Bi-Weekly Bump- Week of November 24th

When exactly can you take your first pregnancy test?

How to deal with second thoughts while trying to get pregnant and what to do about them

The UPS has to show flexibility with pregnant workers with new lawsuit initiated

What are the real risks when co-sleeping with your baby?

Kate, Duchess of Cambridge has ‘strict’ guidelines to adhere to during her choice of clothing for her second pregnancy

Preventive care is the key to dealing with high risk pregnancies

New results in study not linking light alcohol use to low birth rate

What to do when your significant other isn’t excited about an unexpected pregnancy 

And make sure to send us your positive pregnancy tests for our Tumblr blog

Bed Sharing with your Baby

The rise of attachment parenting is on the rise.  Celebrity endorsers of this parenting method include Mayim Bialik, Alicia Silverstone, and Kourtney Kardashian.  Mayim Bialik came under fire when she stated that she breastfeeds her 3 year old son, sleeps with her 2 sons, and has never given either of her sons any antibiotics or medicine.  Alicia Silverstone fed her son Bear Blu by chewing his food and giving it to him through her mouth when her son was still a baby.  There is a fine line between attachment parenting and being a helicopter parent. The main principles of attachment parenting include: Co-sleeping, Baby-wearing, breastfeeding, birth bonding (bonding directly after giving birth), and being there almost 100% of the time for your child. 

The main question is co-sleeping safe or is it dangerous for your child? SIDS or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome  is the leading cause of death in infants from 1 month to 1 year old.   But is there a connection between co-sleeping and SIDS.  Some research says yes and some say no.  

The Huffington post reports that a new study and it's findings show an increase in SIDS with parents who co-sleep with their young children. 

"The findings, published in the journal Pediatrics on Monday, relied on data from 24 states collected between 2004 and 2012 by the National Center for the Review and Prevention of Child Deaths Case Reporting System. Researchers analyzed a total of 8,207 deaths.

The study defines "bed-sharing" as "the infant sleeping on the same surface with a person or animal." Roughly 70 percent of the infants were bed-sharing at the time of their death, a correlation that was especially pronounced among younger babies.

"Bed-sharing for 0-4 month old babies is extremely risky," Rachel Moon, M.D., a pediatrician and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) researcher at Children's National Health Hospital and an author on the study, wrote in an email to The Huffington Post. "In this study, this sleep situation presented the most important risk for infants in this age group."

Among babies between the ages of 4 months and 1 year, however, the predominant risk factor was rolling into objects in their sleep space.

"Although we always recommend that the infant's sleep area be clear of pillows, blankets, bumper pads, etc., many parents forget the importance of this message as the baby gets older," Moon said. "However, these items are equally dangerous as the baby becomes more mobile." 

--The Huffington Post 

 If you want to co-sleep it is important to understand the risks and how to protect your baby from the dangers.  Investing in a bed side bassinet that sits up against a bed can give you the feeling of closeness but can also prevent you from rolling on top of your baby. If you want to co-sleep please read this article in its' entirety.  

Sources: 

Baby Center 

CoSleeping.edu  

Huffington Post

Medical News Today

Chop.edu

Bi-Weekly Bump- Week of November 10th

Is Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake pregnant?

New study says that DHA supplements may help reduce stress in pregnant women

Brad Paisley spilled the beans- Carrie Underwood is having a BOY!

Veteran Women with PTSD face pregnancy risk due to high levels of stress 

How to manage and deal with those second thoughts while trying to get pregnant?  

The fit shaming of pregnant women needs to stop

Look at these cute celebrity babies all dressed up in their Halloween costumes

And finally make sure to send us your BFP’s (Big Fat Positives for your newbies out there) so we can put them on our Tumblr Page!

The risks with smoking while pregnant

Smoking is becoming less and less publicly acceptable.  I have severe smoke allergies and asthma so when I am behind a smoker on the street I usually stop and wait for about a minute until they are far enough away from me before I continue walking.  The number of times having to do this lately though has become less and less.   Another sign of the changing times is that smokers that stand right in front of entrances forcing nonsmokers to walk through a cloud of smoke to get inside are now considered a nuisance and are given dirty looks.  The number of smokers has gown down in the last 10 years reports Gallup.  Currently there is roughly 1 smoker in every 5 Americans. 

According to the CDC the number of pregnant women who smoke during pregnancy has also gone down.  So how many women smoke during pregnancy?  From the Center for Disease Control, approximately 10% of women reported smoking during the last 3 months of pregnancy. Of women who smoked 3 months before pregnancy, 55% quit during pregnancy. Among women who quit smoking during pregnancy, 40% relapsed within 6 months after delivery. 

This is good news but what about the women who relapsed or didn’t attempt to quit at all?  The 4000+ ingredients in cigarettes has been known to decrease fertility, increase risk of stillbirth or miscarriage, low birth weight,  increase risk of breathing problems for your child, placental abruption, and even birth defects. Below is a diagram that shows just a few of the ingredients that are inside that cigarette. 

How to Deal With Second Thoughts While Trying to Get Pregnant

By Nicole H.

So there you are, trying every position in the book, reading up on old wives' tales about how to get pregnant, tracking your cycle like a bloodhound on the hunt, and then you find yourself having nightmares of screaming babies. Suddenly, the idea of getting pregnant scares you to death. You've developed some sort of superpower that detects the sound of a baby's cry and a child's whiney voice from miles away. Panic has set in.

You feel like a traitor. You and your partner discussed this. You both decided you were ready to get pregnant, but now you're having second thoughts. Are these feelings just cold feet or are they something you should take seriously? Before you put the kibosh on baby-making, try these first.

Don't Ignore Your Feelings

The worst thing you can do is try to pretend that you're all right with everything. If you do that, you might make it worse, undermine your relationship with your partner, and actually make a very normal feeling into something much bigger. Take a deep breath, acknowledge that you are having doubts, and deal with them.

Communicate with Your Partner

If conception is a team effort, you need to tell your partner how you feel. One seed of doubt can destroy a relationship. It can lead to you avoiding intimacy and leave your partner feeling confused, hurt, and alone.

“Be open and honest.”

The best thing you can do is to be open and honest with your partner. Share your doubts and fears with them. They may be able to alleviate those fears and put you right back into the game, or they may share similar fears they've been having. It's OK to take a minute to regroup and reassess your feelings on pregnancy and having a baby.

Talk with Trusted Friends Who Have Kids

Who better to go to about second thoughts on baby-making than someone who already has kids?  Find a friend that you know will be honest, preferably one with older kids, get them alone, and pick their brain. They can share with you the gritty details – good and bad – of pregnancy and parenthood. And if you really want to see your girlfriend glow, ask her how she felt the first time she heard "I love you, Mommy."

Talk to Your Parents or a Close Relative with Kids that You Trust

What if you don't have a friend with kids?  Maybe you’re the first in your group to be going on this journey. Try one of your parents, a close aunt, or a cousin. The view may be a bit biased, especially if your mom is known to gush about what a darling little angel you were as a child, but they still have a wealth of knowledge to share. They can tell you how they dealt with their own fears and handled parenting challenges.

The most important thing to remember when you're trying to have a baby is that every parent becomes a parent for the first time. Everyone has had fears about it on some level. Take ownership of your fears, talk them out with your partner, and get some advice from those who have already gone down that path. Try to remember what started you down this road in the first place, and trust that with a little discussion, you can right your compass again. In the end, you'll feel more comfortable with your decision, and your relationship with your partner will be better off because of it.  

Did you have second thoughts tying to get pregnant? How did you cope?

Bump on a Budget- Month of November

Signing up for email lists can be great; you can get coupons, free samples, and lots of valuable information.  However if you sign up for too many emails you run the risk of getting your information sold to other companies and then the 5 emails you signed up for daily become 50 or 100 emails.

Before even getting pregnant consider creating a separate baby coupon email using Yahoo or Gmail.  If you get too many emails you can simply just ignore them or close the account when baby comes.  You also don’t have to worry about your personal account getting flooded with emails that you didn’t ask for and don’t want.

Coupons & Sales

BabyRUS - Select baby items are up to 60% off.  No code required
SurePredict - 20% off our SurePredict 20 Ovulation and 5 Pregnancy tests Combo. Use the code 'WZQBKR7D'.  Ends 11/30/2014

Amazon - 50% off of select baby items. No code required

Target.com - Free shipping. No Code Required

Kohls - $10 off any purchase of $40+ in women's sweaters. In store and Online

Vera Bradley - New baby collection out and free shipping on purchases over $75.  No Code Required.

Other Money Saving Tips

Say ‘Yes’ To Baby Showers – If your office, your sister, and your mother in law all want to throw you separate showers, let them.  Not only are showers fun, but you can get gifts that will save you money later on.

Shop Secondhand – You can grow out of your maternity clothes quickly so instead of buying a whole new maternity wardrobe, buy a few key pieces from secondhand shops.  Also invest in Belly Bands. For newborns, they grow out of their sizes quick so stock up clothes in a variety of sizes.  Try garage sales (sometimes they sell new clothes or very gently used that the baby only wore a few times), flea markets, and the clearance rack during your pregnancy. Ask your doctor to help guesstimate baby’s size.

Get samples from your OB/GYN – Ask for samples of formula, diapers, and other baby items.  Even a little bit will help you. 

Start clipping coupons – As soon as you find out you are expecting, start clipping coupons for diapers, formula, and wipes.  Stocking up with just a few every month will help you when baby comes and you go through a pack of wipes in one week. 

Avoid buying everything – You don’t need to buy everything for your child right away when you are still pregnant.  Make a budget and try to stick to it the best you can. 

Borrow from friends and family – If you have friends that are pregnant or were pregnant, see if you can borrow maternity clothes from them.  Same goes with baby goods.  Hand-me-downs can go through many children before being worn out since most clothes only get worn a few weeks to a month before being outgrown. 

Learn to love freezer meals – Start making freezer meals during your third trimester (or before if you are too tired to cook while pregnant) and then just pull them out and heat them in the oven when dinner time comes.  This will be healthier and save you tons of money on takeout when your little baby arrives.  

Vitamins to use while TTC

If you are TTC are pregnant, your body needs more vitamins than ever before.  A lot of the information out there can be confusing and misleading. 

Here are our top picks for vitamins that you need.  All of these vitamins are available at your local drug store or Target. 

Folic Acid – Helps prevent birth defects and increase fertility

Multivitamin – Studies have lined women taking a multivitamin to lower ovulation problems

Zinc – Zinc contributes to ovulation and fertility in women and also semen and testosterone production in men, according to the American Pregnancy Association. “It has been noted that zinc deficiency can correlate with impaired sperm production,” says Burger. The Office of Dietary Supplements at the National Institutes of Health recommends that men receive a daily intake of 11 mg of zinc and women take 8 mg. Oysters have more zinc per serving than any other food, but you can also consume other foods rich in zinc like whole grains, other kinds of seafood, beans and dairy products.

Iron – Pregnant women need around 27 mg of Iron per day.

Calcium – Nutrition experts recommend that women looking to get pregnant should consume around 1,000 mg a day, because when you do become pregnant your growing baby will need calcium.