Search Results for: blog pregnancy and baking

The Seventh and Eighth Weeks Post Partum

Seven weeks out from my daughter’s birth, I seemed to have hit a bit of a rut. While I am still feeling great, my sweets intake has increased due to recent celebrations and my motivation to exercise seems to be dwindling a little bit too. My diet started veered off course when I put together a party for my daughter’s baptism. I made the famous red velvet cupcakes. They were both tasty and calorie heavy especially with the cream cheese frosting. After that I made my thanksgiving pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread, using the sweet pumpkins I had processed and … Continue reading →

Pregnancy Reflections: Diet

The word “diet” is derived from a Greek word that means “way of life.” As the New Year approaches many of us will reconsider out diets and make New Year resolutions to improve our “way of life.” When we consider our diets especially during pregnancy, we must keep in the mind the ancient origin of the word; a way of life, and not merely a temporary period of time used to lose weight, grow a baby, etc. I have learned a lot about the importance of diet as a “way of life” in the last few years. My first pregnancy … Continue reading →

Pregnancy and Halloween

In recent years my husband and I have not really done anything to celebrate Halloween. We made efforts last year to dress up with our son and went to a costume party of sorts at the private school were I used to work. This year things are different: our son is two, quite verbal, and very perceptive, and I am pregnant (what do pregnant women dress up as for Halloween). I am not the type of person to invest a lot of money in costumes but we wanted to do something special for our son. We decided to invite our … Continue reading →

Pregnancy and Excited Insomnia Part III

While I thought I was on top of the tasks at home, I soon realized I had a lot more to do than I had anticipated. From finishing the cake to cleaning the house more thoroughly (things just do not stay clean with a two year old) to finding the candles and table cloth, I only had a few hours to get everything done. First task to be tackled of course is finishing the cake. German Chocolate Cake is a three layer cake with coconut pecan frosting between the layers and on top and chocolate frosting on the sides (at … Continue reading →

Pregnancy and Excited Insomnia Part II

Once at the grocery store, I quickly found that two items that I needed and was on my way home within minutes. Upon arriving back at home, I kissed my son good morning and quickly got to work preparing a special birthday breakfast for my husband: Maple Caramelized French Toast with sausage. After his special breakfast my husband opened his gift from our son and our joint card. Our son’s contribution was a few scribbles and his name while my contribution filled the entire left side of the card (heartfelt and perhaps a little corny). After spending a few more … Continue reading →

Pregnancy and Excited Insomnia

It’s pretty much guaranteed that I will wake up at some point in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. At first I regularly awoke at five o’clock in the morning. As the baby grows my nightly bathroom break has moved more regularly to three o’clock in morning. Largely this regular occurrence rarely disrupts my sleep too much. Last night, however, after my early morning bladder relief I could not get back to sleep. I was experiencing a slight case of insomnia. I tried and I tried to doze back off to sleep for two hours. Finally, at … Continue reading →

Pregnancy and Baking

Baking is something I have not done in a long time. I absolutely love to bake and have been baking pretty regularly since I was eight years old. The only time I have not felt inclined to bake has been during my first trimesters. Of course there have been times when I really want to bake and choose not to given the amount of “empty calories” I tend to eat when I bake; and it is really hard to lose the baby weight with a dozen freshly baked chocolate chip cookies tempting me to indulge. Most recently, I gave up … Continue reading →

PUPPP (Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy)

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Can you imagine having a rash that is so itchy that it keeps you from sleeping and you end up inducing labor because of it? For some women with extreme cases of PUPPP, that is what happens. PUPPP stands for pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy, and it is a common pregnancy related rash that usually occurs during the third trimester of a first-time pregnancy. Although the rash is harmless, it can be very annoying and it may even disrupt sleep. It usually develops on the belly first and can spread to other parts of the body. It is … Continue reading →

Pregnant? Skip the Chemicals and Clean Naturally!

Pregnancy got me out of cleaning the toilets for eight months because of the powerful and pungent cleaner we use to remove the orange ring left by excess minerals in our hard water. I miss that excuse! There are a lot of cleaning agents out there that pregnant women should avoid because of the fumes. Other household chemicals, like weed killer, should also not be used by a pregnant woman. Most of us, however, can’t just stop cleaning. The solution is to use natural cleaners. Green cleaning isn’t just good for the environment; it’s good for pregnant moms and kids, … Continue reading →

Cleaning Products and Asthma

When we learn we are pregnant, suddenly our attention is focused on many aspects of our lives and possible effects on the baby. One common concern is the use of cleaning products. Even common household cleaners contain potentially toxic chemicals. A new study suggests this may be a valid concern. The study conducted at Brunel University suggests a link between the use of cleaning products during pregnancy and asthma in children. This study expanded on a previous study, which suggested that women who use a lot of cleaning products frequently have a higher risk of their child developing asthma. That … Continue reading →