try a few tips such as:

1. Drink more water as water can soften the stool.
2. Try eating prunes as snacks, I find that it helps a lot.
3. Take more vegetables and fruits in your diet. Go for whole wheat bread which offers more fiber than the normal white bread.
4. If you can, do some simple exercise and keep yourself active. I couldn’t do so for second pregnancy, so I found that my bowel movement slowed down too. Thus, I took some multi fiber supplements after discussing with my ob-gynae.
5. Try to make it a habit of going to the toilet at the same time of the day if possible. It’s getting hard once you have to take care of a newborn baby, so you might need to adjust your time.
6. If you are taking iron supplement, you might have constipation too, so talk to your doctor about this if you encounter such problem.
7. I haven’t had hemorrhoids but if you have any, consult your doctor about this.

Lastly, I feel that stress creates constipation too. I can’t do it when I’m tensed with kids and daily chores. So, try to relax yourself if you can. I know it’s hard to do so for some mothers, but we have to try.

My boy took out the old album yesterday and we looked at the photos of me being 8 months pregnant with him. I looked fat, actually. LOL! Nonetheless, my skin glowed in radiant. On the other hand, my face was so sensitive when I pregnant with my gal and I had pimples occasionally. I couldn’t use my regular skincare products but to stop all of them and only cleansed my face with a mild facial foam. The lesser skincare products I put on my face, the less likely I had an outbreak.

I did talk to my beautician about my skin condition, and she told me that during pregnancy, the higher level of androgens activates the sebaceous glands in our skin to produce more sebum. Thus, if the extra sebum might combine with dead skin cells and block our pores. It’s a good breeding ground for bacteria and it might lead to acne and inflammation if you don’t cleanse your face well.

Frankly, you don’t need to spend money on any best acne treatment because it’s just a temporary skin condition. Just cleanse your face with a mild cleanser twice a day and if you have any oil free moisturizer that is suitable for your skin, you can use it. I couldn’t find any then so I didn’t put anything on my face during my second pregnancy. Besides that, don’t pop your pimples. I left all the work to my beautician.  If it’s too serious, talk to a dermatologist. Maybe you will be prescribed with an anti acne cream.

And just remember this, the ache is just going to bother you for 9 months. Enjoy your pregnancy.

My SIL has a healthy baby girl 2 months ago, and she’s quite successful in breastfeeding her. She didn’t stock up her milk so when she’s away from the office, her staffs will help to feed her baby with formula milk. I think she’s supplemented for one feed a day but other than that, she’s fully breastfed. It’s great to see that my SIL is coping well with her baby as well as her work. It’s her own office, so she can bring the baby along.

Besides that, her sensitive skin and diabetes during pregnancy were all gone. Her skin was so sensitive, she couldn’t put on any watches or jewelry for the past few months. I had the same condition too when I was pregnant and hubby teased me that he could save up his money from buying me a Panerai.

Besides itchy and irritating skin, some mothers have stretch marks on their tummy or Chloasma, the pigmentation changes on the face and neck. I didn’t have stretch marks for the first pregnancy but after I delivered my second baby, I had some stretch marks on my thigh when I was slimming down. I told hubby that it’s impossible to have another baby now because my skin is not as good as before and I’m not willing to take the risk of getting more marks. LOL! But anyway, most women get all these marks, and only a minority of some lucky women stay the same as they haven’t given birth at all. Aren’t you jealous?

I can still remember how I felt when I saw the two red lines on the pregnancy test kit. I was puzzled for a while, and later I got all excited about it. During the first few months, I was so anxious and worried about my first baby, I couldn’t relax myself.

If you are feeling the same right now on your pregnancy, just take things easy. It’s normal to feel like this when you are expecting your first baby. However, please do not take any anxiety relief unless you get the green light from your doctor. Most natural herbal supplements are not advisable to expectant mothers, so don’t just try them out without consulting your doctor.

I found that getting to know a few expectant mothers to share our feelings help a lot. So, maybe you can get to know other mothers who are expecting their babies too?

I consider myself very lucky to be blessed with 2 wonderful children. Some of my friends said that I can stop producing babies since I have a girl and a boy. For the time being, I don’t have plans for 3rd baby until my kids are much older. It’s not hard to get pregnant and go for labor, but the idea of handling 3 young children with 2 years of gap may not be what I am capable of.

Nonetheless, I might not be able to get pregnant easily when I’m in my late 30s. But with all these Treatments for infertility, I think there is still hope. Some couples try so hard but they can’t have babies. In these cases, the couples are advised to go for check up to rule out hyperplasia or ovarian cysts for the mothers or semen abnormalities for the fathers. If the couple is both healthy without any fertility problem, the mother can think about getting the drug treatments such as Clomiphene to help to release follicle-stimulating hormone that stimulate the ripening of a follicle and ovulation.

A ovulation calendar might be useful when it comes to monitoring the menstrual cycle. Nonetheless, if you have been trying for more than 6 months but to no avail, it’s time to talk to your doctor.

Most of us are very shy when it comes to talking about sex as Asians are generally more conservative. I remembered well what my ob-gynae told me during my second pregnancy when he politely asked me not to get intimate with my hubby. I almost laughed out loud as he didn’t mention the word sex, but used words like “Daddy, you have to hold yourself and don’t get intimate with your wife.” Don’t you think it’s easier if he just mentioned sex is not allowed?

I had placenta preavia during second pregnancy and after a series of spotting and bleeding, bed rest was needed to secure my baby. But for any healthy expectant mother, sex during pregnancy is allowed. Maybe we don’t even want to think about it during the first trimester of EARLY PREGNANCY when morning sickness and tiredness are so common, but it can be enjoyable once you are feeling good about the changes in your body. Nonetheless, if you have any of the following conditions, it’s best to avoid sex at certain stage of pregnancy.

When should sex be avoided in pregnancy?
If you have a tendency to miscarry, it may be wise to abstain from sex until you are passed 12 weeks.
If you have a history of pre-term labour, or are experiencing signs of early labour it may be suggested that you avoid sex in the last trimester.
If you have a low-lying placenta or placenta preavia, avoid sex in the last trimester.
If you experience any vaginal bleeding, stop having sex and see your doctor or midwife as soon as possible.

Talk to your doctor if you have any doubts. He is the best person to give you more information about how to maintain a healthy pregnancy.

This post is brought to you by http://www.gurgle.com/subjects/Early_Pregnancy/default.aspx.

One of my SILs was diagnosed with gestation diabetes and she had to control her sugar level 3 times a day. She tried her best to control her diet by reducing her sugar and carbohydrate intakes so that her sugar level was under control. I was with her during our visit and it’s the first time I saw a pregnant mother who ate so few. She couldn’t eat much and seeing her poking her fingers 3 times a day really pulled off my idea of getting pregnant again. I’m sorry, but I really felt like that at that time. Come to think of it, she really did a good job taking good care of herself and her baby’s health.

She gave birth 2 days ago to a healthy baby girl. She weighed 3.4kg, even though she’s being born 3 weeks earlier. It’s nice to know that there is another new baby in the family.

I found this link about Maternal Serum Alpha-Fetoprotein Screening (MSAFP) from Allisia’s blog. I heard of that but I never pay attention to it since I’m not in the high risk group of mothers yet. But it’s better be informed than never heard of it!

MSAFP is a screening test that is performed between the 14th and 22nd weeks of pregnancy by taking the blood test as well as considering the factors as age and ethnicity to rule out if the baby is affected by Trisomy 21( Down syndrome), Trisomy 18 (Edwards Syndrome) or another type of chromosome abnormality. It’s part of the triple screen test that accesses whether an invasive procedure like amniocentesis is needed.

I read about it when I was pregnant, but I didn’t know anyone who has perform the screening test. I would appreciate it if I can get some input about this test.

I knit a lot at the shop lately and there is a pregnant lady who does the same. She’s about to pop anytime from now, but it seems like her baby is not ready to come out. LOL! There might be a possibility of overdue as according to her gynae. If she’s not going for labor next Monday, she will be scheduled for cesarean.

It seems to be a norm here that if a baby is not being delivered at 40, the mother will be induced or opted for cesarean. Some mothers have sex to trigger the labor process. LOL! I knew a mother who admitted that she did this to stimulate the contraction so that her baby would be out soon. Of course, not all mothers can do this, ok? It’s depending on your health condition and how stable is your pregnancy.

On top of that, it’s advisable for the baby to be delivered some time before week 40 so that the aging of the placenta may not compromise a baby’s ability to thrive in the womb. Some overdue babies are likely to inhale meconium during childbirth, so doctors may suggest medical intervention like cesarean as well.

Hopefully, I won’t be seeing the mother these few days. Her tummy is really too big for her to sit and knit for long hours!