Pregnancy

How to Cope with Postpartum Pain

Postpartum pain was the worst part of my labor and delivery experience. (I had a vaginal birth in a hospital. It was a 24 hour labor, and I had a small second degree vaginal tear while delivering).

One thing no one tells you about giving birth – the pain after having a baby is terrible.

For me, in the first two weeks after giving birth, I was in A LOT of pain. I felt so much pressure down there. My uterus would cramp (it felt like severe period cramps) every time I breastfeed (it was very painful). It hurt to walk around too much. My body felt heavy. Peeing was hard. I had to sleep on my side because lying on my butt hurt. New mom life was hard. I looked terrible. I felt awful.

At one point, I asked my husband, “When is this pain going to end?”

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10 Things Wish I Knew About Breastfeeding

by DP Nguyen 1 Comment

The truth about breastfeeding is it’s freaking hard work. It takes time, dedication, and a commitment to make it successful. You’re going to go through some hurtles – maybe a clogged duct here, an engorged breast there – but it’s so worth it in the end.

I absolutely LOVE breastfeeding my son. There’s nothing that makes me feel connected as a mama than nursing my baby. He’s now 7 months old and we are still breastfeeding. I don’t plan to stop nursing until at least a year old.

I’ve had a very successful breastfeed journey, but I do want to share 10 things I wish I knew about breastfeeding before I got started. I hope that this article helps some of you expecting mamas out there.

I’m not a lactation consultant, but I’ve successfully nursed my baby since he was born. This is my story.

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Reasons for a Missed Period When You’re Not Pregnant

by DP Nguyen 2,440 Comments

What are the most common reasons for missing your period when you’re not pregnant? In this article, I’ll explain the top 16 reasons why you might be skipping your period this month.

Let’s face it – missing your period is honestly one of the scariest feelings, especially if you don’t want to be pregnant. I’ve missed a few periods in my lifetime, and it always makes my heart skip a beat. Before I was married, the thought of being pregnant was literally the worst idea ever.

For a majority of women, missing a period is often the first sign that you’re pregnant. First thing’s first, go buy and take a home pregnancy test immediately. I’d recommend taking at least 2 to be sure.

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Why Did I Miss My Period?

by DP Nguyen 2 Comments

There’s absolutely nothing worse than the anxiety that goes with missing your period. Whether you track your menstrual cycles, or whether you intuitively know that this is the time your period is supposed to come … what do you do?

Coping with a Flu During Pregnancy

by DP Nguyen 5 Comments

Getting sick when you’re pregnant is scary business. Not only do you feel awful, but there’s also a worry that your developing baby is at risk – especially if you’re unable to keep any fluids or food down.

Pregnant women are at higher risk for illness during pregnancy because your immune system is weakened during those 40 weeks. Mother nature is a miraculous thing, and your body changes so much when you’re pregnant. When you’re expecting, your immune system becomes weakened to tolerate the unborn baby, since it is a “foreign substance.” To prevent your body from attacking your growing child, your immune system naturally takes a back seat and alters its immune responses. So you are more vulnerable to getting sick. [Read more…] about Coping with a Flu During Pregnancy

Trying to Conceive: How to Increase Cervical Mucus

by DP Nguyen 3 Comments

Ovulation kits are great, but there’s one easy way to check out if you’re fertile – your cervical mucus. The changes in those secretions in your cervix play a huge role in your fertility and ovulation. During your fertile time, cervical mucus aids and helps sperm swim through the cervix to reach their final destination.

When you’re fertile, you will be moist and sticky. Your cervical mucus will be white or creamy, and it breaks easily when you stretch it between your fingers. When your cervical mucus is thin, watery, transparent and has a similar consistency as an egg white, that’s when you are at your most fertile and most likely to conceive if you have unprotected sex.

During the parts of the month when you’re feeling dry down there, you aren’t fertile. Not having much cervical mucus may also be a sign of a fertility problem. It could mean that you’re not ovulating, and this is especially true if you are missing periods or your cycle is irregular.

There are many reasons why you not be producing enough cervical mucus, including stress; how old you are (in your 30s and 40s, your fertility decreases and your days of having stretchy, slippery, fertile cervical mucus also decreases); lower estrogen levels; side effects of medications, and other reasons.

If you’re looking to increase your cervical mucus, the following may help improve the amount of cervical mucus: [Read more…] about Trying to Conceive: How to Increase Cervical Mucus