Unfolding Dreams

Trust "Trust is the fundamental element of becoming soul mates...Trust is based on two important principles: honesty and commitment...When we find ourselves holding back, it means we either have not reached that degree of trust or we had it, but something has disturbed it, causing us to be afraid of getting hurt. If you find yourself not opening to your spouse, this is the moment to analyze what has happened to your relationship." Honesty  "With honesty, people tend to go to one extreme or the other. Either they hide parts of themselves and are unable to be sincere, or they believe saying sincerity means saying everything on their mind no matter how offensive it may be. Neither is correct. The first example limits intimacy and will hinder the special relationship of friendship...The opposite can be more destructive.  Insults, sarcasm, demeaning remarks, criticizing with intent to harm and extreme anger are no way to honor, cherish or express love to your spouse...

According to Hethir Rodriguez, in her article,  Natural Ways To Prevent Miscarriages , "You will want to take a multivitamin and an omega-3 supplement. The best multivitamin to take for fertility and pregnancy is a prenatal multivitamin. Look for a whole-food prenatal multivitamin. Some ingredients to check for are B6, B12, and folic acid (or folate)."  She states in this article, "T his combination has been shown to help prevent  miscarriages due to high homocysteine levels . Essential fatty acids  are also extremely important for miscarriage prevention. EFA’s, specifically omega-3’s, are responsible for regulating inflammation response, improving cellular integrity and maintaining hormonal balance, all key factors in helping the body prevent miscarriage" (Rodriguez). Sources Rodriguez, Hethir, C.H., C.M.T. "5 Steps To Decreasing the Chance of Recurrent Miscarriages." Natural Fertility Info . The Natural Fertility Company, 2015. Web. 29 Dec. 2015...

For a woman trying to conceive with no known issues or a woman who has an uncomplicated pregnancy, she will usually take an over the counter prenatal vitamin with folate or one with folic acid that has 800 mcg /  0.4 mg or a prescription from her doctor with folic acid that has 1000 mcg / 1 mg. She will usually follow the guidelines of not exceeding 2,000 mcg of folic acid unless the doctor or another health care provider she is seeing recommends she takes MORE folic acid.

What's in Your Prenatal Vitamin?  Did you know not all Prenatal Vitamins have the same ingredients in them?  Take a look at my comparison charts of different brands:   Closer Look At Pre-Natal Vitamins . Now that you have seen them, you might be wondering, so? What's the big deal? The big deal is... You may be deficient in some important vitamins and minerals. The good news is, that can easily be fixed if you catch it early or prevent it from happening, by taking a prenatal vitamin that has more in it. Prenatal vitamins are recommended before, during, and after pregnancy. * If you have any concerns, speak with your healthcare provider to see what your levels for the following look like and about how little or how much of a supplement you need to take for your health. Healthy Child.org's article, 5 Myths About Prenatal Vitamins,  the second myth is all prenatal vitamins are basically the same. "It says there are some key ingred...

A brief review on leap pads and vtech innotab tablet players for children.  After you buy these products that may come with their brands rechargeable batteries, you may discover the chargers and batteries do not work well after awhile.  Both of these products take regular batteries and regular rechargeable batteries. Don’t keep buying new leap pads and vtech innotabs before trying this. Alas, we just discovered you could use regular batteries instead of the rechargeable battery and chargers they came with.  After buying several of these products and switched to a different brand only to discover each one we bought that we thought was defective just needed new batteries.  Lesson learned the hard way. Yes, that means we now have 4 leap pads and 1 Vtech Innotab when we originally only wanted 2 leap pads. Learn from our mistakes. You’re welcome.

2 Important Questions 1. Is your spouse the most important person in your life? 2. Does he or she know it? Honor & Cherish "To honor and cherish your spouse means to make that person your number one priority and to communicate that through words and behavior so that he is convinced of this... Too often a spouse's complaint of the other spouse is that he has made someone else or something else more important than their relationship...When you make your career more important than your mate, you will lose her. When you make your child more important than your spouse, you will lose him...When your own selfish desires are more important than your relationship with your spouse, you will lose him."  He asks you to think back to when you and your spouse first met and wants to know why you felt loved?  I took the time to stop and answer this question. When my spouse and I were dating we did not have our children yet and we were attending a college out of state ...

What is Love The author gives an exercise to write down your definition of love. I know what love is and even my own ideas of what I think it is, but I actually found it difficult to articulate it right away. I had to really think about what I think love is. My definition of love is an emotion that is unconditional, forgiving, and accepting that you feel for your spouse, children, relatives, and others you care about. He then says, "Even though we find many different variations on the word love, most people agree it is some sort of feeling...I suggest that love is more than an emotion or feeling...Love as just a feeling has two fallacies. First, it suggests that is a passive state that we "fall into" or "out of". Second, it suggests that it must be stimulated or initiated by some external event...If love were an emotion, it too would be temporary and transient, here today and gone tomorrow... it must be more than a simple emotion." Love Is More...

Who This Book is For This book is specifically written for Latter Day Saint Couples already living the principles of the gospel, however, the author says this book "can be useful to anyone who cares for his or her relationship. The principles of creating deep intimate relationships are universal and apply to all couples." You Are Not The Only Couple With Problems He also explains that as a marriage counselor, "I have been struck by how often couples come into therapy with the same problems as so many others...Each couple has their individual variation, but at the root, we often find the same complaints, misunderstandings, unrealistic expectations, and warped perceptions." No One Comes To Marriage With A Perfect Knowledge In the introduction, he says, "No one comes into life or into the relationship a master of all these principles. In fact, it is having an intimate relationship that allows many of these to develop."  This is good for someon...

This is a sample of my notes of helpful points mentioned in the first 21 pages. I also do a couple of the exercises that you can also do. If you like my highlights and want to know more, to purchase your own copy, click  here. Intro Highlights Love Highlights Honor & Cherish Highlights    Trust & Honesty Highlights - Bibliography - Cole, Trafford R. Becoming Celestial Soul Mates: Ten Golden Rules for a Richer Relationship . Springville, UT: CFI, 2006. Print.

*** Disclaimer: Please do not use suggestions, tips, or advice found in this blog as a replacement for professional help in relationships/marriages where there is abuse. *** One of these articles that have been very helpful is What To Do When Marriage Disappoints You by Hannah Nitz. In this article she explains 3 things that women who are disappointed should try doing:  1. Tell your spouse what you need 2. Determine if your standards are realistic 3. Learn to deal with life's challenges as a team Now, these seem very necessary, but I think there have been a time or two in my own life, where I didn't realize my needs weren't being met because I assumed my spouse, children or other loved ones knew what I needed. Occasionally we need the reminder that people can not read minds, and if we only say what we need, there is a chance our needs could be met. I do agree that a couple should be a team, and there are moments when couples forget that they ...

A quick read that has been helpful when I'm in a sad mood, has been the LDS (Latter Day Saint) book, How To Be Totally Miserable by John Bytheway.  As the title suggests, you will learn how to be miserable, but at the same time learn the ways not to be miserable. I started the book a little grumpy, but by the end I begin to realize, I have a choice to whether I am miserable or not. And I realized I was tired of feeling miserable, it's a very hopeless feeling. And I wanted to have hope and happiness again. Amazon Link to Buy:  How Be Totally Miserable by John Bytheway

There are some suggestions out there that may help prevent pregnant women from getting Group B Step, a bacteria naturally found in the vagina and rectum that affects 30% of women.  Disclaimer: I am not saying that if you follow these natural remedies, you are 100% guaranteed to never get it. However, the theory is a healthy immune system and vaginal environment decreases the risk of getting GBS. 1. Don't Shave Your Pubic Hair After reading on many forums, the debate on shave or not shave for labor and / or cervical checks, my midwife gave me the load down of the importance of not shaving. Yes, you heard right, not shaving. What? The myth is that having a shaved vagina is hygienic, when, in fact, it may increase your chances for getting infections, such as yeast. She explained that pubic hair has a job to do, one of its jobs is protecting from bacteria and infections. 2. Wipe Front To Back Supposedly following healthy behavior habits, such as this rule increases a healthy va...

This does not guarantee you will be able to avoid preterm labor.  However, following these tips may help: - Practice Good Oral Hygiene -  7 Things That Could Help Prevent Preterm Labor, an article found on The Stir.com explains, "A new study published in The Journal of Periodontology found the gum disease can actually lead to premature labor and/or to babies who have a low birth weight"(Hawkins). - Eat Breakfast -  In the article, 7 Things That Could Help Prevent Preterm Labor found on The Stir.com says, "Experts have linked skipping breakfast to preterm labor" (Hawkins). - Take Prenatal Vitamins - Mom Junction.com's article, 5 Best Ways To Prevent Preterm Labor says taking a prenatal. Women need folic acid, calcium, iron, and other nutrients, they are supposed to help prevent preterm labor (Fatema).   Author of What To Expect series, Heidi Murkoff, says in her book What To Expect Before You’re Expecting , “Research shows that taking folic aci...

- Brief Birth Overview -   My first birth was a hospital birth medicated with epidural attended by my Obstetrician. My second birth was supposed to be an unmedicated hospital birth attended by my obstetrician but ended up being an unplanned unassisted birth in the waiting room of labor and delivery of my hospital. At the time, I only lived 5 mins from the hospital. We never imagined when the pain got unbearable it was almost over! For my third birth, my husband and I agreed we wanted to try a home birth with a midwife. It's gotten harder to get to the hospital when labor starts and now we live about 20 mins away from the hospital. Even though I wanted an unmedicated birth with my second and was successful, I still feel like one should still prepare for birth. So here I am preparing for my 3rd birth which will be my second unmedicated birth, but first home birth ever! I've put together some of the helpful materials I have been using to prepare for my 3rd birth. - Article...

- Regular Excercise - In  Parenting.com's article, Can You Prevent Preterm Labor, says regular exercise "can reduce your risk of developing gestational diabetes and recent research suggests that it may help prevent preeclampsia as well. One study found that women who walked for exercise during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy lowered their risk for preeclampsia by a third" (Singer). - Stretching -  According to Fit Pregnancy's article, Stretching May Help Prevent Preeclampsia, "Vigioruios exercise can lower a woman's risk of developing pregnancy-induced hypertension or preeclampsia. But a new study suggests an even simpler tactic, stretching. Stretching may be especially good because it releases more of a special kind of protein called transferrin, which protects against stress on the body" (Stretching May Prevent Preeclampsia). -Vitamins- Vitamins, such as Vitamin C and E are said to help reduce the risk of preeclampsia. According to www....

 Parenting.com's article, Can You Prevent Preterm Labor lists some risks for preterm labor: History of Preterm Labor Sexually Transmitted Diseases Ghnorrhea and Chylamydia  Multiples 35 years old or older Preecclampsia High Blood Pressure Diabetes Uterine Infection during pregnancy, such as Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) Perodiontal Gum Disease Being under or over weight Being African American  Smoking or Illegail Drug Use -Sources -  1. Singer, Lisa. "Can You Prevent Preterm Labor."  Parenting.com . Meredith Corporation, 2015. Web. 20 Dec. 2015. <http://www.parenting.com/article/can-you-prevent-preterm-labor>. Last Edited: June 24, 2017

Whether you're trying to conceive one baby or multiples, you need a quality prenatal vitamin: 1. Twin Pregnancies May Need More Folic Acid One thing that is different between a singleton pregnancy and multiples is the recommended difference in folic acid.  According to Web Md's article, 11 Things You Didn't Know About Twins, "Women with twins may need more folic acid to help prevent birth defects.  Manju Monga, MD, the Berel Held Professor and the division director of maternal-fetal medicine at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston recommends 1 mg (1000 mcg) per day of folic acid for mothers expecting twins and 0.4 mg (400 mcg) per day of folic for a mother expecting a single baby." Even though they recommend 0.4 mg (400 mcg), you may notice many over the counter prenatal vitamins have 0.8 mg (800  mcg) and folic acid supplements may be 0.4 mg (400 mcg) or 0.8 mg (800 mcg). Now 1 mg (1000 mcg) of folic acid is usually a prescripti...

According to Web Md's article, 11 Things You Didn't Know About Twins , " Manju Monga, MD, Professor and the division director of maternal-fetal medicine at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston explains that moms with twins complain of more back pain, sleeping diffculities, and heartburn than moms carrying one child. Moms with twins also have a higher rate of maternal anemia and a higher rate of postpartum hemorrhaging after delivery." - Sources -  1. Mann, Denise, and Louise Chang, MD. "Expecting Twins? Here Are 11 Things You Should Know About Twin Pregnancies."  WebMD . WebMD, 2015. Web. 18 Dec. 2015. <http://www.webmd.com/baby/features/11-things-you-didnt-know-about-twin-pregnancies> . Last Edited: June 22, 2017

According to Web Md's article, 11 Things You Didn't Know About Twins, "Women with twins may need more folic acid to help prevent birth defects.  Manju Monga, MD, Professor and the division director of maternal-fetal medicine at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston recommends 1 mg (1000 mcg) per day of folic acid for mothers expecting twins and 0.4 mg (800 mcg) per day of folic for a mother expecting a single baby." - Sources -  1. Mann, Denise, and Louise Chang, MD. "Expecting Twins? Here Are 11 Things You Should Know About Twin Pregnancies."  WebMD . WebMD, 2015. Web. 18 Dec. 2015. <http://www.webmd.com/baby/features/11-things-you-didnt-know-about-twin-pregnancies>. Last Edited: June 24, 2017

News Mother Dies Shortly After Giving Birth To Triplets (2016) Multiple Births: More Are Not Always the Merrier (1985) Books When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads: Proven Guidelines For A Healthy Multiple Pregnancy What To Do When You're Having Two: The Twin Survival Guide from Pregnancy to The First Year My Twin Pregnancy Week by Week: The Ultimate Planner for Moms Expecting Twins   Juggling Twins: The Best Tips, Tricks, and Strategies, from Pregnancy to the Toddler Years Articles What to Expect When You’re Expecting… TWINS! Surprising Differences Between Singleton and Twin Pregnancies You Never Knew Newborn Multiples: Surviving the First Few Months Caring For Newborn Twins  Tandem Breastfeeding: How To Breastfed Twins 13 Things All Moms of Multiples Understand Videos We are Broken After Loss of Sextuplets Ultimate Twin Surprise Outdaughtered: Feeding & Bathing 5 Babies Million Dollar Babies (2009...

 Does maternal age increase a woman's chance of becoming pregnant with twins? According to Web MD's article 11 Things, "You Didn't Know About Twin Pregnancies, "You are more likely to give birth to twins naturally in your 30s and 40s." According to the American Society For Reproductive Medicine's article, Multiple Pregnancies, and Birth: Twins, Triplets, and High Order Multiples,  states,  "The frequency of twins increases with maternal age and the number of pregnancies. Women 35 to 40 years of age with 4 or more children are 3x more likely to have twins than a woman under 20 without children." - Sources -  1. Mann, Denise, and Louise Chang, MD. "Expecting Twins? Here Are 11 Things You Should Know About Twin Pregnancies."  WebMD . WebMD, 2015. Web. 18 Dec. 2015. <http://www.webmd.com/baby/features/11-things-you-didnt-know-about-twin-pregnancies> . 2. "Multiple Pregnancy and Birth: Twins, Triplets, and Hig...

According to the American Society For Reproductive Medicine's article, Multiple Pregnancies, and Birth: Twins, Triplets, and High Order Multiples,  states, "Naturally, twins occur in about one in 250 pregnancies, triplets in about one in 10,000 pregnancies, and quadruplets in about one in 700,000 pregnancies."  This specific article explains that there are risk factors for having a multiples pregnancy. However, these factors such as race, age, and history of prior pregnancies "do not increase your chance of having identical twins but does increase your chances of having fraternal twins."   For example, the risk factors maternal age and prior pregnancy history are explained, "The frequency of twins increases with maternal age and number of pregnancies. Women 35 to 40 years of age with 4 or more children are 3x more likely to have twins than a woman under 20 without children." - Sources -  1. "Multiple Pregnancy and Birth: Twins, Triplets, and...

 ~ Disclaimer! There is no way to prepare completely for twins or multiples. ~ Regardless of the Reason If you are trying to conceive multiples, I am not going to chastise, judge or scare you for desiring twins/multiples. It probably wouldn't change your mind, anyway. I am sure you have your reasons for why you would like one. In my experience, I have found some of the women online who openly express their desires for multiples have heard about the general risks of having twins or multiples.  Thanks to our era of digital technology, women can read and see what it's like for mothers of multiples. On TV, viewers around the world have tuned in to Jon & Kate Plus 8 or Kate Plus 8. If you aren't familiar with these names, the parents, Jon, and Kate have twin girls (2 babies), and sextuplets (6 babies). At one time their hit show documented their day to day lives raising multiples. It even addresses the hardships of having an instant large family. If you think about i...