After the first time to feel baby’s movement, I began to get used to his/her movements everyday. With the time going, I began to identify the pattern of his/her movements.

Pregnancy | January 31, 2008 7:59 am | Comments (0)

Besides healthy eating, there are some special concerns my practitioner told me to be careful with. I put down into today’s post and share with you. Hope these tips will help you too!

Special concerns:

Weight Gain: Pregnancy is NOT the time to lose weight, even if you are overweight. During pregnancy, the average weight gain for a normal weight female is 25-35 pounds.

Typically, you will gain 1-3 pounds in the first 3 months and approximately ¾ -1 pound per week the remainder of your pregnancy.

Healthy Pregnancy, Pregnancy | January 30, 2008 7:34 am | Comments (0)

Fetal/prenatal education, in my understanding, is a comprehensive system including creating a solid physical foundation and friendly emotional environment for the baby. Therefore, providing a balanced nutrition and physical well-being to the baby is part of the fetal/prenatal education.

A balanced diet is more than simply increase how much you eat. You need to consider what to eat during pregnancy. Your body needs increased amounts of vitamins, protein, minerals and calories. It is important to eat a diet based on these increased needs to make sure you are getting the proper nutritional and daily recommendations from each food group.

It is essential to follow these simple guidelines to ensure a healthy pregnancy. You are responsible for making healthy choices for both you and your baby.

The following Food Guide Pyramid is the advice given from my practitioner. I present here to share with other mothers-to-be. Hope it may help you achieve a healthy eating!

Healthy Pregnancy, Pregnancy | January 29, 2008 8:34 am | Comments (0)

This blog is dedicated to my baby, with the nickname “DD”, who is assumed be born in June 2008 (I am very excited!), with articles and information geared to every stage of her development from conception. It is also an opportunity to share with other expectant mothers: the problems I run into, the aches and [...]

| January 25, 2008 2:11 pm | Comments (1)

After the bleeding on my 13th week gestation, I had 3 times light spotting of bleeding. This Tuesday it happened again! The bleeding is always painless, sometimes bright red. And to me, it always happened during the early morning.

What causes placenta previa? Is there any treament besides just wait and see? How to prevent the bleeding? With all these questions in mind, I went to online today to search for information.

According to the information online, the exact cause of placenta previa is unknown. It may be caused by multiple pregnancy, an abnormally shaped uterus, older age of the mother, a previous cesarean birth or induced abortion. Bed rest, avoiding intercourse, limit traveling and avoiding pelvic exams are the treatment suggested by online resources. Overall, it seems there is not too much I can do besides being careful with myself and taking more rest.

However, to my surprise, there are a lot of worried mothers-to-be seeking for concrete advice on how to prevent or limit bleeding related to placenta previa.

Recalling the last 2 months, I summarized the following tips from my personal experience:

Pregnancy | 1:36 pm | Comments (3)

On December 31, 2007, the last day of last year, I received the second trimester genetic screening test—Quad Screen AFP. The Quad Screen detects up to 70%-79% of Down syndrome cases, 60% of trisomy 18 cases and 80% of open neural tube defects.

Based on the brochure of prenatal screening from Quest Diagnostics, Down syndrome (trisomy 21) is a condition caused by an extra copy of chromosome number 21. Babies with Down syndrome have a distinct physical appearance and some degree of mental retardation. Overall, out of every 800 pregnancies, approximately 1 will carry a baby with Down syndrome (trisomy 21). The number of Down syndrome cases increases with maternal age.

Healthy Pregnancy, Pregnancy | January 18, 2008 2:31 pm | Comments (0)

According to Wikipedia, constipation is very common in pregnancy. It is caused by decreased bowel motility secondary to elevated progesterone (normal in pregnancy), which can lead to greater absorption of water.

I had twice too. The first happened in the first month. It was terrible. The second one caused my first bleeding in the 13th week of gestation. Therefore, I pay great attention not to have constipation again. And so far I remain quite regular.

The below tips are from my personal experience:

Healthy Pregnancy, Pregnancy | January 17, 2008 2:32 pm | Comments (2)

Since I identified my baby’s movements last week, I began to feel his/her movements more frequently. Sometimes the movement feels like a flutter, sometimes a bubble of gas, sometimes a tickle, sometimes a knock, and sometimes a kick.

Most time I feel his/her movements in the early morning, at noon, in the early evening, and in the middle of the night. Sometime in the daytime when I sit still, I can feel his/her restlessness. I also feel his/her activity after I have a meal, eat some snacks, or drink a cup of milk.

This is a very active baby!

Pregnancy | January 14, 2008 2:25 pm | Comments (0)

Few weeks ago, the nurse suddenly called and told me that I had a cyst in my uterus. She had arranged an appointment for me to go back to take a check. A cyst? What is it? I went online and did some Goggle research. According to Wikipedia, An ovarian cyst is any collection of [...]

cpc, Healthy Pregnancy, Mid-Pregnancy | January 9, 2008 2:37 pm | Comments (0)

Last week when I had my routine doctor visit, the nurse asked me “did you feel any movement from the baby yet?”

“No. What it feel like?” I asked.

“M…” the nurse thought about it and then smiled, “you will feel it later, for sure this month.”

Baby’s first movement, referred as “quickening”, is one of the milestones during pregnancy. The nurse told me that it might first feel like a flutter or a bubble of gas, but very soon I would tell that sensation coming from the baby.

Sounds so interesting! I was so eager to feel my baby’s first movement.

Pregnancy | January 7, 2008 8:32 am | Comments (0)