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MY PREGNANCY BABY

Hip Chick's Guide to PMS, Periods, Pregnancy & Babies

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pregnancy

15 Mother’s Day Gifts for the Mom-to-Be

by DP Nguyen 9 Comments

Mother’s Day is just around the corner, and it’s never too early to start thinking about creative and thoughtful Mother’s Day presents. If your wife or the woman in your life is expecting a baby, why not surprise her with a Mother’s Day present? Pregnant women are mothers, too! (Or they soon will be!)

The best Mother’s Day gift ideas are giving her presents that will make the pregnant woman’s life much easier!

Here are some ideas for Mother’s Day Gifts for Pregnant Women:

1. Belly Belt

Perfect for newly pregnant women, Belly Belts allow the mama-to-be to continue wearing her pre-pregnancy jeans, skirts, or pants for a little while longer. With a belly belt, most women can still in their regular attire for about three months. All you do is button the Belly Belt into your pants or skirts with the existing buttons or buttonholes. It’s an ingenious invention, and it’s beloved by pregnant women.

Check out the Belly Belt by Fertile Mind. Available for only $19.99 at most retailers. This is the bestselling product for moms-to-be, and it works great to helping her stay in her old clothes until the second or third trimester. It’s a money saver and a great product! [Read more…] about 15 Mother’s Day Gifts for the Mom-to-Be

Filed Under: Pregnancy, Pregnancy Lifestyle Tagged With: Gifts for Mom, Gifts for Pregnant Women, Mother's Day, pregnancy

PMS or Pregnancy Symptoms?

by DP Nguyen 654 Comments

PMS vs Pregnancy

PMS or Pregnancy?

This is very commonly asked question, and unfortunately, there is no easy answer. PMS symptoms and early pregnancy symptoms can be eerily similar, and it can be hard for you to distinguish between the two. The easiest way to find out if you’re pregnant is to take a home pregnancy test. (Or better – make an appointment with your gynecologist or doctor and get a blood pregnancy test to see if you have any pregnant hormones in your blood stream.)

Women who have never been pregnant before may have a more difficult time distinguishing pregnancy from PMS. But women who have had children and have indeed been pregnant in the past will tell you that it can be hard to tell the two apart.

If you’ve been trying to conceive, or on the flip side, if you are worried about an unplanned or unexpected pregnancy, this article will help you understand the difference between PMS and early pregnancy symptoms.

[Read more…] about PMS or Pregnancy Symptoms?

Filed Under: PMS, Pregnancy Tagged With: PMS or Pregnancy, PMS symptoms, pms, pregnancy, pregnancy symptoms

Quickening – Feeling Your Baby Move in Pregnancy

by DP Nguyen 13 Comments

Feeling Baby Move When You're PregnantOne of the most exciting aspects of pregnancy is feeling your baby’s little kicks and flutters for the first time. Feeling your baby’s movements in utero gives you reassurance that he or she is developing, and it makes you feel closer and more connected to the baby growing inside you. Fetal movements (or feeling your baby move for the first time) is called quickening in pregnancy.

When Will You Feel Your Baby Move?

Though you didn’t feel your baby’s acrobats in the first trimester, he or she has been moving in the womb since 7 or 8 weeks of pregnancy. In the first trimester, your baby was too small and his or her fetal movements were too subtle for you to be aware of.

For most women, they won’t feel the baby’s first movements until the second trimester – sometime between 16 and 22 weeks pregnant. If this is your first pregnancy, you may not feel your baby’s subtle fetal movements (called quickening in pregnancy) until 22 weeks pregnant.

Women who have been pregnant before tend to feel their baby’s movements earlier than first-time moms. It’s possible that second-time moms are more able to distinguish their baby’s flutters from other belly rumblings – such as gas and hunger pains.

Overweight Women Feel Baby’s Kicks Later

Your body shape may also play a role in when you’ll feel quickening in pregnancy — i.e. your baby’s first movements. Skinner women can usually feel their baby’s kicks and somersaults earlier and more frequently than overweight or obese women. If you’re overweight or obese, you may not feel the first fetal movements until later in the second trimester.

Quickening & The Position of the Placenta

The position of your placenta can also affect when you’ll feel quickening in pregnancy. For example, if you have an anterior placenta – your placenta is located on the front wall of your uterus – this will cushion your baby’s movements, and you may feel your baby’s movements slightly later.

Don’t worry if you haven’t felt your baby move for the first time yet. As your belly gets larger, you will soon get to feel these fetal movements.

What Does Quickening (Baby’s First Movements) Feel Like?

Quickening in pregnancy is a different sensation for everyone. The sensation of your baby’s movements may be similar to butterflies fluttering in your stomach, fish swimming around, popcorn popping, or a tumbling motion.

At first, you may confuse your baby’s gentle kicks with hunger pains and gas. As your second trimester progresses, you will feel your baby’s movements more frequently, and it will be easier to recognize the difference between quickening and other belly rumblings. (By the third trimester, your baby’s kicks, jabs, and elbows will be very distinct.)

How Often Should You Feel the Baby Move?

Try not to worry about how often your baby moves. It differs from baby to baby. Every baby has his own level of normal fetal activity.

At first, the fetal movements that you experience will be sporadic. You might feel several gentle taps or flutters one day, and one the next. Although your unborn baby continues to move around in your womb, his movements may not be strong enough for you to feel. By the end of the second trimester, his or her kicks should be quite strong.

In the third trimester, you’ll be able to distinguish a regular sleep-wake pattern. You may find that your baby is most active and awake during the nighttime hours, when you’re trying to fall asleep, and he or she may little movements during the daytime. (Did you know that babies dream? They do experience REM sleep, just like you!)

After you’ve felt your baby kick and move for a while, you should be able to pick up the regularity of his movements. If you suddenly feel that there is a decrease of any kind in his or her fetal movements, contact your doctor right away. This can be a sign of a serious problem. If there is no decrease in your baby’s normal kicks and movements, then you shouldn’t worry. He or she is just fine!

When To Keep Track of Baby’s Kicks

Once your baby starts to move regularly – this usually occurs by pregnancy week 28 – you may consider keeping track of your baby’s movements on a daily basis. There are a variety of methods of doing “kick counts,” so you’ll want to ask your doctor or healthcare provider for his or her recommendations.

You can buy a baby kick recorder, or you can count your baby’s kicks yourself. To count your baby’s kicks, you should pick a time of day that your baby is most active. Use a watch and time how long it takes for you to feel ten distinct fetal movements. If you don’t feel ten movements within two hours, call your doctor right away.

When Should You Worry about Fetal Movements

You will  want to contact your healthcare provider if you’ve noticed that your baby’s movements have slowed down significantly. For example, if your baby was quite active, but then he suddenly stops kicking. This may be a sign of a problem. Your doctor can perform a non-stress test, which will check your baby’s heart rate and movements.

You May Also Enjoy Reading…

Pregnancy Tea: Should You Drink Tea When Pregnant?
Kegel Exercises 101: A Guide for Pregnant Women
Spotting in Pregnancy: Should You Worry?
Fish in Pregnancy: What’s Safe and What’s Not

Filed Under: Pregnancy, Pregnancy Health Tagged With: babies health, baby, baby kicks, baby move, feel baby move, fetal movement, kick counts, pregnancy, pregnancy health, quickening, second trimester of pregnancy

Who’s Your Daddy? Twins in Poland Have Two Different Fathers

by DP Nguyen 8 Comments

A word to the wise – don’t have sex with more than one guy when you’re ovulating. You could end up with twins; each with a different daddy.

That’s what happened to one woman in north Poland. She was having sex with her husband, and having an extramarital affair on the side. She ended up giving birth to fraternal twins – a little boy and a little girl. After paternity tests were performed, it was discovered that the baby boy was fathered by her husband, and the baby girl was her lover’s child. [Read more…] about Who’s Your Daddy? Twins in Poland Have Two Different Fathers

Filed Under: Babies, In The News Tagged With: Babies, fraternal twin facts, fraternal twins, heteropaternal superfecundation, pregnancy, twin pregnancy, twins, twins have different days, twins have different fathers, who is your daddy

First Trimester of Pregnancy: Fetal Development

by DP Nguyen 8 Comments

If you’re in your first trimester of pregnancy, you will enjoy the following video. Brought to you by BabyCenter, one of the most trusted resources for pregnant women and new moms, this video explains what changes are happening inside your womb – from the moment of conception (sperm fertilized egg) until your second trimester.

You will be amazed at how fast and how quickly your baby develops. Fetal development is quite miraculous, and the first trimester of pregnancy is an especially sensitive time. In the first trimester, all of your baby’s major organs – heart, lungs, spinal cord – are undergoing dramatic changes. That’s why healthy living habits (such as no smoking or drinking) is crucial in the first 13 weeks of pregnancy.

(Videos are embedded after the Jump).

Pregnancy Week 1-9 – Fetal Development in the 1st Trimester

Pregnancy Week 10-14: Fetal Development in the 1st Trimester

Stay tuned tomorrow and the next day for more videos. I will embed all 40 weeks of pregnancy into my posts. Hope you enjoy them!

Filed Under: Pregnancy, Prenatal Care Tagged With: fetal development, pregnancy, second trimester fetal development

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