Roughly 70% of your iron can be found in the blood (via hemoglobin in red blood cells). It makes sense, then, that women of child bearing years are at risk for iron deficiency due to the fact that they (we) bleed every month. If you’re someone that experiences a ‘heavy flow’ situation, you are at even greater risk. But what, precisely, are the dangers of iron deficiency? Why does it matter? How do you know if you might be low? And what can you do to ensure you have high enough levels? AN OVERVIEW OF IRON IN THE FEMALE BODY Iron is a key player in the transportation of oxygen…
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Morning Sickness & Survival Mode: The 1st Trimester
UGHHH…the infamous first trimester… Some women are fortunate enough to breeze through living just as they had prior to conceiving. Still more enviable, some women experience few changes beyond the expectant mother’s added “glow.” Others, myself included, feel the full acuteness of pregnancy right away. The first trimester of my pregnancy with baby J was rough. I was sick, sick, sick! Whoever came up with the term ‘morning sickness’ was not experiencing what I was. Weeks 6-12 were spent horizontal sucking on ice chips. From the moment I woke up, until the moment I passed out in the evening, I was nauseous. Bedtime brought only moderate relief since the anticipation…
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Fertility Bootcamp
Truth be told, I put a lot of effort into my pre-natal care for baby J; not just personally but for my hubby as well. I wanted to feel like I did everything I could in anticipation of starting a family. As someone with anxious tendencies, it was as much an exercise in self-soothing as anything else. Fortunately, I had the luxury of taking a pretty disciplined approach; I wasn’t pulled in multiple directions by additional children and my work duties were such that I could anticipate upcoming projects and stressors. About a year and a half prior to conceiving baby J, I identified a fair amount of work that…
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Make a List & Check it Twice, Hospital Bag Recommendations
Giving birth is magical, emotional, and incredible. In fact, insert just about any glowing adjective you’re bound to aptly describe the experience. But it’s also stressful, uncomfortable and draining so controlling the controllable is an important part of making sure that you look back on your child’s birth with only the fondest of memories. You’ve probably already heard that most women will not experience their water breaking in one fell movie star swoop as it did for Charlotte in Sex and the City. Regardless of how much time you have in early labor, no one is logically thinking through what they will and will not need for the big event. …
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Baby J’s Birth Story
As the end of my pregnancy got near, and I realized that I was in fact going to birth this baby, I started imagining how it was going to go. Of course, many individuals will warn you against doing precisely this, as it will inevitably never occur as you expect. But such thoughts are unavoidable. As for my own narrative, I envisioned myself moving through the early labor contractions at home, sometimes in the shower, other times walking up and down our short hallway or doing yoga. In fact, that’s how I pictured most of my labor going; as I’d done throughout my pregnancy, I would be active. My due…
