Although traveling during pregnancy is normal and occurs rather frequently, it is important for pregnant women to consider potential problems that could arise when considering international travel. Pregnant women should also weigh the availability of quality medical care in the countries they are visiting, before traveling abroad. Preconceptual immunizations are preferred over vaccination during pregnancy.

According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the safest time for a woman to travel is in the second trimester of her pregnancy – from 14 to 28 weeks. This is the time when women feel the best and are at the least risk for spontaneous abortion or premature labor. During the third trimester (25 to 40 weeks), many physicians/midwives advise staying within a 300 mile radius of home because of problems such as hypertension, phlebitis, and/or false or preterm labor. Generally, women are not allowed to travel by air after 36 weeks for domestic travel, and after 32 to 35 weeks for international travel. The decision on whether to travel and how far to travel at any time during pregnancy should be a joint decision between the woman and her physician/midwife. Read more>

In my last post, I wrote about how I am still struggling post pregnancy to keep me on the priority list. My mother has told me this isn’t normal. That I need to take care of myself, but I guess the truth is that I only know how to take care of Addison, our home, our finances and school. Last week though when I looked in the mirror to put my hair up before school I decided to take some steps to get back to the way things were.

I got rid of all the bad stuff in our fridge and pantry. I even got rid of full things of BBQ sauce and full fat cheese that I had just bought. I then got rid of any clutter in the house like old bills, papers and magazines. I threw away over half of my clothes. I have come to terms with the fact that I’ll probably never fit into a size 2 again. If I am ever that size again I’ll go out and buy a new wardrobe as a huge reward. I have decided that I will go and buy myself nice, well-fitting clothes when we get our tax returns. Along with that I’ll be going to the spa for a day and getting my hair done and my eyebrows done and picking up some new makeup. It’s kind of a mommy make over I think.

I’m not sure if I’m on the right track to getting myself straightened out, but it feels pretty good to be doing something different. I think it’s the last stage of getting out of the baby funk. I love being a mother, but I want to enjoy being myself and a wife again too.

Did any of you suffer from post-partum depression? Was it hard to get back into a normal lifestyle after the clouds lifted? What did you do to get your life back on track?

One thing I worry about a lot with this pregnancy is the potential jealousy issue. Benjamin is a total momma’s boy. He is used to having me all to himself, every day, all the time. Occasionally he goes to daycare, of course, and he loves being around other kids. He especially loves older kids – he will just watch them and talk and laugh and be utterly captivated.

My concern is, though, that he has no concept of pregnancy. I can’t really prepare him for another baby coming. I can’t tell him that he’ll have a little brother soon. One day, we’re going to come home from the hospital and suddenly, there’s going to be another person there who is going to need a lot of my attention. And how will Ben handle that? Is he going to be jealous? Or will another baby be exciting for him? It’s really hard to tell.

Ben also is completely wrapped up in mommy. He doesn’t really play independently that much. He might play with his toys on his own, but I have to be in the room — if I leave, he starts wailing — and even when he’s playing by himself, he has to look over his shoulder every now and then to see me, as if to make sure I’m still there. Then he’ll give a little smile and go back to his toys. Before long, though, he’s wanting to crawl all over me, or to be tickled by me, or play with me. None of those things are bad things, and it isn’t a problem now. But how will it be when I can’t always drop everything to play with him when he’s done with his toys? When sometimes I will have to leave the room? When I’m paying more attention to someone else than to him?

Only time will tell, I guess.

What did you do to prepare your little one for another baby in the house? Any tips?

The first time we brought little Daiyana home, Thomas’s ears and eyes perked up. He immediately smelled something new in the house and could feel her presence. I let him out of his kennel cage and allowed him to roam around the house sniffing. I then sat down on the couch with her and let him take a look at her. Thomas loves her! Wow! I really thought he was going to be upset and throw a doggie tantrum.

Thomas has been around in my life since before I met my husband. He was there with me during college. He knew me when I was single and free and could roam around wherever and whenever without babies attached to me. When I met my husband Thomas had to get used to a new alpha male in the picture. Then we had our son and he had to adjust to another male. Now that my daughter is here he has to adjust to one more entity in the house. It’s a lot for a dog to take in, especially coming from a time when he was the baby of the house and he was spoiled with dog treats and new toys weekly.

I’m really glad he has adjusted very well to all of the new changes in my life. I’m so glad he is still healthy and alive to share these milestones in my life. He just wants to be a part of them.

How did your pets handle it when you brought your newborns into the picture? 

Apparently your “number” has to come back less than 135 and mine was 147.  The one hour glucose screening test is standard procedure for all non-diabetic pregnant women between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy.  I had to take the same test when I was pregnant with Elli, but I passed that time.

In case you haven’t had to take your glucose test yet, let me warn you – it is not fun!  You have to drink a very sugary drink, wait one hour, and then have your blood drawn.  I do not do well with lots of sugar so I felt very nauseated and tired while waiting for my one hour to end.  I’m not trying to scare you if you haven’t had yours done yet, but I think it is best to be prepared.  I am writing this post because I thought I had cheated the test.

My doctor told me not to eat anything too sugary during the day as that might affect the results in a negative way.  Unfortunately my test was late in the afternoon and that made it even harder to cut down on carbs and sugars.  Still I was adamant about it and I had eggs and ham for breakfast followed by a grilled chicken breast and veggies for lunch.  I really thought I had this thing covered when obviously I did not.

What I learned is that you cannot cheat the test and it is best not to worry about it too much.  If there was ever a next time for a one hour glucose test I would avoid high sugar foods but not cut out everything  (as it didn’t do me any good).  Also, I think having the test earlier in the morning instead of right after lunch might have helped some.  My advice to you is - don’t’ worry too much, eat your normal diet (unless you typically inhale tons of sugar all day), and bring a good book to the doctor’s office because an hour is a long time.

If you do fail the test like I did, it means you have to go back for a 3 hour glucose screening which does include a fasting period beforehand.  I’ll be sure to let you know how that one goes next week.  In the mean time, you can read about glucose screening and gestational diabetes on this O’Healthy page.  Good luck and happy juice drinking!

How did everyone else handle your glucose test? Any one else fail?

I have lost a good amount of weight since Addison was born, but I still have about 20 pounds to lose to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight. It’s been hard to workout and eat well with the baby and school and such, but it’s starting to get easier to juggle things.

Before getting pregnant everyone called me the “healthy one” and would call me for recipes and advice on how to eat healthy or exercise. Now I eat so bad not even I can believe it. I eat fast food and sweets almost all day. I actually think the way I eat goes a bit deeper than just “not having time”. I think it has more to do with the post-partum depression and just not being able to shake the eating habits I got into.

It’s not just the eating habits though…it’s the way I’ve been neglecting myself too. I guess I’m just kind of in a funk that I’m not sure how to get out of. My hair is gross, my eyebrows are just an eyebrow, my legs are hairier than my husband’s and I wear my pajama’s until I have to go to school in the evening. I don’t have any nice clothes anymore. They have rips and holes and baby stains. And when we have extra money so I can do things for myself, I swear that Addison needs things more than I do and I buy unnecessary things for her. I think that’s so I don’t have to go and try clothes on or that I think I’d feel obligated to look good everyday.

Has anyone else dealt with this post pregnancy? How did you get yourself out of the funk?

The joyful and beautiful experience of breastfeeding.

I’ve pretty much always known how I wanted to raise my kids, specifically all the little things about taking care of babies. My mom was a WIC lady while I was growing up, so I was constantly surrounded by pro-breastfeeding messages and even had the privilege of getting some first hand lessons from my mom and older sisters. At times it was kind of awkward having my mother use her own breast for a close up anatomy lesson, but it was good information to obtain. Now that I’m closing in on my own adventure with motherhood, the advice (and criticisms, for that matter) have started up all over again.

I plan to exclusively breast feed (EBF) for the first year of Arbor’s life, then begin introducing solids after that. Furthermore, I don’t plan to wean her. She’ll quit when she’s good and ready. Yes, this is where the criticisms begin.

“She’ll starve!”

“You won’t be able to do anything but feed her!”

“She will need more nutrients than you can give her!”

From the extensive amount of research I’ve done, that all seems to be a bunch of phooey. EBF babies tend to have fewer food allergies, maintain a healthier weight and get sick less often. The World Health Organization (WHO) supports my decision to let her keep nursing until she’s done, although they recommend supplementing other wholesome foods starting at 6 months of age. Considering we have a family history of severe food allergies, there are even medical professionals who will support this decision to delay solids until she’s 12 months old unless she is showing signs of undernourishment.

Despite the criticisms, I have been receiving some awesome advice as well. One mom suggested I start scrubbing my nipples with a loofah when I’m in the shower to help make them less sensitive when I begin nursing. Another mom told me about the benefits of using coconut oil to help moisturize my nipples if they do become cracked. I’ve been told to hold my daughter a certain way, but let her choose how to lay. I’ve been told it will hurt so badly at first, but if I’m doing it right it may not hurt at all. I’ve been told I’ll want to give up, but it’s the best thing I can do for my baby. It can be really confusing navigating through all the myths and reliable pieces of advice. One thing remains constant though: I cannot wait for this experience and rite of passage as a mother.

What kind of advice were you given about breast feeding? Anything utterly ridiculous? Anything sound ridiculous, but it actually works?

Things like getting Elli dressed can really be difficult if a contraction is happening!

The Braxton Hicks contractions have set in and they are really getting in my way. I do not remember dealing with these contractions too much when I was pregnant with Elli. I know that I had them on and off some, but they did not really get in my way too much. I also remember that the weekend before Elli was born I was having them at regular intervals and I was pretty sure she would be arriving soon.

According to this article on O’Healthy, Braxton Hicks contractions start appearing in the third trimester at irregular intervals to begin to prepare your body for childbirth. I have noticed that I am getting them when I do things like bend over to give Elli her bath, take walks, vacuum, or am picking Elli up. My very “unmedical” opinion is that when I am exerting energy I am more likely to have the contractions. Maybe that is why I do not remember having to deal with them too much during the first pregnancy since I was not lugging around a 30 pound toddler all day.

Braxton Hicks contractions do not really hurt so it is not that big of a deal except the tightening of my stomach can slow me down. It can be hard to finish bath time with my stomach in a knot. And I found this weekend that when I have one while walking I have a sudden urge to get to a bathroom STAT! I was able to find some recommendations on how to deal with the contractions including changing your position or resting, taking a warm bath (who has time for that?), and drinking water. I’m not seeing long warm bath times in my near future but I do think that resting will help and I am sure that I could stand to have more water so I will work on these things.

I am finding that these contractions are harmless unless accompanied by cramping, more than four in one hour, an increase in discharge, or low back pain. Still, it would be nice if I could get through some of my daily activities without stopping and waiting for the contraction to stop and the urge to run to the bathroom to subside!

Do you find that you have to deal with Braxton Hicks contractions? Are they slowing you down?

I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth and she was out in the living room smiling at me (she is amazed by someone brushing their teeth) and I said, “Come on! I’ll brush your tooth!” like I do every morning. This time she decided not to inchworm, but crawl instead! Huh? She’s doing things a bit backwards and it’s kinda neat. It’s always a surprise with her because I never know what she will do next!

She’s done other things kind of backwards too like inchworming before sitting by herself. The doctor thought something was wrong with her when I said she doesn’t sit at almost 7 months. I knew it was because she didn’t really care for it. She loved being on her belly. My grandmother was also a bit worried that she wasn’t crawling when we were home for Christmas too and here she is crawling!

The fact of the matter is, don’t listen to all of the “guidelines for development” too much. They are just what they say…guidelines. Some babies are right on time, some are late (which doesn’t mean one is “better” than the other) and some do things a little out of order. You’re the only person that can know whether or not your baby is developing properly so try to relax and enjoy all the great things your baby is doing!

Did your baby do things differently than was expected?

The single most dreaded part of midwife visits.

At my last midwife appointment, I weighed in at a whopping 154 pounds. I stand at a meager 5’2″ tall, so this is definitely the most I have weighed in my life. Before getting pregnant, I was a healthy 130 pounds and was working out at the gym, so that number was on the decline before getting two bright pink lines on a pee stick. The most I have ever weighed was 145 pounds, so needless to say, that number was a bit hard to swallow. Of course, weight gain is a normal and healthy part of pregnancy, so I’m not really concerned, it was just a bit of a blow to the ego. That weigh in was about three weeks ago, and now that I’m 31 weeks pregnant, the baby is supposed to be putting on a half pound of weight each week by herself. That means the number is only going to continue to climb.

I’ve been eating healthily, moderately active and have been really good about doing my pregnancy exercises, like pelvic rocks, butterfly resistance stretches, and the famous kegel. My weight gain is within a healthy range, but it’s still such a shock to know I weigh one hundred and fifty four pounds or more! I’m the last of my female friends to have a baby, so most of them are always asking about how my pregnancy is going, specifically if I’ve gotten any stretch marks yet. About two weeks ago, three little pink marks started showing up on my lower abdomen. Again, this was soul-crushing. I have been diligently applying cocoa butter since their arrival, but couldn’t bare to look at my belly in the mirror for about a week. The next time I looked, my stretch marks had had babies… and their babies had had babies. At this exact moment, the idea of counting them makes me shudder. I don’t have stretch marks; I have tiger stripes.

I’m getting used to them being there, and even growing to like them a bit, but it does make me feel a bit less beautiful than I did two weeks ago. Once stretch marks are there, they’re there for good. Fortunately for me, the stretch marks I got as a result of puberty all faded out really nicely, so I’m hopeful that the ones on my belly will do the same. On the other hand, I’ve resigned myself to the fact that my youthful belly is gone, and now I’ve got the mark of the mama.

Did your first pregnancy give you serious stretch marks? Any particular product work for you to help fade them out?