Expressing Breast Milk

You know breast milk is best for your baby,  but sometimes you need to use a bottle. Expressing milk from your breasts and storing it in baby bottles can, at times,  be difficult for many mothers.  Luckily, it doesn’t have to be. Following the preparations below may assist you in this process:

1.  Select the time of the day when your breasts are at their fullest to express your milk.  Usually, morning seems to be the best time for most women.  Expect to collect milk about every three hours for about 30 minutes each time.

2.  Carefully wash all of your breast-pumping equipment as per the manufacturer’s instructions. Make it a standard habit to clean the equipment immediately after each use.  This usually helps keep the items easier to wash each time. Read more . . .

Determining Your Pregnancy Due Date

A pregnancy is considered full term at forty weeks, so your estimated due date is calculated 40 weeks from the date of conception. Sadly, this system of calculation can lead to a somewhat inaccurate due date. One of the most common reasons for this due date likelihood of being erroneous is that many women do not have regular menstrual cycles. The pregnancy due date is calculated using an average menstrual cycle of every twenty eight days and the ovulation date being mid-cycle. For most women, this will simply mean that the estimated due date can be as much as a month off. It is important not to rely too much on the first due date that your health professional gives you. Many pregnancies, however, do not last for precisely 40 weeks. It is quite normal that the actual pregnancy due date is longer than this by up to two weeks.

A rough pregnancy due date is enough for most women to plan when they are going to file for maternity leave. Even if the due date isn’t entirely accurate, however,  it can be used as a good indicator of when the women can decide to stop working.  As the pregnancy progresses, the pregnancy due date can be estimated much more accurately by either an ultrasound scan or  a blood test. Read more . . .

Detect Pregnancy Earlier

There are a variety of different early pregnancy test types that can be used to find out pregnancy earlier than traditional pregnancy tests. The most common early pregnancy test used by women currently is the home pregnancy testing kit. These tests can be purchased from drug stores and pharmacies and are a reliable form of early pregnancy test. A home pregnancy kit usually admits to be at least 97 percent accurate.

It is highly impossible that a positive result from an early pregnancy test would prove to be false. These home pregnancy kits, however, are not as accurate if you use them less than one week after a missed period. This is because the levels of hCG in the urine are diluted for the first few days of pregnancy and this can lead to hCG not being traced by some of the early pregnancy test kits.

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Crib Accessories

The most essential purchase that will be made when it comes to a child’s bedroom is the crib.  The crib will be  the centerpiece of the room and for this reason the crib’s accessories are just as important.  Depending on the type of crib purchased, it may be required to buy some of the accessories separately.

The mobile is, in fact, the most important purchase that parents can make.  The mobile is the main piece to bring the room and the crib together in relation to the décor. If the crib bought  is plain, but a theme is desired, a mobile that goes along with the décor can tie everything together seamlessly. Read more . . .

Baby Massage

Have you heard about baby massage? In fact, it may be something you should be looking into. The advantages of baby massage are great.  Not only does it give the mother or care giver time in which to bond with their baby, but it also helps in the baby’s development of muscle and in relaxation.  In the West, people have only really become conscious of the benefits of baby massage during the last thirty years.

In other parts of the globe, such as places like Asia and Africa, baby massage has been used for centuries. The therapeutic effects and benefits  of baby massage have been passed on from one generation to the next.

In the West these days, baby massage is available in clinics and in hospitals under the NHS (National Health Service) in the UK.    In fact, to a baby, another person’s touch is talk. By massaging their baby,  caregivers and parents can gain more confidence in handling them. By watching and interpreting their baby’s reaction to touch, they can better communicate to the baby.

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