Unfolding Dreams

Trying To Conceive Multiples The odds of conceiving spontaneous multiples naturally without a family history of twins / multiples, a personal history of hyperovulation (the release of more than one egg), using fertility drugs and / or fertility procedures, such as artificial inseminations (IUIs) and Invitro Fertilization (IVF) seem pretty low, especially when you are trying to conceive in your 20s. Low, but not impossible. General Odds of Conceiving Multiples Naturally 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"  ( Multiple Pregnancy and Birth: Twins, Triplets, and High-order Multiples ). In Mama Natural's article, What Are Your Chances of Having Twins , she writes, "The chances ...

Photo by Sylwia Bartyzel on Unsplash A 2nd-time mom wanted to know,  "Will my 2nd baby come earlier than my first did?" My answer to this question is it depends on the situation for mom and baby. For my situation, I've currently been able to carry my babies to full term, 39 weeks and over. This is the new definition from the March of Dimes for a full-term pregnancy, instead of the old term of 37 weeks.  Now 37 weeks is called preterm. My 1st I carried to 40 weeks and 2 days. Came  2 days after EDD. My 2nd I carried to 39 weeks and 2 days. Came 5 days before EDD.  My 3rd I carried to 40 weeks and 3 days. Came 3 days after EDD. Last Edited: March 18, 2022

I responded to a post of a first-time mom struggling with postpartum depression, breastfeeding issues and a fussy newborn. I decided to share some of my comments for other first time moms because the first few days, even weeks with a new baby as a first-time mom can be challenging for some moms, an adjustment for all moms and sometimes moms need someone else to tell them that it is going to be okay. No One is Perfect First, I want to say every mom starts at the beginning with being a first-time mom. Even if you have cared for other people's children's as a child care provider or occasional babysitter, it is definitely not the same as being pregnant, delivering that sweet baby and the reality of being a mom 24/7. It's okay to remind yourself there is no such thing as perfect mom and give yourself permission to say I am still learning how to do this. You will have up and down days a mom, some days you will feel like super mom and other days you will just be doing the...

Prepare to the best of your abilities for this journey you are hoping to embark on. As a disclaimer, I do want to say no matter how much you read and prepare, and so forth for having a baby (or babies), you will never be a hundred percent ready for everything since you can't know beforehand how anything will go until it actually happens. This post does not guarantee that you will be 100% ready for pregnancy or a multiples pregnancy or will become pregnant. Prepare Financially  Prepare Nutrition & Diet Prepare for a high-risk pregnancy

When you are pregnant, your body has extra nutritional needs. Even more so when you are carrying multiples, such as twins or triplets. - What You Can Start While Trying To Conceive -  Folic Acid According to Web Md's article, 11 Things You Didn't Know About Twin Pregnancies , "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 (800 mcg) per day of folic for a mother expecting a single baby" (Mann).  Prenatal vitamins that have 1 mg  (1000 mcg) are usually prescriptions and prenatal vitamins that have 0.4 mg (800 mcg) are over the counter. You can find a few over the counter supplements online that have 1 mg of folic acid or folate (links included), such as Thorne Research  5-MTHF ...

- Finances -  Here are a few things to consider: Multiples Cost More Having one baby, let alone two or more babies can be costly. With one baby, you need certain items, such as a car seat and a place for baby to sleep (bassinet, crib, pack n play, co-sleeper, or your bed...),  to name a couple. However, with twins, some things you need two of each, triplets three of each, quadruplets four of each, quintuplets five of each and so forth. For example, if you were to buy this more affordable car seat,  Graco Snug Ride Click Connect 30 Infant Safety Carseat  for $99.99 (in February 2016), that's a pretty good deal. To buy for twins, this becomes $199.98, almost $200 dollars and $299.97 for triplets, almost $300 dollars!  And that's if you're sticking to car seats around $100 dollars. Car seats can cost in the 100s, 200s, 300s and even 400s! And travel systems - a car seat and stroller set often cost more depending on the brand and accessories your st...

Learn from my mistakes, so you don't have to make them. 1) Save Money Ahead of Time or Keep Up With Payments The biggest mistake my husband and I made for our small, one income budget was that we did not save the money ahead of time or keep up with payments at every appointment for our home birth. I know how much  the midwife ($2,000) and doula ($400) cost, since before I was pregnant.  Also that both have to be paid out of pocket because neither accepts insurance. However, every time I put money aside for the birth as we were trying to conceive and the beginning of my third pregnancy 4-10 weeks, there was always a greater need dipping into the money leaving less money than I intended and a few financial emergencies that deducted from the amount, such as monthly payments: mortgage, HOA, car payment, utilities, our first child's preschool, weekly: groceries, gas). Side note we spend a lot of money on gas because my husband commutes to work 5-6 days a week. To help th...

Woven wraps can be expensive. However, there are places you can go to find some that are affordable or gently used for below retail and there are certain brands that are more affordable than others. Affordable Brands * Prices mentioned are subjected to change.  These prices are a reflection as of 2/1/2016. * 1. Hip Baby Woven Wrap Brand  Amazon sells a brand called Hip Baby that is sold in a size 6. It often goes on sale for $69.95, original price: $120. Click  here  to see them. I also know that E-bay sells the Hip Baby brand as well occasionally between $70-90, click here .  Like any brand, there are going to be people who like it and others who don't.   I was told this by a mother in one of my babywearing groups that when Hip Baby came out they caused quite a stir, because of their low prices and there were some customer complaints because the weave was thin and loose, but since they have improved their product.  As of February 1, 2016, ...