How To Select A Doctor For Your Baby

You should feel completely comfortable with the physician you choose for your infant. You’ll be relying upon this person for expert health care advice, information regarding specific conditions, and support when your little one is sick. You may need to call the doctor at 3:00 a.m. if your baby’s health is particularly worrisome. This person must be able to offer the help your infant needs, and direct you to specialists when the need arises.

Knowledge and experience with babies may not be enough. New moms and dads often find that a caring attitude is just as important. With this in mind, we’ll present a few guidelines below for choosing a pediatrician. If possible, start the search before your infant arrives.

Seeking Referrals From Those You Trust

One of the best resources for recommendations is your network of friends and family. Speak with those who have had babies, and share your views regarding what a physician should offer. They can steer you to pediatricians in whom their trust and faith were well-placed. Your friends and family can also warn you about doctors who failed to meet their expectations.

Another resource is your obstetrician. He or she can make qualified recommendations, based on past patients’ comments. This may be less reliable than the experiences shared by your friends and family, but still valuable.

Factors To Consider When Choosing A Physician

Realize that the person referring you to a particular pediatrician may not share all of your views regarding what constitutes a good physician. For example, some people consider a warm attitude less important than experience. Others may be more or less concerned than you about the professionalism of the staff. Given this, it’s worth digging more deeply to uncover the details you need to make an informed decision.

For example, ask the person who is offering the referral whether the physician is patient, and encourages clients to ask questions. Ask whether the staff is responsive and warm. Are they willing to help when problems occur? Find out whether the pediatrician likes spending time with babies and kids. This may seem to be a foregone conclusion, but many doctors simply go through the motions, waiting until they can retire.

Ask about appointments. Is it relatively easy to see the doctor? How far in advance must you make an appointment? And once you are meeting with the physician, will a dialogue be encouraged, or will you be hurried out of the office?

These questions will prove helpful in ruling out pediatricians who are unable (or unwilling) to offer the level of care you seek for your baby.

Narrowing The List

Depending on the number of referrals you’ve received, you may need to whittle down the list. Find out which pediatricians have offices nearest your home, so you’ll have quick and easy access to them. Also, call each office, and ask whether they have openings for new patients. Many doctors are overloaded.

Once you’ve pared down your list of potential physicians, call the remaining offices and request an appointment. This is in preparation for the last step.

The Last, Critical Step: The Interview

In order to know for certain whether any given doctor is caring and professional, you’ll need to meet him or her in person. This gives you a chance to gain a better grasp of their approach and values. For example, ask the physician whether she welcomes questions via email. Will she see your baby personally most of the time, or does her staff handle most of the work?

Now is good time to learn more about how the doctor’s practice operates. Ask about office hours, and how emergencies are handled. Find out about appointments, including how far in advance they need to be made, and whether priority is given to ill infants. Ask about billing procedures.

Finding a reliable, trustworthy, and caring pediatrician is a matter of doing a bit of research. Use the steps above to select a physician who offers the level of care your baby needs.

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Planning A Healthy Diet Around Your Pregnancy

Even if you have always maintained a healthy diet, you should reassess the types of food you eat after you become pregnant. This includes the number of calories, protein level, types of vitamins, and various minerals you’re consuming. You’re now eating for two while your body undergoes significant changes. Most moms-to-be need to modify their eating habits in order to accommodate these changes.

Below, we’ll describe the most important features of a nutritious diet, and highlight a few foods you would do well to avoid. You’ll also learn the value of grazing, and reasons it is preferable to a traditional three-meals-a-day routine. Lastly, we’ll present several foods that should have a place in your diet due to the nutrients they offer you and your growing baby.

Transitioning To A Nutritious Diet

Your caloric intake needs will increase since your diet must accommodate you and your baby. As a general rule, plan to consume three hundred additional calories each day beginning in your second trimester.

Calories are merely one part of the equation, however. You must also make sure your body is receiving an adequate supply of protein, iron, and calcium. Also, because folic acid is known to minimize the chances of birth defects, take vitamins that include it. If your current diet does not contain important vitamins and minerals, speak with your obstetrician about prenatal supplements.

Foods To Avoid During Your Pregnancy

Many foods contain bacteria that can pose a danger to an unborn baby. These include raw fish (e.g. sushi), soft cheeses, and meat and seafood that has been undercooked. Also, keep in mind that most types of fish contain mercury, which can be harmful to unborn babies in large quantities. For this reason, most obstetricians recommend limiting your consumption of seafood until after childbirth.

Alcohol and caffeine are also believed to be dangerous to the health of fetuses. Consumption of the former should be stopped immediately after becoming pregnant. The latter – found in teas, chocolate, and soft drinks, in addition to coffee – can be tapered off slowly.

Focus On Maintaining An Appropriate Weight

Even though weight gain is expected during pregnancy, many women diet in order to minimize it. This is dangerous since your health, as well as that of your baby, depends on getting a sufficient volume of calories, protein, and nutrients. Most diets cut back on these things. If you are underweight or undernourished throughout your pregnancy, it could affect the long-term health of your baby.

Consult your obstetrician, who can recommend an ideal weight at every stage of your pregnancy based on your frame. Plan to gain approximately one pound each week beginning in month four, and continuing through childbirth.

The Value Of Grazing

A lot of moms-to-be cope with discomfort following large meals. This is understandable; during the second and third trimesters, there is less room available throughout the digestive tract. Consequently, large meals can lead to nausea, bloating, and other unpleasant symptoms.

An effective solution is to consume smaller meals several times a day rather than three larger meals. This allows your body to digest food more easily, which aids in the absorption of nutrients, and reduces discomfort.

Healthy Foods For Moms-To-Be

Earlier, we mentioned several foods to avoid while you are pregnant. Conversely, there are many foods that offer valuable vitamins and nutrients for you and your unborn child. These include walnuts, lean meats (trimmed of fat), and an assortment of vegetables and fruits. With veggies, anything green is particularly rich with nutrients. Sweet potatoes, eggs, salmon (low in mercury), and nearly all types of beans, also offer nutritional value for moms-to-be. After you create a meal plan, ask your doctor whether you should make any changes given your circumstances.

Eating the right foods in the right quantities is always important, but even more so when you’re pregnant. Your long-term health, as well as your baby’s, depends on it.

5 Pregnancy Concerns That Cause Unnecessary Anxiety

Many moms-to-be harbor pregnancy fears that cause much more worry than necessary. Making matters worse, this is hardly the time for additional anxiety. Your body is changing, which may have already affected your balance and coordination. Meanwhile, the list of tasks that need to be finished before your baby arrives likely seems to be growing even as time is in ever shorter supply.

To be sure, there are precautions you need to keep in mind as you move through your second and third trimesters. The problem is, much of what is believed to be harmful – to you or your baby – is not worth worrying about. We’ll clarify five such concerns below.

1 – The Possibility Of Miscarriage

A lot of pregnant women fear pregnancy loss, and above all, miscarriage. The thought of losing their babies understandably causes anxiety. But it’s important to keep in mind that miscarriage only occurs in 10 to 25% of pregnancies. Moreover, the majority of cases (up to 75%) happen very early. Known as chemical pregnancies, they typically occur a few days following impregnation.

The threat of miscarriage is real. It happens to many women. But its prevalence, especially after the first twelve weeks of pregnancy, is far lower than many moms-to-be realize.

2 – Never Regaining Your Shape

While you’re pregnant, you’re eating more food in order to provide the necessary nutrients for your baby. Because of this, you’re going to gain a lot of weight. In the meantime, your body is expanding at a pace that may be less than comfortable. Many moms-to-be fear they’ll never lose their pregnancy weight.

While some women retain their postpartum pounds long after their babies have graduated to toddlerdom, others slowly lose the weight, and reclaim their pre-pregnancy shapes. If you stick to a healthy diet and get plenty of exercise, the pounds will gradually melt away. Give yourself time.

3 – Rolling Over In Your Sleep

This fear, too, is understandable. Pregnant women worry they’ll inadvertently roll onto their stomachs while they’re sleeping, and thus harm their unborn babies. This is a common worry, but almost always unnecessary.

First, you can safely sleep on your stomach during your first trimester. Doing so four months into your pregnancy is unlikely to cause problems. At that point, it may become too uncomfortable for you to sleep in that manner, anyway.

Second, by the time you reach your third trimester, it may be impossible for you to roll onto your stomach in the first place. So there is little need to worry.

4 – Eating Food That Is Harmful To Your Baby

There are foods and beverages you should avoid while you’re pregnant or nursing. For example, raw or uncooked fish is a poor dietary choice. So, too, is alcohol and large amounts of caffeine. But over the last decade, the list of off-limit foods has grown much larger than necessary.

Doctors suggest that a cup of coffee each morning – once thought harmful – is completely fine. Eggs are also fine as long as they are not raw (raw eggs increase exposure to salmonella). If you have doubts regarding a particular type of food, ask your doctor whether it is okay to eat.

5 – Unexpected Preterm Labor

A lot of moms-to-be fear their water will break unexpectedly, and they’ll enter preterm labor much earlier than expected. While this can happen, it seldom does so; it is estimated that only 12% of infants are born prematurely. Moreover, in such cases, the moms have already been informed by their obstetricians regarding their potential for preterm labor. This is usually due to something in the mom’s medical history, such as preemies running in her family.

While you’re pregnant, try to calm your fears regarding the circumstances described above. You’ll enjoy the experience more. Years down the road, you’ll look back upon it with a nostalgic smile.

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Shopping For Your Baby Prior To Childbirth

Being pregnant means having plenty of justifiable reasons to shop – for yourself and your baby. In fact, it’s one of the perks of pregnancy. Unfortunately, knowing where to begin is often difficult for new moms-to-be. There’s a lot to buy, and every product manufacturer makes their items seem essential. Without a little parenting experience under your belt, it’s hard to know what you’ll need and what can you do without.

Below, we’ll offer a few suggestions for making shopping for your baby an enjoyable experience. We’ll help you focus on the necessities, leverage your time and money, and prepare your home for the arrival of your little one.

Write It All Down!

The most important thing you can do is make a list of the products you want to purchase. There’s far too much to remember, so write it down. Think about the baby gear you’ll need, such as a crib, stroller, car seat, and changing table. You’ll need bathing supplies, including wash clothes, towels, an infant tub, and skin products. And while it may be a little soon, start thinking about educational toys and traveling gear your little one will need.

If you’re having difficulty thinking of items to buy, speak with other mothers. Take advantage of their insight. They’ll be able to make helpful suggestions based on their own experience in caring for their babies.

Use Gift Registries To Your Advantage

Your family, friends, and coworkers will likely organize one or more baby showers for you, especially if this is your first child. This is a good opportunity to have others help you collect the products you need. From diapers and toys to car seats, swings, and cribs, baby showers can help you save an enormous amount of money.

To let others know what you need, register at a few online gift registries. As your friends and family buy specific products for you, the registry will be automatically updated. An additional benefit to doing this online (rather than at a local retailer) is that your friends and loved ones who live far away can help out, too.

Is Buying “Used” An Option?

You’ll want to buy some products new. These include your baby’s crib, stroller, car seat, and bassinet. If you’re on a tight budget, however, consider buying a few items used. For example, your newborn will outgrow her clothes long before she has a chance to wear them out. Hence, it may make sense to save a few dollars and buy them from a consignment shop.

Also, ask your friends whose babies have outgrown their clothes whether your little one can borrow them. They may be happy to have you take the clothes off their hands. As a side note, most of the larger items should be purchased new since they need to meet certain safety regulations.

Preparing For Your New Arrival

Once you have purchased the items you and your baby will need, you’ll have some time to make a few last preparations. First, while you’re waiting to give birth, start organizing your little one’s clothes. Doing so now will make it easier to find the individual items (e.g. socks, onesies, hoodies, etc.) following your infant’s arrival.

Second, throw some of your infant’s clothes into the laundry prior to giving birth. With the right detergent, you can help ensure her clothes are clean, comfortable, and ready to wear.

Third, make sure you purchase a high-quality car seat before her arrival. You’ll need to have one to transport her safely from the hospital. You can procrastinate with buying a stroller, bassinet, and other baby gear, but a car seat is essential.

Even if you’re on a budget, shopping for your baby before she’s born can be a fun, enjoyable experience. Use the suggestions above to maximize your time and money while collecting the items you need.

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4 Reasons To Exercise When You’re Pregnant

When you’re pregnant, it’s important to set time aside to make sure you’re staying healthy and fit. It’s not easy. Your body is going through a constant workout each day from carrying your child. By the time evening comes around, getting motivated to move your limbs and flex your muscles may seem like a lesson in defeat.

That said, there are many reasons to exercise during your pregnancy. To motivate you to get started and inspire you to action, here are four great reasons to work out.

#1 – You’ll Feel Energized

Being pregnant can take an enormous toll on your energy level. By exercising in the morning, you can gain the energy boost you need to carry you throughout the day. Not only will the exercise release endorphins which give you an immediate energized feeling, but you’ll also be working out your cardio system. That increases your stamina allowing you to get through each day more easily.

#2 – You’ll Sleep Better

Believe it or not, while your body may feel exhausted at the end of the day, there’s actually plenty of pent-up energy inside. The problem is that it can prevent you from getting a good night’s rest. During your pregnancy, you’ll lie in bed, tired from the afternoon, but unable to get to sleep.

Exercising expends that energy. By the time you’re in bed, your mind and your body will drift easily to slumber.

#3 – You’ll Prepare Your Body For Giving Birth

Childbirth will be a strain on your body. Not only can labor last for several hours, but the entire experience will require the use of many muscles. When you exercise, you put those muscles to use. Whether you’re working out your pelvic muscles, abdominals, or thighs and hips, doing so can make childbirth easier. Many women have reported that labor lasted for a shorter time and progressed more smoothly after having exercised during their pregnancy.

#4 – You’ll Reclaim Your Figure More Quickly

Have you ever observed new mothers who have recently given birth and wondered how they managed to get their pre-pregnancy bodies back so quickly? Chances are, they were exercising while they were pregnant. When you exercise daily, your muscles grow accustomed to the activity. After you give birth, those muscles can bounce back quickly because they’re already efficient. Before long, other pregnant women will be looking at your figure wondering how you managed to do it.

There are plenty of reasons to work out during your pregnancy. Besides staying fit, you’ll enjoy more energy, better sleep, an easier childbirth experience, and a fast return to your previous figure. Speak with your obstetrician to make sure your exercise routine is safe. Then, get to work and start enjoying the benefits.