Archive for the ‘Breast Feeding Tips’ Category

Let us beckon 2013 with a fresh pledge to living healthy. The following healthy resolutions, if you adopt, are sure to keep you happily fit and gorgeous, both inside and out.

Rein your portions

Wish to right size your shape? Mindless binge eating is often the villain. Start right sizing your food portions by using smaller dishes. Yes, the smaller your platters are, the more you lose that extra weight. And instead of serving directly from the main bowl, take some into a small dish and put away the main bowl.

Staying Active

Instead of sighing jealously at those naturally thin people, observe their lifestyle. They are most likely to share a great liking for being physically active. Aim for moderate intense activity like brisk walking for atleast 30 minutes per day. This, you can squeeze in your busy schedule easily- like 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes after lunch and and another 10 minutes after office.

Cutting down on salt

Now the recommended limit of salt consumption per day is 1 teaspoon. And you know that’s way less than your daily intake. Besides making your stomach feel all bloated, this habit can shoot up your BP. Processed foods are the most dangerous as they use salt as preservative. Remember to check labels carefully before you give it for billing.

Piling on the antioxidants

Do you know why we need antioxidants? When foods are digested, body releases harmful free radicals that can eventually lead to heart burn, cancer etc. Antioxidant-rich foods like orange, tea, pomegranates etc are important to defend your body from these free radicals.

Flossing Daily

Oral Hygiene is horribly underrated. But bacteria in mouth can cause serious health risks. Flossing daily can ward off bacteria; it is a simple enough practice to ingrain with long term benefits to your dental health.

But all these resolutions will go down the drain if your expectations from yourself are far from healthy. For example, don’t expect a drastic change in your figure soon after you started portion-controlling and exercising. Just as it took your body to build-up fats, it will take time to lose it too. So if your inner-spirit tends to be a bit mean to you, just bash it with healthy acceptance. Let that be your founding stone to all your healthy New Year Resolutions.

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You are drained physically, emotionally as well as mentally during your pregnancy and delivery. Now, your health front needs to be in the forefront. Along with your newborn, your health also needs your special attention. It is necessary for you to keep hale and hearty as your newborn care can quickly make you drained and exhausted. So, do not miss your share of self-care.

En Route to Fitness

With the newborn, it is obviously difficult to find time for exercise, but you have to make the effort. It is not about getting back to your original shape soon after childbirth, but it is about staying fit as your body needs it. There is absolutely no need for any organized fitness classes; just a few exercises done at home can do wonders.

• Dance a little! The foot taps can tap your fitness.
• Chalk out some time for a small walk. Take your baby on a pram tram ride too in a park while you move your legs a bit.
• Swim away a little from your baby for a swim. You can leave your baby  with his/ her dad for a while and you go for a swim.
• Postnatal exercises are taught in child health clinics. Certainly, attending a class or two will give you a fair idea as to how to go about it.

Eat Right

As you would be breast-feeding your baby, so it becomes even more important for you to eat right. Never skip on the sips of water. Increase dietary calcium with lots of milk and dairy products. Even the temptations of snacking should be met with some healthy options like sliced and salted raw vegetables, vegetable soup, breadsticks, baked beans or scrambled eggs every now and then.

Come Out of Your Shell and Socialize

The more you meet your loved ones, family members, relatives and friends, the more you will feel reassured. Socializing helps! Try to interact with other new mothers who can be some of your friends or relatives, meet them frequently by visiting their houses, plan for outings together if possible. Getting to see the same pediatrician or exercising at the same dance class will further motivate you to keep fit and to stay healthy without affecting your bond with your newborn.

How has the phase of new motherhood added fun and excitement to your life?

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The onset of a new life growing inside you is the time of rejoice, but are you really sure of your pregnancy? The indicators can sometimes be misleading. So, it is always necessary to go for a sure-shot pregnancy test. However, going to the doctor for a pregnancy test every time you miss a period or have vomiting and nausea is not practical. Instead, you can do the urine pregnancy test at home using the test-kits that are easily available over-the-counter.

When is the right time to go for a pregnancy test?

The infamous couple of weeks wait can be really frustrating.. The question thus arises, why wait! Check for signs, if you…

Pregnancy test at home!

If you’re wondering, ‘How to do a pregnancy test at home?’ or ‘When should I test if I am pregnant?’ and ‘What happens next?’ It’s a easy daily chemistry help in knowing if the woman is actually pregnant or not.

• When to test? At least 20 days after the previous menses or after missing a period.

• What to test? Your urine! You are actually testing for the HCG hormone, which appears in a pregnant woman’s urine after 20 days of last period.

• What time of the day is best for testing? Try to test it with the first urine in the morning to get the most accurate result.

• How to test? Pregnancy Test Kits are available at pharmacies, OTC (over-the counter) and are highly reliable. Although the pregnancy test can be done any at time, do it as soon as you get out of bed. Avoid too much water or fluids before the test for BEST results.

For example: Display of results varies in different types of pregnancy test kits.  In most of the PTK (Pregnancy Test Kit) it is displayed by colour line or bands, where in appearance of two bands show positive result and a single band display negative result.  In some of the PTKs, (+) plus means positive and (-) minus means negative signs show results while in others change in colour of urine sample is the deciding factor.

Very rarely the results can be falsely positive, but there are slight chances of its occurrence. This happens in cases where you are on certain drugs that include HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin) shots. In such conditions, you must repeat the test after 72 hours. On the second thought, you should go and check with your gynecologist and ask for a blood pregnancy test to confirm a pregnancy.

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Just as the motherhood has come natural to you, so will be the urge to breast-feed your baby. Don’t let it go! Stick on to it. Some babies might find it difficult to latch, but your patience and sweet persuasion will help your child learn to latch quickly. When breastfeeding becomes a part of your routine, your baby will also get used to it and cherish it more than anything else. Your baby’s taste buds will recognize your milk - give him/her the feast of breast-feed every few hours, but on demand!

Breastfeeding Is Easier Than You Think!

Feed it right, with a little insight – breastfeeding is easier and more convenient than you might assume. The best part about breastfeeding that it is the natural way of nourishing your child, and that too, without a cost. Feeding the baby with your milk is not just helpful in its growth, but it also boosts up your health too. Worried about your figure? Don’t want to layer up your bones with an extra layer of fat? Breastfeeding helps to shape you up in long run. When you breast-feed your baby with your milk, it helps you maintain your physical health, improve your cosmetic appearance, and strengthens the emotional bond between you and your baby giving you immense pleasure and satisfaction.

Benefits for Mother

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