But what is making you so tired? How can that tiny little growing being inside you be sapping so much of your energy? To fuel the baby-making, your body is producing more blood, your heart rate is up, your metabolism is working overtime, and you’re using up more nutrients and water. It also takes four months until the baby’s placenta  is complete. So it’s no wonder you are always fighting fatigue!

So when a nap is not an option, and the show must go on, what kind of energy boost can you hope for?  Sugar and caffeine may give you a temporary high, but after the initial surge in blood sugar you’ll plummet lower than before. What you need are some nutritious, energy-boosting foods to help you get through the day.

image credit: all diets review

Grazing (eating 5 or 6 small meals instead of 3 big ones) may be the best way to eat while pregnant. You’ll keep your energy levels even and avoid the nausea that may accompany a too-large meal. And be sure to drink plenty of water.

And while you’re not literally “eating for two,” your body does need about 300 extra calories per day.  Bon appétit!

Protein: Recommendation for pregnancy: 75 grams of it per day. Helps keep you energized and aids in the development of your baby’s rapidly reproducing cells.

• milk, cheese, and yogurt
• eggs
• lean meat and poultry
• fish and seafood
• beans, lentils, split peas
• quinoa
• nuts and seeds

Complex Carbohydrates:

• whole-grain breads, crackers, and cereals
• fresh, dried, and frozen fruits
• fresh vegetables
• baked potatoes with skin
• dried beans and peas

Iron: Fatigue can be related to iron-deficiency anemia, especially in pregnant women. Iron-rich foods will keep your irons stores elevated and help pump up your energy level.

• dried fruit
• spinach
• soy products
• lean red meat
• duck
• cooked shellfish
• cooked dried beans
• oatmeal
• iron-fortified cereals

Putting it all together: Here are just a few meal and snack ideas to help you get that little extra energy-lift.

• Sandwiches of whole-grain bread filled with grated cheese, tuna, lettuce and tomatoes.
• Salads with fresh veges and feta cheese
• Low-fat yogurt with dried fruit and granola
• Hummus with bread or vegetable sticks
• Fresh fruit
• dried fruits and nuts
• Hearty soups with veges, beans, legumes, chicken or meat
• Oatmeal or unsweetened breakfast cereals
• Fruit-shakes and fresh-squeezed juice
• Chicken breast with baked potato and steamed veges
• Whole-grain pasta topped with grilled veges and salmon

American Pregnancy explains that this condition actually has a name: Telogen effluvium is the excessive shedding of hair that occurs one to five months following pregnancy. It affects almost half of all childbearing women, but like most changes during pregnancy, it is temporary.

If you are concerned about thinning hair, American Pregnancy recommends a few things you can do to reduce hair loss after pregnancy:

• Consult with your health care provider to ensure a proper balance of hormones
• Avoid pigtails, cornrows, hair weaves, braids and tight hair rollers which can pull and stress your hair
• Eat a diet high in fruits and vegetables, which contain flavonoids and antioxidants that may provide protection for the hair follicles and encourage hair growth
• Use shampoos and conditioners that contain biotin and silica
• Hair is fragile when it is wet, so be gentle; avoid fine tooth combs
• If you need to use blow dryers and other heated hair instruments, try to use the cool setting
• Supplement your diet with the following nutrients:
  • Vitamin B complex (Catergory A)
  • Biotin (Possibly safe; orally and appropriately)
  • Vitamin C (Catergory A)
  • Vitamin E ( Likely safe if amount does not exceed the RDA; possibly safe if it does)
  • Zinc (Likely safe when used orally and appropriately; likely unsafe when used orally in high doses)

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In your first trimester, you’ll find that you feel extra sleepy all the time, which is brought on by high levels of progesterone. Your second trimester might bring a period of peaceful sleep, but don’t get to used to it because when the third trimester comes along, with that beautiful belly getting bigger every day, sleep may seem like a distant memory.

You’re exhausted, but you can’t sleep! Help!

Sleep Position:

Lying on your side with your knees tucked in is likely to be the most comfortable position. It also take some stress off your heart, because it keeps the baby’s weight off of the inferior vena cava, the large vein that carries blood back to the heart from your feet and legs. Also, if you sleep on your left side, it helps take the pressure of your uterus off your liver. It also helps with digestion and improves circulation to the heart, fetus, uterus, and kidneys.

Pillow Relief:

Some women feel more comfortable with a pillow under their tummy, between their legs, or at the small of your back may help to relieve some pressure. This is something you’ll have to experiment with a bit, and maybe try one of the various “pregnancy pillows” on the market.

maternity pillows

Watch what and when you eat:

Take it easy on the caffeinated drinks like soda, coffee, and tea. If you can’t give up your caffeine, try to restrict it to earlier part of the day.

You need to get plenty of fluid and nutrition during the day, but try to avoid eating and drinking a lot within a few hours of bedtime. Eat larger meals for breakfast and lunch, and a smaller meal at dinner. If you’re bothered by nausea, a few crackers before you go to sleep may do the trick.

Relief for Heartburn:

The first step is to avoid foods that trigger heartburn. Some common culprits are carbonated drinks, alcohol, caffeine, citrus fruits and juices, tomatoes, mustard, vinegar, mint products, processed meats, and any foods that are spicy, highly seasoned, fried, or fatty.  Again, eat small, frequent meals, and chew your food slowly and thoroughly. Don’t eat for a few hours before bedtime.  Elevating your head and upper body may help keep stomach acids where they belong.

Create an inviting sleep environment:

If you can get into a routine of going to bed and waking up at the same time each day, it will help you fall asleep at night. Try to do something relaxing just before you get into bed, like taking a warm bath, drinking something soothing, like tea with honey, or ask your partner for a little foot massage. Exercising during the day may help your body release pent up energy which will help you sleep at night, but don’t exercise right before bedtime.

Leg Cramps:

No one can sleep through a leg cramp! To make it go away, try pressing your feet hard against the wall or to stand on the leg.  Also, make sure that you’re getting enough calcium in your diet, which can help reduce leg cramps.

Reduce Stress:

If your days are always spent on the go, consider a prenatal yoga class or some other relaxation exercise to help you unwind. If you are worried about the birth or how you will cope with a new baby, a childbirth or parenting class will help you feel more confident about the future. Knowledge, and the company of other women in a similar position, may be comforting and help you sleep better at night.

Take Naps:

Regardless of everything you do, there are times when you just can’t sleep. In these cases, short naps during the day can be a life-saver. Instead of tossing and turning, get up and do something: read a book, catch up on letters or email, put in a load of laundry, wash the dishes. Eventually, you’ll probably feel tired enough to get back to sleep.  Then, you’ll have cleared up some space the next day for a nice hour’s nap!

feature image: Baby Announcement Wording

1. Less than 10% of babies actually arrive on their “due date.” Experts agree that a normal pregnancy lasts between 38 and 42 weeks. About 7 out of 10 babies are born after their due date! There is NO way to predict with absolute accuracy what day your baby will be born, you will have to trust your body and your baby to let you know w hen it’s time!

2. Unless you have had a first-trimester ultrasound, gestational dating is largely inaccurate. Later ultrasounds can be off by 2-3 weeks, meaning an induction at 38 weeks might actually be taking place sooner than intended.

3. First time mothers are more often overdue than not! Even 42 weeks PLUS is “normal” and is not a reason to rush into an induction.

4. The last few weeks that a baby spends in utero are an important time for baby’s development, most importantly brain development. A surge of hormones in your baby’s body might play a part in initiating labor.  According to Lamaze, research indicates that once your baby’s lungs are fully mature, he releases a protein that tells his mother’s body that it’s time. A baby born even a few weeks early is at an increased risk for breathing problems, admission to special-care nurseries and breastfeeding difficulties.

5. Which brings us to our next point: Full-term babies (39-40 weeks) are healthier! According to Time: “It’s kind of surprising that insurance providers haven’t curtailed the practice of early elective deliveries entirely as babies born sooner tend to have more health complications and cost more. Even babies delivered at 37 to 38 weeks can end up costing 10 times as much as a full-term newborn, according to the March of Dimes. One study found that reducing early elective deliveries to under 2% could save close to $1 billion in health care each year.”

6. An induced labor is likely to be longer, more intense, and more invasive than a natural labor. You will need IV fluids and continuous electronic fetal monitoring. You will be more likely to use an epidural to deal with the intense contractions. Inductions don’t always work according to plan, often necessitating  forceps, vacuum assistance, and c-sections. Relative to c-section babies, babies who go through labor are born more alert and are better able to breathe and latch on at the breast. (Read this article in Time.com)

7. Better in than out! All of my babies were over-due, and 3 children later I have come to the conclusion that babies are much less trouble in the uterus than out! That is my own personal opinion, of course, and I do love my children dearly!

Bottom line: Be respectful of your baby and let him be a player in his own birth. The safest birthing option for you and your baby is to wait for labor to begin on its own, and in this way you’ll give him the best possible start as he enters our world.

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According to researchers, the three months before conception and the first month of pregnancy are the most vital times for taking prenatal vitamins. So women who want to or may become pregnant should be particularly vigilant during this time frame.

Folic acid is one of the essential ingredients in prenatal vitamins, and plays a major role in healthy fetal development.  Talk to your doctor about a healthy diet and appropriate prenatal vitamins.

Sherry Hopkins, a Las Vegas midwife, has attended the home births of many well-educated, affluent, informed women, including a pediatrician, an emergency room doctor and nurses. Home births are the new “it” thing to do.

“I do think there’s a backlash against what’s happening in hospitals,” said Gina Crosley-Corcoran, a Chicago blogger and pre-law student, who gave birth to her third baby (a V-bac) at home. “Women are finding that the hospital experience wasn’t a good one.”

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The hospital birth experience does seem to be becoming increasingly invasive and drug-dependent.  There are relatively minor inconveniences such as being poked by needles, fetal-monitoring, and being told what position to labor in. Then there are bigger concerns such as cord-clamping,  inducement, soaring C-section rates, and brachial plexus injuries. And then there is the matter of comfort: birthing mothers want to feel at ease in their own surroundings, going at their own pace, without interference from doctors who want to speed things up so they won’t miss dinner.

Dr. Joel Evans, a board-certified OB-GYN who supports home birth, calls the medical establishment “resistant to change, resistant to dialogue, resistant to flexibility.”  For many women, hospital births have become a stressful, medicalized experience where every birthing woman is treated under the same protocols.

Home births are not for everyone, especially those who are high-risk. Emergencies do happen, so it is important to be close to a hospital in case you need to be rushed there. An informed decision, careful examination of the pros and cons, together with expert advice, is always the way to go.

Robbie Davis-Floyd, a medical anthropologist at the University of Texas at Austin and researcher on global trends in childbirth, says: “Women who are truly educated in evidence-based maternity care understand the safety and the multiple benefits of home birth.”

Read more: Home birth on the rise by a dramatic 20 percent

If you have had a home-birth of are thinking of having one, we’d like to hear about it! Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Why We Need Water

A woman’s body is made up of about 55% water, and a newborn baby’s body is about 75% water! Water is a vital part of many bodily functions: it  flushes waste products from the cells, aids in liver and kidney function, regulates body temperature, protects joints and organs, and generates healthy skin. Because blood is made mostly of water, it’s especially important to drink a lot during pregnancy, as mom’s blood volume increases significantly.

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What Happens When You’re Dehydrated

When your body starts running low on fluids, you may experience fatigue, constipation, blood clots, preterm labor, and, in severe cases, miscarriage. It is also dangerous because it can compromise your baby’s nourishment. Proper hydration is important for producing adequate breast milk, too.

Signs of Dehydration

Sweating in the summer is one way your body cools itself off, but it can cause you to lose a significant amount of water. Here are some signs to look out for:

• Dry mouth and thirst
• Cool or pale skin
• Nausea or vomiting
• Rising pulse
• Feeling dizzy, weak, or lightheaded
• Bad headache that doesn’t improve with acetaminophen
• Abdominal cramping lasting 15 minutes or more
• Fever of 102 degrees F. or higher
• Feeling confused or disoriented

If you experience any of these symptoms, stop immediately to rest in a cool place and drink water. If the symptoms don’t subside within 30 minutes, call your doctor. You may need to be put on an IV to rehydrate yourself.

How Much Should I Drink?

To prevent dehydration, you should try to drink at least 8-12 eight-ounce glasses of non-caffeinated fluids every day. Caffeine can actually dehydrate you. Fruits and vegetables count too, since they contain substantial amounts of water. You may not always feel thirsty, but try to drink at regular intervals throughout the day anyway.  If it’s very hot or you are exercising, increase your water intake. Your urine should be light yellow, and you should need to go to the bathroom a few times a day.

It’s important to be positive when viewing your new figure, appreciating not only your enhanced bra size and glowing skin, but also your wider hips, fuller face, and stretch marks.

Purge your vocabulary of words like “fat” and “huge.” Embrace words such as soft, womanly, voluptuous, curvy, nurturing, fertile, radiant, miraculous. You have been chosen to receive a tremendous gift, a new life, and your very own body is a partner in the creation of this baby.

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“Pregnant women become spiritually and physically attractive,” writes Frederick Wirth, MD, author of Prenatal Parenting: The Complete Psychological and Spiritual Guide to Loving Your Unborn Child. “There’s a serene radiance of fertility and ripeness.” That’s a wonderful way to think about the beauty and wonder of your body changing in response to your baby developing inside you. Believe in that and nurture yourself during this time. The way you act, feel and think as an expectant mother actually has a profound impact on your baby. (Lamaze.org)

You may not be thrilled with the weight gain, but keep in mind that your body is working toward a very high purpose.  Your body is doing exactly what it was made to do!  Take care to nurture yourself physically by eating wisely, drinking lots of water, exercising, and getting enough sleep. Charge yourself emotionally by reading magazines, web sites and books that help you build confidence rather than cause you to worry. Spend time with good friends and family, and make time for yourself as well. Nourish yourself spiritually by believing in yourself and recognizing that you are a partner with God in bringing a new, precious soul into the world.

Picture to yourself the moment when you will hold your newborn baby in your arms, and know that it is all worth it.

Read more at Lamaze.org

My first pregnancy went 2 weeks past my given due date, and I was induced. Had I actually been better informed at the time on many various topics, I’d probably have done it differently. With baby number 2, I went into natural labor at one week “post-date,” and with baby number 3, I was actually 2 weeks and a couple days “overdue” according to my doctor’s estimated due date (much to the consternation of the midwife on duty at the hospital!). But all three pregnancies were, thankfully, healthy and uneventful.

These experiences have led me to conclude that my babies are just not ready to come out by 40 weeks. And what’s wrong with that?  The Lie of the EDD: Why Your Due Date Isn’t when You Think says that “if left alone, 50-80% of mothers will gestate beyond 40 weeks.”  Misha Safranski goes on to explain that the 40 week due date is based upon Naegele’s Rule. This theory was originatedin 1744, and is based upon evidence in the Bible that human gestation lasts approximately 10 lunar months. The formula was publicized around 1812 by German obstetrician Franz Naegele and since has become the accepted norm for calculating the due date. However, strictly speaking, a lunar month (from new moon to new moon) is actually 29.53 days, which makes 10 lunar months roughly 295 days, a full 15 days longer than the 280 days gestation we’ve been lead to believe is average.

A More Accurate Calculation

The best way to determine an accurate due date, no matter what method you use, is to chart your cycles so that you know what day you ovulate. An alternate way to calculate your due date would be like this: For a first-time mother, take the date of your last menstrual period, subtract 3 months, then add 15 days. For women who have previously given birth, take your last menstrual period, subtract 3 months and add 10 days.

Avoiding Unnecessary Induction

The induction of labor, while occasionally prudent, has reached epidemic proportions over the past two decades. If you come under pressure from a care provider to deliver at a certain point, you can be armed with the knowledge that the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists itself does not recommend interfering with a normal pregnancy before 42 completed weeks.  Knowing your true conception date and EDD (estimated delivery date) can help you and your baby avoid much unnecessary trauma throughout the labor and delivery. Remember, babies come on their own time, and sometimes all it takes is a bit of patience in waiting for him or her be born when s/he is truly ready.

There are some risks associated with post term pregnancies. Tests and careful monitoring during the last weeks of pregnancy can help reduce the risks of anything going wrong for you or your baby.