Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Leg Cramps during Pregnancy

I guess now that I am pregnant again and have about 6 friends who are currently pregnant, I am on a kick of doing blogs related to the subject again! So, here are some tips on one of the most uncomfortable pregnancy related issues I've yet to encounter...

I had never actually had a muscle cramp (at least this severe) until my first pregnancy. I woke up early in the morning and my calf muscle started cramping up and spasming. I was so scared and had no idea what was happening. Fortunately, my husband was right there and knew what was going on. He began massaging my leg and it stopped. But it scared me so much and hurt so badly that I pretty much vowed to do whatever it took to NEVER let that happen again. I found out some tricks, and made sure to do them persistently. I am happy to report that though I have struggled with very sore calf muscles and the beginning feelings of a cramp coming on, I have never had another true muscle cramp/spasm since then, so the tricks have worked!

Here they are, in no particular order:

1. stretch your calves out often, especially before bed and during those middle of the night bathroom trips
2. flex your feet as much as possible when sleeping and when you wake up and feel any calf pain
3. take calcium supplements, especially before bed
4. get calf massages, come on husbands :)

Pregnancy Sleeping

All of you moms out there will already know all of this info., but for you more recent preggos, you will find this information helpful.

I was talking with one of my friends who is 24 weeks pregnant last week, and we were discussing how you are supposed to sleep when you are pregnant. She knew (as most people can figure out pretty easily) that you shouldn't be sleeping on your stomach. She also knew that she shouldn't be sleeping on her back anymore. This position causes your uterus to put pressure on your descending vena cava (the main blood vessel coming from your heart) and can diminish blood supply to your lower body, including the fetus. What she didn't know, however, was that sleeping on your left side is actually the best position to be sleeping in during the second and third trimester. Here is some info. I found on a website about this:

"Although there's no real harm in sleeping on your right side, lying on your left side is actually good for you and your baby: It improves the flow of blood and nutrients to the placenta and it helps your kidneys efficiently eliminate waste products and fluids from your body. That, in turn, reduces swelling in your ankles, feet, and hands. If you train yourself to sleep on your left side early on, you'll have an easier time falling asleep when your belly is bulging later.

During the second half of pregnancy, avoid sleeping on your back, a position that puts the full weight of your uterus on your spine, back muscles, intestines, and the inferior vena cava (the vein that transports blood from your lower body to the heart). Back-sleeping can also put you at risk for backaches and hemorrhoids, inefficient digestion, and impaired breathing and circulation. Lying on your back in the second and third trimester can also cause changes in blood pressure. For some women, it can cause a drop in blood pressure that can make them feel dizzy; for others, it can cause an unwanted increase in blood pressure."

Another issue when it comes to sleeping during pregnancy is that it can become very difficult and uncomfortable to sleep when you are pregnant. Here is a good article on some of the reasons why this is the case, more info. on good sleep positions, and other things you can do to help get a good nights sleep!

http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/pregnancy_newborn/pregnancy/sleep_during_pregnancy.html

Sweet dreams!

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Cloth Diapering

A friend of mine asked me to do a blog about cloth diapers about 8 months ago, so here it finally is!

Yes, I am a mom that does cloth diapers and loves it! I am a big fan, even having two kids in diapers at once. I love not wasting - money & material. I love knowing that I am doing something that is good for my babies, good for the environment, and good for the wallet. I actually do use disposable diapers sometimes when we are out and about because it is just so much more practical, but I don't like using them much. I am also able to be so much more liberal with how often I can change my kids diapers since it doesn't matter how many we go through in a day - it won't cost me any more to change their diapers 8 times a day than it would to change it 3 times.

Well, anyway, so onto the practicalities -- there are sooooo many different products people use for cloth diapering. As many who use them would say, these are not your mother's cloth diapers! The art of cloth diapering has come a REALLY LONG WAY since we were kids! It has become much easier and much more practical. So, anyway, if you are wanting to look into cloth diapers more seriously, I would recommend checking out one of the many websites that sell cloth diapers so you can get a better idea of what all is out there. One of the best websites I've found is Jardine Diapers, jardinediapers.com to get information about all of the different covers, liners, etc. This was where I bought my initial supplies from. You can also find a lot of cloth diapering supplies, even new, on e-bay.

Okay, so here are my recommendations from some of the different products and methods I've tried. My favorite covers are the Bumkins covers. They are super easy to use, really easy to clean, and some of the most waterproof covers I've found. I also like the Prorap Classic covers and the Kushies diaper wrap because they are very affordable and also are very waterproof and easy to clean. So, basically what I do is I have Chinese pre-folds, which are just the actual cloth part, then I have some extra absorbancy liners (which are just another think fleece lined piece of cloth in the shape of a maxi-pad) that I put on top of the folded main cloth part (which I fold into fours and lay in the cover). Then I also put a flushable liner on top (my favorite of these are Imse Vimse liners, because they are BOTH flushable & reusable - in other words, if there is no poop on them, just wash them with everything else and reuse them again).

I usually do a load of diapers about once every 3 or 4 days, in my normal washing machine in hot water on the longest cycle possible. A huge life saver in cloth diapering came for me when I got a diaper sprayer that attaches to the toilet and allows you to spray off the poop into the toilet before you wash the diapers. One of my children has always had very wet and mushy poop and most of his poopy diapers needed spraying. Fortunately, my daughter usually has thicker poop that I can just grab the disposable liner and flush it down the toilet. In fact, because of the ability to flush the poop down the toilet, I feel like cloth diapers are almost LESS gross than a disposable diaper where you are usually just stuffing poop into a diaper genie or something.