Parenting

Study: Parents who Hover Impede their Kid’s Fitness

Posted on September 13, 2015

Parents, if you want your kids to get more exercise, you’d be wise to get out of their way.

In a new study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers sought to observe how kids play in parks. Their overarching goal was to help park designers create public spaces that would better entice kids to run around and exercise. But along the way, the authors discovered something else: the single biggest barrier to children’s physical activity had less to do with park design itself and more to do with the hovering presence of a parent.

Children whose parents hung around monitoring them closely were only about half as likely to engage in high levels of physical activity as kids whose parents granted more freedom, the researchers found.

0 comments

Parenting

6 Truths About Egg Donation

Posted on September 11, 2015

Guest Post

Egg donation is one of the most selfless deeds, helping to create a life or lives for a couple or individual who would otherwise be unable to have a family. However, if you’re considering donating your eggs or using an egg donor to have a child, it’s important to educate yourself thoroughly about the process involved.

Family Source Consultants screens and facilitates egg donations, as well as partners egg donations with intended parents.

Staci Swiderski, Co-Founder of Family Source Consultants, says: “I’ve actually been an egg donor twice and some other Family Source team members have donated their eggs multiple times, too. There are emotional aspects that accompany parenthood via egg donation so egg donors and intended parents must know all of the facts before embarking on such a journey.”

Here are six truths about being an egg donor:

1. There are three types. Anonymous donation, where egg donors are not given any information about the recipient parent/s, however, they can usually find out whether or not a pregnancy occurs if they wish; semi-open egg donation where egg donors may be given some very basic information about the recipient parents (for example, first names and ages) or open egg donation, where once the recipient parents express interest in an egg donor, all parties have a relationship with each other and keep communication channels open, potentially throughout the life of the child/children born via the egg donation.

2. Egg donors have to be aged 21 to 31. An initial screening process takes place to ensure the donor is also in healthy physical condition and to confirm that they are a good candidate for egg donation. This includes an evaluation of hormone levels and testing for genetic diseases, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases – a donor’s spouse or partner might be tested too if applicable.

3. There might be psychological counseling for all parties. A donor will meet with a mental health specialist who specializes in third party reproduction and be administered a psychological assessment test. When applicable, a donor’s spouse or partner might be required to meet with the psychologist as well.

4. Both parties should be legally protected. Upon passing the screening process, an egg donor and intended parents will work with a reproduction attorney to review a contract. This legal phase must be completed prior to a donor beginning any injectable medications to prepare for the egg retrieval.

5. Egg Donation is a big time commitment. Egg donors follow a stringent medication protocol, consisting of injectable medications. Learn more about the medical process involved here.

6. Egg Donors receive compensation for their time and efforts. This is usually between $5000 and $10,000 and egg donors can donate up to six times in a lifetime.

About Family Source Consultants

Family Source Consultants is one of North America’s leading surrogacy agencies, with offices in Illinois (Hinsdale and River North in Chicago) and Florida (Cape Coral). When matching and facilitating Gestational Surrogacy and Egg Donation arrangements, Family Source Consultants work with traditional, gay or lesbian couples and individuals of all races, religious and ethnic backgrounds. They provide personalized support throughout the entire process and work with the very best reproductive law attorneys and doctors.

0 comments

Parenting

REPORT: These are the BEST and WORST States to Have a Baby in America

Posted on September 11, 2015

September is a great month. It is also one of the most popular months for babies to be born in America.

As can be imagined, having a baby is the most expensive in America. My last c-section bill was $11,000 before insurance coverage! Therefore, I am not surprised.

Leading personal finance Website WalletHub did an in-depth analysis and came up with 2015’s Best and Worst States to Have a Baby.

To help expectant parents gauge their baby-planning costs, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 21 key metrics.

The site’s data metrics considered included: delivery costs, average annual infant-care costs, the per-capita number of midwives and OB-GYNs, and the per-capita number of child care centers.

Best States to Have a Baby		Worst States to Have a Baby
1	Vermont	42	Arkansas
2	North Dakota	43	Alabama
3	Oregon	44	Georgia
4	Hawaii	45	Louisiana
5	Minnesota	46	New York
6	Kentucky	47	Nevada
7	Maine	48	South Carolina
8	Wyoming	49	West Virginia
9	Iowa	50	Pennsylvania
10	Alaska	51	Mississippi

Key Stats

The average annual infant-care costs in the District of Columbia are four times more expensive than in Mississippi.
The infant-death rate in Mississippi is twice as high as in Iowa.
Vermont has nine times more child care centers per capita than West Virginia.
The rate of low birth-weight in Mississippi is twice as high as in Alaska.
The District of Columbia has 13 times more OB-GYNs per capita than Alabama.
California has the best parental leave policies, whereas 17 states — such as Arizona, Michigan or South Carolina — tied for the worst.
Vermont has 12 times more pediatricians per capita than New Mexico.

To see the full report and find out where your specific state ranks, see the entire report HERE and check out an inforgraphic summary below:

0 comments

Parenting

5 Ways to Hack the Playground (INFOGRAPHIC)

Posted on September 9, 2015

You know you really shouldn’t take the smartphone to you to the park and stay glued on it while your kids play at the playground.

If you want to make the most of your time watching the kids at the playground or if you have a backyard playground of your own, why not mix it up a bit and implement one of these playground “hacks” that the nice folks at RubberMulch came up with for “bored parents”?

Though something about that sounds a bit oxymornic! ha! Enjoy! We like that sand pit out of an inflatable pool idea the best here at Bellyitch!

0 comments

Get Your Body Back: WIN These $189 Pair of SRC Recovery Shorts

Posted on September 8, 2015

Many women use shapewear to help smooth out bulges under dresses and snug tops, which is fine.

However, after a baby, you’ll need something that does a little more, like actually help you shrink your tummy back to pre-pregnancy shape.

You can do that with the very popular innovative shorts that Australian company SRC Recovery makes.

SRC Recovery shorts are very popular and worn by mothers worldwide to help get back their pre-baby figure faster.

Wear them after birth for 3 months. They can be worn day and night and are suitable for women who have had vaginal and C-section deliveries.

The patented medical grade compression fabric helps to hold muscles together to promote healing and increase circulation to help your body get rid of excess fluid.

Unlike shapewear which can deactivate the core muscles, making your recovery last longer, the SRC Recovery shorts help to stimulate the muscles and build up core and pelvic floor strength.

If you would like a pair of these miracle shorts, learn more about it by Likeing the @SRCPregnancy Recoveryshorts Facebook page & following SRC on Instagram @SRCHEALTH

Thanks to @sophie_guidolin for this amazing feedback! ・・・ -my top post pregnancy must have-
? #srcshorts I told you that this journey was just an evolution of underwear
from teeny g strings to full underwear garments, pregnancy is super sexy
(look back through my regression- it’s pretty funny!
) BUT in all seriousness without these shorts ( @srchealth ) my c section recovery would have not been anywhere near as smooth. I had these on the day after, They enabled me the security to walk shortly after, not feel like I’m ‘falling out’ and stop any aching. Seriously amazing. If there is any possibility of you needing a c section- do yourself a favour and invest in a pair- you will thank me
?
?
A photo posted by SRC Health (@srchealth) on Sep 7, 2015 at 5:04pm PDT

And now thru next week, you can win your own pair! Contest open worldwide! I mean not just limited to the US and Canada as other contests! Woot! There are many ways to enter and some each day!

0 comments

Parenting

10 Signs Your Child Is Gifted

Posted on September 7, 2015

Parents generally think all of their children are pretty special, but some kids really are uniquely gifted when it comes to learning and grasping schoolwork.

If you were a gifted student yourself, you might recognize the signs, but here’s some tips for those of you who aren’t sure what to look for.

1. Strong Vocabulary – What kinds of words and sentence structure does your child use? Do they use more multi-syllable words than their peers? Are they often asking about the meanings of new words they hear and do they quickly put new words to use? Gifted children often have advanced vocabularies and quickly pickup word meanings through their contextual use.

2. Quick on Completing Schoolwork – If your child’s teacher tells you that your child is always one of the first ones completed with their assignments, this is a strong clue that your child is more advanced than the other students in their classroom.

3. Understand Monetary Concepts – Use of money is one of the first mathematical concepts that kids are exposed to in their home environment. If your child quickly picks up the concepts of the monetary values of coins and how they relate to one another, this may be a sign that you have a mathematically gifted child.

4. Listen and Learn – Does your child seem to be able to pick up concepts and the words to songs as soon as they hear them, even if it is only once? Gifted children don’t need the same amount of repetition to learn as other children.

5. Enjoys a Mental Challenge – Are puzzles fun for your child, but they quickly get bored with them if they are too easy? This could be a sign of a gifted child. Gifted children enjoy a challenge but easily become bored if there isn’t enough challenge.

6. Mature Sense of Humor – A gifted child will be more likely to understand more complex humor such as is found in newspaper comic strips or jokes that other children their age may not be able to understand.

7. Advanced Reading Skills – Most gifted children have advanced reading skills and enjoy reading. You will find them breezing through large books quickly and yet still comprehending what they’ve read and being able to explain it to you.

8. Enjoys Learning New Things – For gifted children, learning new things is exciting and fun. They have a great curiosity about how things function, how things are made and learning about just about any subject.

9. Observatory Skills – If you have a gifted child, they will notice things and remember things that most other kids would not. They may notice simple details like a person wearing a different watch than they normally do or be able to remember the exact icons on your computer that you clicked on to get to the program that they like to play.

10. Grasps Relationships – Gifted children will grasp and understand relational concepts quicker than their peers. They will be able to pick out and replicate more complicated patterns. They will find it easier to fill in the missing piece from a sequence.

Hopefully, these clues will empower you to know whether your kid is gifted and what, if anything, to do about it.

0 comments

Labor Day: 7 Labor & Delivery Tips for First Time Parents

Posted on September 7, 2015

For me, I, like Jessica Alba after me, relied on Hypnobirthing techniques to get me through and still today, three kids later with no plans for more, I STILL use those techniques I learned whenever I have to encounter a painful situation (getting a shot, getting through reps while doing Pilates or weightlifting, when suffering through a bad headache).

Here are 7 other tips and tricks from BabyCenter to consider using to manage through labor pains:

1. Pack in the protein: If you were about to run a long marathon, would you eat only ice chips? No. You need to eat a protein-rich meal. It will give you the stamina needed for labor (plus many hospitals won’t let you eat once you check in anyway). Make a plan to either keep something in the fridge/freezer/cupboard or know where you can go to get your marathon meal.

Don’t fight gravity: Remain upright as long as possible. Walk around or sit up, but don’t lie on your back. (Yes, that’s really me in the pic, before I found out I should be walking around.)
Hydrate thyself: Pack (and use) a water bottle. If you properly hydrate yourself during labor, you’ll increase your energy output by as much as 30%. Also, if you can keep drinking water, you may not need an IV that will really restrict your mobility. That’s when the ice chips and clear liquids can also help.
Breathe using your abdomen: Normal abdominal breathing increases relaxation, which you’re really going to need. Chest and patterned breathing may fool your body into stress mode, and you don’t want that.
Take a virtual chill pill: You’ve got to stay relaxed. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. If music helps, bring a preloaded playlist on your iPod, locate a focal point in the room and breathe. Banish as much negative energy as possible. While it’s not easy, stay as relaxed as you can through contractions – it will let your body do what it’s supposed to do.
Move around during labor: There are a variety of positions for labor. Try to change positions so you’re not in one place for too long. Speak to the nurse about how you can be monitored and still move around. Bring slippers or as for those lovely grippy hospital socks so you can walk the halls.
Make sure you have support and loving encouragement: Having your husband partner or trained birth partner can make a big difference. That support will do more for you than any amount of medication!

Godspeed and good luck new first time parents!

0 comments

Labor Day: 7 Labor & Delivery Tips for First Time Parenta

Posted on September 7, 2015

It’s Labor Day in the US, a day to celebrate the worker, but if you are pregnant and set to deliver your baby soon, you could use this day off to start exploring tips to make your delivery day smoother.

For me, I, like Jessica Alba after me, relied on Hypnobirthing techniques to get me through and still today, three kids later with no plans for more, I STILL use those techniques I learned whenever I have to encounter a painful situation (getting a shot, getting through reps while doing Pilates or weightlifting, when suffering through a bad headache).

Here are 7 other tips and tricks from BabyCenter to consider using to manage through labor pains:

1. Pack in the protein: If you were about to run a long marathon, would you eat only ice chips? No. You need to eat a protein-rich meal. It will give you the stamina needed for labor (plus many hospitals won’t let you eat once you check in anyway). Make a plan to either keep something in the fridge/freezer/cupboard or know where you can go to get your marathon meal.

Don’t fight gravity: Remain upright as long as possible. Walk around or sit up, but don’t lie on your back. (Yes, that’s really me in the pic, before I found out I should be walking around.)
Hydrate thyself: Pack (and use) a water bottle. If you properly hydrate yourself during labor, you’ll increase your energy output by as much as 30%. Also, if you can keep drinking water, you may not need an IV that will really restrict your mobility. That’s when the ice chips and clear liquids can also help.
Breathe using your abdomen: Normal abdominal breathing increases relaxation, which you’re really going to need. Chest and patterned breathing may fool your body into stress mode, and you don’t want that.
Take a virtual chill pill: You’ve got to stay relaxed. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. If music helps, bring a preloaded playlist on your iPod, locate a focal point in the room and breathe. Banish as much negative energy as possible. While it’s not easy, stay as relaxed as you can through contractions – it will let your body do what it’s supposed to do.
Move around during labor: There are a variety of positions for labor. Try to change positions so you’re not in one place for too long. Speak to the nurse about how you can be monitored and still move around. Bring slippers or as for those lovely grippy hospital socks so you can walk the halls.
Make sure you have support and loving encouragement: Having your husband partner or trained birth partner can make a big difference. That support will do more for you than any amount of medication!

Godspeed and good luck new first time parents!

0 comments

Parenting

Help Your Shy Child Make Friends, Speak Up, Build Up Self-confidence with This Book

Posted on September 5, 2015

social anxiety in kids bellyitchblog.com

I have a shy kid who is quite introverted who I worry struggles to make friends and doesn’t have too many.

For that reason, I was very excited to be asked to review educational psychologist Christine Fonesca‘s latest book, Raising the Shy Child: A Parent’s Guide to Social Anxiety

. (Retail $16.95).

It was a quick reference and instructional read and is full of diagnostic tests, hypotheticals, quizzes, tips and suggestions.

The book includes examples of kids from toddler to college age who Fonesca has encountered in her years of practice and through these case studies, readers can ascertain whether their own child at home closely matches the scenario presented.

It’s a very useful tool for a parent who wants to help but doesn’t know how and what to do.

Many parents may not even be aware that a child who is shy, has behavior avoidance (avoids social situations) or is introverted may also have social anxiety disorder.

This book does an excellent job in explaining the condition, breaking down the biology of the social anxiety, and helping a parent and child diagnose the condition via quizzes, info side bars and anecdotal examples.

A parent or the child can then compare his or her situation with the case studies to help determine if they’d react in a similar fashion. It breaks down the biology, early warning signs and sets you up with a plan and strategy for the future.

Once empowered with this information, a parent can then have a candid and open talk about their child’s thought process and then determine whether to seek outside help or to change their language or take some other steps to help out. There are loads of intervention suggestions and strategies also in the book.

I like the fact that the book is written in non-technical language and in a conversational non judgmental tone

“Raising a Shy Child” also speaks to educators, teachers, instructors and also care givers and provides insight on how to help the “shy” kids in their care and class as well.

And it’s organized well so that it is very easy to go through. I’ve had the book for a while but when I sat down to read it for context, it only took me two days.

I’ve implemented some of the suggestions personally in the book with my kid and I can tell you we’ve already seen a noticeable difference and my son is making changes for the better. My kid and I even had a good time going through the quizzes together. It was a bonding moment for us. I am grateful for that.

I highly recommend this book for those parents who want to help their child overcome stressful social situations, make friends and come to grips with and accept their shyness or introvertedness.

As they say, “knowing is half the battle”. This book gets you to awareness and from there, you as the parent are empowered to make changes .

Get it for under $12 from our partners at Amazon.com!

I am going to give away a copy of the book starting this Monday so you can try to win your own copy!

0 comments

Journalist takes on Excessive Ultrasounds Given in Low Risk Pregnancies

Posted on September 4, 2015

In the 6th month of his wife’s pregnancy, Wall Street Journal writer Kevin Helliker noticed that she underwent 17 fetal ultrasound scans, notwithstanding the fact that she had a low-risk pregnancy.

Curious, Helliker set out researching to find out what doctors generally recommend, how many such scans are medically suggested be given, how many are actually being performed and what is known/not known about ultrasound safety.

About 80% of most pregnancies are low risk, Helliker discovered, and that not since the early ‘90s has any epidemiological research been conducted on the procedure, and since then the power output on the scanning devices has increased eight-fold.

In his article this summer in the WSJ, Helliker notes that the scans “have turned the images of their unborn into fixtures of social media” and how in 2014, “usage in the U.S. of the most common fetal-ultrasound procedures averaged 5.2 per delivery, up 92 percent from 2004.”

Helliker summarized the potential dangers and risks, also, writing:

A joint statement in May 2014 from several medical societies, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, calls for one or two ultrasounds in low-risk, complication-free pregnancies.
Experts in fetal medicine have long recommended women undergo one ultrasound around the 20th week of a low-risk pregnancy, and in recent years they have come to recommend an earlier one as well, around the 12th week. About 80 percent of pregnancies are low-risk.
Fetal ultrasound in humans has never been shown to cause harm. However:
Nearly all research supporting its safety was conducted using equipment made before 1992, when the procedure produced about one-eighth the acoustic energy than today
Studies have suggested many operators don’t pay close attention to safety gauges while they are performing procedures.
Some animal experiments have suggested ill effects of ultrasound on embryos of mice and chickens.
A 2006 Yale University study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found neurological abnormalities in mice exposed to ultrasound in utero.
Multiple fetal ultrasounds can raise false alarms, including overestimation of fetal size that can lead to potentially unnecessary c-sections.
Research suggests multiple scans don’t provide better outcomes in pregnancies.
Continue reading more of the specific, scientifically-grounded advice offerwd on how often US ought to be performed in low risk pregnancies.

0 comments

Parenting