Postpartum Depression and Nutritional Depletion: Is There a Connection?

We all know that giving birth is the most physically demanding body process a woman can experience. But not everyone is aware that many women suffer from postpartum depression after child birth. In fact, those who suffer themselves may not even admit they are depressed. Why would they, isn’t motherhood supposed to be a joyful experience?

Changes in hormones after birth (low level of thyroid hormones can lead to symptoms of depression) as well as exhaustion and being overwhelmed are possible major players in postpartum depression. Additionally, research also show that certain nutritional depletion can be a prime suspect as well. How is that one possible?

Naturally, the unborn baby’s source of nutrients is its mother. The developing fetus gets its supply of nutrients as the placenta pulls them from the mother’s bloodstream. Then, during child birth, the mother’s nutritional reserves is further depleted as she loss a lot of blood during the delivery.

As several studies would show, there is a connection between certain nutritional deficiencies and depression, even in severe cases. Through these studies, experts have found out that lack of some B Vitamins in the body, as well as EPA (Eicosapentaenoic) can affect a person’s mood swings.

Postpartum women can replenish their depleted nutritional reserves by taking a healthy supply of multiple vitamin and mineral supplements. Fish oils (rich in EPA) may also be taken as these are natural solution to depression. It is also advisable for mothers to continue with their prenatal vitamins a few months after giving birth.

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Five Breastfeeding Tips for New Moms

As a new mom, you already know that breastfeeding is best for your baby. Breast milk gives enough nutrition and immunity that for the first 4-6 months, babies do not need anything other than breast milk.

To help you make your initial breastfeeding efforts a success, here are some tips that you may follow.

  1. An hour after the delivery, you may begin breastfeeding your newborn. The yellowish milk a new mom produces in the first 3 days, called colostrum, is very healthy for the baby.
  2. You will know that your baby is getting enough breast milk when he or she urinates at least 6 times in 24 hours.
  3. Whenever your baby chooses to feed, allow him or her to do so. This is beneficial to both of you since more suckling allows you to produce more breast milk. Frequent feeding eases breast engorgement and breast infection.
  4. Make sure that your baby is getting enough fore milk as well as hind milk. Fore milk is rich in carbohydrates, vitamins and proteins. It also quenches the baby’s thirst. On the other hand, hind milk is rich in fat and calories.
  5. To ensure that your baby is getting enough hind milk, breastfeed from one side until he or she leaves the breast deliberately.

Your breastfeeding session is one of the many bonding moments you can have with your little one. As much as possible, avoid bottle-feeding entirely. Some babies cannot tolerate bottle-feeding, which may lead to serious illness.

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Keep Your Baby Safe, Even As She Sleeps

Ensuring your baby’s safety as she sleeps is very important especially during the first several months. Experts advise new parents to watch their babies’ sleeping positions to avoid any untoward incidents. Letting your baby sleep on her back is the, apparently, ideal sleeping position.

To keep your baby safe during her sleep, make sure that she is on her back not on her stomach when you lay her down for bedtime. Experts say that most babies who die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS are those who were lying on their tummies.

Furthermore, to keep your baby safe while she sleeps, make sure that:

  • You keep her from rolling. Do not lay your baby down on her sides to keep her from rolling over.
  • Her bedding is clean. And make sure that there are no toys or other object inside the crib before you lay her down. This will keep her from grabbing and choking on these items as soon as she wakes up.
  • Your baby’s face and head are not covered when she is asleep. Do not use pillows, she doesn’t need it to sleep comfortably. Although it rarely happens, pillows can suffocate babies.

Remember that keeping your baby safe while sleeping is as important as watching over her when she is awake.

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How to Tell If Your Baby is Teething

Babies generally have their first tooth come in around the seventh month, although sometimes it can be hard to tell if they are already teething. While many teething babies cry because of the bothersome pain, there are those who would smoothly pass the stage without showing any symptoms at all. Nevertheless, there are teething symptoms that are common to all babies. These symptoms are:

Drooling

A common sign of teething, drooling usually starts to happen sometime in the baby’s third month, at the earliest. You better prepare some towels and bibs once the drool flood gate is opened.

Biting

Babies experience discomfort and pain when they are teething. So, they tend to bite on something as a relief. Offer your baby something cool and hard to bite, like cold teething biscuits, once you notice this sign.

Bulging gums

An outline of the teeth may appear underneath the gums during the teething stage. Soothe the swelling by giving your baby a cool compress, or popsicles.

Cranky mood

Teething causes pain to babies that it affects their mood, to the point that they’d refuse to feed. When this happens to your baby, offer her cool mushy foods instead.

But be reminded that your baby’s fussiness may also be a sign of something other than teething. Always check with your doctor to confirm any doubts.

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Tips on Making Homemade Baby Food

Making baby food on your own has its advantages. It saves you money and more importantly, it is safer than commercial baby foods. While they offer convenience, highly-processed commercial baby foods often contain extra sugar, salt, starch and other additives.

Once your baby reached the stage when she’s ready to eat solid foods (around her sixth month), it’s good to introduce her to healthy and easily digestible foods you yourself prepared. Here are some steps you can follow in making baby food.

1. Wash your hands thoroughly before starting. Make sure that all the cooking materials you’d be using are clean as well.

2. Prepare fresh vegetables and fruits. Scrub, peel, and remove pits or seeds accordingly. Any skin, bone, gristle, and fat must be removed from meats. Never use leftovers in making baby food.

3. With a little amount of water, cook food until tender. The cooking water should be used if the recipe requires liquid..

4. Do not make the mistake of adding salt or any seasonings.

5. Do not add sweeteners, such as sugar or honey. Babies like fruits and other natural food stuff just the way they are. Besides, honey and corn syrup are considered not safe for infants below 12 months old. They may carry botulism spores – a baby’s digestive system is not yet capable of destroying these spores.

6. Mash the cooked food.

7. Package and properly store the food in the refrigerator or freezer.

Prepare several servings to save you time and effort for the next feeding. Doing this will require careful storage so take note that you can only store one to three additional servings in the refrigerator. Cooked vegetables and fruits are best consumed within three days while raw fruit and meats are not good for babies when stored beyond 24 hours.

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Swaddle Your Baby in 4 Easy Steps

Swaddling is the practice of securely wrapping baby in her blanket. Doing this can make her feel safe and secure. But since swaddling limits a baby’s movements, this is typically done on the first few weeks after birth. To make your baby enjoy the nice feeling of being hugged by her blanket, follow these simple steps on how to swaddle a baby.

  1. Spread the baby blanket on a flat surface. Fold one corner of the blanket, then lay your baby on the blanket diagonally, with her head and neck just above the fold.
  2. Take the right corner of the blanket. Wrap it carefully over baby’s arm, tucking it securely into the opposite side.
  3. Fold the opposite corner of the blanket over your baby’s chest. Make sure that it’s not covering the mouth and nose. Then tuck it behind her back.
  4. Finally, take the bottom corner of the blanket and gently tuck it under your baby’s chin.

Always make sure that your baby is not wrapped too tightly. This will make her too uncomfortable. Remember, she wants to be snugged rather than squeezed. Conversely, don’t make the blanket loosely wrapped. Tuck your baby’s arms in at her sides so you can nicely wrap the blanket around her. This will make her feel more comfortable and secure.

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It’s A Girl!

i know its kinda corney but I was really proud of my sister

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New sliding-scale dental clinic opens in East Palo Alto

New sliding-scale dental clinic opens in East Palo Alto Jose Salinas hadn’t been to a dentist in four years, but on Thursday the 57-year-old was getting a full work-up at East Palo Alto’s first dental clinic. Read more on San Jose Mercury News

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Advice for a new mom?

I’m due in two weeks which I’ve already been told really means any time between now and a month. It seems like there is sooo very much left to do and I have this sinking feeling I’m forgetting something big. But I have no idea what it is.

I’ve packed my hospital bag
The nursery is almost set up
Birthing class is done
Car seat is installed and checked by a tech.
My mom gets here in a week
I’m finding a mohel (for the circumcision)
I’ve interviewed pediatricians but can’t make appointments till I’ve given birth
My house is getting cleaner by the day
I’ve worked with my Pets behavior around small kids.
I’ve gotten all the paper work filled out for my husband’s paternal leave

This is our first child and I want to do it right. I was wondering if I’ve left something out. Or if any new moms regret not having something set up ahead of time? Any one have a pretty little check list? Its been months to get ready but the closer the due date the less I feel prepared for this.
Yes we’ve set up all the gear and washed all the clothes in dreft baby detergent.

As for the extra food thats why my mom will be here :)

I’m trying to relax but its hard cause my mind just keeps going over things like a broken record.
Image taken on by .

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Baby Care Products – What You Should Look For In Baby Safety Products

Knowing what baby care products you should be looking for can be a troublesome and stressful experience for any new parent. Baby safety is very important, and the anticipation of the responsibility that being a new parent necessarily involves is usually coupled with being inundated with brochures, leaflets and books listing countless dozens of essential products that you will need to purchase and install.

A very important consideration for your new baby is the question of temperature. It is easy for small children to get very cold, particularly in their hands and feet, so make sure that you have plenty of baby clothes, rompers or sleepers, and items to cover the little extremities such as mittens and booties. It is important to make sure that your new baby’s head is always covered, as a good deal of heat can be lost through the head, and for this reason a bonnet or hat is important. This is particularly true if your child is born during the winter months.

There has been much written about how to ensure that your baby is safe whilst sleeping in their cot or Moses basket. Make sure they sleep on their side or on their back and that you do not use pillows, duvets or loose toys, as these can easily cover the face of your baby, resulting in possible breathing difficulties. Keep in mind that cribs and cots must meet federal and ASTM standards, so if you purchase yours from one of the top manufacturers you can be sure that these are met.

It is also important to make sure that your baby is sleeping in a room which is of an appropriate temperature. There are a range of baby thermometers available which clearly indicate the optimum temperature for your baby’s nursery. If the room is quite warm then it is important not to use polyester sheets, and to remove any plastic wrapping that may be around the mattress. Make sure that you have plenty of baby blankets, and warm slick suits or rompers, in case the temperature drops too low.

There are a tremendous number of baby safety devices available to help protect your baby from the various dangers that an average family home presents. From baby gates to door stoppers, from electrical output plugs to fireguards – the sheer number and variety can be overwhelming. But in thinking about baby care products it is easy to forget that many of these items might be better described as toddler care products. It will be several months before your baby stands any chance of being able to get anywhere near any of these household dangers.

For this reason it is usually advisable for new parents to focus on those products that are actually going to be needed in the first few days and weeks of your new baby arriving. Baths and bottles are of particular importance. As a mother, whether you have decided to breast-feed or bottle feed it is sound advice to have bottles and baby milk formula ready just in case.

You will also need to make sure that you have a way of sterilizing the bottles, and it may well be advisable to practice sterilizing and making up the bottles of milk. Make sure that your bottles are glass: Canada has banned the use of plastic bottles due the possible content of Bisphenol A (BPA) in polycarbonate bottles, and many environmental organizations are suggesting that other countries should do the same due to its possible adverse effect on the endocrine system, responsible for the regulation of hormones in the body.

When it comes to transport, car seats are of critical importance and you will have to purchase this before you get baby home. If there is one baby care product that must purchase new it is this. This is not the time to take a chance on second hand goods, the history of which you do not know, and any child car seat could have been previously damaged without your knowledge. Also make sure to check the expiration date – yes, they have one – and that the seat is facing to the rear until your child is over one year old and at least 20 ponds, when he or she can be switched to a forward facing seat.

It is impossible to know for certain which baby care products your own baby will take to best. As long as you have purchased a good quality crib or cot, with appropriate sheets and blankets, a huge number of nappies and changes of clothes for the first few days and are confident in using the baby milk bottles and sterilizers, then the chances are that you will thoroughly enjoy the first few days of having your new baby, although in your sleep deprived state it is unlikely that you will
remember this!

It is often difficult for new parents to understand what baby care products they should purchase for their new addition to the family. The problem is not the range available, but knowledge of all the hazards presented to babies, and how to protect them from the risks these hazards present. Baby safety is specific to new babies that cannot help themselves should they be in trouble.

Go online and check out the latest information on recent recalls of dangerous baby products that has been provided by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

For detailed safety advice on the care of your baby visit Bonny Baby Mall and be secure in the knowledge that you fully understand what needs to be done to keep your new baby safe and secure.

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