Super Mammy Diaries

It's quite a waiting, and even a guessing game - trying to know when your baby will be born. 80% of babies are born between 37 and 42 weeks of gestation (with gestation being calculated from the Last Menstrual Period, i.e., LMP, or from the due date given at your nuchal scan in the first trimester.) Your babies gender could give you more of a clue as baby girls (due to their smaller size), and smaller babies tend to be born later, as do babies to parents who are under 30 years old. Babies to first time parents, also tend to have a longer gestation than subsequent siblings - so if you are expecting a second or third one, you can expect them to arrive a little sooner than your elder one did. In the long run, it doesn't matter if your baby is one of the 9% who are born on their due date, if they were a few days early, or many days late. However, during pregnancy, the waiting game can feel a lot more stressful than it will when you look back. You are likely uncomfortable, sleepless...

Nobody tells you that you will probably go home in diapers too. I often hear moms discussing their labor experiences, and even telling moms to be about how wonderful (yes, somehow I have heard a few - okay,  only one-  person say this), or over rated or even horrific their labor experience has been. However, I rarely, if ever, hear anyone discuss their post partum experience. We like to focus on the positives - the baby, and on what we are doing for the baby, but we dismiss the most important component: ourselves and our amazing bodies that have literally created and brought those babies into the world (and yes, that's valid no matter which way your child came out). I recently read that it takes 2 years for our bodies to completely recover from pregnancy and child birth, and some of us have multiple pregnancies within a 2 year span, so it is a long road to recovery and one that should not be so easily dismissed or forgotten. The immediate aftermath is particularly stressful as...

Hi Moms, The third and first trimester mirror one another in many ways including the exhaustion, and constant need to pee. However, it does help to know that the end (or actually the beginning) is almost here. While I had a crazy last trimester in my second pregnancy with multiple hospitalizations and preterm labor (which is why I have been MIA) - however, for most the last trimester goes quite smoothly and I thought it was the easiest one the first time around.. So hang in there, you will have your baby in your arms really soon!  Also, for those of you wondering what things are looking like down there or trying to decipher what your physician is talking about, here are the three terms you have to understand : (tons on this in my previous post on labor and delivery but for those who want a quick reference  see below)  Dilation - how much your cervix has opened. The goal is 10 cms, and the journey from 0 to 10 can take weeks or hours (rarely, though it does happen in subse...

Congratulations Mom! Or almost mom. You have alot to look forward to, and your life is about to change, permanently. But ofcourse, you knew that. Here are some things you may not have known and should be aware of, about your new born baby. For more about your pregnancy, or labor and delivery , click here. 29 Thing to Know About Your Baby, at Birth:  1. Yes, your baby is the cutest in the world! But rest assured (incase you get a little freaked out),  he or she is just going to keep getting cuter... And you may eventually look back and admit that newborns do look a little alien-ish.  2. They have dry peeling skin (and even lips), which gets worse in the first few weeks. It's from suddenly having to deal with air after being in a pool for 9 months. 3. They have lanugo, which often falls off by 3-4 months. Note, some kids are just hairy, my son's moustache turned out to be genetic and not lanugo! But ofcourse it's still adorable!  Cone head! 4. Have you heard of the c...

While pregnant, I found myself caught up in arguments with my husband about my how he envisioned my labor process. He saw it as a short and quick process  wherein you go to the hospital when your water breaks, women fuss and sweat while guests are waiting outside, and the baby is out so quick that there's even a risk of the delivery happening in the car. One of the times he was ranting about how he's scared I will deliver in the car, I had to sit him down and go through what was in his head and realized that all of his ideas came from the television! Quite contrary to what was going on in my head.  Ever since I found out how babies were born, the thought of me being in that position scared the living daylights out of me. However, while I was pregnant, I tried not to think about it for the majority of my pregnancy and focused on what was going on with my baby in the present. By the time I was closer I just so ready to be done. I had over time though formed an idea of what I wan...