Pregnancy Update~ 4th Month

Posted on Saturday, December 8, 2007 at 3:55

Here at last is a pregnancy update... somehow I completely skipped my third month... due to endless bouts of morning-noon-and-night-sickness, perhaps?  Ah, well, I'm much better now and enjoying life once again.  ~smile~

Here's Amy and me, taken earlier this week.

My baby bump.

I am now in my fourth month; 19 weeks to be exact, almost half-way there!  Now that the nausea has passed I feel much more like my "normal" self... except for a slightly larger belly.  ~grin~  I've gained ___ pounds so far (did you think I would really tell you??) and my midwife says I'm doing great!  The baby seems to be doing well, too, and I've been feeling quite a bit of movement for several weeks now... I love it! 

We had a sonogram the week after Thanks Giving and it looks like we're going to have a baby BOY!!  Of course we are thrilled!  After having two darling little girls to primp and fix up, having a little man around the house will be very different- and fun!  Jeremy is elated, of course!

We are using the boy's name we had picked out from the very beginning (even when I was expecting Amy & Emily): Keith Allen.  Both names are family names and are very special to Jeremy and I.  Keith is after my late grandpa, Rev. Keith Alvin Smith, who was known as "K.A. Smith" in our circle.  He passed away when I was about 7 years old and our baby will be his first name sake.  Allen is my father-in-law's middle name, as well as his father's, and is an adapted form of my grandpa's middle name, Alvin, which we don't particularly care for.  Little Keith is due to join our family around the first of May... both our girls came early, though, so we'll see if he's born close to his Daddy's birthday at the end of April!  

Pregnancy Update~ 2nd Month

Posted on Monday, October 1, 2007 at 3:48

Jeremy and I met today with our wonderful midwife and heard the baby's heart beat for the first time... that is always such an awesome experience!  It makes the baby seem so much more "real", especially to the daddy. :) 

This is our first time to use a midwife, so it is quite a new experience for both of us.  I am looking forward to seeing how a home birth goes compared to a hospital birth.  We were blessed to find a very wonderful midwife... she is a born again Christian with a lot of knowledge and experience.  As a mommy, I'm anticipating the extra, tailor-made care as opposed to being run in and out of a doctor's office (and hospital room)!         

With most of the "morning sickness" behind me, I am enjoying the pregnancy much more.  I can't wait to break out my maternity clothes next.  :) 

Here are some pictures from yesterday... enjoy! 

~Kristy Howard~

MaMa & her Baby Bump

Our little Princess Amy

Our little Princess Emily

Jeremy and our little sweeties  

www.homemakerscottage.com

Natural Remedies for Morning Sickness

Posted on Thursday, September 27, 2007 at 5:11

I posted a few weeks ago about being queasy with the usual early pregnancy "morning sickness" (aka "all day sickness"!)  and several of you responded with some helpful tips!  I now have the first 10 weeks behind me and am starting to feel "normal" again... somewhat. :-) 

For you fellow preggy mamas, here are some of the natural remedies that have helped me the most these past weeks:

Bentonite Clay- this probably was my best "remedy", as it definitely helped the most.  Boy, could I tell if I missed a day!  I purchased Bentonite Clay, which is a powder, from The Bulk Herb Store very inexpensively.  I took a scant teaspoon with juice every morning before breakfast, followed by 2 capsules of physllium and a glass of water.  The physllium isn't required, but it helps push the Bentonite Clay through the system without it getting "stuck in your gut".  :-)  Bentonite Clay is very effective during pregnancy because it acts as a "cleanse" and absorbss toxins from the body; I've read that toxins can actually cause severe morning sickness! :-P

Mama's Red Raspberry Brew- I bought this tasty tea from The Bulk Herb Store, as well.  It is loaded with iron and vitmin C, as well as calming herbs such as peppermint and alfalfa.  I enjoyed it both hot and iced.

> Slippery Elm- I discovered this helpful herb while attempting to cure our family of a stomach bug recently.  It is very soothing to the digestive track- it even cleared our little one of a diaper rash that I had been battling for a week or more!!  I took 2 capsules twice daily with a meal.

>Digestive Enzymes- I took one before each meal to help relieve indigestion and heart burn.

 The BEST cure I found for heart burn was apple cider vinegar and honey taken in warm water.  I know, it sounds gross.  But when you're pregnant, miserible, and desperate you will try anything!  I took 2 tsp of apple cider vinegar with 3 tsp honey in about 1/3 C warm water.  As long as you mix in enough honey, the vinegar taste isn't distinct and the drink is just tangy.  This concoction cured my heart burn in about 20 minutes each time I took it!! 

Some other things that helped were chewing peppermint gum or sucking peppermint candy, sipping Sprite or Chloraphyll water throughout the day, snacking regularly (on healthy foods, such as wheat crackers and cheese), and getting plenty of fresh air and exercise (cool air, especially in the morning, is so refreshing when you're queasy!).  Ginger and licorice are supposed to be very helpful, as well, although I have not tried them personally. 

The truth is, there is no magic cure for morning sickness... but I'm sure glad I found a few things that helped!! 

~Kristy~

www.homemakerscottage.com