Blog Posts by Being Pregnant

*PUKE* That's never a good feeling. Especially when you're fatigued and pregnant.

Morning sickness is the result of increased amounts of estrogen and progesterone produced by the ovaries early in pregnancy. These increasing hormone levels cause the secretory cells in the stomach to increase their gastric juices. At the same time, the bowels slow down in the ability to empty the contents of the stomach - this causes a feeling of nausea and in some cases vomiting (as worded by papers my OB gave me).

While morning sickness sounds like something that happens only in the morning, it can really happen at ANY TIME - and while it typically occurs in the first trimester, it can actually last throughout pregnancy.

There are prescriptions that can help if your morning sickness is causing you hell. I used Zofram with all 3 of my previous children and all turned out normal.

Related: A morning sickness miracle pill...you can make yourself?!

If prescriptions aren't your

Are you about to register for your baby? My daughter, Joleen, has been in love with these books since she was about 3 months old. I think we still read them all at least five times a day! She has a TON of books, but these particular few seem to be her absolute favorites. Hopefully they will hold up so her little brother can enjoy them too!

1. That's Not My Monster is a bright, colorful, touch and feel board book that is full of the most adorable monsters you'll ever meet. I find that board books can withstand a good beating, which will hopefully allow me to save this book for our next baby.

This is such a simple board book, but your baby is sure to love it. There isn't much in way of a story line, but I think the simplicity is perfect for babies. The words are repetitive to help your little one pick up more vocabulary, and they will also be introduced to new shapes and textures ($8.99 on Amazon)

2. Saffy by Paola Opal is a book for any time of day and any type of mood.

I've never known anyone to give or get them, but I've known about the concept of push presents - gifts given to the new mom during labor or shortly after. Heck, after my baby was born it was another round of onesies and stuffed animals. But a lot of women are gifted diamonds for each birth, and while this writer was skeptical at first (as am I), she eventually realized that a push present was exactly what she wanted.

I guess I can see how she wanted a tangible reminder of that momentous event (the writer equates push presents with a wedding ring), but isn't the baby tangible enough? I don't know about you, but I wasn't thinking about jewelry while I was delivering the placenta.

For those like me who would rather have something useful than materialistic, here are 3 push presents a new mom really wants:

This is something I've always thought. In the overarching scheme of things, raising girls is harder for women. And raising boys is harder for men. Maybe this is different if you are a single parent because then you're in the position of being mom and dad. But if two parents are together, raising kids together - I think that raising girls is harder, for women.

Why?

Because we get them…maybe too much.

Most people don't know, but there are over 4 million babies being born on average in the United States annually ... at least as of 2007. That's a lot of babies, hospital beds, and statistics to look over and analyze.

In the past couple weeks, I have been looking through all the statistics and information and picking out what I find most interesting or unique. Some are shocking, some aren't … some are fascinating, and some of you may know these already, but all are true!

Often parents don't know what products they need until they can't live without them, but it dawned on me that this problem could really be solved from the get-go during your baby shower registration.

We all have baby products that add a little more convenience to our lives. And let's face it, new moms need all the convenience they can get. So which products do pregnant women really need to know about?

Here are our favorite baby products that you didn't register for:

1. Pacifier Clips (pictured above): For anyone who's had pacifiers fall and disappear forever (or worse, drop in a public bathroom), you know what I'm talking about.

2. Stuffed Animal Storage

Related: 5 baby products that saved our sanity

While you're registering for a crib, nursery decor, bedding, etc. - you'll want something cute and functional to store the hoards of stuffed animals you will soon collect. Trust. (See the best stuffed animal storage solutions, including these 3 Sprouts canvas

Crapping a watermelon. A pumpkin. A basketball. Vomiting in the other direction. Being torn in two. What have you heard?

I'm going to attempt to explain what it feels like to push out a baby. As always, every woman's experience is unique. But in my years of hearing and reading birth stories, there are some consistent themes. Here's my best shot:

After the opening of the uterus (the cervix) has thinned out and opened (dilated) with the help of contractions for many/several hours, it's time to actually push the baby out of the womb and into the world. The baby passes through the birth canal (vagina) and then "crowns" or emerges.

That's my daughter at 2 months, wearing a very fancy dress I didn't buy.

There is so much baby gear out there. A ridiculous amount. When I had my first baby, I was tricked into thinking I needed to "collect it all." Because all good parents buy the best baby contraptions, right?

No. Turns out only suckers (or first-time parents) believe they need all of it. In fact, I've found much of it to be completely useless. So this time, in addition to not buying things, I'm also getting rid of things I've found to be entirely useless. Who needs baby junk (or any junk) you're not using taking up space?

So my top 5 things I'm not buying: