Unfolding Dreams

About Red Leaf Raspberry Tea It is often recommended during pregnancy because it is said to help strengthen the uterus, and to help produce stronger contractions in labor. Some health care professionals may recommend five weeks for it to help soften the cervix. When to start Red Leaf Rasberry Tea Thirty-nine weeks is the March of Dime's new definition for full-term in pregnancy. Some fertility literature recommends starting  the tea at thirty-two weeks, but not before to allow it time to build in the body. One mom on a message board said she was advised by her midwife not to start it until after 36 weeks because it can cause uterine contractions and can cause you to go into labor early or miscarriage. What Brand To Use My midwife actually recommends buying it loose leaf. She said our natural grocery sells it, so you can buy as little or as much as you want / need and cheaper than buying it already boxed.  Tea or Supplement? My midwife recommends the te...

Why Have The Tablets? If you are allergic to pineapple or do not like eating it, it is recommended to try the tablets. You may want to double check the ingredients to make sure taking the tablets will not cause an allergic reaction if you are allergic to pineapple. Articles I also found this article that discussed the benefits of Brolemain Pills vs Fresh Pineapple,  PILLS VS. PINEAPPLE: Whole Fruit Wins in Bromelain Comparison . This 2005 article says, " Tempted to turn to the supplement aisle in search of faster healing or reduced inflammation? You may find more reliable relief in the produce aisle, or so suggests some preliminary analyses run in the Dole Nutrition Institute (DNI) Lab.The nutrient in question is bromelain – a natural enzyme derived from pineapple.  Previously, our researchers analyzed pineapple and papaya skin-care products to verify claims of enzymatic activity – and found out that there was more bluffing than buffing going on. ...

This is such a great idea! I didn't really get into this until my 3rd pregnancy and planning for my first home birth. The idea is to post these affirmations before and during your birth. For some women seeing or hearing someone say these quotes, helps them as they are laboring. Below are links to pregnancy & birth affirmations: I can Do This! (affirmationsforpregnancy.com) Pregnancy Affirmations (everydayaffirmations.org) Printable Birth Affirmations (littleappledoulas.com)

Despite my desires to find the light at the end of the tunnel, I worried about how Endometriosis would affect my fertility. How could I not? I was being told I have this disease that can make it difficult for some women to conceive or impossible for some women to get pregnant. That it has no cure! Surgery may increase your chance for kids, but doesn't  guarantee  it and is not a method that should be used to help achieve pregnancy multiple times, because of scar tissue. Oh, and Endometriosis is said to affect egg quality. Huh?!? I worried that I would never get the opportunity to biologically have children. At 20 years old and newly married that was a lot for me to have to come to terms with, that motherhood may have to come another way (adoption), it may be a struggle to achieve (fertility treatments) or I may never become a mother (both options are  unsuccessful ).  My  greatest fear  was not being able to have children....

Getting the news that you have had something in your body for a long time without you or anybody else knowing is kind of a scary thing. I believe it is a normal to feel like why didn't my doctors know this was happening to me? Why is this happening to me? Feeling helpless and a little broken. I hoped in time I would be able to pass this heartbreaking diagnosis, survive having Endometriosis, and still find happiness despite it. 

My recovery was a good one. I had a small incision a little below my belly button. It took time for it to heal, but eventually it faded into a thin scar. The last thing I remember is being given some medicine and falling asleep on my way to surgery while saying goodbye to my husband and mother in law. I awoke in a recovery room with my husband. They monitored me for a little while before discharging me. The laparoscopy was done in an outpatient facility for same day surgery. I was in so much pain, I could barely dress. Later that night, I vomited a couple of times, probably as a result of strong painkillers. " Unfortunately , there are no reliable statistics that indicate what percentage of women with Endometriosis have no problems having children, have difficulties but eventually succeed, or never succeed. Therefore, it is impossible to give women a reliable indication of their chances of having fertility problems."  Wood, Ros, Heather Guidone, and Lone HUMM...

21 week anatomy scan. Gender Unknown. Baby measures 21 weeks and 3 days.

 Not Sure if its Positive? Opinions Wanted?  When seeing faint lines on a pregnancy test, one feature I love using on Countdowntopregnancy.com is the posting feature. It allows others to vote on whether they believe your ovulation tests or home pregnancy tests are positive. It even gives a few options that allow voters to tweak your photo, for example, to lighten a photo that may appear dark. When I felt like I saw a faint line of my home pregnancy test for my 3rd pregnancy, I quickly snapped a picture and posted to see what others thought before announcing the news I suspected to my husband. If you see a line that is one thing, but if many strangers see it too there is a chance it really is true. I posted my home pregnancy test to countdowntopregnancy.com for additional opinions.  I was relieved everyone agreed it looked positive.  I also had them look at my ovulation tests too.

What is the 6-week formula? Clients take a labor prep herb starting at 35 weeks. It contains red raspberry, blessed thistle, etc...Some herbalists and midwives claim that it leads to shorter labors, less bleeding, and fewer overdue mothers. Advice of My Midwife Team My midwife team said they noticed less hemorrhaging in women who didn't do 6-week formula.  They also noticed for their practice more  clients had less prodromal labor and more efficient active labor when labor did commence because they were not taking the 6-week formula.  So I am going to skip it. But that was just based on their clients and doesn't actually go into details of what could have caused more or less hemorrhaging in the different women.  Advice That Echos My Midwife Team On Mothering.com's Midwife forums, the original poster said, "The other midwife she works with firmly believes that except for rare circumstances that our bodies do not need herbs to have a baby. She found in h...

Favorite Baby Tubs Let's just say like any mama, I love shopping for my baby. I've tried quite a few baby tubs out there. However, I am going to share with you what have been some my favorite baby tubs. First let me say, links and names will be provided. And second, I am not being paid to promote any of these products. These are my personal opinions. If there were any affiliations, it would be listed. The First Years Infant To Toddler Tub with Sling I loved this tub for a number of reasons. The most important being that it grows with your baby. You can use from newborn to toddler. I also love the newborn sling. Baby tubs I had with my first did not have newborn slings. So this is a nice addition baby tubs have started adding. It has a place to sit your baby soap and shampoo that not all baby tubs have. It also comes in a couple of colors, such as blue (as pictured) and pink. Youtube the commercial  here . Buy it from Amazon in  Blue  or from Wal-Mart in  P...

Barbie Clothes & Accessories in the smallest drawer. I used the 2 large drawers to store the Barbies. I also added yellow label stickers. Two say Barbies.  The third says, Barbie Clothes and Accessories. I also included photos on the bin drawers.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash What if my dating ultrasound measures off by a week? With my first pregnancy, I was not charting. My LMP said I was 7 weeks pregnant, but a dating ultrasound put me at 6 weeks pregnant. Counting backward that put me ovulating on cycle day 22, instead of cycle day 15. A week behind what I was estimated to be. That was also the pregnancy my estimated due date changed. It went from 10/7 to 10/13. That pregnancy resulted in a healthy, full-term baby. Ovulating later than you thought, doesn't necessarily mean something is wrong. Last Edited: March 18, 2022

Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash When did you hear your baby's heartbeat for the first time? The answers for this question varies from expecting mothers. For me, I have heard heart beats with my pregnancies at 6 weeks plus.  I've never heard it earlier than that and those were with a vaginal ultrasound. I would say anything before 6 weeks is considered early.    Below is a chart I created. Pregnancy I Heard Baby’s Heart Beat For The First Time 1 6 weeks pregnant 2 7 weeks and 5 days pregnant 3 6 weeks and 1 day pregnant Last Edited: March 18, 2022

Photo by Adam Winger on Unsplash Links in Bibliography. Craving Ice According to Wikipedia, " Pica is the consumption of substances with no significant nutritional value such as soil, soap or ice.  Pica is more commonly seen in women and children, and  particularly it is seen in pregnant women , small children, and those with developmental disabilities such as autism"  (Pica). Wikipedia explains Ice cravings, " Pagophagia  is a form of the disorder pica  involving the compulsive consumption of ice  or iced drinks.  It has been associated with iron deficiency anemia  and shown to respond to iron  supplementation,  leading some investigators to postulate that some forms of pica may be the result of nutritional deficiency. Chewing ice may lessen pain in glossitis  related to iron deficiency anemia.  However, the  American Dental Association  recommends not chewing ice because it can crack teeth; instead, ice ...

For Bathroom: Disposable Menstrual pads (or cloth) Disposable Liners Depends Disposable Women Underwear Mesh Underwear Medicated Hemorrhoid Wipes Disposable Feminine Wipes and / or Baby Wipes (or cloth) Perennial Bottles Dermoplast Pain Reliving Spray Hemorrhoid Cream Epsom Salt Bath  Herbal Baths Essential Oils Spray Bottles For Medicine Cabinet: Stool Softener Tylenol or Motrin Miralax For Bed Room: Heating Pad Postpartum Support Wrap More Photos:

We moved into our 3 bed room, 2 bath town home when our oldest was 3 years old and our second child was 6 months old. We had painted her bedroom yellow when we moved in. At almost 5 years old, she requested a pink room. We decided her bedroom needed a big make over since our little girl was becoming a little lady. How time flies!  We agreed, we hadn't quite hit the feel of how we wanted her room to look.  We wanted her room to be a place of  peace, where she could rest and play. We also wanted the room to grow with her. As well as an organized space. Play Area

Links included. We felt like too many toys made the room overwhelming, when it came to clean up time.  Also,  the toys took a lot of space without proper organization.   It was also important to pick toys  that didn't make the room feel cluttered because her bedroom doubled as the guest room with the 2nd biggest bed in the home whenever we had guests. So we had to pick the toys we felt could be played with long term and would look nice in a clean and organized bedroom. The toys we decided to use in her bedroom: 1) Barbies, 2) Doll House, 3) Dolls, 4) Build A Bears Wooden Doll House  I purchased mine from Wal-Mart. The List Price is $99.00.  We bought ours for $79.97. Buy Doll House:  KidKraft Super Model Dollhouse With Furniture

Our first home doesn't have a mudroom or really the potential for one to be made since we can not change the layout of our town home. I think most require you to submit what you would like to change to a committee who can approve or deny your request.  Since we only had 348 more square feet in our town home then the 1,000 square feet our 2 bed room, 2 bath rental condo we lived in for 5 years had, we knew we had to find a way to add storage to a small space.  So we created a mini mudroom with a storage locker. Buy Storage Locker:  Closet Maid Storage Locker (Target)

Introduction We all know that kids come with alot of stuff, especially toys. I almost dread birthdays and Christmas, because everyone gives toys. Mostly I think because pratical things like clothing, bedroom decor and organization, and money for our children's savings or activies is "boring". So that means our house is always full of toys.  Before: 2014 Look We've had play spaces in our 2 bed, 2 bath rental condo (from 2010-2014) and our first home, a 3 bed, 2 bath town home (2014-present). However, we struggled to define our play space, because we don't have a play room. In our rental condo, we have to divide the living room into living space and play space. Having toys front in center was awful. You never want surprise visitors when the same toys you pick up, your kids take back out. When we moved into our town home, we agreed, only a basket of kid toys in the living space that went well with our decor to make it less obvious.  Since we still didn...

Links given above my photos. One of the issues we were having was our dress up area. We use to throw everything into a toy box. However, costumes would get crumpled and wrinkled. You couldn't see what you had, because there was no real organization with everything thrown into a toy box.  I came across a pinterest pin and I loved the idea of being able to organize and see the costumes with a clothing rack. I used canvas bins I already owned for additional storage for accessories, such as purses, wallets, dress up shoes, wands, and so forth. Pinterest Idea:  Easy and Affordable Princess Hanging Rack Buy Clothing Rack:  Whitmor Adjustable Garment Rack Buy Canvas Bin:  Mainstays Medium Canvas Bins (3 Pack)

One thing that had not been addressed in the previous design was flooring. Because it was in the garage, we worried about the floor feeling cold in the winter. But we had mismatched rugs as well that only covered some of the flooring and we felt the foam mats would be too expensive to cover the space.  We found rugs on clearence at Target. The original price was $99.99 and the clearence price was $29.98 each. The rugs instantly sprouced our drab garage flooring.