Frozen Meals for Post Partum

As you can soon expect, you will have your hands very full with your new little one! That being said, there isn't much time for cooking & meal preparation. Frozen meals come in especially handy for new parents!

Frozen Section at the Grocery Store
The next time you're strolling through the grocery store, look at the frozen food section. You can find all sorts of meals frozen and just ready to throw in the oven or microwave. However, because they're frozen, they have a higher sodium content so they'll keep--but they're cheap, easy and accessible. I like foods like Voila Chicken Alfredo! All you do is put the package in a skillet with some water, add the alfredo sauce and let it cook. This meal can go quite aways if served atop rice. Also, many veggies are available to steam in your microwaves and even with buttery and herb sauces, yum!

Homemade Frozen Foods
Ever frozen lasagna? Works well doesn't it? All you have to do is throw that baby in the oven with some tin foil and voila, a delicious, home made meal! Lasagna is probably is the easiest to make, but there are others as well. Any type of casserole would work well too (I like green bean casserole! YUM!)

Here is a good lasagna recipe, sure looks yummy! Lasagna Recipe

Pelvic Girdle Pain...is it keeping you up at night?

You have three pelvic joints in your body: two sacroilliac joints and a pubic symphasis. During pregnancy, a hormone called Relaxin will help all of your joints loosen in preparation to childbirth (especially the pubic symphasis, directly in the middle of where the hips join). Relaxin is also the culprit of your new found clumsiness... you must be wondering by now, "Why the heck can't I hold on to things anymore and drop everything?!?", Relaxin!

Something that pains some women during pregnancy is known as Pelvic Girdle Pain. PGP often presents symptoms like a chronic back ache, lower pelvis ache on one or both sides and radiating pain down the bum and the legs. Other symptoms include:

* Present swelling and/or inflammation over joint.
* Difficulty lifting leg.
* Pain pulling legs apart.
* Unable to stand on one leg.
* Unable to transfer weight through pelvis and legs.
* Pain in hips and/or restriction of hip movement.
* Transferred nerve pain down leg.
* Can be associated with bladder and/or bowel dysfunction.
* A feeling of symphysis pubis giving way.
* Stand with a stooped over back.
* Malalignment of pelvic and/or back joints.
* Struggle to sit or stand.
* Pain may also radiate down the inner thighs.
* You may waddle or shuffle.
* Aware of an audible ‘clicking’ sound coming from the pelvis.

The cause of PGP is unknown for the most part, but there are several theories that can be found here.

How can PGP be treated? I can imagine how uncomfortable you must be at the end of your pregnancies and having to deal with this. Some women even experience it by 14 weeks! (ugh, can you imagine?!) But, it can be dealt with! Here are some self-help tips for PGP:

* When getting into bed sit on the edge keeping knees close together, lie down on your side, lifting both legs at the same time. Reverse this to get up.
* Try not to attempt to pull yourself up from lying on your back.
* Keep knees together when rolling over in bed.
* Sleep with a pillow between the legs; add more in other areas for support.
* When getting into a car: Sit down first and then swing legs keeping them together.
* Avoid sofas and chairs that are too low or too soft.
* Try to reduce the stress on the joint.
* Avoid any movement with your knees apart.
* Take smaller steps when walking.
* Avoid stairs if possible.
* Take breaks.
* Move within the limits of pain.
* Avoid twisting, bending or squatting.

Also, your doctor or midwife may suggest seeing a Physical Therapist that can help you tone the pelvic and abdominal muscles to releive some of the pressure on your pelvic joints. (Also, a little Tylenol can't hurt ladies! It's completely safe during pregnancy!).

Breast Milk Sugars Give Infants a Protective Coat

Interesting article in the NY Times today (Saw it through ACNM's facebook site on breast milk sugar's effect on an infant's GI tract. Here's the article:

A large part of human milk cannot be digested by babies and seems to have a purpose quite different from infant nutrition — that of influencing the composition of the bacteria in the infant’s gut.

The details of this three-way relationship between mother, child and gut microbes are being worked out by three researchers at the University of California, Davis — Bruce German, Carlito Lebrilla and David Mills. They and colleagues have found that a particular strain of bacterium, a subspecies of Bifidobacterium longum, possesses a special suite of genes that enable it to thrive on the indigestible component of milk.

This subspecies is commonly found in the feces of breast-fed infants. It coats the lining of the infant’s intestine, protecting it from noxious bacteria.

Infants presumably acquire the special strain of bifido from their mothers, but strangely, it has not yet been detected in adults. “We’re all wondering where it hides out,” Dr. Mills said.

The indigestible substance that favors the bifido bacterium is a slew of complex sugars derived from lactose, the principal component of milk. The complex sugars consist of a lactose molecule on to which chains of other sugar units have been added. The human genome does not contain the necessary genes to break down the complex sugars, but the bifido subspecies does, the researchers say in a review of their progress in today’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The complex sugars were long thought to have no biological significance, even though they constitute up to 21 percent of milk. Besides promoting growth of the bifido strain, they also serve as decoys for noxious bacteria that might attack the infant’s intestines. The sugars are very similar to those found on the surface of human cells, and are constructed in the breast by the same enzymes. Many toxic bacteria and viruses bind to human cells by docking with the surface sugars. But they will bind to the complex sugars in milk instead. “We think mothers have evolved to let this stuff flush through the infant,” Dr. Mills said.

Dr. German sees milk as “an astonishing product of evolution,” one which has been vigorously shaped by natural selection because it is so critical to the survival of both mother and child. “Everything in milk costs the mother — she is literally dissolving her own tissues to make it,” he said. From the infant’s perspective, it is born into a world full of hostile microbes, with an untrained immune system and lacking the caustic stomach acid which in adults kills most bacteria. Any element in milk that protects the infant will be heavily favored by natural selection.

“We were astonished that milk had so much material that the infant couldn’t digest,” Dr. German said. “Finding that it selectively stimulates the growth of specific bacteria, which are in turn protective of the infant, let us see the genius of the strategy — mothers are recruiting another life-form to baby-sit their baby.”

Dr. German and his colleagues are trying to “deconstruct” milk, on the theory that the fluid has been shaped by 200 million years of mammalian evolution and holds a wealth of information about how best to feed and defend the human body. Though milk itself is designed for infants, its lessons may apply to adults.

The complex sugars, for instance, are evidently a way of influencing the gut microflora, so they might in principle be used to help premature babies, or those born by caesarean, who do not immediately acquire the bifido strain. It has long been thought there was no source of the sugars other than human milk, but they have recently been detected in whey, a waste byproduct of cheesemaking. The three researchers plan to test the complex sugars for benefit in premature infants and in the elderly.

The proteins in milk also have special roles. One, called Alpha-lactalbumin, can attack tumor cells and those infected by viruses by restoring their lost ability to commit cell suicide. The protein, which accumulates when an infant is weaned, is also the signal for the breast to remodel itself back to normal state.

Such findings have made the three researchers keenly aware that every component of milk probably has a special role. “It’s all there for a purpose, though we’re still figuring out what that purpose is,” Dr. Mills said. “So for God’s sake, please breast-feed.”

Yet another positive outcome of breastfeeding! Very interesting article!

Cravings: To give in, or not to give in.

That is the question. And really, theres a very logical, simple answer. We often here clique cravings of pickles, ice cream, cupcakes, etc. etc. Often are cravings are an indication that we are missing something in our diets. Pickles, though? Yep, even pickles it seems! Pickles are chock full of Vitamin A, Iron, Potassium and Manganese! Also, they are a good source of fiber, vitamin K and Calcium! But of course, look out Momma's, pickles are full of sodium as well.

So if you are hankering for something, give in! That is unless you're craving something non-food related like paint chips, dirt, etc. If you are, you need to contact your provider. But if your cravings are for yummy food, give in Mommas! That's something you (and your baby!!) want and quite possibly may need :)


Pickle Nutrition Facts

Plus Sized Moms

Some of us, myself included, have a little extra padding. Sometimes from previous babies or sometimes just from life itself, but it's there. It's been my experience that sometimes, a plus sized mother is sort of looked at a little differently because of the weight.

Yes, we are more at risk for health problems but that DOES NOT MEAN you are automatically going to have a c-section. Plus sized women give birth to babies vaginally all the time and are not always "high risk".

Extra weight does pose a threat, and it's important to limit your weight gain to about 15 lbs, but don't be surprised if you loose some weight! Some plus sized women loose weight during their pregnancies as they start walking or just cannot eat anything due to the morning sickness! Discuss what is right for you with your Doctor or Midwife.

If you want to avoid a c-section, please tell your health care provider so. They are here to help YOU, to be convenient for YOU, so please don't be trapped in thinking "okay, let's do whatever they want." No, no, no...this is YOUR body, YOUR baby so the decision is yours ladies. Some women do need a c-section, with good reason, but keep this figure in mind... Only 5% of C-sections are TRUE Emergencies. Crazy huh?

Also, don't by fooled by this "big women have big babies" nonsense, this is not the case in every situation! I am a plus-sized woman and I had a 5 lb, 14 oz child! That is not "big" by any means at all. Other plus sized women I've spoken to have had 6lb babies, and that isn't big either! Yes, some women do end up having 10 lb babies, but that includes thinner women as well!

My words of wisdom for you during your pregnancies... Eat Well (some providers have you see a nutritionist, which is a good idea. They ideally want caloric intake to be between 1800-2000 calories per day), Get Lots of Rest (nap if you have to ladies, you'll end up feeling much better!), Drinks Lots of Water (you don't understand how much you need it till pregnancy, water keeps every metabolic process in the body underway!), and Get Some Light Exercise (walking is the BEST during pregnancy, low impact but a calorie burner!).

The Importance of prenatal vitamins

Once we find out we're pregnant, we're told to take our vitamins, each and everyday. Why is this exactly? The importance of keeping both you and your baby (or babies!) healthy. Also, these vitamins and minerals are important for your baby's growth in your womb :)



(as a side note---I love these particular vitamins! They were wonderful!)

What's in those vitamins anyhow?

Lots of stuff! Ingredients like folic acid keep away birth defects, vitamin D and calcium for bone synthesis and upkeep, vitamin A for tissue growth and restoration (and to keep you healthy!), Vitamin C to keep your immune system happy, Vitamin E for good, healthy cells and lots more!

Why should I still take them if I eat healthily?

Good question, with a simple answer. It can be quite possible that you're not getting quite enough of certain vitamins per day. The best solution? Eat a healthy, nutritious diet and take your vitamin daily.

Oh no, I'm constipated from all that iron! Now what?!

Oh yes, the "benefits" of iron :) My suggestion is to increase your fluid (particularly water) and perhaps if you're really having an issue, try some laxative type foods, like coconut. I also believe Phillips capsules are safe during pregnancy (these are stool softeners).

Mac n' cheese w/ chopped up broccoli stalks! YUM!

I made Chicken Broccoli Alfredo the other night for dinner and had left over broccoli stalks. Thinking about what exactly to do with them, I decided to chop them up, boil them to make them soft and throw them in some macaroni and cheese! YUM YUM YUM! I'm always trying to figure out new things to sneak veggies in, as I have to trick my two year old to eat any vegetable that isn't a tomato!

I used Walmart's brand of macaroni & cheese (38 cents at the moment!!) and then threw in the chopped broccoli stalks after the noodles were done cooking & were drained. Then I put the butter, cheese & milk in and voila! A very filling lunch and great for pregnant & lactating moms! Good amount of protein, vitamins & minerals!

Welcome!

Welcome to Heart to Womb Doula Blog & Services! My name is Crystal-Lyn and I am a mom, wife, college student and now doula student! I just finished my doula training program from Aviva Institute and after attending three births, I can be officially certified :) I am currently attending college to become a Nurse and my eventual goal is to become a certified nurse midwife!

I will be serving women in the Southern/Seacoast NH region from the last few weeks of their pregnancy with education and support through labor and delivery and through the first few weeks of post partum.