All mommies should watch this promotional video from Department of Health’s Unang Yakap campaign. It aims to cut down neonatal deaths in the Philippines with the help of the Essential Newborn Care (ENC) protocol. Did you know that the Philippines is one of the 42 countries in the world where 90% of all global deaths of under 5 year old children are accounted to. The ENC protocol focuses on the 1st few hours of life of the newborn classifying the procedures into time-bound, non-time bound, and unnecessary procedures.
Time-bound procedures that must be performed first are immediate drying, skin to skin contact followed by clamping of the cord after 1 to 3 minutes, non-separation of the newborn from the mother, and breastfeeding initiation.
To better understand the campaign, watch these mommies, this is more important than worrying about what acne pill works for you:
Yikes! I’m getting more and more excited to see the little princess and more nervous at the same time too! I had my check-up earlier and the doctor said that baby is still not ready to come out, still on a head-down position, very good baby. I had to ask the doctor if the baby will come out anytime soon because Jeff will be out-of-town this weekend and he’s worried that he’s not with me at the hospital.
I’m going to have the last ultrasound, a Biophysical Scoring, and a urinalysis next week. OB also stopped my Calvit intake, so now I’m just going to have Trihemic as my supplement.
A funny remark from my doctor though, she said “Stop eating rice!”, because for the 2 weeks interval of visits, my tummy doubles at a blink of an eye. Ironically, the weighing scale at their clinic is still at 123 lbs. Jeff agreed with the doctor about my food intake, but what can I do, I always feel hungry. If only I can suppress my appetite just like those phentermine reviews…
From reading pregnancy websites, mommies are advised to start reading about taking care of newborn babies and how to increase breast milk production during the third trimester. Stop reading about pregnancy articles because there’s an even challenging part ahead of us, and that is nursing our babies. I’m geared towards breastfeeding our baby, not only will it save me from the cost of formula even for just a few months but breastfeeding is gold when it comes to nourishing the baby.
Mommies are advised to prepare for breastfeeding as early as the third trimester, here are some tips to increase breast milk supply:
Drink lots of water. Lactating women needs 3.1 liters per day (from Mayo Clinic).
Eat plenty to increase calorie intake. Breastfeeding requires 500 calories a day.
Breastfeed or pump frequently. The more you breastfeed or pump, the more your body will produce millk.
Plenty of sleep.
Avoid stress.
Take herbal supplements such as malunggay capsules or Fenugreek.
Now that I’m on the final trimester of my pregnancy and my tummy is getting bigger and bigger each day, my OB eliminated one multivitamins I’m taking which is Natalie. So I’m just taking Calvit (calcium supplement) and Trihemic (iron supplement) everyday. The Natalie multivitamins has DHA and since she took it out, she said I should eat more fish in my diet to get my DHA needs.
DHA or omega 3 fatty acids are very crucial in the 3rd trimester because it’s responsible for the 70% of baby’s brain development. 250 mg of DHA is recommended for pregnant women everyday. Having known this, I should make it a point to keep in mind what foods to eat that contains DHA. Good thing finding DHA-rich foods is not as complicated as a barcode scanner.
Omega 3 or DHA-rich foods are oily fish such as tuna, mackerel, sardines and salmon. It can also be found in eggs, dark green vegetables and walnuts.
Incorporating this on my diet is not difficult, I’m gonna try eating more of this rather than taking DHA supplements, I still want it the natural way.
33 weeks. While I was prepping up to go out for our 4D ultrasound earlier, I gasped at the sight of my swollen ankle. That was the first time I noticed it and I got a little worried. I know my diet’s the culprit because it’s not good the past week and I’m not drinking enough water. Now, I have to find a remedy for this before it gets worse.
While edema is common during pregnancy especially during the last trimester, there are ways to prevent and control edema:
Do not sit or stand for long hours.
Keep the feet elevated whenever possible. Do not cross legs.
Sleep on the left side to improve blood circulation.
Exercise (with doctor’s permission) to improve circulation.
Minimize salt (sodium) intake.
Wear comfortable shoes and roomy clothing. For shoes, no high-heels.
Eat a healthy and balanced diet. Consuming natural diuretics such as cabbage, onions, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, etc. can also help reduce water retention.
Drink plenty of water to flush out toxins and excess water in the body.
I hope these remedies I’ve found can help. Mommies, when did you start having edema during pregnancy? What did you do?
This is for Lara who is asking for the pricelist of The Baby Ultrasound Company/Face2Face pricelist.
3D GENDER SCAN PHP 1500
3D Fetal imaging session
4 Superior quality coloured photos
Gender determination (if requested)
Free rescan within 7 days if gender could not be determined
3D SILVER PACKAGE PHP 2500
2D/3D Fetal imaging session
4 Superior quality coloured photos
Gender determination (if requested)
1 CD-ROM Containing many images of your baby
GOLD DVD PACKAGE PHP 3300 (this is the one I availed)
3D/4D Fetal imaging session
6 Superior quality coloured photos
Gender determination (if requested)
1 CD-ROM Containing many images of your baby
1 DVD Recording of baby moving in the womb set to music with 3D Slideshow
Free rescan within 7 days if gender could not be determined
Free rescan within 2 weeks if the baby is non-cooperative
PLATINUM DVD PACKAGE PHP 4300
3D/4D Fetal imaging session
8 Superior quality coloured photos
1 8×10 digitally printed coloured photos of your chosen image with frame
Gender determination (if requested)
1 CD-ROM Containing many images of your baby
2 DVD Recording of baby moving in the womb set to music with 3D Slideshow
Free rescan within 7 days if gender could not be determined
Free rescan within 2 weeks if the baby is non-cooperative
Being pregnant changed my lifestyle drastically, I have to think about my health and also the baby. I can be such a worrywart these past few months from the water I drink, the foods I eat, and the activities I do. Doing this things are the first steps to show the little one inside me that mommy is after her welfare and will provide everything that’s best for her. Aside from nutrition, of course, material things in preparation for the baby are well taken care of. And I thought I got everything covered, until I got an invite from Lotte Xylitol and Philippine Dental Association (PDA) for a small talk about prenatal consumption of xylitol on pregnant women and children. Too bad I wasn’t able to go but they sent me PR materials worth sharing especially for pregnant mommies like me.
Fellow mommies, if you think you’re doing everything for your children by providing them good nutrition and giving them vitamins and supplements, think again. Have you thought about their dental health too? Here are some facts:
Dental cavities can be transmitted through mother and child, or between those who are living in intimate contact with the child.
Dental cavities can be prevented even before birth through xylitol consumption of the mother during pregnancy.
Mutans Streptococci is the bacteria that is responsible for dental caries. It feeds on sugars from food and drinks such as milk, fruits, honey, preserves, candies, desserts and softdrinks.
With all the weird food cravings I’ve experienced, I won’t be surprised if my dental health suffered. For cavity prevention, experts advised taking 5 to 7 grams daily of xylitol after meals and sugary snacks. Lotte Xylitol is the first and only dental health gum in the Philippines to use 50% xylitol as sweetener. It also aids in stabilizing the PH levels in the mouth and in promoting re-mineralization of the teeth enamel.
Just for fun! I know that I’ll be having a little princess on December but before we were able to determine baby’s gender through ultrasound, I tried most baby gender prediction tools. Quite popular is the Chinese Gender Chart, and most of pregnant mommies said that the results were accurate. Just make sure to compute your Chinese Lunar Age and use that as the basis in the chart to determine baby’s gender.
For example, I’m 28 years old at the time of conception, but my Chinese Lunar Age is 30, so based on the chart, it’s a girl!
Whoa, at 30 weeks now and I’m getting amazed at how my tummy gets bigger and bigger everyday. My appetite is incredibly rolling, however, I know that I have to control it unless I want to be big and undergo C-section. What’s bad is after getting positive results for my OGCT a few months before, I became a voracious eater of sweets such as chocolates, cakes, ice cream and soda. I just compensate it with extra glasses of water. I think I might be needing detox once the baby’s out so I’m gonna look out for cleanse smart reviews out there.
I love sleeping! Before I got pregnant, I always wake up late because it’s nice to curl up in bed with fluffy pillows surrounding me like a crib. But then, pregnancy stole the luxury of sleep. On my first and second trimester, I had pregnancy rhinitis which made it difficult to sleep, clogged nose and all… On the third trimester, I still haven’t gotten a deep slumber because baby is more active at night. One time, I woke up in the middle of the night because I thought someone’s trying to wake me up by nudging me. Only to find out it’s my baby inside my tummy doing acrobatic tricks or like an equestrian galloping with his horse.
Friends who are already parents told us that sleep will become elusive once the baby’s out. But I didn’t expect it to start at the onset of pregnancy.
