Category: Maternity

One of the hottest baby party/baby shower trends today is the gender reveal cupcake. It’s a fun way to let people know the sex of your baby. If you are very patient you can even surprise yourself with the help of your sonogram tech and the neighborhood bakery.

There isn’t a specific way to do it – no rules, no constraints. Some parents-to-be ask their technician to keep the secret, opting to carry a sealed envelope containing the information from the ultrasound to their favorite bakery. The baker opens the envelope and secretly creates a special cupcake filled with either pink or blue cream – a surprise to even the parents.

Other couples prefer to know ahead of time and the color found inside the cake is only a surprise to the guests at the party.

If you want to make the cupcakes yourself, it isn’t hard. Just bake your favorite chocolate or vanilla cupcakes (either from a mix or from scratch). Let them cool completely and then cut out some of the cake in the middle – just enough to leave a space for a filling.

Tint non-dairy topping either pink or blue, depending on the sex of your baby. You can also use vanilla pudding but it will not give you the clear color that the non-dairy topping will.

Cover the filled cupcake with your favorite chocolate or vanilla frosting so that the colored filling is completely hidden. Decorate the treats with pastel sprinkles in both pink and blue so that no one knows what color lies within until that very first bite.

photo credit: Theresa Iovcheva

Postpartum depression is a heavy topic and one that has a stigma of shame attached to it – although, when you discuss it among a group of mothers, I think you’d find more often than not, genuine empathy and support rather than judgment.

In recent years, more and more celebrities are coming out and discussing their battles with this sometimes debilitating disease. Courtney Cox, Amanda Peet and Brooke Shields – all of which have experienced varying levels of PPD following the birth of their children have all opened up about postpartum depression and it’s paralyzing affects.

Gwyneth Paltrow sat down recently with Amanda de Cadanet for a new Lifetime series The Conversations with Amanda de Cadanet to discuss her battle with postpartum depression – a fact not unknown to the general public since releasing the news as a part of her GOOP newsletter back in 2010.

During the conversation, Gwyneth shared that she felt very disconnected from everyone following the birth of her son Moses in in 2006. ”I just didn’t know what was wrong with me. I couldn’t figure it out. It never occurred to me,” remarked Paltrow, when discussing her realization that she might be dealing with postpartum depression. It was her husband, Chris Martin, who brought it to her attention that it might, in fact, be PPD.

When when she looked up the symptoms of the condition (see below), she realized that it was in fact the condition she was dealing with. “I couldn’t connect with my son the way that I had with my daughter and I couldn’t understand why. I couldn’t connect to anyone. I felt like a zombie. I felt very detached.”

What I found most encouraging about this interview was what she had to say regarding the stigma and the judgement attached to things like postpartum depression and motherhood in general:

“We think that it makes us bad mothers or we didn’t do it right, but it’s like, we’re all in this together,” Paltrow said. “I never understand why mothers judge other mothers, like, ‘What do you mean you didn’t breastfeed? What do you mean you didn’t do this?’ It’s like, ‘Can’t we all just be on each other’s side?’ It’s so hard anyway. Can’t we all help each other get through it?”

I am so encouraged that celebrities are using their voices to open the discussion on important topics such as these. This, my friends, is what we should focus on when we hear and see friends going through the months following the birth’s of their children because it is not an easy time. We know when they are struggling – we see the signs – and when we do, we should offer them an olive branch, not a bunch of judgement.

Do not make it harder on them by making them feel bad about not choosing to breastfeed or for struggling to make it through the day with their newborn. Offer to babysit while they take a shower and have some time to themselves.

Offer them a listening ear and let them know that the parenting path they take is ok because it’s the right one for them. Make them feel normal for feeling overwhelmed at times. Perfection in parenting is not reality and we need to allow mothers the comfort of knowing, living and finding peace with that. Sometimes, it’s ok to be good enough.

Additionally, if you or a friend is experiencing what you think is PPD, work together to get help. Below are the signs and symptoms of this sometimes debilitating condition – it should not be ignored. PPD often requires therapy and medical intervention to remedy, along with emotional support from family and friends.

The signs and symptoms of postpartum depression according to the Mayo Clinic website:

Postpartum depression symptoms
Postpartum depression may appear to be the baby blues at first — but the signs and symptoms are more intense and longer lasting, eventually interfering with your ability to care for your baby and handle other daily tasks. Postpartum depression symptoms may include:

• Loss of appetite
• Insomnia
• Intense irritability and anger
• Overwhelming fatigue
• Loss of interest in sex
• Lack of joy in life
• Feelings of shame, guilt or inadequacy
• Severe mood swing
• Difficulty bonding with the baby
• Withdrawal from family and friends
• Thoughts of harming yourself or the baby

Untreated, postpartum depression may last for a year or more.

If you or someone you love is showing active signs of PPD, please be proactive in pursuing help so all involved can work towards getting back to a sense of happiness and normalcy sooner rather than later. This isn’t a journey that should be taken alone.

Photo: PR Photos

Quote Source: OTRC

Ha! Let’s see, what do you think this post might be about?

If you guessed pregnant feet that swell like giant balloons, you’d be right.

With my first pregnancy, I was due in May and couldn’t even get my feet in Birkenstocks (Crocs didn’t exist back then)! It was terrible. With my second pregnancy, I was due in February and was far better about doing the things I needed to do to keep the swelling down. Thank heavens my doctor was so fabulous about pounding it into my brain.

Here’s what she told me.

Keep Your Feet Up: This is the perfect excuse for chillaxing as far as I’m concerned. Lay back and put your feet up. Even if you can just elevate your feet for 20 minutes, twice per day, it will make a huge difference. If you work in an office where you’re sitting most of the day, get up and walk around for those twenty minutes, twice per day … it will help get the blood flowing again.

Ditch the Heels: I know you love your heels … and the summer wedges that are out are so darn cute … but flats are the way to go. Not only will flats keep your feet comfortable and give you feet plenty of room to move, they will also help you keep sure-footing. Nothing is worse than slipping while you’re big and pregnant.

Drink Like a Fish: Water, that is. Hydration is crucial and you should be drinking eight to ten glasses each day. It seems like a lot and you’ll probably have to go pee about a hundred times, but it will help flush the toxins from your body and minimize the swelling.

photo credit: bark

Wow! You’re almost to the finish line! The third trimester can feel like the longest or the shortest; it really just depends on how uncomfortable you are and how much preparation you feel you still have to do.

Let’s talk about what’s left to get done.
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Now that you’ve made it through the morning sickness and never-ending exhaustion, you’re probably feeling pretty good. Your bump is starting to show and you’ve got a healthy, natural glow. You’re also likely the focus of much attention.

So, what do you need to get done during this trimester?
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Congratulations on your pregnancy! You’re probably feeling a little overwhelmed right now, thinking about all the things you need to do … maybe you’re excited, maybe you’re surprised, maybe you’re a little upset. Whatever emotions you’re having, they’re all totally normal.

But in the sense of feeling overwhelmed, there’s no need; you’ve got plenty of time. And if you just can’t fight the urge to spring in to action, here’s 5 things you should do in your first trimester.
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Deciding to have your labor induced versus going into labor naturally is a life changing choice. I have given birth twice and both times I have been induced a week early as a precautionary measure due to the fact that my girls were expected to be larger than they actually were.

So, I have never had the pleasure of going into labor on my own. It didn’t really matter because I don’t really know the difference. Read more…

Co-sleeping seems to be getting a bad rap in the news with the Milwaukee Health Department’s campaign against co-sleeping and the recent cases of babies dying while co-sleeping, but I have always been an advocate of co-sleeping. Our family has found co-sleeping to be the perfect fit for us.

We didn’t come to co-sleeping as a plan or by way of drawing a line in the parenting sand. We came to co-sleeping because our first-born would always fall asleep when I nursed her (on me). I would try to put her into her bassinet but as soon as she was removed from my warm body or from her place in bed next to me and laid on the cool sheets, she would wake up and cry. Read more…

Breastfeeding is something that I had a difficult time doing. I tried really hard and did everything that my lactation specialist told me to do, but I just never seemed to produce enough milk to adequately feed my baby.

I felt like a bad mother and like I had failed my perfect little baby in some very profound way. Read more…

Having a baby is a momentous occasion but when it happens, it’s all consuming and it literally takes over every part of your life. And trust me when I say, if you are a first time mom, it will be a little while before you will get back to an hour of time that’s all about you – so take some time before baby arrives and indulge a bit.

Get a haircut

Head to the salon and get those locks trimmed up because when baby arrives, a free hour will be hard to come by. So splurge a little by going to a salon that offers a scalp and neck massage for a bit of additional indulgence. Read more…

I’m the mother of preemies. I knew our twins were coming early because the circumstances of our pregnancy required that they be delivered via c-section at 32 weeks if they didn’t decide to come earlier…which they did. It was the nature of our situation and one that required we face a number of possible scenarios in the days that followed their 28 week delivery.

One of those decisions was to decide if we would feed our little ones breast milk donated from another mother if for some reason my milk did not come in. Being that I was going to deliver so early, and the fact that there was a lot of stress involved in my strict bedrest, highly medicated scenario, it was possible that we would experience complications. Read more…

When you become a first time parent you are faced with a ton of choices for how to go about raising your child. It can be overwhelming and seem like everyone has an opinion.

Well, they do.

But you can choose whether or not you pay attention to those opinions because ultimately, you have to decide what is best for you and your child. I am of the mindset that there isn’t one right way to do anything and I don’t think that anyone should tell you how to go about feeding your child as long as you’re not shoving Twinkies down their throat as their primary source of nutrition. Additionally, I’m sure this goes without saying, but if you choose to neglect your child altogether, I’m going to have something to say about that. Read more…

The economy is not exactly friendly at the moment … especially for job seekers. But with the economy the way it is, having a family demographic that includes two working parents is not unusual.

But what if you’re pregnant and looking for a job? Then what?

You may be inclined to put off applying for a job or cracking into the job market because your little bundle of joy is on the way. But if the perfect opportunity presents itself, you shouldn’t let it pass you by just because you’re expecting. And while it may seem scary and nearly impossible, it’s not.
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