Preggie Pops!

Any of y’all struggling with MORNING SICKNESS OR NAUSEA?  I know it feels like it will never end and nothing that you do will make it better.  I promise you it will end and there are some things you can do to help give you some relief.  I talked about MORNING SICKNESS AND HYPEREMESIS in my blog a while back where I listed a few things you can do to help.  This was before I knew about PREGGIE POPS FROM THREE LOLLIES.  

THREE LOLLIES is a company that came up with natural products called PREGGIE POPS AND QUEASY POPS to give women struggling MORNING SICKNESS during PREGNANCY or anyone who may need nausea relief.  The products were made by healthcare professionals to allow people a natural approach to dealing with any nausea.  

During PREGNANCY most women are a bit scared to be taking medications, even if the sickness is so severe that it is so necessary.  There are some medications that are safe but even still, there is hesitation from many women when it comes to taking medication during pregnancy.  I went through this myself.  With HYPEREMESIS, which is far more severe than morning sickness, I had no choice but to take the medication.  I was terrified about taking the medication.  Even though my son is happy and healthy despite all of that, I wish I had known about the PREGGIE POPS.

I was very fortunate to recently be able to try PREGGIE POP DROPS PLUS and PREGGIE NATURALS (CHEWS).  PREGGIE POP DROPS PLUS come in 2 all natural flavors, sour raspberry and sour lemon.  They are $5.50 a box and come with 12 lozenges in a pack.  You can suck on them for at least 15 minutes!  PREGGIE NATURALS (CHEWS) come in a variety of flavors; peppermint, raspberry, ginger, and green apple.  They are $3.95 a box and come with 15 chews to a pack.  They are super easy to chew and don’t hurt your teeth as some chew products do.  They taste like a delicious candy!  Both products have wonderful flavors, are very yummy and truly ease the quease!

I would recommend these products to anyone who is experiencing nausea, not just pregnant women.  These pops would be great to use if you get motion sickness and are taking a long trip or going on a boat.  They would also be beneficial for a patient who is experiencing a tough treating that would cause nausea.  THREE LOLLIES also carries products to help people who are trying to cope with quitting smoking.  I have not tried this product, as I don’t smoke, but I am going to have my uncle give them a go!  

If you try these products, I promise you will not be disappointed.  The products are affordable and will make a difference!

 

**This was a product review for the company Three Lollies, all my statements are my own opinion and I was not compensated by Three Lollies is any way.**  

Sweet Dreams!

I found that for majority of my pregnancy I did not get much sleep.  Whether I was running to pee in the middle of the night or puke, or just uncomfortable I got maybe 3 hours of sleep a day.  When preparing for such a huge task your body should certainly be well rested.  I remember asking my doctor why I was unable to sleep, if there was an actual reason hormonally.  She told me that it was my bodies way of preparing me for what it would be like when the baby arrived...zero sleep.  Though partially true, also partially false.  You don’t know what your baby will be like once they are here.  For me, I was fortunate enough to have a good sleeper, he has slept great since the day we brought him home from the hospital.  Since the baby is sleeping 12 hours a night and 2 naps during the day, why would I need to be prepared for no sleep?

          I later learned through my studies that the hormonal changes in your body are the biggest reason for the lack of sleep.  The little dickens estrogen is the culprit, along with many other factors like the bulging human in your belly.  Any hormonal shift will cause insomnia.  Along with the hormonal changes, there are many physical changes taking place that are causing quite a bit of discomfort.  Some pregnant women experience leg cramps, difficulty breathing due to the baby’s positioning, frequent urination, constant vomiting, back pain, vivid dreaming (nightmares), anxiety about delivery, and a baby who decides it is time to play in the middle of the night.  These are all super normal with pregnancy but does make getting sleep a bit more difficult.  Not to mention, your partner is probably sleeping like a baby and snoring away, also keeping you awake.

          Some ways of coping with this insomnia are: 

• Exercise if possible.  If you and your doctor or midwife feel all is well and you are able to continue your daily routine, exercise is a great tool to help you sleep.  Exercise is great to relax you if you are dealing with any anxiety.
• Try not to nap a whole lot during the day.  I know how difficult this is because of the pregnancy fatigue but you will sleep much better if you avoid that mid day nap.
• Sleep where it is most comfortable for you.  Some women prefer the couch to their bed.  Whatever makes you most comfortable is key.
• Invest in a body pillow.  They are sold at at Wal-Mart, Target, most baby stores.  Shop around.  It will truly be a life saver.  It is so hard to get comfy at times and a body pillow will help relieve some aches and discomfort.
• Do your best to steer clear of caffeine.  I know for you coffee drinkers this one may be difficult, but do your best.
• Avoid drinking large amounts of liquid a few hours before bed.  Pregnancy is known for making you do laps to the bathroom so you want to do your best to limit what you have so you don’t need to go as much in the middle of the night.
• Find soothing sounds that you can play for you and your baby.  If nothing else is will help you relax and give your baby something nice to listen to for a bit.

          Hopefully some of these things will help you find some relief and understand why you aren’t sleeping.  Your baby will not be affected by your lack of sleep.  The baby sleeps independent of you.  It is totally normal but if you are feeling unsettles about it contact your doctor or midwife.

Stretch It Out Mommas!

Hey ladies! 

Today I want to talk about effective stretches for expecting moms to help prevent injury and ease any pain or discomfort you may be experiencing.  As with anything, you should consult your doctor before doing any exercise or stretch while pregnant.

Breathing deeply with each stretch is important part of making each stretch effective.  

On all fours straighten out your back and arms, making sure the hands are directly under your shoulders. Gently sit back onto the heels of your feet, extending the arms and putting your head to your chest.  Hold for 7 seconds and go back to beginning position.  Repeat this up to 10 times. Make sure when you sit back on the heels you leave space for that bump in between your legs! You should feel the stretch in your back, thighs and pelvis. 

Back to all fours being careful to keep the back in line with your head so there is no slump in your back you are going to curl the back up making a rainbow arch and tucking the head to chest. Hold this for 7 seconds and return to in line position. Repeat this up to 10 times.  You should feel the stretch in the lower back.  You’ll find this will ease backaches

you may be having.

For the next stretch there are 3 variations, standing, sitting, or laying.  It is your preference, whatever you find most comfortable for you and the baby.  Starting with the standing position press your back to a wall. You are going to press the small of your back to the wall tucking that bum under stretching the lower back. Hold for 7 seconds and return to starting position. Repeat this up to 10 times.

The next variation is sitting in a chair with the back in a straight line.  With sitting you want to make sure you are as comfortable as possible so you can sit on a pillow or towel if necessary.  Put your hands on you knees or upper thighs and curl your back as you press your stomach to your back. Hold for 7 seconds and return to start.  Repeat up 10 times. 

The final variation of this exercise is laying on your back with your knees bent and arms by your sides. Pushing down with your feet into the floor, squeeze and lift the bum up off the ground forming a 45 degree angle at the knee. Be sure your pressure lies on the feet and not on your neck. Hold for 3-5 seconds, return down and repeat up to 10 times. If you have an exercise ball you can use this under the small of your back for more support rather than laying on the floor.

Sitting up straight with your back against a wall, put your heels together, outside ankles to the floor.  Gently press your knees to the floor. Hold for 5 seconds and very slowly release up. Repeat this up to 10 times.  This will increase your hip flexibility.

Standing facing a wall put your hands or elbows on the wall in push-up position.  Keep your heels on the floor, toes to the wall, put one leg in front the other to stretch the back of the calf.  Hold this for 7 seconds and alternate legs.  This is best to do before bed which will help alleviate that awful middle of the night charlie horse!

The final stretch is for women who are experiencing lower back, hip and leg pain.  Laying on your back, keeping your hips straight, have your partner gently pull on your leg from the knee.  This will help align your knees and hips. Be extremely careful doing this stretch.

I hope these stretches help in easing all your aches and pains through pregnancy! It also won’t hurt to have your partner give you a back rub!

Touch The Bump Baby Gives You A Lump!

Good evening mommas!! Tonight I am going to address an interesting topic.  This has come up in my own personal pregnancy and also in a few of my girlfriend's pregnancies.  I didn't even think to discuss it until I received an email tonight from a momma who is 28 weeks 2 days pregnant.  This young momma asked me "How do I deal with when other people touch my bump without asking?"  I have to say I am an expert on this.  I'm going to start off by telling you a story.

My husband has someone in his family who is incredibly hands on...even when not welcome.  I am not the most touchy feely with people I am not super close to.  As I am sure I'm not the only one, I didn't and don't have the best relationship with this person.  Anyways, we hadn't seen his family for a few months during my pregnancy because I was so sick and had been on bedrest so when we finally saw them I had a decent size baby bump.  The reason we were seeing the family was for a memorial mass. So as I stated before, I am not the most touchy feely person...especially not with people I am not incredibly close to, the family was well aware of this.  Baring that in mind, we are in church and I have a baby bump and my husband and I went to go get communion and had to walk in front of a few people who were not going up for communion.  As I passed by, I was stagnant waiting for the line to continue.  All of a sudden, I felt a pair of hands come up behind me and touch me on my belly.  Needless to say, I was completely shocked that A) someone was touching my bump, who knew I hate to be touched by anyone outside of my very close personal circle and B) I was getting my bump felt as I was in church.. going up to get communion.  I kindly removed her hands from my belly and gave my husband a look to see if he had witnessed what happened.  As I started to go forward to the aisle she tapped me on the back and said, "do you have any cravings?!" Now normally, this is a fine thing to ask a pregnant woman...not when in the middle of church and you've just touched the bump unwelcomed!
After knowing I didn't want to be touched and am now aggrivated by the situation, we go outside to say by to everyone at the end of mass and her hand comes in contact, yet again, with my bump! My son was not happy because he kicked so hard I think he broke a rib.  I left it alone and we left.  I spoke with my husband about it and how to address it because I didn't want to make waves for him, at the time we saw them somewhat often.  He was upset almost as much as I was by the fact that I was touched by theis woman who I was not close with, at all, without even asking, in the midst of a memorial mass.  We saw her the following day and I addressed it with her and told her I really didn't appreciate being touched without her even asking me.  She apologized and moved on...to the next time she touched my bump without asking. Only the next time, she poked my belly, not feel the baby, poked..hard! I think it goes without saying we don't see them that often.
At any rate, the moral of my story is it happens to the best of us.  Many people just like to touch the baby bump and it is one of those things, along with all the other "joys" of pregnancy we must deal with.  It is 100% okay to let someone know if they have crossed the line and they have made you uncomfortable in any way!  There are times where it is completely appropriate and very comforting when people touch the bump and they feel him or her kick and move, but never feel obligated to let someone touch when unwelcome.  I have made maternity shirts that read "Touch the bump Baby gives you a lump" with little baby feet.  Having a shirt like this pretty much sums it up and will give humor to the awkward situation of bump touching!  Contact me at my e-mail helpingmommytone@gmail.com or contact me through twitter
https://twitter.com/helpingmomstone or on facebook
https://www.facebook.com/trish.moise if you are interested in purchasing one! I hope this gave you some humor and answered you're question on how to handle bump touching! Stay tuned for my next post on proper stretches and workouts for expecting mommas! Keep em' coming! Thanks so much for the support!

What To Expect When It Isn't Expected: Childbirth Unknowns

Morning ya'll! Today I am going to chat about what to expect when it isn't expected.  A question that I was asked by an expecting mom yesterday was "How can I make a birth plan?" Don't think of what you are doing as planning but make sure you are educated about all the possibilites and have an open mind.  A fellow momma said it best, "flexibility is the key." Some mommas are planners and need that to help ease the anxiety and I totally understand that and it is great for this.  I am the same way, I like to have a plan and know the unknown.  The reality is, there is no way to know what is going to happen with childbirth.  Throughout the pregnancy there is a great deal of anxiety and prelabor nerves because it is so unknown what will happen.  I sent myself into a tizzy over not knowing what was going to happen.  The best way to prepare is say to yourself what will be, will be and at that point it is truly in God's hands.  The best advice I was given was to go with the flow.  This is extremely difficult for me because I need to control the situtaion, I have a very strong personality, but if you think you are going to go into childbirth with any control you are sadly mistaken.  The baby makes the rules and dictates what will be.  We can only help ourselves  by dealing with the things we can control, which are very few through pregnancy and delivery.  I found centering myself everyday made a huge difference.  Here are some ways I centered myself and helped deal with the anxiety and fear leading to childbirth.

Do your research and keep an open mind.
You want to really explore everything and anything that can happen so you are aware of all the possibilities.  If you educate yourself it will make the experience a bit easier so when something does happen you may not have planned on you are prepared. It is good to have preference going in but make sure you keep an open mind that anything can happen.

Keeping a journal of all your fears, anxiety and positive thoughts.
This will be a vent for you and allow you to discuss these things with you partner...though they will never understand what you are going through, even when they say they do.  Writing down your feelings will give you a chance to deal with this anxiety head on.  You could avoid it and pretend it doesn't exist and I promise you it will only increase the close you get to the big day.  Though normal for the fears and anxiety to increase the closer you get to the birthday it is important to keep this from consuming you.  It will make things much more difficult for you in the labor/delivery process.  The more relaxed you are the easier the process will be.  Our bodies are brilliant and when in distress they don't do the things necessary for delivery which makes labor more intense than it could be.

Visualize the big day!
If you take a moment each day to sit down, close your eyes, and picture yourself holding you beautiful, pink, perfect baby boy or girl this will help you focus on the positives of childbirth rather than the negative.  Because of the way we are programmed, most of us immediately dive into the negative thoughts instead of turning them to the positive.  Really take time everyday to visualize any positive you can with childbirth.  Even if the positive for you is the anesthisiologist coming in to give you the epidural! Whatever works!

Talk to your baby!
You want to try and make sure you can really connect with you baby no matter what stage of pregnancy you are in.  It is crucial to spend time throughout the day talking to your tummy.  It felt very strange for me at first talking to my tummy because there was no response; however, from the day I found out I was pregnanct at 7 weeks I played music for the baby, sang to him and told him who I am so he got used to my voice.  The more you connect with the baby the better for you and the baby.

Connect with other mommas!
We now have so much media which is a blessing and a curse.  In this instance I am so thankful we have social media. Here is the link to one page I found most helpful https://www.facebook.com/birthwithoutfear.  It will give you an oppurtunity to connect with other mommies-to-be and share experiences with them.  Having a support is so important.  I remember at first feeling like no one understood what I was going through until I connected with some of my girlfriends who were also pregnant or just had a child. Don't be afraid to reach out to other mommas! I would wager that 9 times out of 10 they are having the same fears and anxiety you are.

These are just a few tips that can help you on your journey through childbirth and make things go a bit smoother.  For mommas like me who have to have a plan in order to feel confident going into childbirth, trust me, this works. Oh yea, and it definitely won't hurt to make your partner give you a back rub or two. Hope this helps a bit! Keep the questions coming, I am thrilled to answer any and all!

Morning Sickness and Hyperemisis...Now You Know You Are A Mom.

Hey ya'll!! After my first blog I have recieved lots and lots of positive feedback, which I am thrilled about!!  After talking to a few of my girlfriends who are currently in the early stages of their pregnancies I wanted to post about how you can help with the dreaded "morning sickness." Normally, the sickness will subside within the first 3 to 5 months of pregnancy but those 3 to 5 months can feel like the longest of your life! I know, I have been there and for me those 3 to 5 months lasted 9 months.  I have a few tips that really helped me along the way and I hope will help you mommas! 
                One thing I did was keep a package of saltines by my bedside.  In the morning before I even lifted my head from the pillow I would eat a cracker or two so I could get myself up from the pillow.  Waking was a slow process everyday but this helped me to just get on my feet. For every mom it is different how and when you get sick, or even if you get sick, some moms just have impending nausea for the duration.  The best thing to do for the nauseaand sickness is to eat starchy foods, such as popcorn, baked potatoes and crackers.  You do want to make sure you get some protein in as well because when you are constantly getting sick the baby is taking everything and anything from you and you want to make sure you have some left in there for you.  I found eating shrimp and peanut butter worked for me, not together, of course.  
                The next thing that made my life a little easier while dealing with all of this was to have good smells around me.  There is nothing like a pregnant nose and you will sniff out anything so you want to make sure you have fresh scents.  Lemons, rosemary, and ginger were things I always had near me in the event I was around someone who had an overpowering perfume or any smell that threw me off.  Not only was the lemon and ginger great for scent but also taste! I would boil water with cut up lemons and ginger root slices in it making a delicious tea without any caffine and it was delicious with some honey added and helped me get through a few hours in the day.  Drinking something like this will also help with keeping you hydrated which is one of the most important things you want to do when dealing with sickness in your pregnancy.  
                 During pregnancy most mommas experience an extreme hunger.  When dealing with sickness the last thing you want to do is sit down and eat a huge meal because you will end up with twice as much coming out..I promise.  I found eating a very small amount every hour was the best was to get in some nutrients.  Maybe you like peanut butter crackers, so have 2 or 3 every hour, or you like kettle corn so have a hand full every hour.  Doing this will allow you to get something in your system and will help stay ahead of the nausea.  
                  Another thing I found helpful though difficult was having a workout plan and sticking to it, no matter how hard it was to get up and get moving.  I have specific exercises coming so stay tuned!! I hope this was somewhat helpful for the moms-to-be out there struggling with morning sickness or hyperemisis.  If you have any questions, comments or concerns please contact me at helpingmommytone@gmail.com

Thanks!!