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Choosing your prenatal vitamins is an important part of creating a healthy nutrition plan for your pregnancy. And there is no reason to wait until you are pregnant. Pre-pregnancy is the best time to begin healthy habits that will create a healthy womb for your baby. Some supplements can even increase your chances of fertility, so why not start early?

What to look for on the label

Knowing what prenatal vitamins are right for you starts with reading the label. The important nutrients to look for are folic acid (which prevents neural tube defects), calcium, zinc, manganese, iodine, vitamin B6 and iron. You’ll especially need to make sure you’re getting enough iron if you are anemic or eating a vegan or vegetarian diet. The calcium is to help support your baby’s skeletal system. The iodine is to support healthy brain and thyroid growth for your baby, and the vitamin B6 will help ease nausea and morning sickness. { read more }

About Lisa Gale

"She was an artist and her life was her canvas." (Kobi Yamada) When I grow up, I want to be her! For now, it's fun to pretend.

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Knowing your time of ovulation can be simple. If your cycle is a normal twenty-eight days long, ovulation happens around the fourteenth day after the first day of your period. If your cycle is different, however, it can be very useful to know some of the ways your body changes during ovulation.

There are a few primary telltale signs, as well as secondary signs. According to the American Pregnancy Association, ovulation times can vary from month to month. Knowing the signs of ovulation and being a little intuitive about your body can help you know your most fertile time of each month.  If you’re experiencing several of these at once, chances are good that you are ovulating. { read more }

About Lisa Gale

"She was an artist and her life was her canvas." (Kobi Yamada) When I grow up, I want to be her! For now, it's fun to pretend.

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www.parents.com

For nine and a half months, your body has been a hormone factory. Along with growing a new body, your own body has been through many changes. Now that your little bundle of joy has arrived, you can expect further changes in your physical terrain. Here are some of the more common ones.

Hormone drop

From day 3 and onward, your hormone levels are going to be radically fluctuating again. Those body-created, feel-good drugs are leaving your system, which can leave you feeling a touch of the baby blues. Not to worry, for most new moms this condition passes within days. Those few days can feel like a very long time, though, so do be extra kind and gentle with yourself during this time. Avoid harsh people and environments, and above all know that this too shall pass. { read more }

About Lisa Gale

"She was an artist and her life was her canvas." (Kobi Yamada) When I grow up, I want to be her! For now, it's fun to pretend.

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If you are the mom, dad, grandparent or caretaker of a “fussy toddler” you may find yourself exhausted by the end of the day, wondering what you’re doing wrong, and running out of ways to keep your toddler occupied and happy. While you may not be able to change the temperament of your child, there are ways to navigate this time, and even thrive. Here are a few tips to help you cope with, and cherish, these early years. { read more }

About Liz Alfano

I write "Dirty Words," the blog about things you should know, but might not. I'm the mother of two elementary school-aged boys and wife of one adult aged man. When not writing, I can be found reading or staring into space wishing I was either reading or writing. Sometimes I'm seen vacuuming...but not often. www.mydirtywords.com

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Are you at your wit’s end with fertility treatments, doctors and other professional’s advice that seems sound but isn’t working?  The most recent statistics show that medical methods of conception can only offer up to a 30% success rate and can cost a small fortune. If you’re open to a more unconventional approach to bringing a baby into your life, you may want to try this. { read more }

About Lisa Gale

"She was an artist and her life was her canvas." (Kobi Yamada) When I grow up, I want to be her! For now, it's fun to pretend.

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Conscious birthing is a term that is rapidly sweeping across the baby world. More and more expectant mothers and fathers are looking for natural, highly conscious methods for bringing their baby into this world. Methods that only a decade ago were considered experimental have now been proven thousands of times over to be successful. Conscious birthing, however, is about more than methods. It is about conscious attitudes and practices that go beyond practical concerns.  Let’s look at both.

The practical

By “practical”, I mean how are you going to choose to deliver your baby into this world. There is the traditional hospital method where you are connected to cords, wires and a bed. You will be given narcotics to numb the pain and can even numb out the entire experience of feeling your baby move from your womb, through the birth canal and out of your body.  Millions of women have said, “YES, please, I’ll choose that one!” { read more }

About Lisa Gale

"She was an artist and her life was her canvas." (Kobi Yamada) When I grow up, I want to be her! For now, it's fun to pretend.

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Photo: www.howstuffworks.com

For eons, women have practiced “natural” birthing.  Only for the past forty years or so has the use of epidurals been a widespread common practice in the western world.  Women have used numerous drugs for pain relief, all in an attempt to disconnect from the pain associated with childbirth. What if there was a way to not only alleviate the pain, but to experience intense pleasure during the birthing process?  There are women right now who are pioneering this “new way”.

Orgasmic birthing

I know, I know ladies.  These are not usually two ideas we’d put together.  In fact, the first typically comes around nine and a half months before the second.  But it’s happening. Women are waking up to our ability to bring more pleasure into our lives, and how wonderfully natural that we could experience such a sacred act as birthing to be one of intense pleasure. { read more }

About Lisa Gale

"She was an artist and her life was her canvas." (Kobi Yamada) When I grow up, I want to be her! For now, it's fun to pretend.

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Some parents buy insurance for their new babies. Some buy stocks and savings bonds.  But, an increasing number of parents are buying a procedure in a blood bank for their baby’s umbilical cord. Why? Because the science is proving the stem cells in a baby’s cord blood can be used to effectively treat anything from heart disease to mental degeneration to cancer.

The research

The reason the life sustaining blood of the umbilical cord is significant is because of the stem cells it contains. Stem cells are very immature blood cells that are able to change, adapt and mature into any kind of blood cell as a baby develops. They are similar to bone marrow cells in this way. Because stem cells are considered “non-specific”, they can ensure the reproduction of healthy cells in varying parts of the body.  They can proliferate many times over, and can adapt to join in with any major organ’s cell structures. { read more }

About Lisa Gale

"She was an artist and her life was her canvas." (Kobi Yamada) When I grow up, I want to be her! For now, it's fun to pretend.

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www.oregonmod.com

Those last couple of weeks during pregnancy can stretch your patience to the outer limits.  Your well-meaning family and friends are calling more often and it seems everyone is questioning the baby’s arrival. Here’s the thing.  You do not have to merely “survive” and tolerate these last few days and weeks. You can actually cultivate a deep enjoyment of them.

Keep your body as comfortable as possible

Joints are expanding.  Breasts are enlarging.  Hormones are rushing to the scene (again!). Isn’t the human body an amazing creation?  Some of the last few weeks of bodily change may not be experienced as pleasant.  Make yourself comfortable.  Wear low heeled (not flat) shoes to alleviate back pain.  Put your feet up often.  Wear comfortable clothing.  Nurture your body’s needs and this will help your mindset. { read more }

About Lisa Gale

"She was an artist and her life was her canvas." (Kobi Yamada) When I grow up, I want to be her! For now, it's fun to pretend.

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www.babycenter.com

Pregnancy can be one of the most blissful times for some moms.  Others of us experience something very different. Even if you’ve hoped and prayed for a baby, you may still struggle keeping your emotions light and grateful.  Forty weeks can feel like a never ending story of hormonal havoc, so equip yourself with some helpful practices to get you through with your sanity in tact.

Accept all of your emotions

You may be feeling happy, peaceful, hopeful and idealistic one moment only to find an eruption of fear, anger and even desperation the next.  Hormones can and will take you for a ride sometimes.  Accept this.  Practice deep breathing and mindfulness when you involuntarily find yourself on the emotional roller coaster. Know that “this too shall pass” and do not believe some of the crazy thoughts that may roll through your mind.  Just breathe and allow.  Resistance of the process will only intensify the feelings.  Acceptance, allowance and deep breathing will enable you to stay mentally on board during the ride. { read more }

About Lisa Gale

"She was an artist and her life was her canvas." (Kobi Yamada) When I grow up, I want to be her! For now, it's fun to pretend.

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