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3 Tips for making your Pregnancy more Comfortable

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Ask any mother who’s had multiple births, and they’ll all tell you the same thing: pregnancy gets easier each time around. However, for new expecting mothers, pregnancy can be a challenge. And it’s perfectly normal, bringing life into this world is hard work. However, there are many ways that you can make your pregnancy much more enjoyable. Here are a few tips that you can apply to make the whole experience easier.

Learn How to Listen to Your Body

Knowing what your body needs is important when you’re pregnant. Certain nutrients are not just essential to your own well being, but your baby’s as well. Fortunately, our body has a way of telling us when something is missing and it’s possible to know when you’re deficient if you’re attentive.

Nutritional deficiencies can have a much bigger impact on your pregnancy than you can imagine and are responsible for a large portion of difficulties you may experience. Something as simple as being dehydrated or missing important nutrients and minerals like healthy fats, iron or calcium could throw your whole system out of whack. Making sure you have the right nutrients will help prevent things like fatigue, headaches, morning sickness, leg cramps and even external issues like varicose veins for instance.

If you want your pregnancy to be as smooth as possible, you could add supplements like calcium capsules, cod liver oil, magnesium lotion or spray and iron when needed. Dried greens and seaweeds can also help.

Consider Buying a Belly Band

Pregnancy belly bands can be a literal lifesaver during the final months of your pregnancy. They were made specifically to provide additional abdominal and lower back support during pregnancy. They can prevent things like Sacroiliac joint pain and round ligament pain and can reduce discomfort when performing physical activities.

Maternity belly support belts can improve your posture and prevent your lower back from overextending. They can also be worn after your pregnancy to help you deal with decreased core strength.

Be Active

While it may not always be easy, it’s always better to be active when you’re pregnant. Something as simple as going for a brisk two mile walk in the morning could help you reduce the risk for hemorrhage during birth. It will also make birth much easier and will allow you to recover faster.

The kind of exercise you partake in is up to you. Ideally, you should avoid any contact sport or any type of exercise that puts too much pressure on your belly. However, if you were able to perform any activity before you were pregnant, listen to your body and continue with your regular routine until your body tells you to stop. Swimming in particular is one of the best forms of exercises you can do while pregnant and one of the safest as well.

Conclusion

If you follow these few simple tips, you should be able to have a much more pleasant pregnancy. Just remember to give your body the nutrients it needs and stay active to facilitate recovery and labor.

Hands-on ‘Cooking’ Projects Your Little Ones Will Love

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Summer is fast approaching, and all the little people will soon be out of school. Whether you have preschoolers or elementary students off for the summer vacation, what will you do to fill those long and tedious days. Of course, every kid looks forward to getting out of school for a couple months, but the anticipation is much more pleasant than the reality of day after day with nothing to fill the hours.

Why not spend some time teaching your little people their way around the kitchen? Kids love to ‘cook’ with mom and there are quite a few easy recipes Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice suggest for children.

When Is Cooking Not Cooking?

The funny thing about the term ‘cooking’ is that we aren’t always referring to something actually cooked or baked. How many times do you tell the family that you are cooking dinner when actually you are making tuna sandwiches to be served with chips?

We use the term loosely instead of the more properly descriptive ‘preparing dinner,’ and so kids will think they are cooking even when no heat is used! However, even when you must use the stove or oven, there are prep or garnish steps which kids can help with at no danger to them.

Let Them Add the Ingredients

Have you ever noticed how much fun kids have dumping things out? Just leave your shampoo on the side of the tub during bath time one night and see how quickly your little ones will pour it all into the tub with them. They will then proceed to splash around until bubbles are formed. Then there is the sand pail at the beach. Most kids will work diligently to fill it up, only to dump it out and start all over again.

If you pre-measure your ingredients when baking a cake, for instance, let the little ones pour the ingredients into the bowl as you need them. Not only will they believe they are ‘cooking’ but they will begin to develop stronger motor skills as well. It does take coordination to hit the bowl after all!

Shaping and Cutting

Kids also like to get that hands-on experience. It is one of the most effective ways they learn. One night, make meatballs and let the kids form the balls after you’ve mixed all the ingredients. Did you know that this can also be a lesson in personal hygiene? By teaching them the 20-second rule of handwashing before working with food and, of course, after as well, you are teaching them one of life’s most important lessons.

So many germs are spread by contact that it is a good idea to teach kids early on the importance of scrubbing away those invisible creatures! Don’t forget, when you make sugar cookies, let the kids do the shape cutting while you put them on the cookie sheet and into the oven. It’s loads of fun without letting them anywhere near that dangerously hot oven. From shaping to ‘cutting’ to the frosting, there are many ways kids can help you cook while learning some of life’s most valuable lessons. Spending time with mom in the kitchen is the best part of all! See for yourself.

TACKLING CHILDHOOD OBESITY

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The fact that over a third of American children are obese should concern any parent. While some of these children have unhealthy weight through no fault of their, either through the hand dealt to them by genetics or congenital medical conditions, for many it boils down to the diet.

It should concern parents since they have an important role in deciding what their children eats and inculcating in them healthy eating habits.

While the health risks associated with obesity are not as severe in children as they are in adults, obesity still poses health problems for children in both the short term and the long term.

Health risks of childhood obesity

Obese children may have breathing problems which hinders their ability to participate in physical activities expected of their age and this can later develop into asthma. This can also manifest itself as sleep apnea which heightens ones risk of suffering a stroke or a heart attack as they grow older.

In the short term, excess weight can cause a child to have self-esteem issues and joint problems since their skeletal structure isn’t as developed to handle their body weight.

Furthermore, obese children are at risk of developing diabetes and heart disease in addition to growing up to be obese or overweight adults. Some of the well-known effects of obesity in adolescence and adulthood include reproductive problems where there is early or delayed puberty and sexual health issues.

Overcoming childhood obesity

The good news is with time on their side, parents and caregivers can help their children manage and overcome their weight problems and grow into healthy and fit adults. The last thing an overweight child needs is to be mocked and teased about their weight – it could ruin their self-esteem for life. Instead be empathetic, understanding and supportive. Here’s what you need to do;

Encourage eating healthy habits

Kids learn from the examples of their parents, not their words. Your child is unlikely to eat healthy if the parent is a junk food aficionado. This starts with the kinds of food you have and prepare in your house. It’s hard for your child to eat healthy if your refrigerator is filled with unhealthy processed and junk foods.

Clean your house of unhealthy foods and replace them with healthy organic alternatives. With less temptations your child is likely to start eating healthy. Make it a family goal to eat and live healthy. Visit Easy-Diabetic-Recipes.Com for healthy recipes.

The second aspect of healthy eating lies in the quantity. Actually, this is the easiest way to maintain a healthy weight but also the hardest to master. To help them control their quantities, encourage your child to drink plenty of water during the day and snack on fruits which make them feel full faster and stay that way for longer.

Physical activity

Ensure your child participates in physical activities to help them lose weight and stay fit. This can be fun activities like gym sessions at school, swimming or biking. Household chores and gardening are also great ways to keep your child active. You can even be exercising together as a family.

You can easily achieve this by minimizing the passive activities your child engages in like watching TV or spending countless hours on their phones.

Make it Easy for Your Kids to Learn Origami with these Tips

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If you are looking for some arts and crafts ideas, you may want to consider making origami. Here are ways on how you can make it easy for your kids to learn origami with these simple and easy to follow tips.

Getting the Paper

One of the best parts about making origami art is that all is required is a piece of paper. You will not need to purchase any expensive paper from an arts and crafts store. Any paper you have on hand can be used effectively and put you on the path to creating some unique and fun origami art. The more paper you have the better, as you will have more than enough material to try out different designs.

Don’t Make It Difficult

Before your child begins making origami, make sure you start them off with something easy to make. Origami folds differ in their levels of difficulty. It is better to start off with an easy to follow design. That way, your child can get the hang of how to do it. It can be easy to get carried away and try and make a design completely out of your depth. If your child is struggling, make sure to let them know that practice makes perfect and give them as much motivation as you can.

Staying Inside the Lines

Children are not known for their patience or neatness, however, keeping inside the lines when creating origami will help create the best pattern possible. One of the main tips when creating origami is to focus on folding precisely and neatly, as opposed to trying to quickly get to the end of the instructions. When you are folding, the instructions can become confusing, but it is important to remember that each instruction needs to be followed carefully to finish with a good outcome. Also, staying consistent and motivated is a key trait to helping your child stay on track and finish a task.

Be Creative

Another great reason to let your child have a go at origami is giving them the freedom to create whatever they desire. Opening their imagination and putting all their thoughts and ideas onto paper can be a wonderful way to physically express their feelings. Being imaginative and thinking outside the box can enable your child to create a unique origami pattern.

It’s Just Paper

The main thing to remember about origami is that it is just paper. If your child falls at the first hurdle, make sure to reassure them and let them know that there is plenty more paper and they can have another go. It can be easy to lose motivation at the beginning, but if your child stays focused and determined, they can end up creating some fantastic origami. Websites like origamiway.com will provide you with more details on the diverse designs and patterns that you can make.

Learning and making distinctive designs and shapes out of origami should be a fun and exciting experience for your child. If your child is struggling with making a certain design, make sure to be on hand for support should your child need any assistance.

6 WAYS IN WHICH A PACIFIER CAN BE DANGEROUS TO YOUR BABY

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Pacifiers can sometimes be helpful in calming down a restless baby. The sucking provides comfort and soothes them. Pacifiers are not only handy in stopping babies from being fussy, but also provide temporary distraction or help them fall asleep faster. Having a pacifier can save you, and your baby, from a lot of pain. However, they can also harm your baby, for example, causing misalignment of teeth and increasing their risk of suffering from infections to the middle ear.

Here are six ways in which pacifiers can harm your baby;

Latex allergies

Latex pacifiers are preferred to silicone ones as they are softer and more flexible. However, most babies are said to suffer from latex allergy arising mostly from vaccinations. The allergy could lead to rashes, or even worse, asthma and shock.  The softness of the latex pacifier also makes it easily chewable and can cause serious health issues when ingested.

Silicone allergies

Silicone pacifiers are recommended because they are stronger, more durable and silicone allergies are not as common as latex allergies. Some babies are however allergic to silicone and any exposure, however minimal, can trigger a reaction. Silicone allergies are characterised by watery eyes, rashes, labored breath and in the worst cases, shock.

Sweetening the pacifier

Oral bacteria thrive in sugary environments and therefore can cause harm to the baby’s gums and teeth which are still developing. The bacteria release acids that cause decay and childhood cavities. Honey is also known to contain a chemical that can lead to food poisoning and should never be given to children under the age of two.

Contamination

Pacifiers, being constantly in contact with saliva and oral bacteria, can be an avenue for the growth, contamination and transmission of bacterial organisms. Given that most parents just wash and dry the pacifiers instead of disinfecting them, pacifiers can cause dental caries, intestinal parasitic infections, candidiasis and infection to the middle ear. Use of tap water to clean the pacifier has also been linked to bacteria that cause dental caries. While cleaning a pacifier in your mouth can help pass good bacteria to your baby, there are also risks of transmitting harmful bacteria to them.

Addiction

Frequent use of the pacifier can turn into a habit such that the baby cannot do it anything, including fall asleep, without it. This can interrupt the baby’s sleep, and yours, when it falls off in the course of the night. Addiction to the pacifier could also delay the baby’s speech development. As the baby gets older, consider restricting the use of a pacifier to bedtime only until you get them completely off it. Momcrib.Com recommends finding other ways of calming the baby down.

Gassing up the baby

It is inevitable that the baby will swallow air when feeding and have the need to pass gas. However, frequent and vigorous sucking on the pacifier could also cause gas problems. If the gas builds up, it may cause stomach acid reflux or abdominal pains which make the baby uncomfortable. When they cry due to the discomfort, giving them a pacifier further worsens their discomfort.

How to Host the Perfect Baby Shower

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The impending arrival of a baby is an exciting moment in any mom-to-be’s life, and it’s a special time to be shared with family and friends. It’s a time for celebration, which is exactly why baby showers are held. If you’ve taken the lead in hosting a baby shower for a close friend or family member who is expecting a bundle of joy, then obviously you want to do all you can to ensure it’s a special and memorable event for her. This can mean a bit of stress and rushing around on your part, unless you’ve got a plan that you can follow.

Here we’ll take a look at tips that will help you host the perfect baby shower, keeping you organized and on schedule with very little stress and worry.

Will the Shower be a Surprise or Will the Mom-to-Be Know About It?

The first thing you’ll want to figure out is if you plan on hosting a surprise baby shower or if you plan on letting her know. There are obviously pros and cons to both sides, so it’s really personal preference. Giving the mother-to-be notice at least makes the event a bit less stressful to plan, and it can be less stressful on her too as she won’t be waiting and wondering when it’s going to happen.

Choose a Location and Date

Next on the to-do list is to choose a location and date. Your guest list will help to determine the location as it will dictate how much space is needed. It’s quite common for the host to hold the baby shower in her home as long as space permits. At least by holding it in your house you won’t have to worry about transporting food, beverages, and décor to an outside location.

If you choose not to hold the shower in your home then a catering hall or restaurant can make for a fabulous location. Keep in mind you will probably have to book well in advance.

Send Invitations with Plenty of Notice

As far as the invitations go, you’ll want to send them out as early as possible. Ideally you want to give six to eight weeks’ notice on the shower, and then have your RSVP date set no later than one week before the shower is to take place.

Give Thought to Food, Beverages, and Décor

In order for the shower to feel festive and special, then food, beverages, and décor are needed. There is no shortage of baby shower décor out there from balloons, to signs, and fun banners that you can hang. You can choose a theme and have that carry-through in the décor and the cake. And speaking of cakes, the Allcakeprices.Com site is a great resource when it comes to all things cake-related, in particular pricing.

As for the food, finger foods and light appetizers tend to be a popular option. They are easy to eat, you don’t have to sit down at a table to enjoy them, and they can be served throughout the shower.

By using these tips you’ll find that the planning process goes much smoother, allowing you to enjoy the event rather than worry and stress about it.

How to Prepare Your Child for a Visit to the Dentist

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Visiting the dentist can be a frightening experience for your child. However, knowing the right tips and tricks beforehand can help reassure your child and ensure they are well prepared. Here are a few ways on how to get your child ready for a visit to the dentist.

Let Them Know

Your child’s brain is like a sponge that absorbs everything you tell them. It is important to let your child know exactly what to expect before their dental appointment. Being honest with your child from the beginning and giving them instructions and guidance on how to best prepare for their appointment will help them enormously and ensure your child feels confident and ready.

Be Positive

A way to help your child be prepared for their visit to the dentist is by being upbeat and describing the dentist in a positive way. Letting your child know that they are the good guys and they are there to help protect our teeth can help in changing your child’s overall view. The way you speak about the dentist can have a significant impact, so ensure you remain positive and be on hand for any questions from your child. If your child is facing any problems with their teeth, websites like Health Row can give you more information and guidance on the appropriate steps to take.

Giving Support

Being on hand to give support to your child can help them feel relaxed and ready for their dental appointment. If your child has any worries or fears about going to the dentist, make sure that you empathize with them and offer any support that they may need. Be prepared to answer any questions your child has and try and relate back to when you were young, so you can understand why they are fearful about the dentist.

Practice Makes Perfect

Before your child’s dental appointment, make sure that your child is aware of the importance of good oral hygiene. Show your child how to brush your teeth correctly, so they can copy and learn from you. It is best to practice from a very young age, so your child is aware of how to practice good oral hygiene. Whilst your dentist will be able to offer advice and guidance, it is up to you to remind your child of the importance of brushing our teeth.

Make It Fun

There are ways to help your child prepare for their dental appointment and not make it seem as scary as it sounds. Many dental practices have games and activities in waiting rooms for children, which can give them something to look forward to and help take their mind off where they are. If your child has never visited the dentist before, it will be an unfamiliar environment for them so ensuring they can have toys and games to play with will help keep them relaxed.

If you would like more information on the best ways to prepare your child before their visit to the dentist, make sure that you look online at specialist websites that can give you more of an insight and learn tips and tricks to ensure the dental appointment goes as smoothly as possible.

Tips for Teaching Your Child to Play Nicely

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No parent is perfect, and when your child is consistently showing an inability to share, aggression towards others or other forms of bad behaviour, it can be difficult not to blame yourself or know what to do. It’s important to note that all children go through phases of bad behaviour as they grow and develop, and these are perfect opportunities to work on teaching your child how to play nicely.

Create a Chill-Out Zone

Instead of punishing your child every time they act out, which could lead to further tantrums and bad behaviour, try instead creating a ‘chill-out zone’ where they can go to cool off and collect themselves. Encourage them to think about their behaviour and what they could have done instead to improve. This helps your child to learn self-calming skills, as well as giving them the opportunity to reflect upon their behaviour.

Set a Good Example

Children see and copy everything, so if you want your child to play nicely with other kids, you’ll need to start setting a good example yourself. This isn’t to say you have to be perfect all the time, but try to make a concerted effort to display to your child how you overcome disagreements with your partner for example, or how you can stay calm even when you’re arguing. If you do mess up and end up getting angry or aggressive, remember to talk to your child about it and point out where you went wrong.

Encourage Empathy and Conversation

One of the key steps to learning how to play nicely with others is learning how to effectively communicate and empathise with them. It’s important to encourage empathy with your child, even if they are young, by asking them to consider how their actions affected other people, and asking them why the behaved the way they did. Often young children struggle to understand ‘why’ questions, so instead try using ‘what’ questions such as ‘what made you hit your brother?’

Read Books That Encourage Good Behaviour

Try reading to your child from books that encourage good behaviour, sharing, kindness and empathy. There are plenty of kids’ books geared towards encouraging nice play, such as ‘Why Should I Listen’ and ‘How To Be a Friend’. Reading these books before bedtime is a great way to calm your child down, ready them for sleep and teach them some life skills. Studies have also shown that we are more likely to remember concepts we learn before going to sleep, so making it a bedtime routine can help good behaviour to stick.

Create Some Art That Demonstrates Friendly Playing

An easy and fun way to encourage friendly productive play in your children is to incorporate it into an art session. For younger kids this might mean bringing out the finger painting kits and making a picture of them playing nicely. For slightly older kids, try using an online comic creator such as Rage Maker, to make a fun and silly comic addressing how to resolve conflict effectively.

Parenting is never easy, and we all struggle sometimes.  Searching online for a little help and guidance now and again can provide you with some tips and reassurance and will also make you realize that you are not alone.

Dealing with Your Child’s Use of Slang

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Children and young people have always delighted in creating their own languages and finding ways of communicating that their parents don’t understand. In the fifties, teenagers would say “razz my berries” knowing their folks wouldn’t have a clue it meant getting interested or excited about something and confusing your elders is still seen as an essential skill by many young people. In the modern world of constant communication and social media influence, these slang terms catch on and spread seemingly overnight, but they also come and go far more quickly too.

Why do kids like using slang?

As children grow up, they form their own social groups and networks, and being able to share a language no-one outside the group understands can make them feel a part of something special and different. Young people grow away from the dependent relationships they have as young children and are likely to go through a phase of seeing their elders as something of a hindrance interfering with their freedoms. If you can communicate with your peers without adults understanding what you’ve said, it makes you feel clever and reinforces the idea that your elders are stupid and don’t understand you. This pulling away from the parents is a normal stage of development and will usually pass as the child matures.

How can you get to grips with your kids’ language?

It can be very frustrating for parents when they don’t understand what their child is saying, and this can lead to conflict. Your child will probably be thrilled that this is winding you up, but try and stay calm and remind yourself it’s just a developmental stage. If you want to get to grips with the slang terms that are doing the rounds, a quick internet search should provide you with some definitions. You can also see what’s happening with trends in slang by going to a website like lolhit.com that analyzes the use of slang terms and catchphrases. It is a good idea to know what current slang terms mean, just in case your child is using offensive or unpleasant references, so you can step in and dissuade them from saying anything unsavory.

Joining in

There’s a temptation to want to use the same language as your kids when you’ve found out what their slang terms mean, but it’s best to resist. If your kids know you understand them, they’ll simply find or invent new ways of communicating that baffle you anew. They will not be impressed by your new-found knowledge either, and parents who start using the same slang terms as their kids are generally seen as being very uncool indeed.

Try not to worry about the slang your child is using, as there is little you can do to stop them and any efforts to do so are likely to be met with resistance. That’s not to say you shouldn’t maintain standards of communication at appropriate times, such as social occasions and family mealtimes, just don’t get too hung up on the way they speak with their friends. In general, it’s best to stop sweating the small stuff and try and stay frosty, hang loose and chillax.

Tips for Taking Great Action Shots of Your Kids

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If you love photography and would like to be able to take some great action shots of your kids to add to your photo album or hang on the walls, you’ve come to the right place. Taking photos of your kids as they are exploring the world and doing what they love can be a great keepsake and a memory you can treasure forever, in photograph form. Below are some great tips to ensure you get sharp, focused action shots of your kids rather than blurry ones.

Increase Your Shutter Speed

To get an action shot that is not blurry, you basically need to freeze motion. In order to do this effectively, you need a fast shutter speed enabled on your camera. This should be around 1/200 or above. If you are trying to take an action shot, or something that involves a lot of speed such as your child’s first football match, try adjusting your shutter speed to around 1/1000, especially if you are in natural outdoor light.

A Stabilizer is Your Best Friend

Trying to stay still when taking action shots is impossible! You may have everything else set right, but if you can’t stay in the exact same position then you may still get blurry shots. We are not made to stand still; we are not statues. A stabilizer ensures you get clean, crisp shots whether they are action shots or not. Indreviews have all the low down on the best stabilizer for your needs and price range.

Use Continuous Shooting

The best way to ensure you get the shot you want and to have a multitude of shots is to use continuous shooting. This means you can take many photos of the action, as and when it is happening. Taking them one at a time may mean you miss out on the shot you want. But remember, your camera will then have to process all these images, so the longer you use continuous shooting for, the longer your camera will need before it can begin shooting again. This also means the more shots you take the more chance one or a few of them have come out the way you want them, so you have more shots to play with this way.

Make Use of The Center Focal Point

When taking actions shots of your kids, it is best to fix the center focal point on the face to ensure they are in shot and not blurry. If you focus past your kids then chances are you will get an out of focus shot. This can be hard when they are constantly running around, and you will need the patience to get that dream shot, it takes time, but with practice, you will be taking professional-standard photos of your children in no time.

Having great action shots of your kids gives you great memories to hang on your walls and is much more fun than a standard family photo.  Also when taking pictures make sure your kids are dressed in nice fashion like uniquely printed kids t-shirts and cool sneakers. Action shots show true happiness as they aren’t posed and can be really heartwarming pictures to share with family and friends.