FitPregnancy
- Parenting
Labor Pain: How to Deal with Delivering Your Baby
Here's a step-by-step plan for dealing with pain, one stage of labor at a time.One very special reader I'll call Katherine, is expecting her first baby this fall. She's creative, energetic and super smart. She has an eye for detail, a keen sense of style and just the teensiest tendency towards anxiety. She knows a lot about childbirth, has taken classes, studied everything Fit Pregnancy has to offer including everything I've written in the last few years. Katherine is about as prepared for parenthood as any reader I've ever had. ...
- Parenting
Home is Where the Heart-Healthy Diet Starts
Only eating food at home is a great weight loss tip for new moms. Here are some suggestions. That was a vacation. We napped on the beach. We hung out with the family. We lounged in our PJs. We watched DVD's. We did a puzzle. We overate. And now, luckily for our waistlines, it's all over. Time to get real. I know. You've heard it before. But right now, we're a united front, and we're not monkeying around. On our first night home Aaron and I sat on the couch and admitted that we both feel fat and out of shape and we're both sick of it. This is a good thing. ...
- Parenting
Top 5 Tips for Breastfeeding Success
While there are many important steps in creating a successful breastfeeding experience, here are five valuable tips from our lactation expert. The first 48 hours after birth are essential to successful breastfeeding, so read up early!
- Healthy Living
9 Subtle Clues that You Might Be Pregnant
Before my first pregnancy, I enjoyed a glass of wine with dinner and an occasional big, juicy chili dog. But even in those very first days after I conceived, the wine tasted flat and the hot dog repulsed me. Fast-forward a few weeks. With a positive pregnancy test in hand, I realized that my body knew I was pregnant before my mind did. Here are some of the clues you may notice that tell you're pregnant - even before a test can.Clue 1} Breast tendernessYour breasts may be extra tender as early as a week or two after conception. ...
- Parenting
Is Breastfeeding the Original Feminism?
What does it mean to be a feminist? It means kicking the can down the road so other women can live their best lives. Whether you identify as a feminist or not, you've absolutely benefited from the work other feminists have done on your behalf. If you're a pregnant mother who will return to work after your baby is born, you have a radical feminist opportunity coming your way - breastfeeding.
- Healthy Living
Eating Tips for New Moms
Especially if you're breastfeeding, you'll need to eat healthy and stay hydrated to make it through the first few weeks of parenthood.
- Parenting
Get on the Sleep Train
Teaching your baby to fall asleep on his own can be challenging at first, but the payoff is big for both of you.
- Parenting
Why Pregnant Women Can Rule the World
Last year when I wrote about my secret gym buddy, readers from all over the world were inspired that a hugely pregnant woman continued exercising, even though her pace was slow and lumbering. This week, another super athlete who is pregnant-as-can-be is making headlines.
- Parenting
Get Schooled: How to Choose the Right Childbirth Education Class
You may be surprised to discover the variations in childbirth classes-some are months long while others last a day; some take place in a hospital and others are conducted in the educator's home. Regardless, topics generally include labor signs, pain-relief options, stages of labor and comfort measures. Here are a few options that may be available in your area:
- Parenting
Can You Have a Healthy Baby Without Prenatal Care?
What to do if you're pregnant with no insurance or healthcare resources.
- Parenting
Busy Isn't Always Best. Tales from a Working Mom
As a working mom, you've got a lot to do. Maybe it's time to take a break?
- Parenting
The "Good Enough" Pregnancy
Sure, you want to do everything right during your pregnancy, but going too far can turn you into an unhappy stress case. (It's not good for your baby, either.)
- Parenting
Etiquette Check: Unwanted Comments During Pregnancy
More often than not, you'll find that a protruding belly incites unsolicited comments and advice, unwanted touches (especially the infamous "belly pats") and the telling of pregnancy war stories by other mothers who've "been there." Here are some tips to help you make it through these 40 weeks with grace.
- Parenting
Pregnancy Wives Tales
Find out how much of the pregnancy advice you receive is backed by research, and how much is mere folk wisdom.
- Parenting
Tips for Getting Your Baby to Sleep
Teaching your baby to fall asleep on his own can be challenging at first, but the payoff is big for both of you.If getting your baby to sleep is a singing, rocking and jiggling process that's exhausting the whole family, you may want to consider sleep training. "The process involves teaching your baby a new way of going to sleep, usually from being rocked or fed to sleep to falling asleep in her crib," says Jodi Mindell, Ph.D., author of Sleep Deprived No More (Da Capo Press).Cry It Out Method
- Parenting
The First Kick: What Does it Feel Like?
Wondering what your baby's first noticeable movement in utero is going to feel like, and when you might expect it? Most women experience that first kick between 17 and 22 weeks, says maternal-fetal medicine specialist Alice Cootauco, M.D., of St. Joseph Medical Center in Baltimore. No fluttering yet? "Routine anatomic ultrasounds at 19 to 20 weeks gestation help us confirm viability of the pregnancy and determine the placenta's location," she says. "If it is positioned in such a way that it's cushioning the movement, the first kick will be harder to feel."
- Parenting
Little Swimmers: Tips for Trying to Conceive
Nearly half of all fertility troubles are linked to sperm problems. Here are tips for their proper care and feeding.