Archive for the 'Pregnancy' Category
When Free Samples Aren’t Free
We have all been suckered into clicking on the really amazing ‘free’ offers that pop up online. From a year’s worth of diapers to free computers, it is out there. Who would not want a free year of something or other? I know that I would. In fact, the very first time I saw the diaper scam, I jumped right in and went all through the rigamarole of clicking what seemed like 5 million offers. Page after page of more junk kept popping up.
I kind of figured after the first page I had made a mistake.
So, what do you do when you see a free sample that seems to good to be true? Skip it. Seriously, most of these pages just want your email so they can spam you to death. All the spam filters in the world are not going to catch every single one of the mails you will receive.
Lately some of the freebie scammers have gotten smarter. They do not offer the big deals all the time. You may see a full size bottle of shampoo, a compact disc, or something similar. Not too ostentatious. There are also the ‘poll free offers where you choose your favorite star, singer, or even beverage. Steer clear of any of those! If you are redirected to a large colorful page that asks for your email only, close it!
When searching for free sample offers, stay with websites where the webmaster has either typed a good description or has stated they have used the links themselves. Taking the time to write a good description means that the webmaster has done a bit of research and checked out the free offer themselves most of the time. (Not always, but this is a good sign)
I rarely go for offers that need shipping and handling paid. You can find some offers that are worth it. Before paying for shipping check out the retail value of the product. If an item retails for much more than the shipping and handling fee, it is usually worth the charge, but only if this is something you know you will use.
Have you found something free that really rocked your world? Have horror stories of spam? Share!
Posted in Healthy Eating, Nutrition, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Publice Service Murder?
Last night I was watching Criminal Minds. Something one of the characters said struck me pretty hard. I haven’t been able to get this out of my mind. This is a subject I feel very strongly on, but I want to know what you think.
In the show, a young boy had been murdered some twenty years before. A child predator had sexually assaulted him, then stabbed him repeatedly. Later, the same pedophile was making advances towards another boy who grew up to be one of the FBI agents. The Agent had vague memories of the situation. His parents had covered up the entire incident and the Agent had blocked much from his mind.
It turned out that the Agent’s mother had found out about the predator making moves on her child and informed the father of the murdered boy. This all happened about a year after thee unsolved murder. She pointed out the predator, who had also been seen with the murdered boy not long before he had been killed. The boy’s father beat the pedophile to death with a baseball bat.
This ‘crime’ had remained unsolved because no one noticed that the predator disappeared. He had a history of exposing himself to young children and the police in not one, but two states did not readily pursue the case of his murder, even when they found a bit of evidence that would have led straight to his killer. One of the characters, a police officer, asked the FBI Agents if they really wanted to pursue and prosecute someone who had performed a ‘Public Service Murder’.
That has really gotten to me. Though I do not feel we have a right to act as a god and choose who lives or dies, when a crime of this nature has been committed, is it really a crime? Removing from the population a predator such as a pedophile, child molester, child murderer, or any serial killer…should we ardently chase down a suspect? Should a father or mother who kills someone who hurt their child in a manner that will scar the child for life or take away their young life, be prosecuted. In this instance, hypothetically let’s say the parent knows without a doubt who the perpetrator is. There is no doubt whatsoever.
Is it wrong? Is there such a thing as Public Service Murder? Please, offer your thoughts.
Posted in Activities, Exercise, Exercise, Health, Healthy Living, Mental Health, Outdoors, Stress Management, Uncategorized, Weight Management | No Comments »
Finding a Preschool (Part 2)
Now you’re ready to move on to actually finding a school. You’ve weighed the different philosophies and decided on the one or couple that would best work for you and your child. The next step is doing the research — is there one of those schools in your area?
Word of Mouth. The best way to find good schools is by asking around. Ask your friends and family if they know of any schools in the area that are reputable. Strike up conversations with parents at parks or at the library to ask where their children go and if they’d recommend it. A personal reference is much better than an ad in a phone book.
Expert Help. The Childcare Aware hot line 800-424-2246 is an excellent resource to find schools in your area. They can give you the local numbers for childcare referral agencies and they can give you the skinny on great schools in your area. You can also get a list of accredited preschools in the area and while that doesn’t necessarily guarantee those schools will be a good fit for you it’s a good place to start looking.
Phone book. This is a last resort resource. The Yellow Pages don’t screen preschools anyone who buys ad space can put their school in the book. It’s an excellent starting point if you need it but remember you must do your homework.
Any school you decide on needs a closer look before you enroll your child. Make sure you not only interview the director over the phone but you go down and visit the school during school hours to get a feel for how the school truly is.
Questions to ask over the phone:
1.) Fees. If it’s a private preschool it will have some
2.) Hours. A school is no good if you need an 8 am to 5 pm and they’re only open til noon.
3.) Student to teacher ratio (7 students to 1 teacher is the ideal for ages 3 and 4)
4.) What holidays or weeks are they closed
5.) Their discipline philosophy
6.) Nutrition. Do they supply the food? Do you? Are there things you couldn’t send in a lunch? Things of that nature
7.) Lists of the daily activities
If you like what you hear then you want to schedule time to visit. You’ll want to meet the director and the staff. See the facilities, the play area, examples of the daily activities, and see if the kids generally seem to be having a good time.
Things to keep an eye out for while visiting:
1.) Is it a clean and safe environment
2.) Do the teachers seem happy with their jobs
3.) Do the kids seem happy with their teachers
4.) Is the equipment outside taking care of and safe
Don’t be afraid to ask questions and poke your nose around their facility. This is a place your child is going to spend a lot of time in when you aren’t around to make sure their safe. You can never be too careful choosing a school — do your homework.
Posted in Child Safety, Safety, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Choosing the Perfect Pet (part 1)
When picking the perfect pet for your family, there are a few things to consider:
*are you and your family ready for a pet — do you have the time and resources to devote to a new pet in the home
*is your child old enough to handle a pet — keeping in mind that your child won’t be mature enough to help out with the pet until eight or so years old
*what kind of pet will fit in with your lifestyle — if you’re a traveler you’ll want a cat as they are more independent and can be left alone for several days.
If you’re a dog person and you’re absolutely sure your family needs a dog, it’s best to consider one between one and five years old. They are more mature than puppies and won’t rough house as much, and they’re still young and spry enough to play with your child.
Some breeds are better known for their family orientated personalities like retrievers and spaniels tend to be gentler and love being played with. Whereas small dogs such as terriers and toy breeds are easily hurt so they are more aggressive with nipping children out of fear. The only sure way to get one that is good with children is to measure the dog and not the breed.
Adoption is a good place to start with looking for a dog. The adoption counselors know the animals and their temperaments to tell if they’d be a good match with kids. A lot of shelters test out their dogs with children to verify if they’re good with them. They also foster dogs out to families with small children to accustom the dog to day to day life for permanent adoption.
Here’s a test to conduct for yourself when you find a dog you’re interested in:
1.) make loud noises and sudden movements and gauge reactions
2.) touch the dog in an intrusive way as a child would.
3.) play with the dogs ears, hold the paws, put your fingers in the mouth
4.) pat him, push him, roll him over
5.) run in a circle and jump up and down
You’re looking for a pet that can handle the rougher handling because until your child learns they won’t always be gentle. If the dog responds calmly to these annoyances you inflicted, chances are you’ve got a good family dog before you.
Next installment will be on how to choose a good family cat….
Posted in Health, Healthy Living, Mental Health, Sleep, Sleep and Rest, Stress Management, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
For A Couple of Minutes More
Being healthy is always a hot topic but lately it seems the “be fit” crusade is in a definite upswing. To lose weight or maintain a healthy figure, a person can spend up to 45 - 60 minutes working out three to five times a week. To get healthy or stay that way, we eat right, in the proper amounts, and from all the food groups — and even doing this we still listen to anyone who touts a new way to eat that is “healthier”. We subscribe to yoga, meditation, and wheatgrass all in our effort to start or keep our healthy lifestyle. Even with all this die hard dedication, there is still one key ingredient missing to be completely healthy. It’s just one thing that can and should be done everyday and it’s so easy it only takes a couple of minutes to perform.
No, it’s not a new miracle vitamin, the newest energy health drink, nor a powder for shakes. It’s something you do before bed that will ensure you get a solid night of sleep, which is truly an essential key to staying healthy. There are many culprits to sabotage a night’s sleep besides uncomfortable sleep conditions and outside distractions: stress, anxiety, worries, to name a few. When a body doesn’t get enough sleep, you get run down, easily stressed out, and it can ultimately lower your immune system — allowing you to get sick easier and stay sick longer.
What is the new healthy miracle that will guarantee a full and restful night’s sleep? When you’re feeling particularly stressed or over stimulated take a few minutes, before you lie down for the night, and write all the issues that are bothering you down. Doesn’t matter how trivial you think they might be, if they are bothering you they are keeping you from sleeping healthily. By taking the time to get any and all concerns off your chest, out of your head, and onto paper you make sure you aren’t lying in bed thinking about them which can keep sleep at bay.
Posted in Health, Nutrition, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Nightmare Leg Cramps
There’s nothing much worse than being yanked out of a pleasant night’s sleep by pain and nothing does that better than getting cramps in your calves. You know them, and you lay there whimpering as you try to work them out so you can go back to sleep. The cramp is a result of all the muscles contracting in the back of your lower leg and you swear it’s got to be something more severe than a simple cramp by the pain level alone. Don’t panic. They really are just a cramp and rarely indicative of something more severe. These kinds of cramps most commonly occur when you’re falling asleep or as you’re waking up in the morning.
There are several causes of leg cramps which include:
-Alcohol abuse
-Lowered potassium levels
-Muscle overexertion
-Sitting for long periods of time.
-Diabetes
-Dehydration
-Pregnancy
-Medication induced — albuteral, niacin, diuretics, and some mental health medications.
-Neuromuscular disorders — such as Parkinson’s disease.
Some tips to help you in the dead of night when the cramps strike:
-Flex your foot while straightening your leg out which stretches out the calf muscles — hard to do but very effective.
-Try and rub out the cramp — I find that this coupled with flexing really works it out quickly.
-Take a hot bath — not my favorite choice it’s the middle of the night and I just want to get back to sleep.
-Apply cold pack to the calf — also requires getting up.
There are preventative measures you can take to avoid the cramps all together:
-Drink plenty of fluids — water counts, soda doesn’t.
-Stretch your legs out before going to bed.
-Make sure you get plenty of potassium in your diet.
Some foods that are extra rich in potassium at least 300 mg or more per serving:
-Bananas
-Papaya
-Raisins
-Artichoke
-Broccoli
-Canned Kidney Beans
-Baked Potato w/ skin
-Tomato
-Brazil Nuts
-Hamburger
-Roasted Peanuts w/ skin
-Canned Salmon
Posted in Allergies, Child Safety, Health, Health Care, Safety, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Asthma
asthma - a paroxysmal, often allergic disorder of respiration, characterized by bronchospasm, wheezing, and difficulty in expiration, often accompanied by coughing and a feeling of constriction in the chest.
“asthma.” Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 18 Jul. 2008. .
Basically, the airways in your lungs are inflamed and swollen causing the chest to hurt, which in turn can affect the ability to breathe. Now, how can you tell if your toddler or preschooler has asthma when they wouldn’t know the words to describe it? By watching for the symptoms and if you think your child does don’t be afraid that you might be over reacting. Asthma can be a life threatening disease if gone untreated.
Symptoms to look for in toddlers in preschoolers. Coughing, sometimes after playing hard or intense crying, or repetitious coughing at night when sleeping or early morning. Symptoms are usually worse at night. Dark circles under eyes, shortness of breath, wheezing — a whistling sound due to the closed off airwaves. It tends to be commonly linked with allergies.
Triggers. Exposure to allergens, most commonly animal dander, dust mites, and mold, can prompt the asthma symptoms or bring on an attack. Common colds and illnesses, tobacco smoke, and in some cases exercise can also perpetuate the affliction.
If the child has some or all of these symptoms you need to consult your pediatrician immediately. It might be just a cold but if it isn’t, you want the child treated before a full blown asthma attack. The pediatrician will assess the child and make a determination if it is in fact asthma or something as simple as a common cold. If it is asthma, it’s important you work closely with your health care provider to come up with a treatment plan.
First, figure out what is triggering the child’s episodes. Three-feet-of-fun has asthma and he was allergic to pet dander so in order to try and avoid attacks we gave our cats away to a good home. There are medicines for cat allergies but the only truly effective one is in shot form and my husband and I decided that until he could make the choice for himself we’d be pet free — we couldn’t inflict shots on him on top of everything else.
They will also teach you how to use a nebulizer, a machine that turns liquid medicine into a mist that goes through tubing into a face mask for the child to inhale. With that, there are too kinds of medicines: a preventative medicine and a quick reliever. The preventative won’t do anything for a child in arrest only the quick reliever will blast the child’s airways open, enabling them to breathe.
Asthma happens. There is no sure fire way to prevent your child from succumbing to it and there is no cure. You can help their chances to avoid it by keeping your house vacuumed, keeping the child away from smokers and smoke in general, keeping the house pet free if the child shows pet allergies, and diminish mold in the home.
Posted in Exercise, Exercise, Health, Healthy Living, Uncategorized, Weight Management | 1 Comment »
Why Weight?
Toning your upper body is a topic in and of itself. Weights are one way to fight the arm flab but there are a couple weightless toning exercises that work and don’t require you go out and spend money on weights.
The Chest Expander
Target Area: Chest
Benefits: Firms up the breasts and loosens the shoulders
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, as with all standing exercises, and with a straight posture. Never lock the legs, so keep them bent slightly with your weight in your legs. Fold your arms in front of your chest with one arm over the other, not touching, and the hands pointed down.
Slowly, open your arms like an exaggerated shrug until your arms are straight out from your sides, forming a “T” with your hands facing up. You should be able to feel your chest expanding. Out and back in is one rep and you should do three sets of fifteen - twenty of them with a five second pause between each set.
The Push Up
Target Area: Chest, Shoulders, and Arms
Benefits: Firms up the breasts, targets all muscle groups in your arms, and strengthens shoulders.
To get the best results from push ups make sure you use the full range of motion. On the up, make sure your arms are locked and on the down let your nose touch the floor. It’s important to keep your back straight and support your weight in your arms and legs.
There are variations on the push up if you can’t do a full one.
Knees down. Set up like a regular push up but be on your knees instead. Start with your lower leg and feet on the floor and build up the arm muscles. Gradually you can work into having your feet off the ground while your knees are down. Finally, coming to a full push up.
Against the wall. For those who have bad backs and knees, a vertical push up against the wall. Start with a small angle of 20 to 30 degrees to the wall and do the push ups. They aren’t as weight intensive so you have to do more of them to be effective but still get the job done if you do them enough. Gradually, make the angle from the wall bigger until 75 to 85 degrees to the wall. This will put more weight into the push up and make it more effective and still not a strain on your back or knees.
Posted in Exercise, Exercise, Health, Healthy Living, Uncategorized, Weight Management | 1 Comment »
Choices, Choices
Parents-to-be face many important decisions. Breast-feed or bottle feed? Cloth diapers or disposable? To go back to work after the baby is born, or not? To vaccinate or not to vaccinate?
For me, many of these answers were easy. Breast-feeding, disposable diapers, and continuing to work-at-home as a freelance writer after a short maternity leave.
Before greener readers condemn me for my diaper choice, let me point out that I do not have a washer-dryer in my home. My husband is lucky when he has clean socks.
The true sticking point for me was the “great vaccination debate.? Much to-do was made over news headlines and studies discovering a link between autism and the mercury found in some vaccines. Later studies debunked these findings, but the buzz continued.
Then the premiere episode of ABC courtroom drama Eli Stone brought it back to the forefront with a compelling, albeit fictional, storyline.
I’m not one to make a decision based on prime time television viewing, so I delved further into the evidence. I turned up enough long-standing studies from what I believed to be reliable sources to convince me that vaccinations are safe—at least in terms of vaccinations not causing autism.
Many parents eschew vaccinations for a variety of other reasons, including religion, a belief in 100 percent natural living with no chemicals or medications, or fear of other side effects related to vaccinations. Some parents believe the human body’s immune system grows stronger without intervention, and don’t wish to cause undue trauma and pain for the child by putting them through a series of shots. Parents who make this choice, whatever the reason, believe they are doing the right thing for their children.
In many states, parents can get a medical, religious or philosophical exemption from vaccinations, but that doesn’t mean it’s an easy path to follow. Parents who don’t vaccinate their children should be prepared to face legal and social consequences.
Some parents who won’t let their children play with unvaccinated children. In some states, parents may face charges of neglect. Of course, there is always the risk your child will contract these childhood diseases, facing discomfort, pain and possibly dangerous symptoms and long-term side effects.
The decision to vaccinate or not vaccinate your child is highly personal; what is right for one parent is wrong for another.
Should you choose to vaccinate, speak with your physician and also research potential side effects and reactions so you can make an educated decision. Insist on getting a full list of ingredients in any vaccination. Knowledge is the key to making the right choice for your child.
I should add that Julie Fletcher, chief blogger here at FR, wrote an article for the upcoming March/April issue of theWAHMmagazine, which further explores the vaccination debate, points to evidence that there is no proven link between autism and vaccines, and talks about food-related causes of autism. This Web-only, interactive publication hits cyberspace March 5, so be sure to check it out.
Posted in Concerns and Expectations, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Finding Energy During Pregnancy
The dangers of caffeine for pregnant women has been all over the news lately. The latest study was released shortly before I found out I was pregnant—because the Universe loves a good joke!
The latest study, published in The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, claims that even 10 ounces of coffee a day might double the risk of miscarriage in the first four months of pregnancy. I’m typically skeptical of new studies—particularly when they contradict multiple studies done in the past—but I also find myself being more cautious with a growing baby inside me.
It’s all a moot point for me, anyway, as the taste of coffee makes me nauseated. So does chocolate, tea, green tea or anything with even small amounts of caffeine. So what can a former coffee junkie do to keep her energy levels up during pregnancy?
- Go to bed earlier.
There’s no way around it—pregnancy makes you tired, especially in the first trimester. You may have to shift your sleeping schedule to go to bed earlier or wake up a bit later (if possible) to accommodate your need for extra sleep.
- Create a new morning ritual.
I have always been slow to wake up, and my morning coffee was a physiological and psychological signal that my day was beginning. I’ve replaced that ritual with a small breakfast and some VitaminWater, savored while I read my morning e-mails. After a few weeks, my body became accustomed to this new signal, and now, after breakfast, I’m ready to face the day.
- Exercise!
Regular exercise keeps your energy levels up, but there’s nothing like a walk or a workout session in the middle of the day to rejuvenate you immediately!
- Take a nap.
When all else fails, 20 minutes of shut-eye can work wonders.
- Eat a balanced diet and take your prenatal vitamins.
This is more of a long-term affect, but I do feel more alert when I eat healthy foods and remember to take my pre-natals.
There is no safe, “magic energy solution in a can? for pregnant women, unfortunately. But these coping techniques have helped me stay awake in a world without coffee.
Posted in Nutrition, Pregnancy, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
