weird but totally normal things

i found this interesting list of newborn baby facts from thebump.com - from exploding poop to being crossed eyed. Some are gross, some are scary.. but then the doctor said they're normal. phew! =)

1. Cradle cap

What the deal is:

There's no way around it -- cradle caps are pretty gross. But they're also pretty common. How come? Honestly, nobody knows for sure. The good news is any dryness or flakiness will usually disappear within baby's first few months (though for some, random flare ups could go on for longer). In the meantime, try rubbing baby oil on the patches two or three times a week. Dr. Alanna Levine, parenting expert and pediatrician at Orangetown Pediatric Associates in New York, suggests making it a routine before baby's bath and scraping the caps off with a fine-toothed comb.

When to worry: Luckily, there's not too much worrying you need to do about this one -- it's basically nothing more than a common rash. But if it spreads beyond baby's scalp or seems to be growing more severe, ask your doc about getting a prescription ointment.

2. Explosive poop

What's the deal?

Okay, maybe our use of the word "explosive" was a bit much. But the truth is, you haven't been officially initiated into parenthood until you've had to deal with a diaper explosion or two. In other words, you're not the first mom to clean baby poop off those newly painted nursery walls. For a little schooling on the physics of it all, Dr. Levine breaks it down: "Newborn poop is mostly liquid with some mustard-seed texture mixed in," she says. "As a result, it doesn't take much power to propel it across a room." Grossed out yet? Just wait until you’ve got an "up-the-backer" on your hands.

When to worry: As long as it has color (ranging from brown to green to yellow) and some seedy particles in it, baby's poop should be good to go. But if you spot any signs of blood, Dr. Levine says it's time to get on the phone with your doc.

3. Baby boobage

What's the deal?

Remember those wacky hormones that plagued your entire pregnancy? (How could you forget?) Well, they did a number on baby too. And, unfortunately, one of the side effects of hanging out in your belly for 9 months can be...well, large boobs. Baby's exposure to your hormones can often cause breast tissue to develop, since it takes a while for the hormones to wear off. But don't stress, they're generally nothing to be concerned about and should go away in time.

When to worry: Notice any redness around baby's breast? If so, Dr. Levine also suggests taking baby's temp, to see if the redness is accompanied by a fever. These symptoms may be a sign of something more serious, and reason to get baby checked out.

4. Weird groaning noises

What's the deal?

If you expected just a little cooing and occasional crying out of baby, think again. Babies make a racket. There's grunting, groaning, snorting, and all sorts of other funny sounds that you'll hear out of her. But according to Dr. Levine, all those strange noises are caused by baby's nasal passages being pretty narrow in the newborn stage, leading the mucus that gets trapped in there to create some added sound effects. If you've been hearing a symphony of sounds lately, you may just need to spend more time clearing out baby's nose with a nasal aspirator.

When to worry: Take note of whether or not baby grunts with each breath. If so, he may be having trouble breathing. In this case, Dr. Levine says to call your pediatrician ASAP.

5. Constant sneezing

What's the deal?

Don't forget that baby's new to this world and everything in it and, as a result, she's extra-sensitive to lots of things you're already immune to. So if she's sneezing up a storm but not actually sick, she's probably trying to banish any little foreign particles that have made their way into her nasal passages. Looking at the light will also be an adjustment for her, so if you take baby out on a bright sunny day and she starts sneezing, it may actually be the sun -- and not allergies -- that's to blame. Other common causes for sneezing could be to get rid of extra mucus or even amniotic fluid from the respiratory airways.

When to worry: If baby's sneezes are accompanied by wheezing, have her checked out by your pediatrician to see if she may have allergies or something else that needs treatment. You'll want to make sure her breathing is kosher, her swallowing is normal, and her lungs are clear, in order to rule out anything serious.

6. Random jerky movements

What's the deal?

Baby's random jerks and spastic limb flailing may be a bit jarring to watch at first, but just keep in mind it's all par for the course. In those first few months, he'll be dealing with a lot of developmental changes, one of which includes honing his startle reflex (or Moro reflex). Maybe you'll see him doing it randomly or maybe it comes after he hears a loud noise, but either way he'll start to settle down around three or four months. Until then you might want to put your swaddling skills to good use: Babies often startle themselves awake, and swaddling will help baby sleep more soundly.

When to worry: You should actually only worry if baby isn’t exhibiting any jerkiness or spastic movements. Their absence could mean something's not quite right. So if baby isn't showing any of these signs, speak with your doc.

7. Oddly-shaped heads

What's the deal?

Giving birth is a tough job, plain and simple. But remember, it's not just you doing all the work down there. Baby's working overtime to get down that birth canal. And after that journey, it's no wonder he came out all purple and swollen-looking. Since baby's little head is soft and malleable in the beginning, squeaking his way past your pelvic bone can definitely cause some flattening to occur. If it doesn't happen during delivery, baby could also get some flat spots later on from lying on his back too much. If you notice this, try holding baby in your arms more, or as Dr. Levine suggests, increase tummy time when baby's awake, and alternate where you place his toys, so he doesn't favor any one side.

When to worry: If you've tried everything and baby's head still seems flat in some places, talk to your doc. He may need to wear a temporary helmet to correct the shape of his head. Helmets are most affective if worn as early as four to six months, though, so don’t wait too long to speak up if you feel like something's wrong.

8. Swollen genitals

What's the deal?

There’s no delicate way to say this. If you’ve just given birth to a newborn boy, you may notice his little man parts are significantly larger than you’d probably expect. Specifically, the testes. So what’s up? Baby can be affected by hormone exposure in your belly just before birth. Or, there could be extra fluid build-up in the sac around his testicles. But don't worry, he'll flush it out with his pee in a few days. Same goes for your baby girl, who may have swollen labia for a few days after delivery. Either way, the puffiness should go down with a little time. Speaking of, here's a fun fact for you: Baby will shed so much fluid in the first few days of life that they'll actually drop around 10 percent of their original body weight.

When to worry: If the swelling doesn't go down within a few days after delivery, you should probably get it looked at, particularly if you’ve got a baby boy on your hands. Boys can develop a condition called hydrocele, which can actually take up to a year to correct on its own.

9. Blood in the diaper

What’s the deal?

Spotting even the tiniest trace of blood in baby's diaper is enough to freak out any new parent; but the truth is, it's not always cause for alarm. There are tons of legit reasons why it may be happening, all of which are temporary. If you've just had a baby girl, she may be experiencing some extra side effects from being exposed to your hormones in utero. Have no worries, a "mini-period" is actually pretty common among infant girls going through a little estrogen withdrawal in the days following delivery. The hormones will even out soon enough. Other potential causes: a particularly rough BM may have caused a little scratch or cut on the way out, but the bleeding should fade fast. Was your baby recently circumcised? The blood may be from his healing wound. Make sure to apply Vaseline whenever necessary to ease his pain and be extra liberal about moisturizing it. Same goes if baby has a nasty case of diaper rash

When to worry: Though it's probably totally normal, we're going to give you an out on this one. For the sake of your own sanity, just go ahead and call your doc to be sure. Rare is the new parent who can see blood in their newborn's diaper and actually manage to get some sleep that night.

10. Crossed eyes

What's the deal? In the beginning, a slight case of wonk-eye in baby is to be expected. She’s still trying to sort out all her newfound abilities, one being her sense of sight, and it will take some time for her to gain a little muscle control and hone her focusing techniques. But believe it or not, sometimes even when baby's eyes may look like they're crossed, they may not be. Because of a broad bridge of the nose, extra skin folds can mask some of the white parts of baby's eyes. This can create a sort of optical illusion called pseudoesotropia. So take a closer look: Are baby's pupils actually lined up and moving together? It may be all in your head after all! (It happens to the best of us.)

When to worry: According to Dr. Levine, if baby's still showing signs of crossed or wandering eyes by six months, you should make an appointment to see if something else is at play. If your little one's eyes are chronically wandering off in two different directions, she may have strabismus; and if there’s just one eye going rogue, she may have amblyopia, or lazy eye.


-- Kaitlin Stanford

bra extenders

another great find for me are the bra extenders..

the first one was the belly band which i now swear by.. im on the first few weeks of my second trimester and i havent bought a single pants! i wonder how long i can keep doing this.. =D

as for the bra extenders, ive only started using it yesterday.. i didnt want to buy more bras which i would end up not using anyway after pregnancy.. so i decided to try these extenders for my pre-pregnancy bras..

it worked well so far and are comfortable.. they come in 3 different widths.. and you can buy them in sets of threes in different colors.. black, white and yellow.. im not sure why there's yellow.. it would have been better if it was a nude color.. but other than that i see no other down side to buying it for $7-8 per set =)

14th week!

i was sick for two weeks.. when i got better, i had to bake tons of desserts.. which meant late nights for me and my dearest hubby.. *hugs pangga and kisses burnt hand*

now i think im getting sick again.. =( i thought i can go back to my exercise routine this week.. guess not.. =(

this is just not the way to start spring.. *sigh*

on the nicer side of things.. we're on our 14th week!

i was reading updates from babycenter.com the other day and found out that our little peanut is already peeing.. peanut's already peeing on mommy even before he/she's born.. hehe.. also, the vocal cords are being developed right now for all the screaming that he/she'll be doing when he finally gets here..

as for me, im noticing more and more huge veins appearing on my legs.. my lower back hurts more as well as my left uhmmm hip/leg, in that area..

the doctor said all of those are normal.. there's nothing i can do.. hmmm.. maybe a prenatal massage on the weekend! =D

did you know..

that the dark line running down your belly when you're pregnant is called line nigra.. before pregnancy, there was a line called linea alba running from your belly button to your pubic bone.. it probably wasnt noticeable since it's the same color as the rest of your skin..

calcium in the diet

the developing baby needs calcium to grow strong bones and teeth.. this, i know.

however, i didnt know that if i dont get enough calcium, the baby will leech it from my bones.. and that doesnt sound too good.. i dont wanna be too fragile and weak to play with our baby when he/she comes out.. =S

i better ask my doctor later if i can take supplements.. there's just no way i can get 1000mg of calcium or four servings everyday..

here's a list of calcium sources suggested by the babycenter.com site:

• 1 cup low-fat yogurt: 414 mg

• 8 oz. skim milk: 302 mg

• 2 cups cottage cheese: 300 mg

• 8 oz. calcium-fortified orange juice: 300 mg

• 2 slices calcium-fortified bread: 300 mg

• 3 oz. sardines: 300 mg

• 1 oz. Gruyere cheese: 283 mg

• 3 oz. canned salmon: 211 mg

• 1 oz. cheddar cheese: 202 mg

• 4 oz. firm tofu: 166 mg

• 3 corn tortillas: 150 mg

• 1/2 cup boiled turnip greens: 98 mg

heartburn

(from parentingweekly.com)

Here are some ways to avoid, and find relief from, heartburn during pregnancy (and after):

- Eat small meals frequently, instead of three larger ones.

- Take small mouthfuls and chew your food well.

- Help gravity move food through your system; avoid lying down right after eating.

- When you do lie down, lie on your right side. This position allows gravity to empty the stomach. You may also get relief by assuming a hands and knees position (on all fours), which allows gravity to pull your uterus away from the stomach. This allows the stomach contents to move more easily into the intestines rather than refluxing back into the esophagus.

- Pay attention to which foods aggravate your heartburn and avoid them. Rich or spicy dishes, chocolate, citrus and coffee are common culprits.

- Avoid fatty foods, which can take longer to digest.

- Avoid drinking large amounts of fluids with your meals. It's important to drink 8 to 10 glasses of water daily during pregnancy, but try to drink in between meals, not with meals.

- When sleeping, avoid lying flat on your back or side. Use a foam wedge or several pillows to prop yourself up or elevate the head of your bed if possible.

- Over-the-counter antacids may ease your discomfort. Some are high in sodium, so check with your doctor or midwife before taking one.

- Wear clothing that is loose around your abdomen and waist.

on to the second trimester

first trimester.. done! =D

and to add to that, today is the last day of my 'progesterone supplement' meds.. yey!

according to the people ive talked with, the second trimester should be the most comfortable of the three trimesters..

things to note..

on the baby's growth this week:
- the baby is now the size of a plum (almost 3 inches, weighing 1oz)
- if the mom's abdomen is prod, the baby will squirm in response (though i still wont be able to feel it)
- the baby is already secreting urine
- the fingers will soon begin to open and close and his toes will curl

on mom's changes:
- supposedly less nausea
- a more noticable bump
- more heartburn (sadly.. *sigh* this is due to the hormone, progesterone.. now that the placenta has formed it produces lots of the hormone which relaxes the valve that separates the esophagus from the stomach.. this causes some of the gastric acid to seep back up)

lab-dub

we had our first sonogram yesterday.. i felt a bit disappointed.. but dont get me wrong though.. i was thrilled to hear our baby's heartbeat for the first time =) it was just that, the moment only lasted for a few seconds and we didnt even get to record it.. i also though that we were going to see our little peanut and how he/she has grown for the past weeks.. sadly, no..

i wonder if it will be like this for the next few visits.. *sigh* i might have to ask that the next time we visit the doctor..

~updates 03/10/2010 9:17am~
ok, ok.. i guess we just werent told what to expect on that visit.. according to my research =p , it wasnt a sonogram.. it was a fetal doppler.. the baby's heart is beating just loud enough for this equipment to pick up.. so maybe next time, we'll get to see him/her? =)

dizzy days

i always thought that dizziness came with pregnancy even at the very beginning.. but ive only been getting them more this week..

an article in the whattoexpect.com site noted that it usually comes as you near the end of the first trimester (uhmmm.. yey?).. there is an increase in the flow of blood to the baby and with that, the return of blood to the mom is slower.. less blood flow = lower blood pressure = reduced blood flow to the brain = dizzy feeling..

solution - my pangga had me sit with my head lowered between my knees =)

11th week

i have had this terrible cold since tuesday.. and together with the discomfort of pregnancy, it makes for one heck of a challenging feat.. not just for me but for my poor hubby as well.. i can tell that if he can share the pain, he would.. *hugs*

this wouldnt be a big deal if i wasnt freaking out about hurting the baby with my meds.. ive already consumed 2 boxes of tylenol!!! yikes!

*sigh*

good thing we get to see our little peanut on tuesday.. this time we may be able to hear the heartbeat!

we're exactly on our full 11th week today =)

here's our baby's growth update from babycenter.com:

Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden.

She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming.

Baby's Alertness in the Womb

An article from AmericanBaby.com

By Karin A. Bilich
Asleep and Awake

From early on in your pregnancy, your baby is more like a newborn than you might think. He sleeps, moves around, listens to sounds, and has thoughts and memories. Here's how:

Just like newborns, fetuses spend most of their time sleeping. At 32 weeks, your baby sleeps 90 to 95 percent of the day. Some of these hours are spent in deep sleep, some in REM sleep, and some in an indeterminate state -- a result of his immature brain. During REM sleep, his eyes move back and forth just like an adult's eyes. Some scientists even believe that fetuses dream while they're sleeping! Just like babies after birth, they probably dream about what they know -- the sensations they feel in the womb.

Closer to birth, your baby sleeps 85 to 90 percent of the time, the same as a newborn.


On the Move

Around the ninth week of pregnancy, your baby starts making her first movements. Those movements are probably visible with an ultrasound, even though they can't be felt for several more weeks. By 13 weeks, your baby may be able to put a thumb in her mouth, although the sucking muscles aren't completely developed yet.

Although your baby's first muscle movements were involuntary, the first voluntary muscle movements occur around week 16. After this point, awake or asleep, your baby moves 50 times or more each hour, flexing and extending her body, moving her head, face, and limbs, and exploring her warm, wet home by touch. A baby may touch her face, touch one hand to the other hand, clasp her feet, touch her foot to her leg, or her hand to the umbilical cord. By week 37, your baby has developed enough coordination so that he or she can grasp with the fingers.

Along with these common movements, babies perform some odder activities, including licking the uterine wall and "walking" around the womb by pushing off with its feet.

Fetuses also react with motion to their mother's actions. For instance, ultrasounds have shown a fetus bouncing up and down when the mother laughs. Watching this on the screen, moms-to-be often laugh harder, and the fetus starts moving up and down even faster!

Second or third children may have more stretching room in the womb than first babies because a woman's uterus is bigger and the umbilical cord longer after her first pregnancy. These children usually get more motor experience in utero and tend to be more active infants.

By week 29, you should be feeling your baby move at least 10 times an hour.


Learning and Memory

Along with the ability to feel, see, and hear comes the capacity to learn and remember. For example, a fetus may be startled by a loud noise, but stops responding once the noise has been repeated several times.

Twins at 20 weeks' gestation can be seen developing certain gestures and habits that persist into their postnatal years. In one case, a brother and sister were seen playing cheek-to-cheek on either side of the dividing membrane. At one year of age, their favorite game was to take positions on opposite sides of a curtain, and begin to laugh and giggle as they touched each other and played through the curtain.

Studies have also shown a baby can feel and remember its mother's emotional state. An experiment in Australia revealed that unborn babies were participating in the emotional upset of their mothers who were watching a disturbing 20-minute segment of a movie. When the babies were reexposed to this film up to three months after birth, they still showed recognition of the earlier experience.

In the 1980s, psychology professor Anthony James DeCasper, PhD, and colleagues at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro performed a study with a feeding contraption that allows a baby to hear one set of sounds through headphones when it sucks faster, and to hear a different set of sounds when it sucks slower. This experiment revealed that within hours of birth, a baby already prefers its mother's voice to a stranger's, suggesting that it must have learned and remembered the voice from the womb. Newborns also preferred a story read to it repeatedly in the womb over a new one. And the same soft music that soothes them in utero soothes them again after birth.

Newborns can not only distinguish their mother's voice from a stranger's, but would rather hear Mom's voice, especially the way it sounds filtered through amniotic fluid rather than through air. They also prefer to hear Mom speaking in her native language than to hear her or someone else speaking in a foreign tongue.

Babies in the womb are probably reacting to the overall sound of voices and stories, not their actual words. But the conclusion is the same: the fetus can listen, learn, and remember at some level, and, as with most babies and children, he likes the comfort and reassurance of the familiar

freaking out on meds

i have a cold and a bad one at that.. *sigh* and to make things worse, i pulled a muscle on my right leg, just below my butt cheek.. =( there are certain positions that makes me cry in pain.. so now i have to be mindful of how i sit, bend, walk etc..

im taking tylenol for the cold which, according to my OB, should be ok.. *phew*

for the pulled muscle.. the doctor at the emergency clinic prescribed hydrocodone and prednizone which sounded scary.. with that, i called my OB just to make sure that those medicines are safe for the baby.. she said that since the other doctor knew i was pregnant, he prescribed a lower dosage which is safe.. again *phew*

i've already taken two of the hydrocodone medicine.. yesterday and the other day.. but i dont actually feel any better.. the pain is still there.. so i dedided to just stop taking the medicine unless the pain is really unbearable..

i do hope it goes away soon even without the meds.. *sigh*

weight gain

i gained 2 pounds the last time i checked.. hopefully i wont be thinking this way in the coming weeks.. hehe..