Topic Archive: pregnancy

Episode 167 | March 11, 2010

Baby Carriers. Find the perfect carrier for you!

Baby slings, wraps, pouches, oh my! The Maya, Moby, Baby Bjorn, Ergo, The Peanut shell… So many to choose from, but which carrier will suit you best? Will you be the only one using it? What’s your budget? And, will you carry your baby on your hip, in the front, or on your back? Vera Casey from babywearingsandiego.com is this weeks baby carrier expert.    (VIDEO COMING SOOON!)

June 14, 2009

The side of pregnancy you DON’T see advertised

This post does not include cute pastel colors, or butterflies, or fairies, or cutesie baby dolls, or dresses, or fuzzy stuffed animals. It is not about little feet, or baby hiccups in the womb, or cute little kicks.

This is me, alone (or semi-alone, since my unborn daughter is telling her mama that she is awake right now), in front of the computer at 3 am, after having woken up crying at 1:30 am.

This is the part of pregnancy people don’t tell you about when you sign up for it.

Pregnancy isn’t always about that woman who stares down at her belly lovingly, and dreams of all the things that she and her new baby will do. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done that. I’m not sure I would say I *love* my daughter, yet, though I know I certainly will, once she gets here. And perhaps that’s part of the reason I’m feeling the way I do, which is overwhelmed, alone, and not *right*. I mean, SHOULDN’T I be all about fluffy animals, and cutesie baby clothes, and nesting right now? I only have a little bit more than five weeks left. Shouldn’t I be eager and ready to meet my daughter? So why am I feeling all this crazy anxiety, why am I thinking that I *can* wait to see my daughter, why am I waking up with tears streaking down my face, why am I feeling like the biggest loser in the world because I should be happier than I am about my baby? It’s not like I haven’t been feeling all those things, the happy ones, I mean. It’s just that, the closer she gets to being here, the bigger the worries loom. The apartment feels too small, what will my three-year-old think, budget cuts and financial woes at work. And then, and then there’s the guilt that comes with not being 100% happy that I am having a baby, since all the world seems to tell me that I *should* be extremely happy, simply because I am pregnant, and babies are gifts. My pregnancy was planned. My husband and I want another child. I’m not sure why I am feeling the way I am, exactly. Perhaps a combination of life stress, and also pregnancy hormones. Some form of ante-partum depression apparently affects about 10-20% of women who are pregnant, though a lot of them do not get diagnosed properly because there is the age old image of the “hormonal pregnant lady” who had crazy mood swings and cries at the drop of a hat. I’m not even sure that I’m saying I’m depressed. I’m not sure anyone will understand what I’m going through, since the image of the wonderfully happy pregnant woman is extremely powerful, and perhaps people won’t understand why I would feel sad at all. I guess, I guess I just feel as though I should feel okay to have negative feelings during pregnancy, without feeling like I’m flying in the face of years of Gerber and Johnson and Johnson commercials, and this post is my way of telling myself that it will be okay.

Episode 128 | March 3, 2009

Christina’s Birthing Story

Christina’s back to share how her 2nd c-section compared to the first, anesthesia surprises, an over-the-curtain paparazzi dad, how she prepared her toddler for the baby and a Facebook baby name poll! Plus, the winner of the PregTASTIC Pregnancy Package! NEXT WEEK: Dr. Marjorie Greenfield, OB/GYN and author of The Working Woman’s Pregnancy Book.

Episode 80 | January 21, 2008

Tips to Keep Your Pregnancy Worries at Bay

How do you keep pregnancy worries at bay? What are some tips to dealing with fears during the first trimester? How to have more ups than downs during pregnancy. And, Birth stats for 2006-has there really been a baby boom?

Episode 70 | October 9, 2007

From Dude to Dad

How can you help your partner go from DUDE to DAD? How can you make the baby more real to your husband? Do men really experience typical pregnancy symptoms? Guests: Authors Sandy and Marcie Jones together wrote two Great Expectations resource books: Your All-in-One Resource for Pregnancy and Childbirth, and Baby’s First Year.

Episode 69 | September 25, 2007

Pregnancy Tour Guide: Hospital Stats, Healthcare, Birth Plan Etiquette…

Tips to get what you want from your healthcare providers throughout your pregnancy and resources to help you uncover your hospital’s true standard of care. Plus, birth plan etiquette.