pregnancy

Pregnant, Breastfeeding or Trying to Conceive, You’ll Want To Try the nourished babe App-Giveaway

February 8, 2018 by Kathryn Leave a Comment

Being pregnant again after so many years since my last baby was an interesting experience. Having “been there, done that” before, I had a pretty good idea of how I wanted pregnancy to go. I took my prenatal vitamin, along with an Omega-3 supplement, religiously. I indulged in prenatal massages. I tried my best to stay flexible with light yoga a few times a week.

But with two older boys in the house, a husband with an inconsistent schedule and the inevitable cravings of pregnancy, I had a surprisingly hard time making sure I was eating a healthy diet! Unlike my other two pregnancies, I had intense sugar cravings when carrying Cormac. And heartburn often had me skipping meals as well. [Read more…]

It’s a Boy! We’re Welcoming a New Addition to Our Family

April 8, 2017 by Kathryn 22 Comments

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of e.p.t.. All opinions are 100% mine.

When my youngest son was weaned and potty-trained, I fully thought that I was done having children. My two boys filled my days completely, and after six solid years of constantly either carrying a baby or breastfeeding, my body was ready for a break. Of course, I also thought I was done with relationships, and then I met a man that was so perfect for me that he really did feel like a missing piece of myself I’d always been searching for. And when I married that man last October, I knew that all my old plans had changed more than I could have ever guessed they would.

My husband and I decided to start trying for a baby as soon as we returned from our honeymoon in Ireland. With my 36^th birthday quickly approaching, I didn’t want to wait too long! We had family visiting in that first official month of “trying for a baby,” which meant that we weren’t…well…"trying" all that much! And I never had a moment of feeling like my body had changed in any way. But just in case, I picked up an e.p.t. pregnancy test, available at Walmarts across the United States and select other retailers, a few days before my scheduled time of the month. I didn’t expect to see anything, so one can imagine my surprise when the test showed that unmistakable blue cross almost immediately!

[Read more…]

Considerations About Pregnancy Later in Life from First Response

November 16, 2015 by Kathryn 28 Comments

My mom had quite a big gap between her oldest three and her youngest two children. In fact, she was in her forties when she gave birth to my youngest sister. I was seventeen at the time and while I was surprised that she was having another baby so late in life, I didn’t realize just how many potential concerns there are for both mother and baby when a woman gets pregnant in her later years. Of course, with some proper planning and preparation, having a baby later in life can be the ideal choice for a family. Just make sure to consider the potential benefits and difficulties so that you’re prepared!

Pregnant After 35 – Considerations

Delaying reproduction often makes it’s more difficult to reproduce – By age 35, most women have a 15 to 20 percent chance of getting pregnant in a given month, and by 45 this goes down to just 3 or 4 percent
Birth weight of newborns tend to decrease as the mother’s age increases, which is unhealthy for development
Parents have had more time for higher education and greater labour participation meaning they likely have more income and greater family stability
Households that are financially stable and established contribute to a better environment to support raising children

[Read more…]

Lose Postpartum Weight Safely with FitTea #PostnatalFatburner Herbal Supplement-Giveaway

March 4, 2015 by Kathryn 2 Comments

When I gave birth to my oldest son, I had plenty of energy throughout the pregnancy and my body bounced back from the experience quite quickly. I was one of those women that walked out of the hospital in her pre-pregnancy jeans, and with the extra calories I burned breastfeeding I was soon in even better shape than I’d been before getting pregnant.

At the time I thought that I was just lucky to have a body that handled pregnancy well, but when I gave birth to my youngest son I learned that wasn’t the case. Even though I hadn’t put on a huge amount of extra weight during my pregnancy, I did still have about ten or fifteen pounds to lose. And this time the weight didn’t just drop away like before. My energy wasn’t as high, my body felt much more run down physically and it literally took me years to drop that pregnancy weight after giving birth. I hadn’t realized just how much of a factor my youth had been the first time!

[Read more…]

Increase Your Chances of Conceiving with The Stork and Join in #TheStorkCAN Twitter Chat September 9 at 8pm EST

September 4, 2014 by Kathryn Leave a Comment

It’s a surprising statistic, but one in six Canadians struggle with infertility. And when a couple dreams of sharing their love with a baby, the struggle can be one that’s incredibly emotional and heartbreaking. While we are lucky to live in a society that has treatments available, the sad truth is that only about 15% of the couples that battle infertility can afford the IVF treatments or other assisted reproductive technologies that could make their dreams of becoming parents come true.

But that’s all about to change with the launch of a brand new, innovative fertility product being introduced to Canada! The Stork by Rinovum Women’s Health is an over-the-counter, at-home aid that increases the chances of successfully conceiving in a natural way. [Read more…]

Make Sure You’re Ready to Start a Family with a Daily Multi-Vitamin Such As Nestle Materna

November 13, 2013 by Kathryn 34 Comments

When I was a young newlywed and ready to start a family, I knew that I needed to make sure my body was healthy and able to handle the strain of pregnancy. I limited processed foods and sugar in my diet, ate plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and took a multi-vitamin every day. And because I had done some research about pre-natal health, the vitamin I chose was Nestlé Materna, which contains thirteen essential vitamins including 1 mg of folic acid.

I’m not alone in my knowledge of the importance of folic acid during pregnancy. In fact, in the recent Nestlé Materna Pre-natal Poll of Canadian women, 91% of those polled knew pregnant women should take a multi-vitamin containing folic acid. But what many women don’t realize is that they should be taking that multi-vitamin before becoming pregnant as well. About half of all pregnancies are unplanned and often, women don’t know they are pregnant until they’ve missed their first period. But folic acid is especially important in the first four weeks of pregnancy in order to prevent Neural Tube Defects such as spina bifida.

[Read more…]

Learn About Cord Blood and Tissue Banking with LifebankUSA and Enter to Win One of Two mamaRoo Bouncers Worth $260

September 23, 2013 by Kathryn 7 Comments

I am so lucky to have two wonderful, healthy children to fill my days with their energy, and even though they often wear me out and sometimes drive me crazy, I treasure every moment I have with my rambunctious boys. So when one of them gets sick, my entire focus is on helping my sons to feel better. So far, the occasional cold or stomach flu is all that we’ve had to deal with, but there’s always the chance that a child could become seriously ill and that’s why banking a baby’s cord blood at birth has become increasingly popular over the years.

LifebankUSA is the only company that offers cord blood, placenta and tissue banking and is the first to release placenta-derived stem cells for a successful transplant. The company is passionate about meeting and exceeding the highest standards in the industry and even offers free tissue banking as part of its complete banking package. The package ensures that your baby will have access to life-saving stem cells from both cord blood and placenta tissue if he is ever in need of a stem cell transplant. [Read more…]

Prepare Your Body for Pregnancy with All Natural Bona Dea Fertility Tonic-Giveaway

August 15, 2012 by Kathryn 34 Comments

It sounds so easy at first. That moment when you and your husband make that momentous decision and tell your friends and family, “We’ve decided to have a baby.” For some, everything goes smoothly and less than a year later a new mom is cradling her precious newborn in her arms. But for others, the decision is followed by month after month of disappointment and sometimes, even more tragically, a few brief moments of joy followed by the agony of a sudden miscarriage.

bona dea fertility tonic I’ve been lucky enough not to have to suffer that pain myself, but I know many women that aren’t so lucky. Reports estimate that at least one in seven women struggle with fertility and that’s only counting the women that seek help from a medical professional. Three of my close friends have had issues with fertility. My sister-in-law had problems conceiving when trying for a second child and finally succeeded only to suffer a miscarriage a few months later. These are women I care about and it breaks my heart to think of the agony that they must have gone through at times.

So when I heard about Bona Dea, a natural tonic that promotes reproductive health, I instantly thought of my friends and family members that could benefit from this product. Bona Dea is made with Rubus Ideaus, a safe and gentle natural herb that helps to give tone to the muscles of the pelvic region, including the uterus. Many women have successfully conceived a child after starting to take Bona Dea and while, as in life, there are no guarantees, ensuring that the reproductive system is as healthy as possible is an important step for the greatest chance of conceiving. [Read more…]