Posts tagged: Third Trimester
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Monica + Andy’s Nursery Checklist is Here!
Here’s what’s so exciting if you’re expecting right now: nursery gear has never been better. But the sheer number of products and promises can leave any future mama’s head spinning. So our HQ team—made of 80% moms—decided to dig in deep. Really deep. We tested, we sorted, we talked with experts, and we discovered. Monica + Andy’s Nursery Checklist is our complete list of can’t-live-without-it products for your new bundle of joy. From a monitor that measures the exact number of minutes your little one has been asleep, to baby-safe... -
The Delivery Room Dish: 'It's been a lesson in patience.'
Welcome to The Delivery Room Dish—a place for new moms to spill on the highs, lows, and nitty gritty of giving birth. What you’ll learn: there’s no one ‘right’ way to have a baby, the delivery room is full of choices (even when labor doesn’t go as planned), and every mom’s got a birth story worth sharing. Up next: Forbes.com journalist and new mom Vivienne Decker, who gave birth to five-month-old Arthur late last year. I realized labor was starting when: I woke up at 4am feeling slight cramps. I... -
7 Things To Know Before Getting the Epidural
The epidural’s more popular than ever for pain relief during delivery (71 percent of all expecting mamas get one!) but what should you know before opting in—or out—of that go-to numbing med? Read on. It’s Ok (And Even Advised) to Get It Early To administer an epidural, doctors insert a tiny tube into your lower back, and you’ve got to sit super still for it. (Yep—hard to do when contractions are coming in fast.) So while you may have planned to tough out contractions for as long as possible before... -
The Delivery Room Dish: 'I loved my home water birth.'
Welcome to The Delivery Room Dish—a place for new moms to spill on the highs, lows, and nitty gritty of giving birth. What you'll learn: there's no one 'right' way to have a baby, the delivery room is full of choices (even when labor doesn't go as planned), and every mom's got a birth story worth sharing. Up next: Kate Levinson, Founder of Levinson Locations in Chicago, who gave birth to her daughter Minette in January. I realized labor was starting when: The bed felt wet about midnight. I was... -
What Contractions Really Feel Like, According to Six New Moms
Until you’ve gone through it once, the bodily sensations of labor and delivery remain a mystery—all we’ve got to go off are the purple-faced women pushing out babies in movies, your mom’s ‘eh it wasn’t that bad’ brush off decades after the fact, and mom friends who, kindly, may spare you the hardcore details to ease your jitters. The pain of contractions (aka: the tightening of your uterine muscles, which helps dilate the cervix and shimmy baby down the birth canal) depends on a number of things—the positioning of your... -
What Every Expecting Parent Should Know About Sleep Training
You’ve probably heard about those naturally great sleepers—the baby who snoozes through the night at six weeks, or the six-month-old who exclusively takes two-hour naps. But for a good majority of parents, getting baby to sleep well takes work. (Sometimes, hours of it—at 3 a.m.) And that’s where sleep training comes into play: it’s the process of teaching baby to self-soothe, so he or she can fall asleep on their own, minus the song and dance (ie: 45 minutes of rocking and sneaking quietly out the door) from Mom or... -
What’s the Difference Between Breastmilk and Formula?
It's one of the first big decisions you'll make as a new mom: help that baby to latch, or pop open a tiny formula bottle? (For some women, there is no choice— their body or baby makes the decision.) But how exactly does nature's milk differ from the store-bought stuff, and what does it mean for you and your little? We spoke with family physician Rallie McAllister, MD, MPH, coauthor of The Mommy MD Guide to Your Baby’s First Year (and a mom of three who fed her babies a... -
The Delivery Room Dish: 'The Most Bizarre Part Was The Small Talk'
Welcome to The Delivery Room Dish—a place for new moms to spill on the highs, lows, and nitty gritty of giving birth. What you'll learn: there's no one 'right' way to have a baby, the delivery room is full of choices (even when labor doesn't go as planned), and every mom's got a birth story worth sharing. Up first: Monica + Andy Editorial Director Kristen Dold, who gave birth to her son Peter in May.I knew it was ‘go time’ when: my water broke. I woke up around 3 am... -
9 Truths About Your First Day Home From the Hospital
The biggest truth: you'll never forget those first 24 hours. Here's what really happens.1. You’ll bypass that pristine nursery and explode into the living roomEven with the expensive rocker waiting, odds are you’ll set up camp on the couch where babygeddon can unfold. It’ll be a sea of boppys, laundry, bouncers, pacifiers, and half-eaten snacks for the next few weeks—and all that chaos is just cozier on the couch.2. You’ll require a steady supply of ice water with a strawPerhaps it’s because you just labored for 20 hours without a... -
How to Relieve Third Trimester Insomnia
You've been warned about sleepless nights with a newborn, but pregnancy insomnia can leave some women just as exhausted. With a round belly and the anxiety of being this close to delivery, home-stretchers often suffer the most. (Insomnia may be nature’s way of prepping us for the sleep loss that comes after delivery, but we want you to clock the most zz's while you can.) Try these tips before you hit the sheets next for a better night’s rest. Skip liquids right before bed Getting up to go to the...