Written by Diana, Contributing Writer I remember being pregnant with my first child. I was more concerned with the colors of his nursery rather than truly understanding the responsibility of growing a human being. I didn't have anyone to stop and explain to me what my body was about to go through and the importance of a healthy diet to grow a baby and endure childbirth. Needless to say, I stayed within the average weight gain, however, I delivered via cesarean section and spent the [...]
Written by Erin Odom, Contributing Writer If you're expecting a baby (or hope to sometime in the future)--especially for the first time--your mind is probably spinning with questions. What supplements should you take? Should you exercise while pregnant? What's the best pregnancy diet? And, of utmost importance, who should oversee your prenatal care and ultimately deliver your baby? Should you see an OB or midwife? And how do you find a birth provider that works for you? These are questions no one should take lightly. But [...]
Written by Erin Odom, Contributing Writer With all this talk of birthing babies around here at Keeper of the Home, I asked Stephanie if I could compare three common birth settings: home, hospital and birthing center births.* Whereas a home birth may seem the most natural choice for natural mamas, all three settings have their pros and cons and should be compared, evaluated and prayed through thoroughly before making a decision on where to birth your baby. Image by eyeliam Home Birth The most natural setting of all [...]
Written by Kate Tietje, Contributing Writer Post-pregnancy, there's a lot going on. You have a brand-new baby to get to know, learn to breastfeed, and care for. You still have your home and possibly other children that need care. And of course, there's the physical recovery from pregnancy. I always thought it seemed a little unfair that I was expected to be fully responsible for a tiny person when I was physically drained from pregnancy, labor, and birth! (Although after three babies, the real drain [...]
On Thursday, guest poster Christina began by sharing the first 5 decisions... today she continues on with 5 more decisions for parents of newborns. 6. Newborn Heel Prick Metabolic Disorders Screen Babies usually have a single heel prick to draw a drop or two of blood, which is put on filter paper and run through a tandem mass spectrometry test to screen for an average of 20+ inherited metabolic disorders, including PKU, cystic fibrosis & sickle-cell anemia. Some states recommend two such tests- one immediately after birth [...]
Written by Natalie Klejwa, Contributing Writer The following question came in my e-mail box a couple of months ago: I am a mother of a one-year-old girl, and I am due with our second in June 2012. :) After I had my daughter, I was told to rest when I came home from the birthing center. Instead, I was going up and down our stairs, trying to upload pictures of our newborn to email to the grandparents. I was more worried about pleasing other people [...]
Guest Post by Christina Szrama Getting to the birth of your child took a dozen medical decisions at least, some small, some large. Well, your baby’s been born, you’re recovering, and the decisions just won’t let up. Welcome to parenthood! :) Let’s walk through each of the 10 decisions you will probably be asked to make before leaving the hospital, birthing center, or at your child’s first pediatric visit (if you delivered at home). I’ll present each issue, ask the questions “Why would you want [...]
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 [...]
I'm Stephanie. Creator of Keeper of the Home. Lover of Jesus. Wife to Ryan. Mommy to four. Drinker of fair-trade coffee with maple syrup and raw cream. Organic gardener. Barefoot, flip-flop wearer. Creative cook and kitchen messer-upper. [Read More …]
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