post pregnancy weight loss journey | SPRING IT MAY ENHANCE FERTILITY

post pregnancy weight loss journey

Pregnancy Over 40, Spring and Fertility

Since spring has sprung and, along with it (at least where I live), some very nice weather, I thought Id share an article that connects spring with everything from elevated moods to increased fertility. Read more:

Scientists know that when seasons change, the retina — the part of the eye connected to the brain by the optic nerve — naturally reacts to variations in the amount of daylight. This triggers hormonal changes.

Particularly important is the adjustment in melatonin, a hormone that affects our mood and how we sleep. As a result of light changes, the body naturally produces less melatonin during spring, causing a lift in mood, a reduced desire to sleep, an increase in sexual appetite and a need to eat less.

SEE ALSO: BEE POLLEN FOR FERTILITY (getpregnantover40.com)

New findings published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, by researchers at the University of Massachusetts medical school, have also proved that activity levels rise as the days get longer. After analysing the exercise habits and food intakes of almost 600 men and women over a year, Professor Yunsheng Ma found that most subjects gained up to 2lb (1kg) in winter; they ate lots of carbohydrate and exercised little. Come spring, however, activity levels soared and calorie intake dropped. It seemed that the only reason for this was the change in season.

This is partly a psychological effect but also physical. Evolutionary biologists believe that our bodies are programmed to be more active as the hormone mix changes with more light. Released from the chemical messages that make us withdraw in winter, the body feels energised, ready to hunt for food and to give birth.

Spring is also the time, supposedly, when a young man’s thoughts turn to sex. And it is true that men are more fertile at this time of year than any other. Ironically, though, this is because levels of actual sexual activity seem to drop in spring. The less sex men have, the more they save up their sperm and the greater their sperm count when they do have sex.

Professor Michael Smolensky, a chronobiologist from the University of Texas specialising in the relationship of biology to the rhythms of hours, days and months, says that statistics indicate that sexual activity in human beings is much greater in autumn,. “When we look at couples who have kept sex diaries and single males who have kept their own data, sexual activity is rather low in spring,” Smolensky says.

This fits with studies that have shown conclusively that levels of testosterone, the male sex hormone, are higher in late summer and early autumn than spring, so that’s when men have the greatest sex drive and when conception rates are high.

But sperm counts do peak in March, April and May. Smolensky says: “In sexually active males, sperm count is affected by two factors, environmental temperature and sexual activity. When men are sexually active, sperm count goes down; when they’re not sexually active, they’re not using it, so it goes up.” That could explain Smolensky’s findings that there are more unplanned babies conceived during spring than any other time of year. There are more sperm around, so despite less sex, one’s more likely to hit the mark.

Spring not only improves our mood and energy levels, it can protect our teeth and bones. On the first few sunny days of spring many people feel the urge to take off those winter togs and do a bit of prancing in the sunshine. This is in response to the fact that for several months our bodies have been starved of vitamin D, essential for healthy bones and teeth. And we make it only when our skins are exposed to sunlight. We’re craving a top-up. 
  (www.timesonline.co.uk)

Do you find information about post pregnancy weight loss journey are you looking for? If not, below may help you find more information about the post pregnancy weight loss journey. Thank you for visiting, have a great day.

baby weight loss first week after birth | THE IMPORTANCE OF ANDROGENS FOR WOMENS FERTILITY

baby weight loss first week after birth

Pregnancy Over 40, Trying To conceive Over 40 Testosterone Needed

Many women may have a problem with an overabundance of male hormones which can lead to fertility problems.
 However, some male hormones are needed for a healthy reproductive system. This article explains how androgens can actually aid in egg development:

SEE ALSO: INCREASE PROGESTERONE NATURALLY (getpregnantover40.com)

Male sex hormones, such as testosterone, have well defined roles in male reproduction and prostate cancer. What may surprise many is that they also play an important role in female fertility. A new study finds that the presence and activity of male sex hormones in the ovaries helps regulate female fertility, likely by controlling follicle growth and development and preventing deterioration of follicles that contain growing eggs.
from: 
www.urmc.rochester.edu

Do you find information about baby weight loss first week after birth are you looking for? If not, below may help you find more information about the baby weight loss first week after birth. Thank you for visiting, have a great day.

baby jaundice weight lose | NATURAL PREGNANCY OVER 50 YES 50!

baby jaundice weight lose

I frequently write about women and couples who get pregnant over 40.  Its certainly not that uncommon contrary to the popular media.  But what about pregnancy over 50?  Can it happen naturally.  I have a number of cases of pregnancy over 50 on a new page on my website.  Most of these cases were surprise pregnancies and their spouse was also over the age of 50.  Read more here:

NATURAL PREGNANCY OVER 50 (getpregnantover40.com)

Do you find information about baby jaundice weight lose are you looking for? If not, below may help you find more information about the baby jaundice weight lose. Thank you for visiting, have a great day.

baby losing weight weaning | Motherhood Nobody said it was easy

baby losing weight weaning

You know whats hard? Life. Marriage. Being a parent.

All of that.

Ive been feeling like a failure lately in my endeavors. People say things to me like, "I dont know how you do it!" and "You are a supermom" and "4 boys? You are amazing."

Most of it is lip service from strangers, the go-to things that people say to moms (and moms for 4 boys). It goes in one ear and out the other most of the time, but lately those comments have been giving me stress. This was a crazy move for us, a big change returning to boat life and living across country from my family. I feel like Im barely holding on and that Im frequently dropping the ball with our kids. We wrestled with our decision to send our oldest to public school instead of continuing homeschooling him. We wrestled with the decision to homeschool our 4-year old twins instead of re-configuring the budget to send them to preschool. Weve been wrestling with the decision on whether or not I want to go back to college (and all that entails-- registering, student loans or GI Bill, childcare, time commitment, yadda yadda). Just life decisions. It is all life and it is all normal and it is all good, but it has been a lot all at once.

But through all of this, I have felt like I have been stretched as a mother. One of our 4-years has been struggling with his asthma. Our baby had bronchiolitis and is taking a long time to recover. I am s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d. The other day, our 1st grader wanted me to come see the DinoTrux he built out of Legos and one of our preschoolers was babbling and the baby needed a nebulizer treatment and the dog was barking because the delivery man dropped a package off at the door and who knows where the other preschooler was... and I snapped, "Go to your rooms! Go, go, go!"

I want a break.

When I hear the lip service from strangers, I think, "Is this really as good as it gets?" It makes me feel like they dont really know how it goes at home. They may see a glimpse of our life-- the boys darting around happily at the park-- but all I can think is that the boys will be so tired leaving that 2 of them will be crying, one will be hitting another, and another will be taking off down the path on the way to the car instead of listening to me... and that once we get home I will have to wrestle them all through the bedtime routine. I feel like Im yelling all the time. I feel like Im sneaking to my room all the time to let the stress go, to say a prayer, to plead to God for some mommy courage, to vent to new friends who probably think Im nuts. And so the kind words from strangers, most likely meant to be encouraging, often make me feel like Im falling short from what they "think" of me, that Im not portraying our true selves, and that surely motherhood has to be more than where we are right now.

I know motherhood is more than this. We have days and strides where I am overwhelmed with joy from my our children. We have moments where I cant imagine being anywhere else in the world. And then the last couple weeks have left me feeling burnt out. BURNT OUT. Like, flame extinguished, running on fumes, headache, heartache, tears, sleepless nights, BURNT OUT. My face feels like it is in a constant frown and I swear Im getting wrinkles from worry lines. Im sure that my far away friends and family think Im a nut. Im texting everyone too much and calling too much and writing too much and in general, being a hot mess. Im venting to new friends about potty training woes, 4-year old woes, back to school woes, moving woes, Navy woes, woe, woe, woe... and I wake up in the morning feeling defeated before my feet hit the ground.

I finally opened up a devotional I got from MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) last year and find myself nodding "yes" to every page. Known & Loved by Caryn Rivadeneira has been such a comfort. This morning I made everyone breakfast and eagerly opened up my devotional, ready to dive into the Word and feel like Im finally getting my feet back on the ground. My parents recently flew out for a visit and it was so good, so good having my mom get us on schedule and making me feel like I wasnt losing my mind. Reading this devotional is a lot like that feeling, the rope guiding me through this dark tunnel where Im not sure what lays ahead or if other people feel this way. The best part of this devotional, to me, is discovering, yes. Yes... other moms do feel this way. It is a day by day journey. There are hard times. Change is hard. Change is hard on the children. It is hard on the parents. It is hard on me-- I feel like it all is falling on my shoulders to guide each of them individually through this time of transition and that somehow, from somewhere, I need to have all the answers. It feels like our world has been turned upside down and that all these little eyes are looking at me for guidance and Im just as confused-- yet somehow in charge of the ship. I have to balance their physical needs with the clockwork schedule of our house and now this crazy range of emotional needs as well. How do I get it all done?

Ive struggled with this blog post because I havent known all the words I wanted to put in it, the feelings Ive wanted to convey. There are so many moving parts when you PCS, when you check into a new command, when you arrive in a new duty station, when your kids are going to a new school, when your children grow from preschool and kindergarten to 1st grade (so big!). And cold and flu season approaching, managing asthma in a new climate... another one of our children diagnosed with reactive airways, 2 children on Albuterol, doctors appointments, trips to the hospital, nights up worrying and monitoring breathing... my head spins thinking about all of the things that have gone on during this PCS. What finally motivated me to get this blog post in writing was our sons first day of 1st grade. I was so proud of myself for holding it together that morning, proud of our 4-year olds (who have been struggling with all the changes) for behaving like gentlemen dropping off their big brother, and proud of our 1st grader for being brave when he was so nervous. Most of all, I was proud of all 4 of our boys for having listening ears on as we wandered around the school hallways trying to figure out where to go and what we are doing and how we do school pick up. I left the school feeling like, "It is getting better. We are putting one foot in front of the other and moving in the right direction." We went to a coffee shop to celebrate the occasion; I bought our younger 3 boys each a chocolate milk and myself a pumpkin spice latte. We sat in the sunshine and chatted with other parents doing the same thing. The 4-year olds were right back at their busy behavior-- they have been keeping me busy, like gray hair busy. As I chatted, a lady at the coffee shop felt the need to interrupt my conversation with a fellow momma to let me know how I was parenting wrong. Can I even begin to tell you how defeated, deflated, and embarrassed I was at that moment? This happened in front of a couple that I had met just that day, fellow parents at our brand new school in our brand new duty station. I ended up bustling my boys out of there and walking them to the park so I could get fresh air and not cry at the coffee shop. I was so embarrassed. So embarrassed at how the couple must perceive me and that my children were such a nuisance that someone had to dive into the middle of my conversation to inform me of how she feels their behavior should be corrected. I looked out over the water by the park and wondered if we were making progress or if we were just sitting at square one.

That is when words from the devotional came back to me, Psalm 94:18-19, "When I said, My foot is slipping, your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy." Ive also had Coldplays "The Scientist" stuck in my head the past couple weeks (parenting: brought to you by the Bible and Coldplay... dont worry, I know my life is a mess): "Nobody said it was easy/ no one ever said it would be this hard/ Oh, take me back to the start."

It isnt easy. Im not sure when I will hit my stride and feel like, "Ive got this." Perhaps I will always feel like we are a hot mess and maybe the dull headache will come and go over the years as these children try my nerves at every turn. Perhaps God has me where he wants me-- calling out to him hour by hour and day by day. Ive said it before that one thing I love about life as a submariners wife is that I have to opportunity to see my faith come alive in every day life; I am there again right now.

For any strangers or friends who light-heartedly want to say, "You are a supermom." No, not a supermom. I am a mom that has no idea what shes doing. Im a mom that makes mistakes, big and small, every day. Im a mom with a heart full of love for friends and family and doing my best, just like every other mom out there. Im a mom that says sorry and who leaves coffee shops crying after people judge my parenting, perhaps harshly or perhaps for good reason (though that ladys timing could have been better). Im a mom that has super long evenings and super stressful mornings. Im a mom that ends honest tries at involving the kids in projects with a headache, wondering if it was worth the effort, but always trying again, hoping that this time will be more fun or a little easier. Im a mom that always stresses about if a bone is broken or if that is normal breathing or labored breathing or if we should call the doctor (how about we just call to be on the safe side...). Im a mom that packs lunches that are never eaten or are only picked at, that has a mini van covered in snacks and chicken nuggets. Im a mom that wears shirts I thought were clean, only to find them caked with oatmeal or whatever else life throws at me. Im a mom that swears, sometimes intentionally and sometimes on accident. Im a mom that doesnt read directions and then wonders why I cant get new batteries in a Lightning McQueen flashlight. Im a mom that calls my mom for every problem and my best friends for all the other problems that arise in between phone calls to my momma. Im a mom that loves each and every moment with my children and is also surprised and exhausted over how freaking hard each and every moment with my children can be.

I think all parents are super parents. Life is hard and we are all doing what we can. Treat each other with love. Because that mom that you chewed out at the coffee shop is having a super rough couple of weeks. She may look like she was gossiping with friends while her kids ran amok, but Im telling you, she wasnt. I went back to talk to that lady, but she wasnt there. I tried to picture what that glimpse in my life looked like to her and wanted to give her a bigger picture. In my 7 years of parenting, she is not the first person to offer "insight" as to how I should be parenting. This one just happened to fall at a tender, vulnerable moment in my life. I know that we will have many more comments made to us in this parenthood journey and I hope each time God reminds me of his Word and his promises just as I feel myself falling apart.

"When I said, My foot is slipping, your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy."
Psalm 94:18-19

Do you find information about baby losing weight weaning are you looking for? If not, below may help you find more information about the baby losing weight weaning. Thank you for visiting, have a great day.

post pregnancy weight loss while breastfeeding | Counting the miles

post pregnancy weight loss while breastfeeding

Ive never considered myself an insecure person. I would say that, in general, I feel confident in who I am and who God made me to be. I believe in the full body of Christ, how each of us have individual and unique gifts that we bring to the table. What I am good at may not be what you are good at and vice versa. I also believe that the root of finding your own confidence and inner strength is identifying what you are good at, what your passion is, what your skill set is. For myself, when I am practicing my skill, I get that sense of purpose. Sure, I occasionally see somebody doing something that I think, "Wow, I wish I could do that!" or something coming naturally to someone, where I have to work very hard at the same thing. Those times it is easy to doubt myself-- should I be doing that the same way? But having my inner compass-- my confidence in my own skills, my own sense of purpose-- I am quickly grounded again in who I am and being the best me.

Lately, Ive struggled a lot with that. Ive been pulling more things on to my calendar, some of them deliberately to challenge me and others to give back to my community. Ive been challenged. Ive been shown my limitations. Beyond that, Ive felt life is challenging me lately. Our 4-year old twins are at an age and stage that tests me on the regular. Different aspects of their personality challenge me in ways that I do not find enjoyable, but exhausting. My marriage is being challenged by the shipyard schedule and our return to life with my husband on a submarine. It is all life. It is all normal. It is all stretching me.

Because I like re-reading classics and because I have felt searching, I picked up On the Road by Jack Kerouac the other day. It felt like the book my soul needed at the moment.

They have worries, theyre counting the miles, theyre thinking about where to sleep tonight, how much money for gas, the weather, how theyll get there--and all the time theyll get there anyway, you see. But they need to worry and betray time with urgencies false and otherwise, purely anxious and whiny, their souls really wont be at peace unless they can latch on to an established and proven worry and having once found it they assume facial expressions to fit and go with it, which is, you see, unhappiness, and all the time it all flies by them and they know it and that too worries them to no end.

Unhappiness. Worrying over our worrying. And it is true-- in the end, we get there anyway. Why am I focusing so much on all these things that get me down?

It brought to mind these verses in Matthew. (Is it possible to jump from Kerouac to the Bible?) Matthew 6:31-34:

So do not worry, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? For the pagans run after these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Lately I feel like my days move from one trouble to the next. My face is pulled into a facial expression to go with it and I spend so much time worrying about my life. Ive been consumed. And it has made me insecure. I doubt my abilities. I doubt my decisions. I doubt what Im capable of.

While getting ready this morning, I was listening to the Rolling Stones, "You cant always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you just might find, you get what you need."

Mulling this over in my head as I went about our morning, dropping our 1st grader off at school, I seized the moment once we got home and called my best friend back; she called me yesterday. She wants to visit. As if my spirit couldnt get any higher from those words, when I told her what Ive been dealing with, she gave me encouragement.

This morning what I needed was the encouraging words of my best friend. What I needed last night was the encouraging text messages from my mom and the understanding ear of my husband. When he got home from work yesterday, he fed the children dinner while I left to go find a quiet corner in a restaurant to write. These people in my life surround me and lift me up. When I feel like I "cant" they show me that I can. (And, as my mom always encourages me, I can and I will.)

Yesterday morning at school drop off, I went home in tears, exasperated by the shenanigans of our 4-year olds, overwhelmed and in my head. I canceled my plans and cleaned the house from top to bottom-- cabinets, baseboards, laundry, and dusting included. Ive felt lost staring at the screen to blog. What should I write about that isnt yet another complaint? Sitting down this morning to write, I briefly doubted if I should publish this post.

But here is what I think is important: admitting your shortcomings. If I dont have the strength to admit when Im struggling, how will my friends find the strength to admit they are struggling to me? Wouldnt I happily bake a meal, baby-sit, or lend an ear to any of my friends when they need to feel the love? Ive got that love for them; I know theyve got that love for me. It is hard when we feel insecure. It is hard when we feel like the things we are good at fail, when we feel like nothing is succeeding, when we feel it is all for naught and we are running in circles. It is hard when we get in our own heads and feel alone. Yesterday taught me that while a lot of the day to day activities fall on my shoulders, I am not alone. My mommy texted and called me all day. My best friend is going to fly across country just to see me. My husband supports me. When I walked in the door from my solitary dinner last night, the children bustled down the stairs, "Mommy! Mommy! Where did you go? I love you."

Because I checked off my to-do list in a tear soaked binge yesterday, I can focus today on building my inner strength. I carved out that time to pray and listen to God. I am publishing this blog post when internally I wonder if I have anything to say. I am going to do some preschool with our 4-year olds and let them dabble in their passions; I swear one of them is ready to start reading. (How can I decline a desire to read?) The baby has a cold and needs me-- my care, my love, my patience. Today I have a chance to get what I need: the support of those that love me, opportunities to love those around me, and time to practice my skills. Ive let myself fall down a rabbit hole of insecurities, second guessing my every move. While I find it scary right now, I know that the only way to get past this is to put one foot in front of the other, to get on the road and stop counting the miles.

Do you find information about post pregnancy weight loss while breastfeeding are you looking for? If not, below may help you find more information about the post pregnancy weight loss while breastfeeding. Thank you for visiting, have a great day.

rapid weight loss during late pregnancy | It gets easier

rapid weight loss during late pregnancy

  Every day in every way, its getting better and better.

-John Lennon

 

I think Ive cracked the code on what people mean when they knowingly tell you, "It gets easier." For the longest time, Ive wanted to ask these people, "What on earth do you mean by that? Ive heard this since my oldest was born!" Four years and change and here is what I think they mean: survival and self-sufficiency.

Survival: you get through it.

When you have a newborn, you first must learn to feed it. This "gets easier" with practice. Feeding a one-year old can actually be much harder than feeding a newborn (dont freak out, new moms). Newborns dont throw food across the room or refuse to eat something because it is squishy/mushy/crunchy/green. You also pretty much know what a newborn will eat: breast milk or formula. One-year olds demand variety (or, perhaps, the same thing for every meal, turning mealtimes into a battleground). But-- here is the big but-- you have it down by then. You have been feeding this infant for a year and you feel like you can handle it. This is why I think it is survival. I did not feel like "it got easier," necessarily. It was nice not to leave the house with Boppy pillows, bottle warmers, breast pads, and burp cloths. However, I felt like I traded in Mustela for Munchkin: snack containers, leaking sippy cups, sandwich boxes, and a never ending demand for chopped fruits and veggies.

The light at the end of the tunnel: preschool age. We can find food for our four-year old on any menu. We can tell him, "We are finishing our dinner. After dessert we are going home. You need to be a gentleman until then," and he sits. No screaming at the table or that dramatic lean over of the side of the high chair as if he hasnt been fed in years. No throwing everything off his plate onto the floor or dragging in a diaper bag, snack container, sippy cups. Nope. If we are going to a restaurant, I usually put a coloring pad in my purse.

The other side of survival is simply just getting through it. Dealing with a newborns feeding schedule can be rough, then you have the sleep schedule. Once you get that down, you are again focusing on feeding-- starting solids. Once you have solids down, then you are dealing with transitioning to one nap. Then you have a toddler who battles afternoon nap for no apparent reason. Then doesnt like these textures or those textures. Then suddenly you have a two or three year old who wont nap at all, though he really needs a nap. By four oclock in the afternoon, it is one meltdown after another, even though you imposed "quiet time" earlier in the day. Somehow, you just get through it. You take each phase as it comes. And then he is four. He is just fine without a nap and sometimes takes one anyways (oh, those glorious afternoons!). You look back and realize that you arent dealing with the "does he need a nap?" or "is he hungry?" questions all day. You got through it.

Self-sufficiency: it does come.

A newborn cant even hold up his head, let alone feed himself, change himself, bathe himself, entertain himself. Once he gets mobile, he spends every waking hour trying to hurt himself, it seems. Light socket? Lets jab something in it. Bookcase? Im gonna climb it. Oven? Lets figure out how it opens. You worry when he is "too quiet" in the other room; what has he gotten into? With twins, you have two toddlers who throw toys; two toddlers who empty your bookshelves; two toddlers who want to play with big brothers Playmobile pirate set and Legos; two toddlers who dump plates of food off their highchairs. Diapers. Sippy cups. Baths. Changing clothes. Putting on jams. Reading stories. Playing/entertaining. All on your shoulders.

And then the magical age: four. Our fully-potty trained preschooler gets up in the night to use the restroom, washes his hands, turns off the light, and goes back to bed. He is responsible for all areas in the restroom-- no more calling for help on the, um, bigger tasks. He dresses himself every morning, puts on his socks and shoes, and puts his pajamas in the hamper. He picks up his toys. He showers himself. The other day, I moved the laundry while he showered. Oh, the freedom! He got out of the shower, brushed his teeth, hung up his towel, and then put on his pajamas. He can write his name. He can count to thirty. He knows a few sight words. He recognizes some letters and their sounds. He tells jokes and makes us laugh. He has ideas and wants to help fix things. (He keeps the tape in his room so he can fix his toys.) If you had told last year Me that one day my kids would take care of themselves, I would have laughed. The idea seems ludicrous when you are down in the diaper trenches. But it happens.

I call myself a deliberate optimist; Im a pessimist at heart. With every give, there is a take. There is much less hands-on work with four-year olds. Preschoolers are absolutely nothing like infants or toddlers. It is busier, especially with a preschool schedule. He is a little kid now, his own person. My husband is in the STA-21 program and it has been a crazy, busy semester. Maybe the stress of balancing all these different schedules is getting to me, but, really, when does this get easier? Will it be easier when I have three boys preschool age and up involved in outside activities (D currently participates in a sports class and AWANAS)? I dont see how three sports schedules on top of school will be easier, especially throwing in the Navy.

It gets better, thats what I think. I have so much fun laughing with D and hearing his thoughts. We do silly art projects and work on sight words. I love seeing the world from his point of view. We spent thirty minutes in the Lego store today just looking in the little windows at the Lego creations. My friends can tell you that I used to swear that I was a "baby person." I love me some babies. But interacting with my own preschooler-- our child-- has really made me marvel at the things he has to say... I cant get enough of it. In that way, it gets better. Easier, not yet.

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.

-The Beatles?

Do you find information about rapid weight loss during late pregnancy are you looking for? If not, below may help you find more information about the rapid weight loss during late pregnancy. Thank you for visiting, have a great day.

baby weight loss journey | DETOXIFY YOUR DIET AND ENVIRONMENT FOR FERTILITY

baby weight loss journey

Getting Pregnant Naturally May Be Possible Over 40

I have a firm belief belief that couples should look into natural options before starting expensive and sometimes dangerous fertility procedures.  I continually regret jumping into IVF treatments since I eventually got pregnant naturally well over the age of 40 but only after exhausting an exorbitant amount of money and emotional energy.
Among things mentioned in the article below, there are things you can do to improve egg quality.

SEE ALSO: DETOXIFY YOUR ENVIRONMENT FOR FERTILITY (getpregnantover40.com)

In Women Over 40, IVF May Not Address The Root Cause Of Infertility

I also like the fact that Dr. Mercola (and Iva Keene in this article) states that IVF doesnt address the root cause of infertility.  There are some suggestions to decrease your exposure not only to toxins and environmental estrogens, but also to avoid things that you may be allergic to.

Read more:

Dairy products account on average for 60-70 percent of estrogens consumed. Humans consume milk from cows in the second half of pregnancy when cows estrogen levels are high. We usually associate dairy and drinking milk with calcium, and never think about what else we may be consuming along with the calcium (and dairy, by the way is not the best source of calcium). Here is a list of hormones that have been found in cows milk:

• Prolactin
  
• Somatostatin
  
• Melatonin
  
• Oxytocin
  
• Growth hormone
  
• Lutenizing releasing hormone
  
• Thyroid stimulating hormone
  
• Estrogens
  
• Progesterone
  
• Insulin
  
• Corticosteroids and many more 

from: mercola.com

Do you find information about baby weight loss journey are you looking for? If not, below may help you find more information about the baby weight loss journey. Thank you for visiting, have a great day.

weight loss during pregnancy due to healthy eating | Yelling

weight loss during pregnancy due to healthy eating

I suppose every mommy blogger at some point has to write a post on yelling. Is it possible to raise kids without yelling? Im throwing this out there: no.

I know that there is someone reading this right now with a look of indignation on their face, "What?! I would never yell at my kids!" Good for you.

Now before I get lots of mommy judging, we really put forth an effort to not be a yelling family. My husband is just naturally gifted at not yelling. His even temper is one of the things I love most about him. It genuinely takes a lot for him to lose his cool, so much so that in our seven and a half years of marriage I can count the number of times that I have heard him raise his voice at me. I mean, we are talking about a very mellow guy. Me? Yeah... I am a lot like that. Except opposite. I would describe myself as a passionate person, which is why my husband and I work well together. I bring the passion; he brings the logic.

Frustrated or angry feelings toward our children demand a different form of communication though. (Not saying I just yell at my husband, but he at least can rationalize and understand when I do. Read my blog post on "Marriage.") They arent my peers. Their brains dont work how my brain works; they truly dont think how I do. Half the time, they dont fully understand what it is that they have done wrong or what has irritated/upset me so much. Even worse, sometimes they havent even done anything wrong. They are just being toddlers-- while frustrating, totally age appropriate. (Read Hands Free Mamas blog post, "The Important Thing About Yelling.") Simply put, yelling at them isnt fair in those situations, nor does it actually get through to them. I can actually see the point when they have totally checked out of my message and they are just wondering when Mommy is going to stop being mad at them.

But is yelling always wrong? No, I honestly dont think so. I feel that there are very appropriate times for yelling, especially when you dont yell all the time. When all my boys are screaming over each other, one darting off with a toy he stole from his brother and the other chasing after screeching at full volume while the last is hollering it is his turn... I can try at that moment (and I do try) to get their attention. Sometimes I am able to get the attention of the bandit, but not always, especially now in my third trimester. I cant chase a child, nor do I feel that as the mother it teaches them to listen when I chase after them. So I either yell, "STOP!" or the name of the child absconding with the goods. I dont keep yelling. Im yelling to get their attention. Once I have their attention, I speak to them. Other times I feel yelling is appropriate in some danger situations, not all. If the child is teetering towards, say, an open flame, yelling could startle the child into falling in. When our boys are rough housing as we unload the van and no one is listening to my instructions to calm down and hold hands, yes, yelling is appropriate, "STOP NOW!" Once I have their attention, I can get them to follow instructions and we can safely cross the parking lot.

I try to stick to three rules when yelling at our kids: 1. Yelling to get their attention and 2. Dont yell in anger and 3. Dont yell when it is not getting through. The first rule is what I just described, yelling a childs name or a command, "Stop!" "Wait!" "No, sir!" And, as I said, once I have their attention I speak to them. Continuing to yell completely loses the message. They are not going to listen to a long tirade. Im not saying I dont use the "Mommy No-Nonsense Voice." I most definitely do. If the boys are pushing their boundaries and I need to get their attention and reprimand them, Im not using the same voice I use when suggesting we all head over for a picnic at the park. No, they are hearing the voice of, "If you do not stop, we are leaving." But that is not yelling. Different tones help convey different messages and let them know where their behavior is falling. Getting their attention doesnt always mean a reprimand. It can mean a loud, "HEY! You guys need to follow me to the back porch like gentlemen and we can all have freeze pops." It all depends on the circumstance.

The second rule is pretty easy to understand. Dont yell in anger. This is where you can get into trouble yelling. Again, Ive most definitely yelled at my children in anger. Ive yelled out of frustration. "WHY CANT WE USE LISTENING EARS TODAY? IS THAT SO HARD?" It happens. We all get upset sometimes. We all sometimes say things we didnt mean to say in a tone we didnt mean to say it in. After losing my temper one day I called my mom. She wisely told me that it is bound to happen when you spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with someone. The most important thing to do after losing your temper is to own up to it and apologize. "I am sorry for yelling at you earlier. I did not handle that well and I am sorry. Will you please forgive me?" When I do yell at our kids this way, which I do not do often, I make sure that I never put the blame on them. "I am sorry for yelling at you when you spilled my sweet tea. Next time you should be more careful so I dont lose my temper like that." It is never our kids fault when I lose my cool. I did not yell because our child did something-- I yelled because I lost control of my temper. I love watching 19 Kids and Counting on TLC. I am always impressed with how Michelle Duggar handles their household. On her blog post, "Michelle Speaks About Motherhood," she is asked by Melissa at MOPS, "How did you learn to speak to your children softly, even when you are angry?" One of the things I love about Michelle Duggar is that she is always honest, so of course she answers honestly:

I haven’t mastered this one yet. Just the other day, several of my boys made a mess in the living room. It was just normal kid stuff, but I got angry and overreacted to the mess. But I feel that by God’s grace, he is giving me some success over yelling. There are times I have to whisper to myself, “I’m not going to lose it. I am going to stay calm.” 

On my page tab, "How do you do it?" I have the verse: ??Psalm 121:1-3, "I lift my eyes to the hills-- where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip-- he who watches over you will not slumber." I too depend on Gods grace.

The third rule trumps the other two rules. If we are out at the park and I keep having to yell at the boys, "Stop!" "Wait!" "Hold on!" It is time to go. If my instructions are not getting through and they are immediately disregarding what Im saying to them, it is time for a complete change of activity. If we are at home and Im trying to get ready and the boys are all ignoring the house rule of "no rough housing in the family room," I will probably holler from my bedroom, "Boys! Calm down!" That usually will get them to stop. If I have to holler again, I come out and calmly issue a warning, "You guys either need to sit and watch your show or go play in the playroom." The third time I come out, I turn off the television and tell them it is time to go play somewhere else. Sometimes they will happily go play in the playroom or back porch and I can finish getting ready. Sometimes they just move from being way too rough in the family room to being way too rough in the playroom or back porch and Im constantly interrupted (and thus unable to finish getting ready) by tears and arguments. This is when I know that Im not getting through to them and they need to go sit on their beds. This is definitely a time where I start feeling frustrated. I feel like Im giving them great options-- watching shows, playing in the playroom, splashing in the water table on our back porch-- and instead they want to fuss and fight and yell and scream. It is frustrating. Its been really important for me to figure out a solution that doesnt upset me because when I am interrupted every thirty seconds by yet another fight, it gets exhausting. That is why I have them sit on their beds in their own space and I can take the 10 minutes I need to pray, refocus, get ready, and face the day still fresh without feeling like we got off on the wrong foot (which, as every mom knows, has a tendency to affect the outcome of the rest of the day). This third rule also helps when I break the second rule. If I feel myself getting frustrated and raising my voice too much, it really helps to remind myself that this is not getting through to them. All I am doing is yelling to hear my own voice, let out my frustration. It is time for a different plan of action that is less frustrating for everyone. If I am feeling frustrated by how they are behaving, they are probably feeling frustrated with our current activity. If a free-for-all in the playroom is making them fuss and fight, they are probably needing something more structured. If our outside play time is dissolving in tears and toy battles, it is probably time to switch activities. Getting angry and yelling at them will not make them get along better if they themselves are done participating in our current activity.

For me, my biggest obstacle is feeling frustrated, especially lately. Weve really been focusing on our household rules now that we are rapidly approaching the arrival of baby #4. We dont want baby #4 to arrive on the scene with a bundle of new rules that suddenly all his siblings have to follow. Some of the rules have been our rules for all time-- such as no rough housing in the family room-- but are harder for the boys to follow now that they are 5-years old and 3-years old (the couch is more fun when all the pillows are on the floor and you are jumping on them...). Some of the other rules are new but will be sanity savers when baby #4 arrives, such as playing quietly in their room until a certain time each morning. Feelings of frustration are normal in parenthood. It is hard not to feel frustrated when you get every one out of the house for a fun day at the park and all your toddlers want to do is cling and whine. It is hard not to feel frustrated when Daddy gets home from a long, tiring day at work to walk into a house of screaming, fighting children who are whining that they arent tired. It is very hard not to feel frustrated when I really need to rest my almost 32-weeks pregnant self and the boys are screeching for help in the restroom or battling to the death over a toy in the playroom; it is hard not to feel like, "Dont I ever get a break?"

Times like that are when I turn to God. It sounds cliché, but I remind myself of the verses on love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

I cant create that type of love on my own; that kind of love comes from God. Knowing that this is the love that he puts in my heart to share with my children is how I humble myself to stop when I realize how Im behaving is wrong. Would love feel this angry over a lost Croc? Would love continue to yell at 3-year olds who were being more curious than naughty? Would love remind our 5-year old how he failed earlier that day? No, when I think of these verses, I am reminded that when our boys are feeling frustrated with each other and fussing and whining, sometimes they just need a hug. When I am having a day where I just really feel frustrated and short-tempered, love is what motivates me to talk about it with my girlfriends because it really helps to have someone pray for me, offer sweet words, or simply relate. Im far, far, far from perfect, but I love, love, love these children that we have been blessed with and I hope and pray that every day we show them how big Gods love is.

Do you find information about weight loss during pregnancy due to healthy eating are you looking for? If not, below may help you find more information about the weight loss during pregnancy due to healthy eating. Thank you for visiting, have a great day.

weight loss during pregnancy due to morning sickness | Taking it easy while pregnant with baby 4

weight loss during pregnancy due to morning sickness

I hear this all the time lately, "Take it easy."

"Just be sure to take it easy."

"Take it as easy as you can."

"You just really need to take it easy."

I am just over 30 weeks pregnant. I stay at home with our 5 and a half year old, whom we homeschool in preschool, and our 3-year old toddler twins. We have a dog. My husband is in the Navy which, of course, means we live next door to my parents (not).

How do I take it easy?

We went through this when I was pregnant with our identical twins. I was on modified bedrest and had multiple ultrasound appointments and an OB appointment each week. It was exhausting. When I was pregnant with twins, we lived in a small apartment with one toddler; I left the housework to my hubby. It was a small amount of housework and got done whenever he got around to it. (Sometimes in a frustrating amount of time.) But it all worked out.

How did I stay at home and take care of a toddler by myself every day then?

1. Netflix Instant Queue
I never had to get up to change a DVD. I could add shows to our queue from my computer and either watch them on our laptop or from our Blu-Ray player.

2. Toddler Look and Find books
I know I say this all the time, but I seriously loved these. I could sit and do these with our toddlers while I was laid out on the couch and later when I was feeding 2 newborns. There is so much to talk about in these books, from finding his favorite Disney characters to making up stories about what they are doing. These were a huge source of entertainment to us.

3. Melissa and Doug box puzzles
I love these puzzles. There are 4 puzzles in one box. He would drag this puzzle over to me and we could sit and do 4 puzzles without having to get up. We could do the puzzle on the couch because you assemble the puzzle on the lid of the box. Fantastic. We bought several of these during my pregnancy and in the early "twinfant" stages.

Things are different this time around. I dont have one toddler bumming to go to the park when I need to be resting. I cant turn on a show and take a cat nap while he plays quietly on the family room floor. As I write this blog post, Im propped up on the couch enjoying Braxton Hicks while our 3 boys bounce wildly around the playroom. Our house is always loud. Someone is always getting hurt. One day of skipping tidying up and the toys start taking over all our living spaces (a bit hazardous for me since I can barely see my feet!). So what am I doing this time around?

First of all, we have a very different living situation this time around. We dont have a small, quiet apartment to take care of. My husband is working much longer hours and when hes home he takes care of the kids and does a few small chores. He doesnt have time to do all the housework. We dont have a housekeeper helping us out like we did in North Carolina. Instead, I rely a lot on doing small tasks each day. I dont have one big day of housecleaning. We tidy as we go and I accomplish one area of housecleaning earlier in the day when my energy is at its peak. (For our cleaning schedule, check out my blog post, "Domestic goddess.") I also prioritize our house chores. I dont waste my energy doing things that dont need to be done right then or dont need to be done by me. For instance, heavier kitchen appliances that go in awkward cabinets will sit on our kitchen counter all day until my husband gets home to put them away. When I make a huge Costco run, I stack things in my vehicle so when I get home I can unload the freezer/fridge items and leave the rest for when my husband gets home. There is no need to tire myself out doing things that dont have to get done right then. These are small examples, but they add up. Sometimes I look around the house and think, "Man, we need to sweep the floors!" But we dont have company coming over and I already cleaned the bathrooms that day, so I put it off until the following day. Or, lately, I ask our oldest son if he wants to do it. Surprisingly, 9 times out of 10 he enthusiastically says yes; he absolutely loves helping his momma, as he calls it. One of the hardest things for me to do, oddly enough, is pick up toys. The constant bending over to pick up toys from the floor really inflames my round ligaments, not to mention sometimes making me very lightheaded (the joys of pregnancy-- Im anemic too, of course). I never spend time picking up toys anymore. I have the boys pick up their toys throughout the day, but my husband has them clean everything up each night when he gets home. I posted as a Facebook status the other day, "How do you guys get it all done?" My favorite response: "I dont." That really is the answer. I dont get it all done; I dont try to and I dont pretend to. I do what I can.

The number and ages of our children are also different. I was pregnant with our twins when our oldest had just turned 2-years old and then was months shy of turning 3-years old when they were born. I have been pregnant this time with a 5-year old (now 5 and a half year old) and 2.5-years old, just turned 3-years old toddler twins-- 3 kids at busy ages! While we have to sometimes, our kids go nuts staying home all day. They want to ride bikes, play outside, run in circles, and experiment. Homeschooling has been a huge blessing because we are always looking for activities. As this pregnancy has progressed, Ive set guidelines for myself when scheduling our days. I dont do activities that require walking or standing around; I must be able to sit. I dont over schedule our days (well, I really try not to... I accidentally overbooked yesterday). I stick to one or two activities, including errands and bigger chores. I have fun things for our boys to do in our front and back yard. My husband makes sure our outdoor spaces are usable for us. Hes always picking up our back porch so I can sit out there with the boys and watch them play. He keeps our garage organized so all I have to do is open up the garage and pull out our nice, sturdy folding chairs and watch the boys play. I love being able to let them run wild right outside of our house. We have tons of outdoors toys-- a water table, bikes, chalk, hose, sprinkler, scooters, every ball and sport you can think of, bubbles... They love paint brushes and buckets of water; they "paint" everything in sight. This is nice too because they can run in the house and use the restroom and I can fill up my water without having to drag everyone off of play equipment while lugging around all our stuff, like when we go to the park. I do also utilize our neighborhood parks; we pack sand toys and picnic. Sometimes this is our days outing. For the days we have to stay at the house, we have lots of indoor toys and we make sure to pick them up between activities so they stay fun, even if they can reach a lot of these themselves. We have crayons, Play Doh, puzzles, crafts... I really try to do a couple focused activities with them a day, even just helping me make granola bars, so that they arent moving from down time to down time.

Here are some of the things I have loved so far during this pregnancy:

1. Finding a homeschool playdate group
Since we are homeschooling preschool this year and starting to homeschool kindergarten next year, finding a playdate group with fellow homeschoolers has been awesome! (If you arent a homeschooling family, maybe just a mommy playdate group?) Instead of me trying to fill our calendar with things to do, I have this group of moms who are always planning something. They are always posting park meet ups, picnics, bubble playdates, information on local happenings... I love it and my kids love it. I dont go to all the playdates and Ive had to leave early a couple times, but it sure is nice to have low-key playdates outside of our house to take the kids to on our calendar!

2. Brain Quest workbooks
This is for our 5-year old. For our 3-year olds, I am using a lot of the same things I used with their older brother when I was pregnant with them. We do Look and Finds; we watch Netflix. And they are entertained. For our 5-year old... he gets bored. He wants to do something. These have been a recent purchase and Im sooooo glad we got them. We have our homeschool activities (read "Homeschooling 5-year old preschool"), but this is not for homeschool. This is just for the times that he is bumming to play a game and I want to lay on the couch because his brothers are finally quiet. He sits next to me on the couch and works on his workbook. He loves the puzzles and games. These have been very entertaining for him.

3. Well-stocked pantry
While running out of groceries wasnt a huge deal when it was my husband and I feeding a toddler,  now that we are a family of 5, I cant feed our kids just by splitting my meal with them. Eating out gets expensive, not to mention it is very inconvenient at our current duty station. It is exceedingly convenient to be able to make our meals at home (read "Family diet and family budget"). For breakfast we had English muffins, strawberries, and hard boiled eggs. We spent some time outside, came home for lunch, and I let the boys play on the back porch while they ate sandwiches, pickles, and apples. For snack we turned on a movie and picnicked on our family room floor where they had chips, almonds, and dried apricots. Since today has been such a rough pregnant day for me, I threw some tortellini in boiling water and steamed a bag of frozen veggies for dinner. Not fancy, but super easy.

4. Games
Games have been ah-maze-ing this pregnancy. We play so many games. With our 5-year old, we play the obvious preschool games: Chutes and Ladders and Candy Land. We also enjoy playing with him:

• Share a Berry
• SpongeBob Square Pants Yahtzee Junior
• Farkle
• Sorry and Sorry Sliders
• Battleship
• ThinkFun Math Dice Jr
• Uno
• 3-in-1 Jumbo Checkers

We dont play as many games with our 3-year olds. We didnt really start playing a lot of games with our oldest, like seriously play games, until he was around 3.5/4-years old. Playing with all 3 of our kids is a little crazy. We usually can get in 2, maybe 3, rounds before the toddlers are bored and our 5-year old is frustrated. With them, we recently have started playing Uno Moo-- which is actually a lot of fun and our oldest will play with his brothers, even without an adult-- and Cooties. Cooties has been more fun for us to play with the age groups, either with our 5-year old or with our 3-year olds. Our oldest wants to follow every rule and our toddlers just want to build Cooties and make them dance. A game our 3-year olds really like is when we take out their deck of cards and shuffle and deal and pass cards around. There is no rhyme or reason to this game, just holding real playing cards (one of our old decks that is now missing many cards).

5. Let it be
To quote the Beatles, "There will be an answer; let it be." Sometimes I just let it be. The kids are behaving too wildly-- but happily-- in the playroom and Im having horrible round ligament pain? Let it be. Husband called to say he was on his way home when I made steamed veggies and tortellini for dinner? Let it be. Someone knocked on the front door when Im wearing my husbands PT gear and our kitchen counter is covered in dishes? Let it be. Some of this stuff just really doesnt matter that much in the scheme of things. My house is not going to look like how it did before I got pregnant with baby #4 (which isnt how it looked before I got pregnant with babies #2 and #3... which isnt how it looked before I got pregnant with baby #1... notice a trend?). Pregnancy is a temporary state; Im not going to be pregnant forever. Yes, I will be busy when baby #4 gets here and there will be sleepless nights, but I wont be dealing with all the wonderful side effects of pregnancy (note the sarcasm). I cant do it all right now and there is no reason to do it all right now. Our house is operating under a Priority Policy-- if it must get done it will; if not, it wont. The harder side of letting it be has really been saying no. Sometimes there are things I want to do, but I know that after a day with the kids and my hubbys schedule being what it is, that it would be too much for me to go, that I wouldnt have any energy or that I would really pay for it that night with Braxton Hicks. The biggest reason I say no to things is that I know would just be exhausting for me and not fun, like if I would have to spend too much time wrangling the kids. It is what it is. I cant change whats on my plate-- my husbands schedule, our active kids, the point Im at in this pregnancy-- and so I just need to put some thought into what I say yes and no to.

6. Sisters
Ah-- gotta love family. Since we dont live anywhere near family, my sister is going to fly down and stay with us for a month, during an especially busy time in my husbands schedule, when Im even further in the third trimester and having a hard time dealing with his long hours. Im so excited to have her come down and help with the kids and make us dinner and pick up around the house-- er, I mean, Im really looking forward to her company. ;) On some of these really busy days, it is so comforting to think, "Only a couple more weeks and my sister will be here!"

So that is how Ive been taking it easy so far this pregnancy. My definition of taking it easy has evolved with each pregnancy and again this pregnancy with each trimester. Now that Im 30 weeks (home stretch!), Ive really had to put more thought into how I can take it easy with 3 kids.

What are your tips for taking it easy when pregnant, especially if you have other children?

Do you find information about weight loss during pregnancy due to morning sickness are you looking for? If not, below may help you find more information about the weight loss during pregnancy due to morning sickness. Thank you for visiting, have a great day.

recommended weight loss during pregnancy | Showering

recommended weight loss during pregnancy

This is such a ridiculous problem, yet every time I encounter it, Im unsure what to do. Most of the time, I shower at night after the kids have gone to bed. Once in a blue moon, for one reason or another, I need to shower in the morning when the kids are awake. It happened to me last month and I frantically texted my girlfriend who also has twin toddlers, "What do I do?!?!" There are a multitude of reasons as to why this is such a problem.

#1. I cant shower at naptime.
Last month, we officially separated the boys for naptime. We now have a PackNPlay standing in our room full time. Since our bedroom is very small in the first place, it is perpetually in the way. But we deal with it because now it takes less than 2 hours for the toddlers to fall asleep at naptime. What does this mean for showering? To shower at naptime, I would need to get all my shower stuff, my make up, my hair stuff, and my clothes (though I never can decide what I want to wear until Ive tried on every garment in my wardrobe). I have done this nomadic shower before. It is annoying.

#2. Toddlers cant be trusted.
Inevitably, someone gets hurt. Something goes wrong. They get locked in a battle to the death over a rubber ducky. Whatever it is, I dont trust them loose in the playroom/sunroom and I dont trust them loose in their bedroom together. Whenever they are loose in a room together, I keep having to run in because I hear the intense "Im dying" scream, only it turns out one of the toddlers is sitting on the others favorite blanket. I cant leave one in the sunroom and one in their bedroom because the sunroom has too many things to climb on, too many potential problems, and it is too far away from the shower for me to hear whats going on. It is a great place for the kids to play when Im in the kitchen, close by and ready to swoop in. I also picture threats in their bedroom. I can totally see them climbing up their dresser. Yikes.

#3. Preschoolers cant be trusted.
Our four-year old loves his brothers to pieces and his brothers love him to pieces. However, his brothers love to wrestle and he loves to wrestle. When they giddily throw themselves on him (every time he sits down), I cant trust him not to start rolling around or playing horsey. That definitely requires a Momma close by to end those shenanigans. He also likes to play with non-toddler proof toys: Legos, Playmobile play sets, Playdoh, little kid scissors and construction paper, the tape dispenser... I can picture him shuttling these dangerous items through the room to his "work station" and dropping something the toddlers shouldnt have (or getting bumrushed). Not good.

Yesterday I gathered up some noisy toys-- V-tech laptops, Fisher Price pianos, singing Play and Learn Puppies-- and put them in their cribs. I then put the toddlers in the cribs, put on a movie for the preschooler, and jumped in the shower. About two minutes into my shower, I heard a loud BANG followed by... nothing. No cry, no "uh-oh," nothing. Panic sets in. I run out of the shower into the toddlers room to find every toy that I had put in their cribs thrown out onto the floor. Im guessing the loud bang was the V-tech laptop that somehow made it all the way across the room (one of the toddlers may have a pretty good arm on him). They look over at Momma and throw their arms up, "MAH! MAH! MAH!" I babble, "Momma needs to finish showering; Momma will be back; I love you...." as I throw more toys back in their cribs. I leave the room to betrayed outrage. I know those cries translated to, "We did everything we could to get her in here and she still leaves us? How dare she!" By the time my shower was over, my stress levels were through the roof. I really think one of the toddlers-- now 18-months old-- is days away from throwing himself head first out of the crib. Every noise panicked me. (Why the hell didnt I buy a video monitor??? Would that even help while Im showering??)

But, all I did was shower. I still had to get ready. I threw on some clothes, let my hair dry with some product in it, and did my make-up in the boys bathroom during naptime. I ended up pulling my hair back to go out later that day because my hair was so flat and wild (only my hair could be both flat and wild, I swear). Who knew that something as simple as showering could be such a problem?

How do you handle this situation?

Do you find information about recommended weight loss during pregnancy are you looking for? If not, below may help you find more information about the recommended weight loss during pregnancy. Thank you for visiting, have a great day.

weight lost during pregnancy boy or girl | Let it be

weight lost during pregnancy boy or girl

"When I find myself in times of trouble,
Mother Mary comes to me.

Whispers words of wisdom,

Let it be.

Let it be; let it be; let it be; let it be.

There will be an answer.

Let it be."?

-The Beatles

After such a stressful month, it was time to give ourselves a break, get out of our routines, and have fun together. My parents graciously let us use their time share again (we used it last year as well). Even better, they came with us. I dont know if you ever outgrow wanting your momma when youre broken hearted. It was so good seeing them and our family had a great time at the indoor waterpark, especially our oldest. Whenever we had down time in our room-- like when the toddlers were napping-- my hubby would take D down to the arcade where they had a ropes course and a blacklight miniature golf course as well. I dont think D wanted to leave! It was good for us to just forget about everything else for awhile and have fun.

I forgot to take pictures of the timeshare, which was wonderful. It was bigger than our old 3-bedroom apartment. My parents had the master suite, which had a jacuzzi tub and a large walk-in shower. There was a second bathroom by the second and third bedrooms, but the kids loved bathing in my parents big bathtub! We slept in the large second bedroom on a king bed. Im not sure how many times my husband and I said we are excited to buy a king bed while we were there (we currently have a queen). The boys all shared the third bedroom. We brought the toddlers packnplays and wedged them in the empty spaces of the room. D slept in a double bed. Some mornings they were up earlier than usual, but, for the most part, they slept together great. (This gave us hope because we are hoping to get all three of them in one room when we move to South Carolina.) It was nice to have a room to ourselves. We brought our air mattress with us just in case it didnt work having all the boys in the same room and D needed to sleep on our floor. I loved that the timeshare was basically a 3-bedroom apartment. The boys slept down a hallway, away from the living space, making naptime possible even away from home. I also loved the full kitchen. We made BLTs one night and bread pudding another night; we also ate breakfast and lunch in the timeshare. We could walk indoors from our room to the timeshare, so, even though there was snow outside, the boys were in swim trunks and flip flops for most of the trip! D loved the waterpark immediately. The toddlers took awhile to warm up to the loud music and shrieks from people riding the slides or in the wave pool when it started up; I think they were a little over stimulated. I also think they are a little unsure about how they felt in the water. D was a toddler living in Hawaii; we were beach bums togethers. The toddlers, however, only went to the pool twice last summer! Their "water experience" is exclusively from the bathtub.

Here they are in the kids area with their daddy:

 

Here are a few more pictures taken on my camera from the vacation:

 

?It was a great trip. My parents even drove home with us to stay for a couple days after the waterpark. I really needed the family time and the away time. Thank you to my parents for letting us use your timeshare. Thank you for spending the week with us. We had a great time!! :)

Do you find information about weight lost during pregnancy boy or girl are you looking for? If not, below may help you find more information about the weight lost during pregnancy boy or girl. Thank you for visiting, have a great day.

safe weight loss during pregnancy obese | Parklife

safe weight loss during pregnancy obese

"All of the people,
So many people,
Go hand in hand
Through their parklife."
-Blur

What snuggling the boys looks like

It has been awile since I posted a blog about our schedule. Scheduling a family of five is difficult. Some days we do better than other days. There is a lot that goes into a family schedule. Before I decide on a schedule for us, I think about what our family needs. My husband is busy and needs to be able to have time for his studying. Because I cant count on him to always help with bedtimes or dinnertimes, I like an easy schedule that I can do by myself. This works out well too because on those nights that my husband is home, it is nice to be able to leave him to do the bedtime routine by himself so I can have get out of the house or curl up in the fetal position on the floor-- er, I mean-- have a minute alone to read or unload the dishwasher. I really do think about the needs of myself and my husband before I start thinking about the needs of the boys. We feel that the children need to learn that they are part of the family unit and need to adapt to the rythyms of our family. That is why I loved the book 12 Hours in 12 Weeks by Suzy Giordano. I feel that book-- that schedule-- set the tone and helped the babies adapt to our family life. The first couple years are hard. As much as you dont want to just cater to your childs every whim, newborns need to eat frequently. Babies need to nap. Toddlers need to practice independence. The two books that really helped us form our family schedule and parenting attitude (besides the B-I-B-L-E) were 12 Hours in 12 Weeks by Suzy Giordano, which we relied heavily on for the first year and a half, and Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman. We didnt follow either book to the letter, though we were extremely strict about the twins schedule the first year. I really liked the foundation of both books: the children must adapt to your family schedule. As parents, it is not our job to cater to our childrens every whim for the rest of their lives. It is to teach them to become self-sufficient human beings. It makes me feel like I have a goal and purpose these busy first couple years; it keeps perspective on the long, long days; it helps me cherish those tender moments that happen in the midst of the chaos. More importantly, those books, especially 12 Hours in 12 Weeks, gave us structure so we were able to get through the days.

I posted several blogs the first year regarding our family schedule. I have found, as stated in 12 Hours in 12 Weeks, that often times people say their children sleep through the night, when really they wake up a couple times in the night or at some point come crawling in their bed (we are planning on transitioning them to toddler beds when we have to or perhaps when we move to South Carolina). We still have our 23-month old toddlers in their cribs and they sleep 12-13 hours a night. They nap between 3-4.5 hours a day. During those times of sleep I dont ever go in the nursery. I get 12 hours of uninteruppted sleep every night. Of course there are times when a baby is sick and I need to get up. Our four-year old is prone to bloody noses. When O is having a flair up (read my blog post "Follow up on reactive airways"), I tend to not sleep well; when I hear him coughing in the night I sometimes go to the hallway outside his door and listen to make sure he is okay. On the average night, we put the boys to bed by 8-- all of them have an 8 oclock bedtime-- and I do not get out of bed until 7:45 am on weekdays (preschool days) or 8:15-8:30 am (weekends). I like to get up a little before the boys to make my cup of coffee and get myself together. D wakes up the earliest. We have taught him how to get himself a snack (he can open a banana, make himself a bowl of cereal, and get himself something to drink by himself) and entertain himself in the mornings. Most mornings I find him in a "nest" in the hallway outside our bedroom doors with a picture book in his lap. O wakes up next. We have a couple toys in the toddlers cribs and he will play with his toys quietly until it is time to get out of bed or until C wakes up. C wakes up last. He loves his sleep. He takes 10-15 minutes to wake up; he needs to roll around in his crib a bit before getting up. If you interuppt his morning routine, he will be one grouchy bear. He has slept until 9 am-- not sick-- and frequently naps for 4 and a half hours, sometimes still needing a morning nap. This child loves his sleep.

In the mornings, I let the dog out, brush my teeth, primp a bit, make my first cup of coffee, eat a snack, make the boys the first course of breakfast (cut a slice of breakfast bread, open a banana, or wash some berries-- something to tide them over until their eggs are ready), and then go get the boys up. D is usually with me once I open my bedroom door. We like our time together before the toddlers get up. He tells me about his dreams last night ("I had the noddle dream!") and I tell him about mine ("I had the noodle dream too!"). If the toddlers diapers arent full, I just put them in their high chairs straight away. If their diapers are full, I change them and then do breakfast. They always eat breakfast in pajamas so they dont mess up their clothes for the day. If it is a preschool day, I pack Ds lunch while they eat breakfast. On preschool days, I usually take D to preschool with his brothers in their pajamas, slippers, and coats, then I come home and do Os medication. On weekends, we hang out in pajamas until Daddy wakes up, then Daddy does Os medication. The toddlers like to play with the train table right after breakfast. D likes his morning cartoons.


On preschool days, I like to run errands while D is in school. That way I can put both toddlers in the cart with the aid of my Buggy Bench or using a double cart and Im not dragging all three boys through the store. I find taking one age group is usually the easiest, only the toddlers or only the preschooler. If I have no errands, we hang out at home and get home things done: laundry, dishes, reading, and lots of train table time. The toddlers usually eat a late lunch, which works out since they eat a pretty late-- and large-- breakfast. If they are hungry before lunchtime, after we get D from preschool, I give them a little snack in the car while we are picking D up. We eat lunch at home after getting D from preschool. They eat at the table while D finishes up his lunch or eats a little snack. After lunch, they all like to play in the sunroom a bit before nap and quiet time. The toddlers go down to nap anywhere between 1 pm and 2 pm, if we arent out. If we are out, I can push them to about 3 pm. If they go down after 2 pm, though, they sometimes dont nap very well, especially O. I like to get them down between 1-1:30 pm. The flexible nap schedule is nice. I like not having to rush home and having freedom to say, "Yeah, lets run to the grocery real quick and pick up milk." (As if there is really a "real quick" when running to the store with three kids.) If we are out and fall asleep in the car, C is really good about moving from the car to his crib. I can count on him to fall back asleep. O, on the other hand, is a bit more unpredictable. Sometimes when I transfer him, I hear him hollering in his crib and playing for 20-30 minutes before quieting down and napping. Sometimes he never does fall asleep and just quietly plays in his crib until I come and get him. The hard days are the ones where O doesnt want to nap and screams until I come and get him. Those days are when he wakes C up and then C wont nap; then I have two angry toddlers. I try to give them a late evening nap on those days. I play with them in the sunroom, give them a snack around 3 pm, and then attempt to lay them down for a late evening nap around 3:30-4 pm. It doesnt always work, but if they do nap, it makes the evening better. I let them sleep until about 6 or 6:30 pm. C can sleep all the way to 7 pm and still go down to bed at 8 pm. O has a hard time falling asleep at 8 pm if I let him sleep too far past 6 pm. Funny how they have different nap needs, being identical twins.

D rarely, if ever naps. Some days a friend will pick him up from preschool. Shes a cool mom and will take the boys to bounce houses or the park. D looooooves going home with her. Those days he will sometimes nap. I put in a movie for him when he gets home, make a "nest" on the couch with blankets and pillows. Next thing you know, hes sound asleep watching "Sword in the Stone." If I feel bold, I turn off the movie and turn on The Beatles radio on Pandora; it is fun listening to my own music while all the kids nap. Most of the time I let the DVD menu repeat itself over and over again until he wakes up, not wanting to risk waking him. Most days he comes home with me from preschool. I insist on quiet time while his brothers are napping, giving me a couple hours to do my own thing. We pull out his playsets-- Imaginex or Playmobile-- and he will play quietly in the family room while watching a movie. We also have books on tape, puzzles, and crayons. After he has played quietly for an hour or two, we will often do something together. Lately weve been doing crafts. Most of the time he helps me with a household chore, like unloading the dishwasher or folding laundry. Im impressed that his four-year old hands can actually fold toddler shirts and pants.

After nap and quiet time we have snack. C often sleeps through this and it is just O and D having a snack. I start preparing dinner during snack time. If Im cutting up a bunch of veggies for dinner, snack is cut up veggies with milk. If not, snack is anything from cheese to leftover popcorn from Target or whatever I have on hand (healthy snacks or not-so-healthy cookies). I try to make snacks healthy. If dinner is time consuming to prepare, snack is usually something fun so they stay happy and busy. Fun can mean putting cheese on apples or eating yogurt out of a cup. Fun usually means messy, which the dog likes.

Dinner is not always fancy. Dinner is usually not fancy. I bought a few new cookbooks recently that I l-o-v-e. They are all by Southern Living: Big Book of Slow Cooking, Feel Good Food, and Fix It, Freeze It, Heat It, and Eat It. I also cook a lot from Real Simple, which I receive monthly. I also love The Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond and Homemade by Clodagh McKenna. I love recipes that are fresh and simple with quality ingredients. To save money on whole foods, I shop online with Harris Teeter. We eat meat dishes about 3-4 times a week because buying free-range, organic meat is just pricey. A lot of our meat is just free-range since organic sometimes just doesnt fit in our budget. We also shop at Costco. They sell a 3 pack of organic ground beef for less than I pay at Harris Teeter, though I like getting freshly ground beef from Harris Teeter more. When I find quality meat at a good price, I buy in bulk and freeze what I dont use. I do the best that I can buying foods with good ingredients. Sometimes we make the "better" choice, like the Veggie Straws the toddlers love so much (they fall in the fun food category) instead of the Doritos my husband prefers. Right now we can afford to buy D his Squeezers yogurts for his lunch and the toddlers their YoBaby cups; we will probably have to make changes when all three boys want Squeezers. Often times I just buy tubs of plain organic yogurt and mix in berries or purees, which is healthier anyways. But we have a budget. The other day I chose regular eggs for about $6 for two cartons over organic free-range eggs at $14 for two cartons. We buy local milk for under $4 a gallon instead of organic milk which is $6 a gallon. I buy organic or local produce when possible (usually cant afford both organic and local), but we often have to buy conventionally grown fresh produce and organic frozen produce. We do avoid high fructose corn syrup, products with over 10 ingredients (like to stay under 5 when possible), and hydrogenated oils. Trader Joes is great because they do have convenient food with better ingredients. We have weaned ourselves from many processed food crutches, like how much cereal we used to go through and instant oatmeal (really, Quaker? Thats what you put in your instant oatmeal packets?) My favorite trick for making dinner is to make too much. I either freeze half to have for another night or re-purpose the leftovers. Chicken dishes often make great toppings or accompaniments to salad the following night. Beef dishes can usually be put on a sandwich, wrapped, or put on a crunchy toast. A lot of dishes-- vegetarian, chicken, pork, and beef-- are great leftover stir-fried with veggies. Or, my favorite way to serve leftovers: make rice and cut up some peppers. I do what I can around here. :)

I keep seeing these posts about "Facebooking." I think Facebooking falls under the same category our pastor talked about when I was growing up where your family argues all the way to church, but when you get to church you smile and say everything is "fine" when asked. I hope I dont give the impression on my blog that I make dinner every night, my kids all get along great, my husband and I have the perfect marriage, and that I love every single minute of being a stay-at-home mom. I also dont think that everyone needs to always air their dirty laundry. I think everyone knows that life is challenging, money is tight, and that family life will try your patience. Marriage is hard; being a military wife is hard. Moving is hard. Raising kids is hard. Im writing this blog while my kids eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on hot dog buns served with veggie straws and raisins. My four-year old is having a glass of sweet tea and Im on my fourth cup of coffee today (for my friends who have been following my weaning of caffeine, Ive fallen off the wagon). My husband is wearing a burnt orange colored t-shirt with a pair of red basketball shorts. Im still in pajamas. Neither of us have eaten since breakfast; his breakfast was a bowl of cereal, mine was a leftover carrot raisin muffin. Today is daylight savings and Im not entirely sure what time it is. The computer says 1 pm so my hubby and I are hoping naptime is soon. I think family life is just messy. Occasionally you hit this perfect Kodak moment that makes you smile. All the boys are squealing happily in a fort that your husband and son made. You take a picture of it and post on Facebook, "Happy boys!" Two seconds after you post the picture, a toddler hits the other toddler in the head with a block, your four-year old shoves both of them out, and your husband totally ignores the kids while focusing on the engineering side of building the fort. All this makes you start counting down the minutes until bedtime...

So we do have a schedule, but our schedule is a guideline. We do the best we can. Many days we are making judgement calls, "Okay, he needs an early nap..." and somedays we are flying by the seat of our pants, "All right, O is wheezing, C hasnt napped, D is watching his third movie in a row, Daddy is getting home late, and I havent started dinner..." Our boys have multiple minor skirmishes a day. My husband and I fight, sometimes just short sarcastic comments when we feel irritated, sometimes long drawn out arguements after the kids go to bed. Our kids sometimes get on our nerves, when they wont share, they wont listen, they keep repeating the same bad behavior, or when we just cant get something done that we want to get done. We forget to pray. We forget to be understanding. We forget that toddlerhood doesnt last forever. We stress over our budget. We dont ask for help. But the best part of family life is that we learn these lessons together. We ask for forgiveness. We rely on our friends to step in and say, "Hey, I know you wanted some time to yourself, but I gave you long enough and Im calling to ask whats going on." We have people who pray for us. We hold each other accountable. We love our kids; we love each other; we love this life that we lead together, complete with its ups and downs.

Do you find information about safe weight loss during pregnancy obese are you looking for? If not, below may help you find more information about the safe weight loss during pregnancy obese. Thank you for visiting, have a great day.

baby losing weight while teething | Good enough

baby losing weight while teething

 

As a blogger, I tend to try to read blogs posted by sites I follow.

As a mother and Navy wife, ah! This can be exhausting.

Why?

It seems a lot of blogs tear people down. One of the ones I just read talked about how life as a military spouse really isnt that difficult. Another talked about moms make their own lives difficult. These two blog posts really struck a nerve with me. I know that lately Ive been over sensitive and taking things personally, but, man. Come on now, mommas. Can we build each other up?

What bothers me about these posts?

Immediately after reading them I felt defensive. I wanted to explain so much-- why I agree on some level and why I disagree on another. They felt like attacks on me. Because Ive been struggling so much lately with all the different responsibilities in my life and then throwing my husbands return to submarine life-- going underway and now a shipyard schedule. The whirlwind of reasons why it all feels like a lot to me right now left me feeling deflated and lost reading these posts, these posts that are telling me that I am the one failing right now. Me. I already feel like Im failing and now these posts are basically proof that Im failing.

When a different thought hit me: I do not think I have it worse than other people. I just think that-- for me-- this has been a lot of changes all at once. I dont think we have a bad life. I think I am struggling right now.

There are other things I know:

This is a season in my life.

It will get better.

The children are going through a phase.

I need to be present.

The biggest thing for me to remember:

I need to bring this all to God.

Our twins are 4-years old, an age I have come to realize is not my favorite age; I did not enjoy 4-years old with our oldest son either. I feel stressed when dealing with them, when managing the day to day life with two 4-year olds in tow. I understand that they are in a phase and that it will pass-- I loved 5-years old with our oldest-- but, man, right now... Right now I am tired of the arguing, the meltdowns, the drama, the bedwetting, the tantrums, the tears, the whining, the moping, the constant conflict over each and every aspect of our lives. The sass. Even worse, I have a really hard time handling the input from strangers when it comes to our childrens behavior. They seem to have completely dropped any semblance of manners and when strangers jump in to inform me they should use manners, I feel instantly judged. I feel 5 inches high. I dont understand why all these things that I have spent the last 4 years teaching them have flown out the window. I am trying my best. I am praying all the time. I am struggling.

And when people pat me on the head and say, "It is just a phase. Enjoy it before they..." or something equally dismissive, I feel alone. Like I am failing as a mother for not loving the small things, the in-between moments. I feel horrible for dreading the day before it even starts. I love them to pieces and I love being their mother. I love staying at home with them and I love being the one to teach them new things. I just need a break.

The mommy martyr blog definitely hit me like a ton of bricks. Is that what people think about me? We just moved to a new area. We have four children. We have two children with breathing issues, one with anxiety issues. Baby-sitters are hard to find and not inexpensive. I know in my bones that so many of the behaviors that we are struggling with right now are due to our recent changes: moving, Daddy going underway, starting at a new school, missing their old friends and their old favorite places to go, Daddy coming home and working long hours. It is all a lot for such little people who dont really understand it all. When you are just meeting people and just making friends, it is hard to find people willing to take on four children who are adjusting to a new place. I dont feel comfortable imposing on new people. I dont feel comfortable leaving children Im concerned about with people I dont know or who Ive barely met just so I can go to coffee and take a break by myself-- in a town I dont know. It feels selfish. And imposing.

What I would love is to be living next door to my best friend again. What I would love is to drag all my kids to her house and let them destroy it while she makes me tea and lets me cry on her shoulder. I would love to give her children some love. I would love to feel at home. Connected. Like Im not a burden or intruding or annoying or all over the place. That my mess is welcome. That Im not being judged. That struggling for now is okay.

Of course I call and write to my friends. And of course I reach out to the new and old friends that I have here locally. But everything here is different. As a military spouse-- a submarine spouse-- we move and adapt. I am in that hard phase of adjusting to a new place. The coping mechanisms that I had at our last duty station dont work here. I dont have a long list of easy places to take the kids or know where to grab a quick cheap meal when dinner fails and my husband is working late. My relationship with my husband is also under strain from an entirely new schedule because, as a military spouse, a PCS means a new job.

No, I dont think we are alone in those pressures. No, I dont blame my spouse for these struggles. No, Im not angry at him for moving us or any of that. But there is so much comfort in finding support within a community that understands what you are going through. Just like the support networks we have made through our entire lives: peer friends as I went through high school and college, making friends with other young married couples after I got married, making friends with babies after we had our first son, making friends with fellow parents of multiples after we had our twins, reaching out to other families that have had miscarriages and loss after our second miscarriage, joining homeschool support groups when homeschooling our oldest in preschool and kindergarten and now our twins in preschool, finding other large family friends after we had our fourth son... It isnt strange to me to desire to find support within the military community when dealing with all these changes.

So, for me, this past underway when our oldest was struggling, I gave his teacher a heads up that his dad was away, not so that he could have a free pass, but so that she knew where he was coming from. When I had a hard time from comments I received while my hubby was gone, I would say prayers and seek a local support network. I do not believe that if my husband had a different job our life would suddenly be worry free. I feel that this is the job he has and this is the community we were given. There are unique challenges with this job-- just like any job has its own unique challenges-- and some of these are easy to identify and some of them are hard to explain to people who dont live it. I may fail as a mother in the eyes of the world everyday. I may be judged by strangers for how my children are behaving and I may struggle to find the enjoyment in certain ages and stages with our children. I may struggle with certain aspects of my husbands career right now. I feel all of this makes me exactly what I am: human. I dont have all of the answers and I dont know what Im doing. This is exactly why I depend on God, why I pray, and why I spend time in his word. I fail-- constantly. I feel weak and vulnerable lately. I feel judged. I feel burdened. I feel weighed down by the smallest aspects of our day.

But Lord knows I am grateful. I am grateful for this family, for my husband and our four beautiful boys. For the friends that I have-- near and far. I am grateful for my family, that is so supportive. I am grateful for Gods mercies and grace. I am grateful for my story and testimony.

I dont know where those two blog posts I read fall in my story (the Military Spouse blog and BluntMoms blog), if they are supposed to be convicting or if I should just move on past them. I wont forget how they made me feel reading them though, that someone out there thinks that people like me arent good enough. What I think is important to remember is that God says you are good enough. God is enough. I am not called to have my act together. I am called to depend on Christ. 2 Corinthians 12:9:

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christs power may rest in me. That is why, for Christs sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

I am not at the point of feeling strong yet. I am sure that looking back on this time I will be able to see how strong we were in Christ. Right now I feel like Im hanging on by a thread. His grace is sufficient.

Do you find information about baby losing weight while teething are you looking for? If not, below may help you find more information about the baby losing weight while teething. Thank you for visiting, have a great day.