I developed this tool after taking childbirth classes with a great doula. I wrote notes for my childbirth and I made some drawings. During my second pregnancy, I got into… Read More →
Explore pilllpat (agence eureka)'s 58909 photos on Flickr!
Breastfeeding and worried your supply is dwindling? Boost milk production with expert tips from a lactation consultant.
- Funny WTF Pictures gathered from the farthest corners of the internet for the sole purpose of making you laugh.
Hey Cardinals, Summer is fast approaching! I’m sure you’re already swamped with college prep, IB Extended Essay writing, working, or just plain having fun, but please consider giving ba…
Voici des affiches qui devraient être affichées dans toutes les maternités du monde. Ma sage-femme m'avait donné dernièrement des documents du même type mais en me ballandant sur le web, j'ai trouvé de belles affiches en français (à l'origine uniquement...
You’ve been chugging along, gobbling up every nugget of wisdom the professors have to offer. Everything is ok. You’re fine. Law school is finally feeling right and then – POW! Your first oral argume
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child development, development milestones checklist, first two months, healthy growth, mental, cognitive and physical development, milestones
You may think you have it all figured out but you WILL feel very overwhelmed the first week home with a newborn. Let me put it into perspective for you so you will be better prepared.
Keeping children too cool can disrupt sleep, and obviously too warm can do the same. So how should I be dressing baby for sleep?
One of the most common questions that I hear heavily pregnant ladies ask is “How can I put myself into labor or induce labor?” Well, sweetheart. I hate to break it to ya, but there’s no physical way to really “put” yourself into labor unless you get induced by a doctor. You can bounce on […]
When your little one is uncomfortable with what seems like gas, you may want to try baby massage. These techniques can help move trapped air through the digestive tract.
A Facebook group that I am an Admin for has ‘Lives’ on pregnancy and birth topics every Monday evening (click HERE for details of the group!). Last Monday, Amelia Parkinson from Wonder Birthing and I spoke about the benefits of being active in labour and the best positions for birth. Th
Inspirée des techniques traditionnelles et ancestrales, l’écharpe de portage séduit de plus en plus de jeunes mamans. Economique et ergonomique, cette façon de porter bébé est désormais entrée dans les moeurs. Simple en apparence, elle requiert toutefois un certain doigté et le respect de certaines normes. On vous explique comment porter votre enfant en écharpe sans risques.
new mom mistakes with a newborn baby. Newborn mistakes that can be avoided even if you are a first-time parent
I'm so fascinated by Embryology. The first time we ever met with an RE to discuss Embryo Adoption, he sat us down in his office with this really cool book and told us so much precise, scientific information that I literally walked out with a headache. I was on overload! Over the years I've come to understand it better, so I thought I'd explain some here for anyone interested. Warning, this may be very dry. You've been warned. After the photo below that looks like this, I share details of our last transfer, if you want to skip to that part. An embryo is, quite literally, the earliest form of human life. It is what is created when a sperm fertilizes an egg. A lot of people use the term embryo and egg interchangeably. They differ in that an egg is not fertilized, and therefore, is not life. The man and the woman, or in this case, their "contributions" to the baby making process, have not come together yet. The embryo is created when the sperm successfully penetrates the egg and fertilizes it and human life begins. It gets a little confusing though because "eggish" terms are used to explain embryos, namely "shell" and "hatching." An embryo begins as one single cell. The one-celled embryo is called a zygote. The next day, it multiplies to 2 cells and then 4 cells. Then it is called a morula. The third day, it multiplies to 8 cells. By day 5, the cells have multiplied so many times that they all blend together under the microscope and you can't distinguish one cell from another because there are so many. When the embryo reaches this stage, it is called a Blastocyst. Embryo Transfers are usually done on Day 3 or Day 5. They used to do them on Day 1 and 2 but that is less practiced now. These are also the same days on which embryos can be frozen. For some reason, they don't do transfers or freeze them on Day 4. It has something to do with what's happening in the embryo at that stage of development and you can't interrupt it. Our embryos have always been day 5 embryos. They have been frozen on the 5th day. When they are thawed, the 5th day "resumes" (even if it is now, years later) and then the transfer is later that same day. From all they can tell, there is no difference between 1 day frozen and 10 years frozen. For all intents and purposes, it appears that time quite literally stops. When an embryo reaches Blastocyst Stage, it needs to break through the "shell" or "ring" you see in the photos above. When it has broken out, the embryo can then grab on to the wall of the uterus and implant and grow in pregnancy. If it doesn't break out, it can't "stick" to the uterus and grow. The breaking out process is called "hatching." As the embryo grows, it becomes a fetus. Ethically, they all mean "baby," or "human," but they describe different ages, much like "toddler" and "teenager" and "elderly." This is also why the procedure to put the embryo in the woman's body is called a "Transfer" and not an Implantation. They are quite literally "transferring" (moving) the embryo from the vial it was frozen in to the woman's uterus. Whether it actually implants (grabs on, nestles in, burrows down) is up to the embryo and God. It's the same in spontaneously occurring pregnancy. The baby can be made, but it still may or may not implant--it orbits around in the uterus looking for a place to grab on, but it may or may not actually do so. In a Frozen Embryo Transfer, the doctor will "aim" the embryo for the part of the uterus that looks the most favorable, but that's as far as he can take it. This is a super awesome chart. Enlarge it to read all the way cool information. Embryos are graded on a scale. There are a few types of systems, but the two clinics we've used and the 3 clinics from our genetic families have all used the same system. My understanding is that this one is the most common. There is a different system for day 3 embryos but I am not familiar with it. The 5 Day Embryo grading format is Number-Letter-Letter. The number is a number from a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the most desirable. It indicates the degree to which the embryo has expanded inside its "shell," called the Trophectoderm. A 1 means it hasn't expanded or isn't growing. A 5 means it has hatched out. Our embryo was a 3, meaning it filled 70% of its shell. Then an embryo receives a letter grading of A-C for the quality of the "Inner Cell Mass" which are the cells that are the baby. A means that there are many cells, tightly packed (this is what they should be doing). B means that there are several cells, loosely packed. C means that there are very few large cells. Then it receives a second letter grading of A-C. This grades the quality of the Trophectoderm, the part that in the pictures looks like a shell. The Trophectoderm is what becomes the placenta in the event of implantation. A means that there are many cells forming a cohesive layer. B means that there are few cells, forming a loose layer. C means that there are very few large cells. Our embryo was graded 3AA. Seventy percent expanded, great inner cell mass, great Trophectoderm. Ethically, these grades don't really mean anything. As long as any cells are alive, I believe an embryo should be transferred. I don't think grades should ever be used to make life or death decisions. But the numbers do tell us where the embryo is at in its stage of development, which I find interesting. So here is our photo, explained. Though it received a 3AA Grading, the grading was made as soon as it was thawed and the photo was taken a little later. In Reproductive technology, an embryologist will often perform what is called "Assisted Hatching," wherein they make a tiny hole in the Trophectoderm to let the embryo out. That, to my understanding, is what is happening in this photo. The inner cell mass has broken through the Trophectoderm and hatched, and will hopefully be looking for someplace in my uterus to grab on to. The "ring" around the Trophectoderm, is, if I recall correctly, the solution in the dish, and not part of the embryo. None of my embryo photos have ever looked like this one before. I don't know if mine have never hatched this much, or if this photo was just taken later than the other ones have been taken. The camera is different, so perhaps the process is different. This doesn't really match up to 3AA because 3 means not hatched, so I think the difference is just time. For reference sake, these were my other embryo photos. This is a great example of how grades don't necessarily correspond to likelihood of further growth or pregnancy. I don't even remember the grades they all got, but they look so different. Lucy and Mary don't look super expanded at time of thaw, but eventually hatched and successfully implanted. Transfer 2's babies totally filled their cavities, but couldn't implant. Matthew looks "average" in expansion and he's happy and healthy here today. Transfer 4 looked great with nice big masses, but didn't result in a pregnancy. So we'll see what happens with this baby. Nevertheless, I'm super intrigued by all the nuances and highly precise information. These babies multiply and divide and grow so aggressively, I just can't understand how anyone thinks they aren't human life. If that's not life with a desire to keep on living, I don't know what is. So anyway, there's the skinny on all the stuff you never wanted to know about Embryology. I was pretty drugged up when I posted my last post, so I didn't include details about the transfer itself. Here we go, if you're interested. The transfer went well. My doctor is a man of few words. I wish I had asked more questions, but the Valium they give you to relax your uterus really puts me out of it. When he told us that one had died in thawing, it was a little like a kick in the gut. In 5 transfers, we've never lost one that way. But he told me as he was lying me down for the transfer so I didn't get to ask any questions or really digest the information. One baby living and one baby dying happened with Matthew--it's a bittersweet thing to digest. I don't want to get myself too upset because my body just needs to chill right now, so I think God is being gracious in keeping that process "shelved" for now. We are sad, but I am comforted to know that baby is with Jesus. He said the transfer went well. It was the quickest and physically easiest one I've ever had. The only thing he really said was that my C-Section scar wasn't in the way. Honestly, the weirdest things are compliments when dealing with infertility ;) Here is a video if you want to watch. We've never taken video before but we decided that if this worked, when we tell Matthew, we wanted to have something to show him if he wanted. Watch the area where the red circle is on this still image. You'll see the catheter come in, the embryo released from the catheter, and then the catheter will be removed and the embryo will remain behind, shown as a white oblong shape on the screen. The white is not the embryo itself, but the air the embryo was in. They put them in a little air bubble, in part so that they can see them when doing this procedure because they're so tiny. The black sort of cantaloupe looking shape around the red circle is the uterus. You probably need to full screen the video to be able to see anything. I came home and slept most of the day. My doctor doesn't believe in bed rest, so I wasn't restricted, but it took a long time for the Valium to wear off. I was still pretty out of it the next day. We stayed with my folks and spent a nice day with them just relaxing. We came home last night. By the evening, I was feeling "twinges" in my abdomen. Today, it had progressed to cramping and pressure, in addition to twinges. Those could be really good signs (this is about when the baby would implant if he or she is going to and those could be signs of that), or they could mean nothing. It's hard not to over analyze everything. Honestly, had I not just had a transfer, I probably wouldn't have even noticed these symptoms. But they were mildly uncomfortable so I just took it easy today, napping, and keeping my feet up (perfect, since my Packers football game was on anyway), and doing chores as I felt ok and then resting again when I got sore again. My beta is not for a while yet, so all we can do right now is wait. I still feel very much at peace, and with some hope. We'll see how soon before I break down and start testing on a home test. Right now I don't even own any because I never made it to the dollar store in my errands last week, and that's probably a good thing. That's all the news that's fit to print (and then some). Have a GREAT week!
Baby colic might be one of the reasons for distress. Take a quick look into the well-researched and examined baby colic symptoms.
La liste des affaires de bébé (indispensables et mignonneries) pour préparer l'arrivée d'un nourrisson dans la famille.
A complete guide to safely keeping your baby warm at night without blankets. How to layer clothes for sleep + how to know if baby is too hot or too cold.
Breastfeeding might be natural, but it still requires a whole lot of effort. Both mom and baby are learning how to work together to get to that comfortable endpoint of confident nursing. Still, the journey
La plagiocéphalie ou syndrôme de la tête plate chez les bébés est une condition traitable par la chiropratique pédiatrique!
Hecho número 1. Me encanta Instagram (¡búscame! allí soy elenademonitos). Hecho número 2. Me preguntan con cierta frecuencia cuántos nudos conozco. Hecho número 3. Me encontré en Instagram el reto #30days30carries. También "hastagueado" como #30d30c y como #30daywrapchallenge. Lo que viene sie
When I thought body discomfort with getting pregnant, my first (and only) thought was labor, right? Like I know labor is painful. Well, I also learned that pregnancy was no vacation either, but NO ONE
This colorful, educational DIGITAL poster features more than 20 different positions for labor and childbirth. The active birthing/labor positions include standing, squatting, sitting, and supported laboring-- many of which can be used in a hospital setting. The Labor and Birth Positions poster is best printed at 18" x 24" or similar dimensions. File is approx 8MB. *PLEASE NOTE* You will not receive any physical item--only a digital JPEG file delivered to you electronically. If you would like to purchase a physical printed poster that will be shipped to you, please click here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/515531222/labor-and-birth-positions-poster-18-x-24?ref=shop_home_active_3 Ways this poster may be used: -Printed at home, at a local print shop, or through an online printer-- *one printed poster per purchase please. Ways this printer may NOT be used: - Distributed in any form (including, but not limited to printed handouts, pages of books, workbooks or manuals, etc.) - Shared digitally/online or included as part of any paid program/class/workshop/course/etc. PLEASE READ: Lots of time and energy has been poured into these images and I share them with love-- asking, with gratitude, that you use them respectfully and under the conditions outlined above. I have chosen not to include a watermark on these images in order to avoid distraction for the viewer and to keep the artistic nature of the pieces, however I ask that you please include a credit slide with my name and website (Catie Atkinson www.spiritysol.com ) as part of your program/presentation. If you are interested in including these images in a printed book or workbook, printed handouts or cards, or as part of an online course or program, please email me at catieatkinson [!at] hotmail.com to discuss further use and collaboration. All files are high resolution JPEGs in 18" x 24" format. After purchase, you will be given a link to download the file. Please message me if you have any trouble with your purchase or download. If you prefer PDF images, please email me at catieatkinson [!at] hotmail.com. Looking for art prints? Head over to www.spiritysol.com And don't forget to join me on Instagram and Facebook (@spiritysol) for shop updates, new releases, sales, and more!
Learning to sit up is an important and exciting skill for babies to develop, but it doesn’t happen overnight. Tummy time and assisted sitting will help babies develop the muscles and the confidence to learn this skill.
Your ultimate first-time mom guide to baby poop! Find all you need to know about color, consistency, warning signs during your baby's first year!
