There are some very well know pregnancy symptoms such as missed period, tiredness and morning sickness, which affect a high percentage of pregnant women. Whilst a lot of emphasis is placed on these symptoms by the popular media we don’t often get to hear of other symptoms that are commonly experienced by pregnant women at different times during their pregnancy.

Loss of balance

When you are pregnant your centre of gravity switches. This may cause you to be a little more unsteady on your feet. Being aware of this means that you can do your best to counteract it and stay on your feet!

Hypertension

Hypertension is pregnancy induced high blood pressure. It affects approximately 6% of all pregnant women and can be very serious. Symptoms include blurry vision, facial swelling and intense headaches. If you experience these symptoms then you should contact a doctor.

Congestion

Many women experience nasal congestion at some point during their pregnancy. When you are pregnant your body produces high amounts of estrogen which in turn causes more mucous to be made and the nose lining to expand. Some women feel like they have a permanent ‘cold’ during their term.

Hair Growth

One thing that many pregnant women are not expecting is intensified hair growth. Many report a sudden appearance of dark and thick hair in all sorts of strange places such as the lower back, neck, breasts and face. Your high hormone levels can be thanked for this sudden hairy onslaught!

Veins

Varicose veins are inflamed veins on your legs that appear raised, soft and of a blue colour. Generally this is a genetic condition that will only affect those parents or other family members have suffered with it. Sit with your legs uncrossed and in a raised position whenever you can!

This article was written by Sam Smith. Sam enjoys writing about parenting and pregnancy. She has a special interest in usual pregnancy symptoms and cravings.

Photo: flickr.com/photos/mestreech/1141289549/

After watching shows like “I Didn’t Know I was Pregnant” on TLC, I sit and wonder how any woman can “miss” even the early signs of pregnancy. I ALWAYS knew right away, although, in all fairness, I was actively trying to get pregnant every time. That keeps a girl pretty in tune with her body.

Nevertheless, a trend I’ve noticed in the show is, most of the women had irregular periods in general and took a home pregnancy test early on, because they “just wondered.” When the tests came back negative, they trusted the results and let it go…for nine months.

It’s easy to trust a negative test and move on, because many of the early signs of pregnancy can be very similar to normal pre-menstrual symptoms. Take a look for yourself.

Early Signs of Pregnancy

Breast Tenderness and/or Swelling – The girls seem to have grown from oranges to grapefruit and/or feel like they’ve just been through a squeezer

Fatigue – No matter how much rest you get, you still want to drop, just about anywhere

Slight Cramping (may include some light bleeding) - If you feel twinges of cramping pain and/or have light bleeding, generally not as heavy as your usual period, that just might be Jr. moving down from your fallopian tubes and making himself cozy in your uterus

Headaches – Seemingly out of nowhere, your cranium feels like it’s going to crack

Nausea (aka: Morning Sickness) – Whether you’re lying in bed or walking down the frozen foods aisle at the local grocery, you feel like you’re going to blow chunks, and sometimes do

Backaches – By the end of the day, your twenty-something bod feels like it’s been traded in for an antique model

Frequent Urination – You spend more time in the powder room than you do at your desk

Missed Period – Your special day comes and goes with no need for spare cotton

If you’re experiencing some, or all, of the early signs of pregnancy and your period doesn’t come within a week of when it it’s expected, take a test.

If you even slightly suspect you have a bun in the oven, and that first test doesn’t come out positive, wait a week and take the test again. If Aunt Flo hasn’t come for her monthly visit after getting three negative results (a week apart from each other), make an appointment to see your gynecologist.

Trust your instincts, ladies. If your body is trying to tell you something, don’t ignore it. Prenatal care is very important for the health of both your bambino and you. Pay attention to the early signs of pregnancy, so you don’t end up “surprised” three trimesters from now.

Jessi Arias-Cooper is the senior writer and an editor for Advice4Parenting.com. She is a work-from-home mother of 3 boys and has been married for 10 years. If she had time for hobbies and interests outside of parenting and keeping house, they would be jewelry making, baking, watching bad B-movie horror flicks and creative writing . If you have a question for Jessi, click here.

A Reader Asks:

I’m 32 weeks along, and I’ve been diagnosed with preeclampsia [pregnancy induced hypertension], and my doctor put me on bed rest. I’ve been lying in bed for 4 days and I’m starting to go crazy. I don’t think I can handle another 8 weeks like this. Is there anything I can do?

Jessi Says:

I’m sorry, mama. I know it stinks, because I’ve been there. My initial reaction to the good doctor’s prescription was “Woo hoo…vacation!” By the end of day two, it was abundantly clear, hanging out in bed for the duration of my pregnancy was in no way comparable to a trip to Hawaii.

The good news is, there’s plenty to do if you’re creative. Before I get to that, I’m going to stress the importance of following your doctor’s orders. No matter how tempting it is to sit in the nursery and “just” do this or that, plant your fanny. Your OB wants the best health for your baby and you. Don’t flirt with disaster and try to get away with some well-intentioned shenanigans. It’s not worth it. The consequences can be deadly.

Now, as far as bed rest survival is concerned, my first suggestion is to give your doctor’s office a call and get some clarification as to the rules of the game. My doctor was very specific with the position I had to be in (lying on my left side), but I could get up for bathroom breaks and to move to the living room couch.

Ask your doctor if it’s alright to relocate to the sofa from time to time. Be honest with him if stairs are involved, too. Again, caution is your best friend when it comes to protecting your baby. Once you have the guidelines of your bed rest situation, you can plan some activities to get you through the next several weeks.

These are some things I did to keep all my marbles where they should be:

Think about all of the organizing projects you’ve been putting off. Most women have a closet full of “I’ll get to it someday” things to do. I took the time to put pictures in frames and albums, update my address book, sift through old files and sort my craft supplies. I couldn’t carry things back and forth, so I told my husband what the plan for the day was and he brought everything to me.

Grab a laptop and shop online. While I was battling infertility, I fantasized about shopping trips with my mom and girlfriends, searching for the best deals on the cutest baby gear available. And of course, as luck would have it, I wound up a prisoner of my blood pressure, unable to waddle the aisles of every baby boutique my swollen feet could handle.

Instead, I started looking online, which was a pretty sweet deal in the end. I could pick items I liked, compare prices and send my ideas to friends and family who were “in the know” about such things. They in turn, they sent me links to items they recommended.

Make dates with your partner. Try to keep in mind, this is stressful for him, too. He’s actually probably freaking right out about now. He’s worried about you, scrambling to get things ready for Junior, and trying to focus on work, bills and every other responsibility that comes with that blissful gift called adulthood.

Plan date nights watching movies, listening to music, sipping sparkling grape juice by candlelight and just enjoying each other’s company. These are the last few weeks before the new head honcho joins the family. Make the most of them.

Ask your girlfriends over. Every time the chips are down, your gal pals say, “Please, let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.” This is a great time to take them up on it. Plan beauty days and paint each other’s nails or start a book club. Having someone to hang out with is such a sweet relief. Don’t feel like you’re being a pest, you’d do the same if your roles were reversed.

Make important lists and arrangements. Write down who needs to be contacted when the big day arrives, items the hubby needs to pack for your hospital stay and any special instructions for a housesitter if you need one (include pet and plant care). Take care of any paperwork the hospital, insurance company or other important office may have for you.

There are lots of things you can do while you’re on bed rest. Get creative. The key is to stay busy without being active or stressing yourself out. If you need someone to talk to while your significant other is at work, find a forum for other pregnant moms, especially ones on bed rest.

You’ll make it through this difficult time. When the nurse lays that healthy little cuddlebug in your arms for the first time, you’ll know every moment was worthwhile. Don’t think of bed rest as a sentence, but the first loving act of a wonderful mother.

Jessi Arias-Cooper is the senior writer and an editor for Advice4Parenting.com. She is a work-from-home mother of 3 boys and has been married for 10 years. If she had time for hobbies and interests outside of parenting and keeping house, they would be jewelry making, baking, watching bad B-movie horror flicks and creative writing . If you have a question for Jessi, click here.

A reader asks:

I have my first baby on the way and am starting to get really nervous. From feeding, to bathing, and everything in between and beyond, there is just so much to know. I have a lot of friends with children and they make it look so natural and effortless. I’m afraid to tell them that I’m doubting my own parenting abilities. How do I know that I’ll be a good parent?

Jessi says:

The wait for baby is an exciting and nerve-racking time for EVERY new parent-to-be. If you talk to a parent who says that she (or he) never had any pre-baby jitters, she’s either trying to help calm your fears, or embarrassed to admit that she’s human. D0n’t get bogged down by what appears to be easy for others. You said it yourself, they “make it look” so effortless. It comes with practice. I know that I’m not the same mom with my third baby as I was with my first. There’s an evolution that takes place in the heart and mind of every parent and it comes with experience.

There is a lot to learn, but no one expects you to know everything off the bat. Even the most seasoned parenting veteran has an “Um…what do I do” moment just about every day. Babies, and children in general, don’t come with directions. There’s a reason for that (besides the obvious discomfort and paper cut potential at delivery); all parents and children are different.

When it comes to the basics, such as bathing, feeding and swaddling, there are plenty of resources from the get-go. You have nurses, family, and friends that can share those techniques with you.

If you forget something or need clarification, just ask. Other parents are always a great resource and happy to help. If you’re bashful, hop online and check out a site you trust, like Advice4Parenting.com for instance (pardon the shameless plug, I’m human, too.) Thanks to the Internet, you have 24 hour access to helpful information.

As for the other more surprising parenting responsibilities like what to do if your son eats a caterpillar, trust your instincts. Trust me, you may not realize you have them, but they’re there. Parents need to listen to that inner voice and go with their guts. If you feel he needs a doctor, take him. If you feel he’s not developing at the right pace, consult a specialist. If he ate a caterpillar, call his doctor, and then laugh when you know everything is okay. By the way, none of my boys have eaten a caterpillar…yet.

The keys to being a good parent are trusting yourself and loving your child. The answers will come to you. If you’re still nervous about something, contact some support, whether that means your mom, your pediatrician, or the good folks online that have been there.

Don’t let your fears overcome your joy and put undue stress and pressure on you. If you’re thinking about the future and asking questions, you’re already a good parent.

Jessi Arias-Cooper is the senior writer and an editor for Advice4Parenting.com. She is a work-from-home mother of 3 boys and has been married for 10 years. If she had time for hobbies and interests outside of parenting and keeping house, they would be jewelry making, baking, watching bad B-movie horror flicks and creative writing . If you have a question for Jessi, click here.

While you’re trying to conceive, every experienced mother sings the praises of how wondrous and magical pregnancy is. Amazingly enough, as soon as that stick has two lines, the same women can’t stop lamenting about how dreadful their pregnancies were, and openly take every opportunity to get in a good chuckle at your expense.

At first, you’ll laugh with them and brush it off. Your pure elation overcomes often silly, but sometimes terrifying, war stories from veteran moms. Nothing’s going to bring you down.

Around month four, you may feel a little differently. You’re stoked that your risk of miscarriage has decreased dramatically, and usually the nausea starts to subside, yet the stories persist. Now, you have the pleasure of enduring woeful tales of killer heartburn and rib-cracking, alien octopus babies.

There’s only so much a woman can take. After a while, these unpleasant stories will start to take their toll on your baby-growing morale.

So, what’s a girl to do?

How do you shut them down without losing your cool and throwing some uncouth nastiness right back into their laps? As tempting as it is, all it will do is provoke an awful “hormone” comment and an overstated eye-roll, which will ultimately only frustrate you further.

First, take a deep breath…not an obvious, get-out-of-my-face sigh…but a deep, relaxing breath.

Second, smile. Give her a simple, sweet smile that shows appreciation for what she went through. It’s all about the poker face.

Third, sympathize with her story. “Wow, I’m really sorry to hear that. It must have been hard for you.”

Finally, change the subject. If she’s really burning to share the elements of her pregnancy, shift to a lighter, happier topic. Ask her how she picked her nursery theme or where she found her favorite maternity clothes. She’ll start dishing and you might actually pick up a tip or two that will be useful to you.

Pregnancy isn’t always a cakewalk, but the end result is something beautiful and sweet. Don’t let Betty Buzzkill rain on your parade. If you keep calm and take the reins, you’ll be able to enjoy your pregnancy without other mothers’ negativity.

Jessi Arias-Cooper is the senior writer and assistant editor for Advice4Parenting.com. She is a work-from-home mother of 3 boys and has been married for 10 years. Jessi co-owns Profitable Prose, with her husband, Brock. If she had time for hobbies and interests outside of parenting and keeping house, they would be jewelry making, baking, watching bad B-movie horror flicks and creative writing.

When you’re expecting, nine months feel like an eternity. It’s a happy time, full of wonder and excitement. You can’t wait to kiss his chubby cheeks and hold him close to you.

The good news is that you don’t have to wait to start bonding. After all, you will never be physically closer to him than you are right now — two hearts, two souls, in one body. He’s with you wherever you go.

At 16 weeks, he’s listening to your heartbeat and can hear loud noises happening around you. By the time you’re 25 weeks along, the cadence of your voice brings him comfort. He also can distinguish voices that he hears often, like your spouse, from other people that you come into contact with throughout the day.

So what does this mean for you? Well, simply put, you’re making an impression on your baby before you have the privilege of seeing each other in person. Every time you sing along with your favorite song or talk to your husband about how your day was, he’s in there, soaking in the soothing rhythm of your voice.

Take advantage of this special time, because the more he hears your voice, the better. Hearing you speak is great for bonding and is stimulating his language development. Studies have shown that babies of different nationalities have intonations in their cries (at birth) that echo that of their mother’s native tongue.

Don’t worry about feeling silly when you’re talking to your little one. He may not be able to understand what you’re saying, but he is taking note of a voice that he can trust.

Don’t know what to say? Here are some tips on how to communicate with your little treasure:

1. Give him a nickname, if you haven’t already. It’s easier to talk to someone when you know his name. Usually, the pet name you bestow upon him while you’re pregnant will stick after he’s born.

2. Read everything out loud. You don’t have to stick to children’s books. The content of what you’re reading isn’t important. Pick a gossip-rag and go. He’ll appreciate your laughter as you giggle at the latest exploits of fallen golf heroes and sell-out “supermoms”.

3. Talk through what you’re doing. Pretend you’re explaining your actions to an audience. “Oooh, it looks like daddy couldn’t find the hamper again, Peanut. Let’s pick up the towel and put it into the basket. Remind me to show him where the dirty laundry goes…again.” You’ll find that these private “conversations” add some flair to otherwise mundane tasks and will lighten your mood.

4. Sing your heart out. Babies love music, and have been proven to recognize the rhythm of songs that they heard in-utero after they join the outside world. When I was pregnant with my first son, Aiden, I was addicted to a particular country album. After he was born, he spent a significant amount of time in a NICU. When I would sing songs to him from the CD, his vitals would rise.

Taking advantage of this special time is good for your baby and you. Not only does it familiarize your tiny tot with the sound of your voice, but it gives you the opportunity to bond with him during your special journey together.

Jessi Arias-Cooper is a work from home mother of 3 boys and has been married for 10 years. She co-owns a freelance writing business, Profitable Prose, with her husband, Brock. If she had time for hobbies and interests outside of parenting and keeping house, they would be jewelry making, baking, watching bad B-movie horror flicks and creative writing.

You’ve just had your suspicions confirmed that you really are going to have a baby, and now your thoughts turn to how to announce a pregnancy to your husband, mother and everyone else. After all, just saying “Hey, guess what?” isn’t very creative or stylish, is it? Try one of the suggestions below, or give some thought to it to come up with a unique twist of your own.

The first person you should be telling of the joyous news is the father, of course. You could try making a lovely dinner with candles lit and perhaps some romantic music softly playing. Bring out the wine glasses and pour him a glass of wine, then pick up your empty glass to toast. Tell him that you can’t have wine in your condition and watch his eyes as the news sinks in. Don’t be surprised if you get swept up into his arms at that point–-with dinner completely forgotten!

Another unique way to let your partner know what’s going on is to wear one of those long maternity t-shirts with the cute sayings on them like “bun in the oven” with the arrow pointing down to your belly. Cover up with a robe at first and then ask him if he likes your new lingerie. Swing open the robe so he can take in what it says on your t-shirt. For this announcement method, you may want to be sure he is sitting down before you open the robe.

What about how to announce a pregnancy to your parents, especially if they’ve been nagging you about grandchildren? One woman I knew ordered a big bouquet with a large “We’re having a baby” balloon in the middle and had it delivered to her mother. She knew exactly when the bouquet was delivered because her mother was on the phone with her instantly, weeping and laughing at the same time.

Another woman that I knew wanted to come up with a unique way to tell her sports-nut father about his coming grandchild. She and her husband bought tickets to the next football game and took her father to the game. She made arrangements with the announcer to not only broadcast the happy news but to also have it go over the teleprompter for the whole world to see. Her dad was flabbergasted!

Hopefully, these interesting and clever announcements have given you some ideas of your own. With your own unique take on things, I’m sure you can come up with some great ideas for how to announce a pregnancy to your family as well.

There was a time when the doctor who delivered a baby became the baby’s doctor automatically. Of course, that was long, long ago. Today, medicine has become highly specialized. One doctor, called an obstetrician, will care for the mother during pregnancy and deliver the baby, but when the baby is born, the parents must have chosen a pediatrician to care for the infant.

I suppose you could, but it doesn’t seem like a very wise idea to simply choose a pediatrician out of the yellow pages of your local telephone directory. You really want to be certain that the pediatrician’s ideas of child care are compatible with your own philosophy. It’s also important that the parents are comfortable with the pediatrician and can communicate with him or her freely.

Talk to your friends and relatives. Find out what pediatrician they use for their children. Most pediatricians will meet with the parents-to-be
before the birth of the baby. As a matter of fact, you can schedule meetings with several pediatricians in your area and choose from among those that you visit.

You can check the credentials of a pediatrician online. There are sites where, for a fee, you can plug in the name of a pediatrician and find out where he/she went to school and how well he/she did in school, as well as, other information pertinent to your making the decision of whether to choose him or her as your child’s pediatrician.

You need to find a pediatrician that you are comfortable with and one with whom you feel that you can communicate with. It is also very important that the pediatrician that you choose has a philosophy of child care that closely resembles your own. You’ll see a lot of your child’s pediatrician over the years, so it’s really important that you actually like him or her and trust their judgment.

For many women, the prospect of their baby’s upcoming birth brings not only excitement at the thought of meeting the newborn, but also the need to consider childbirth pain relief. Any woman who has had a baby knows that there is a point where it feels like you are being turned inside out! Luckily, there are options for making the childbirth experience more comfortable these days.

It is common knowledge that there are medications that are very effective in providing childbirth pain relief, but there are also natural options for those who don’t want to risk the side effects of the drugs. Both medicated and natural approaches have their place and neither is inherently wrong.

An example of your choices on the medicated side would be either drugs that affect the whole body, such as narcotics, or drugs that simply block pain from certain nerves, like an epidural. The narcotics may not stop the pain like an epidural does, but it certainly stops you caring about it! The epidural is a much more commonly used procedure as it is deemed the safest way to relieve the pain of giving birth without putting the baby at risk.

The alternatives come under the umbrella of natural childbirth. I’ve always found that term to be a bit of an oxymoron. Just because you get a little relief from medication does not make it an unnatural childbirth, does it? No matter how it’s done, having a baby will always be a natural thing.

Many women find that massage is effective in relieving pain, and this can be performed either by your partner or by a trained doula. A doula may be better qualified, and if you are one of the many women who end up shouting obscenities at your partner when in labor…well, it may be a rather more pleasant experience!

Clearly this won’t help every woman, but there are other options. Birthing in water is considered particularly relaxing, and some women like the distraction of being in a jacuzzi. Walking, standing, rocking and squatting are more natural than lying on your back and can help not only ease the pain but also speed the labor along.

Alternatively, you may wish to consider hypnosis, acupuncture, breathing techniques that are aimed at helping you to focus on something other than the pain, or other distractions. There are many classes teaching natural pain relief, such as the Lamaze concept, and these can help you to prepare for what is to come.

Remarkably, having coped with childbirth without pain medication for hundreds of thousands of years, some women are convinced that there is no choice but to take the offered drugs. There are many options when it comes to childbirth pain relief, so simply remembering that makes it much easier to find something that suits you.

Child abuse and neglect are topics that all of us would simply rather not think about, much less talk about. Yet the topics are vital. They demand full attention. Children of all races, all economic levels, all ages and both sexes are abused and neglected in every country in the world and in every state in the Union.

The potential for child abuse and child neglect is not limited to a specific place, time, or segment of society.

The law defines child abuse and neglect as:

*  Any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation; or

*  An act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm.

The law is pretty clear on the subject and on the nightly news we are shown the stomach turning cases of severe child abuse. All child abuse, however, is not abundantly clear. That’s why we all must be aware of what exactly does constitute child abuse.

First, a child can be abused before he is even born if the expectant mother takes drugs that will harm the infant, drinks alcohol, or uses tobacco products. All of these behaviors of the mother put the child at risk and ARE child abuse. SUSPECTED child abuse should be reported to the authorities. If you see a child in a situation that is dangerous to the child’s safety or see evidence of physical abuse, it is your duty as a member of the human race to report that abuse or neglect. The number for “Child Protective Services” can be found in your telephone directory.

A mother spanking a child on his bottom with an open hand does NOT constitute child abuse. However, a mother or father hitting a child with a weapon (belt, board, etc.) or with a closed fist IS child abuse and it should be reported.