LilSugar

Eco Couture Maternity Wedding Dresses

LilSugar — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 06:00:00 -0700

A bride wants to look her best even if she's got a burgeoning belly. Mamas-to-be can look stunning on their big day and make the world a better place for their impending babes by wearing eco-conscious wedding dresses. Santa Barbara designer Jessica Iverson creates breathtaking maternity gowns using natural fabrics that have enough give for a soon-to-be mom and her babe to breathe as they take to the aisle. Check out the extensive selection of beautiful garments that celebrate women's figures without sacrificing fashion.

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Lil Community: When Did You First Feel Your Baby Move?

Lil Community — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:15:45 -0800

Lots of moms-to-be wonder outloud. This post was submitted by Beaner in The Pregnancy Posse group.

At just over 16 weeks prego, I'm getting really excited to feel those first few flutters everyone talks about. I'm wondering, at what point in your pregnancies did you first feel your little one move? I was told it could happen anywhere from 16 to 20 weeks, and I'm hoping it happens on the earlier side for me. Also when will others, like the baby's Daddy be able to put their hands on the outside of my belly and feel him or her move?

Talk about motherly things on your mind at The Pregnancy Posse group over in the LilSugar Community.

Gisele Bundchen Felt Safe While Giving Birth; Did You?

babysugar — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:00:34 -0800

Gisele Bundchen isn't done talking about her birthing experience. The supermodel shared more information about baby Benjamin's December debut in the inaugural post on her blog. After telling reporters that the water birth in her Beacon Hill bathtub didn't hurt a bit, the new mama is now writing about how safe she felt delivering at home:

Giving birth was the most intense and life-changing experience of my life. I am blessed to have had the opportunity to deliver at home, surrounded by love and where I felt safe. It was a really great experience. I never felt so vulnerable, but so strong at the same time.

Maternal safety has become a hot topic following a report that showed California's death rate directly related to pregnancy as higher than that of Bosnia and Kuwait. Safety is also cited as one of the reasons for the increase in homebirths over the past five years.

Did you feel safe during your birthing experience?

Kourtney Kardashian Is One Calm Mom After Having Mason

babysugar — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:00:27 -0800

They say having a baby changes everything, but does that also mean a mom's overall demeanor? I've witnessed the most impatient and demanding personalities transform into relaxed parents that take each day as it comes. I've also seen laid-back friends turn into frenzied mamas that could barely hold it together on a daily basis.

Reality star Kourtney Kardashian seems to have surprised her own mom, Kris Jenner, with her shift to a cool and collected mom since the birth of son Mason. The reality matron said:

She's just a great mom. It's incredible to see how calm and patient she is. I'm not a calm person. It's like, where did she get that? It's not from me.

Did your overall demeanor change once you had a baby?

Lil Community: Happy Birthday to Me at 38 Weeks

Lil Community — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:06:53 -0800

This post was submitted by KWM in The Pregnancy Posse group.
I celebrated my birthday and Valentine's Day a couple of weeks ago at 38 weeks. I was hoping to get a baby for my birthday, but at 40 weeks and 1 day today, I am still waiting...

Talk about motherly things on your mind at The Pregnancy Posse group over in the LilSugar Community.

Pregnancy Makes Some Vegetarians Crave Meat

babysugar — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:00:48 -0800

Pregnancy cravings can get the best of an expectant mama. A chocolate bar here, a scoop of peanut butter there. Researchers say that a woman's desire for certain foods represents her body's lack of certain nutrients. For some mamas-to-be, the cravings can create an entire lifestyle change.

For Tiffani Thiessen, who is due with her first baby this Spring, having a bun in the oven is wreaking havoc on the vegetarian's diet. She told People,

"I was a vegetarian for many, many, many years and all of a sudden I started to crave red meat. Crazy enough, I had a steak before I left tonight and I would never have eaten one before. One day I just woke up and craved meat."

Adding meat to a previously vegetarian diet can be tricky – often requiring gradual introduction in an effort to not disrupt the digestive system. If you stuck to a nonmeat diet, did you stick to it during pregnancy?

Are Women Better Suited to Start Families in Their Teens?

babysugar — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 07:00:16 -0800

What's the perfect age to start a family? With teen pregnancy on the rise, and MTV highlighting the epidemic, you would think that the public has had enough talk about the subject. But a British novelist has an idea that is causing a bit of a stir.

Hilary Mantel, author of Wolf Hall and An Experiment in Love, recently told an interviewer that societal norms are preventing women from birthing babies when they are physically able – in their teens. According to Mantel:

"There is this breed of women for whom society's timetable is completely wrong . . . Having sex and having babies is what young women are about, and their instincts are suppressed in the interests of society's timetable . . . I was perfectly capable of setting up and running a home when I was 14, and if, say, it had been ordered differently, I might have thought 'Now is the time to have a couple of children and when I am 30 I will go back and I'll get my PhD . . . But society isn't yet ordered with that kind of flexibility."

If society allowed it, would you have wanted to start your family in your teens?

Do You Know Your Trimesters?

babysugar — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 05:00:35 -0800

Moms-to-be have bookshelves filled with pregnancy books that tell them everything they need to know about their pregnancies. But how much of that information do you retain? From conception to birth, a pregnancy is filled with constant changes, both for the mother and the baby. How well do you know your fetal development? Take these quizzes to test your knowledge!

Which Trimester, Part 1

Which Trimester, Part 2

Which Trimester, Part 3

Early Pregnancy Weight Gain Tied to Gestational Diabetes

babysugar — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:30:06 -0800

Step away from the donuts and don't even think about picking up that candy bar. In a new study to be released in next month's Obstetrics & Gynecology, researchers have found a direct link between weight gained in the first trimester of pregnancy and gestational diabetes diagnoses. Gestational diabetes, which can be controlled through diet changes, affects seven percent of pregnancies each year.

In their three-year study of 1,145 Northern California women, researchers found that those who gained more than the recommended 1.1 - 4.4 pounds in their first trimester of pregnancy increased their gestational diabetes risk by about 50 percent. Women who were already overweight and then gained most of their weight in the front end of their pregnancies were twice as likely to develop the complication. The study also found that black, Hispanic and Asian women are at greater risk to develop gestational diabetes than white women who gain excessive early weight.

Adult-Onset Health Risks May Affect IVF Decisions

babysugar — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:00:12 -0800

Pregnancy doesn't come easily for many couples, and new studies show that those conceived through artificial means may not have it too easy once they are born. According to researchers, assisted reproductive technologies, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) and IntraCytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), may affect several genes, such as those tied to obesity and diabetes.

At the American Association for the Advancement of Science's annual meeting yesterday, doctors released their studies showing that the genes related to fat tissue development and glucose metabolism develop differently when a baby is conceived in a Petri dish, rather than in a human. The amount of oxygen the embryos receive is significantly higher outside of the womb.

As the first babies to be conceived through artificial means reach middle age, the typical time frame for obesity and diabetes to set in, doctors are calling for IVF-conceived adults to be carefully monitored.

Would concerns about the future health of your child affect your decision to pursue IVF?