February 2, 2012

Why I’m So Glad I Exercised This Pregnancy

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From my 4th month of pregnancy onwards, most early mornings would find me sneaking downstairs in the dark, donning sweatpants, a t-shirt and hoodie. After drinking half a glass of water, then filling my large glass back up to the top, I entered my private exercise studio, otherwise known as my husband's freezing cold, converted-garage music school studio. Pointing the space heater directly at me (until I warmed up enough each morning to push it away), I would stick a pregnancy exercise video in to [...]

Filed Under: Living healthy, Pregnancy Tagged With: , , , , , , 45 Comments
January 24, 2012

Preparing for the New Baby: How a Large Family Gets Ready

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By Contributing Writer, Brandy Ferguson As a homeschooling mom of seven, and now getting ready to meet our eighth son in a matter of days, I've never been busier in my life! With so much on my to-do list added to my already full schedule, I admit to having moments of brief panic in which I think to myself, "what if I don't get it all done before I go into labor?" or..."what if the boys' rooms look like THAT when the baby arrives!?!"  or..."what [...]

Filed Under: Family life, Getting organized, Mothering, Pregnancy Tagged With: , , , , , 31 Comments
December 13, 2011

Using Herbal Powders to Supplement a Healthy Diet: An Alternative to the Daily Multivitamin

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Written by Courtney, Contributing Writer The foods we consume and the lifestyle we live form the foundation of our health. The nutrients in the foods we eat are the building blocks for all of the biological activity within the various systems of our bodies. Disease occurs when our bodies lack the nutrients necessary to perform these functions properly. This can be due to a poor diet, an inactive lifestyle, harmful chemicals we inhale or absorb through our skin, or undue stress from a reliance on [...]

Filed Under: Healthy kids, Herbs, Living healthy, Nutrition, Pregnancy Tagged With: , , , , , , , , 29 Comments
October 21, 2011

Treating Depression During Pregnancy, Naturally

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This post is the follow up to last month's post on Stacey's experience with Depression in Pregnancy. The first post was intended to bring awareness to the issue and offer hope and encouragement, and this second post takes a closer look at some of the natural and wholistic methods of treating depression while pregnancy. There is another detailed post on this site with natural remedies for treating depression, but please note that that post does not take into account the safety of various remedies during pregnancy. [...]

Filed Under: Living healthy, Natural Remedies, Pregnancy Tagged With: , , , , , , 15 Comments
September 16, 2011

Depression During Pregnancy: My Experience

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This post is not intended to diagnose or treat any symptoms.  If you feel this is something you are dealing with, it’s very important that you talk to your doctor or midwife about it as soon as possible. Typically when women find out they are pregnant, there is excitement and anticipation for their upcoming bundle of joy. But what happens when those feelings of excitement are masked by feelings of overwhelmedness, anxiety and depression? My Experience I found myself in that situation recently when my [...]

Filed Under: Living healthy, Mothering, Pregnancy Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , 70 Comments
September 6, 2011

Embryo Adoption: A Unique Option to Give a Child Life

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Guest Post Written by Erin Odom Although Tiffany and Micah Childs have two biological children, the couple has always felt led to adopt. But the costs and steps necessary to go through an adoption agency were overwhelming. "Lord, if this is for us, you need to make this simple," Tiffany prayed. And God answered in a way the couple would have never imagined. Image courtesy Tiffany Childs Giving God Glory through Embryo Adoption Tiffany and Micah have been friends of mine since high school. When [...]

Filed Under: Faith and encouragement, Family life, Pregnancy Tagged With: , , , , , , 124 Comments
August 18, 2011

Herbs I Have and What I Do With Them

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Herbs fascinate me. These timeless plants have been used by various healers over thousands of years in order to treat symptoms, ease discomfort, improve mood or mental function, fight infection, and so much more. It seems to me that many Christians steer away from herbalism, using conventional medicine instead. I have come to appreciate herbs, though, as a gentle healing gift from God. Every time we drive down to the town of Lynden, WA, I notice that sign from the herbal supplement company Flora, that [...]

Filed Under: Living healthy, Natural Remedies, Nutrition, Pregnancy Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 38 Comments
August 11, 2011

Surviving Early Pregnancy With a Houseful of Littles

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I remember when I was pregnant with my first. I was working full time as an ESL teacher, but during my time off? I could put my feet up, take a nap when I was tired, make whatever food I was craving (or not make food at all if my stomach was off), go for a walk or do yoga when I was sore, put off the (minimal) cleaning in our teensy apartment... basically, whatever I needed to do. My second pregnancy was a shock compared [...]

Filed Under: Family life, Homemaking, Pregnancy Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 42 Comments