with Yazan, I recall gaining a lot of weight and not being so exhausted towards the end. I haven’t gained as much weight with this little package because I’ve been exercising (light aerobics and walking) so I feel healthier, but I’m more exhausted. It’s true what they say, every pregnancy is different. I’ve also gotten a a new job while pregnant… won’t start until after my maternity leave, but this is great news for pregnant working women… it doesn’t matter if you are pregnant, who says you can’t be recruited and hired for your qualifications and your condition for that matter!

Will definately go for a natural birth… don’t think I will go for an epidural… it’s not about wanting to feel pain, it’s about the very small risk of epidural having any negative effect on baby… anyway, they say the second baby comes along faster, so I can handle it… Still have to visit the hospital to see where I might be delivering/staying, then baby registry, then think about having a baby shower, not much time is left. Also, Yazan’s room is being rennovated so we still have to pack his things… yeah, lots to do and only 7 weeks left! Not to mention work responsibilities and handovers! Hmmm… I better get to work!

1. Water tastes horrid (and I love my water )

2. If it’s too cold… I vomit

3. If it’s too hot… I vomit

4. If I’m thirsty and I drink water… I gag! Sometimes vomit

5. If I do more than three activities in one day, I vomit

Are we getting the picture here? My doctor told me that he’d rather not give me anything else and if I can handle the nausea and gagging here and there, it’s just a couple of more weeks left… so I caved in and told him… ok I can handle it… don’t know if I’ll regret my decision later this week, but it’s all for a good cause

Next week the doctor will be measuring the baby to assess high risk… since I’m turning 38 this year, I am considered a high risk pregnancy and well, the baby is at high risk for being born with down syndrome. Inshallah Khair… more on that later… for now, I just have to bear with the gagging and vomiting!

Heard the baby’s heartbeat last week…. AMAZING… so exciting… can’t wait to find out if it’s a boy or a girl!

Will start Pilates again today. I’ve been off for a month thanks to two consecutive throat infections in a row and a chest cold right after! The horror! I’ve never been that sick before… hopefully, all will be well from now on. I have to be careful from Rubella, as I don’t have any immunity. So I must steer clear from infants/babies that have not been vaccinated and I have hypothyroidism, which means I have to take medication (levothyroxine) which will adjust the levels. Not enough Thyroid function will affect the baby’s brain development…

Well, I have to run now. Time to take Yazan to school! Until the next blog… Um Yazan signing out!

Fast Forward to today… I’m standing, watching him to make sure he bathes properly… and he’s just slacking off… so I get upset at him and I say “Come on Yazan! You’re wasting time!”… so he says “Why are you mad at me?”… so I reply, “well, you’re taking forever doing nothing and my back hurts…” the little wise guy looks at me and says “I can’t get inside your brain”… so I said… “What’s that supposed to mean?” to which he replies “I don’t know your back hurts, I can’t get inside your brain”…

Brilliant! Not only has he figured out the female psyche… we expect men to read our minds, he’s also got me stumped… couldn’t quite answer back to that one… that was a tough one… heheheh…!!

Some of you may know this and others don’t but i work at Saraya and I wanted to share our corporate video done a while back, it gives you a taste of the type of business we are in… which is global Luxury Travel and Tourism meant to suit your lifestyle for nothing but the finer things in life. We are going to have global presence with various luxurious tourist destinations, spanning the middle east from Jordan, Oman, UAE to Europe like in Russia all while providing world class services (Private Jets, Luxury Yachts, Travel Agency) to complete your travel experience…

Our main goal is to make your life just a little easier… in essence we offer an effortless escape every time you choose Saraya! Check out the video… let me know what you think… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YozZVCHU3zU

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Some glimpses of the campaign… for more images go to http://www.escapewithsaraya.com

Benefits:

1. Keeps baby’s skin soft and supple
2. Fragrance Free so can’t irritate skin
3. Keeps eczema at bay… Yazan has a bit of eczema and a little bit of olive oil goes a long way

Apply to baby after bath… simply put a small amount, roughly the size of a quarter in the palm of your hand, rub your hands together to warm up the olive oil a bit, and gently massage into baby’s skin… i promise it won’t leave any smell because the fragrance is very light. I used to bathe Yazan at night, so this soft gentle massage and moisturizing oil was the perfect end to a perfect baby day!

Another tip… add a few drops of lavender oil to some warm water and let the aroma fill the room as you massage baby… the soothing smell and Olive Oil on skin combination will ensure a good night’s rest for baby…

Tried and Tested!

Baby’s Gas

Some babies are more prone to Gas than others and the bubbling pain in the tummy can cause discomfort for babies who can’t express themselves except to SCREAM! Our Pediatrician recommended liquid drops named “Deflat”… that helped settle his tummy… If baby is really uncomfortable try lying the baby down on your forearm, turn his/her face so that their cheek is resting on your arm, and rub baby’s back gently… the pressure on the the tummy will help to relieve the gas…

Diarrhea

Babies, especially those who are breast feeding, tend to have soft stools… so that isn’t necessarily a sign of diarreah… monitor your baby, if he/she is passing stool more often the usual, or it is unusually liquidy, then consult your Pediatrician…  There are many reasons why a baby has diarrhea:

1. illness
2. teething
3. food sensitivity
4. eating too much food that has laxative type properties like apples or pears
5. a tummy infection, sometimes rotavirus
6. antiobiotics

Don’t give any anti-diarrhea medicine to baby without approval of your baby’s doctor, some medications can be harmful to baby… keep baby hydrated (at least 2 oz every hour) and you can include a rehydration mixture like Pedialyte, Resol or Lytren) available over the counter is usually but check with your doctor first.

If baby is on solids, continue feeding solids, it will help to ease the diarreah. But don’t give any sweetened juices, glucose water or salt and sugar mixes. Bananas, potatoes, rice cereal, white toast are all good. And Yoghurt with anti bacterial medication if baby is taking it, is very good.

Protect baby’s bottom from diaper rash by changing continuously… i used a cream called “drapolene creme” which was fantastic… Deflamol is also a very good substitute… natural anit-rash cream is recommended and keep changing baby’s diaper often. Call your doctor immeidately if diarrhea lasts more than one day and if there is vomiting as well or blood in baby’s stool and if there is a fever…

Constipation

Not all babies have the same bowel movements. Some babies may go every day or every hour, while others may go once a day or even once every few days. This should not be cause for alarm as long as  it is normal for your baby… any change in normal b0wel movement is cause for concern. Symptoms include:

1. stool that is hard and like little balls or pellets
2. baby has a hard time passing stool causing cracks in baby’s bottom and bleeding
3. lots of gas and baby discomfort/pain

Usually, breast fed babies are not susceptible to constipation and this is more frequent in bottle fed babies. Consult your Pediatrician as you may need to change baby’s formula. Also, if baby has just started on solid foods, his or her tummy is getting used to a change in the diet, so the body needs to adjust. An ounce or two of prune juice or apple juice will relieve symptoms. For babies eating solids, try adding a bit of bran in their meals and increase fruit and veggie intake (but not bananas). Call you doctor if there is blood in the stool or if it is recurring to resolve the issue.

Hope this helps the mommies out there…!!

Thanks for taking the time to read and asking!

Coughing is the natural way we react to disloding something that gets stuck in our throat. If your baby or anyone else who is coughing can cry, breathe or cough forcefully, then they are fine. However, if it persists for more than two to three minutes, call for Emergency assistance. Signs of immediate aid include:

1. high pitched crowing sounds

2. turning blue especially starting at or around the lips

3. Ineffective coughing and difficulty in breathing

Follow the following steps and get medical assistance as fast as possible:

Babies Under One Year (conscious or unconscious)

1. Get Help! If baby is choking, call Emergency immediately. Stay calm.
2. Position the baby – straddle baby face down along your forearm with head slightly lower than trunk. Cradle baby’s chin in the curve between your thumb and forefinger and rest your arm on your thigh (you should be seated). If baby is too big for your forearm, straddle baby across your lap and make sure head is lower than body.
3. Administer back blows – using the heel of your hand, give 5 consecutive blows to baby between baby’s shoulder blades.
4. Adminster chest thrusts – if no sign of disloding has appeared after the back blows (forceful coughing, normal breathing, object shooting out), turn child over by placing the flat of your free hand on the back and supporting head, neck and chest with the other hand and turn baby over. Make sure head is still lower than trunk. Support head and neck of baby with your hand.  Position your hand by “imagining a horizontal line from nipple to nipple. Place the pad of your index finger just under the intersection of this line with the sternum (the flat breastbone running down the middle of baby’s chest between ribs). The area to compress is one finger’s width below this point of intersection. Position two fingers along the sternum and deliver five chest thrusts, compressing the sternum to 1/2 to 1 inch depth with each compression and allow the sternum to return to normal position before the next compression. Keep your fingers in place. Keep repeating back blows and chest compression until airway is cleared or baby becomes unconscious while you wait for help to arrive. If baby is still unconscious do a foreign body check
5. Foreign body check – Check for a visible obstruction, open baby’s mouth, place thumb in baby’s mouth, grasp tongue and lower jaw with your thumb and forefinger. Depress the tongue with thumb as you life the jaw up and awayfrom the back of the throat. If you see a foreign object, attempt to remove it by performing a sweep of a finger. Don’t sweep the mouth if you do not see anything and don’t try to remove an object if you see it by trying to pinch it out, you could force it down further.
6. Do an airway check. If baby isn’t breathing properly, open the airway by tilting head and chin and administer two slow breaths with your mouth sealed over nose and mouth of baby.. If chest rises and falls with each breath, the airways are clear.
7. Repeat steps 1-6 again until baby is breathing normally, object is dislodged, et. Don’t give up, when there is no oxygen, the muscles relax and it becomes easier to dislodge the object. Keep repeating until help arrives or until baby is breathing normally.

Babies over one Year (Unconscious)

1. Position child face up on a flat surface (floor or table). Stand/kneel at child’s feet and place the heel of one hand on the abdomen in the midline between the navel and the rib cage, fingers facing toward your child’s face. Place the other hand on top of the first
2. Administer thrusts of 6 to 10 rapid inward and upward thrusts to dislodge the foreign object. Be gentle but firm and don’t apply press to the tip of the sternum or ribs
3. Do an airway check. Tilt head and adminster two mouth-to-mouth breaths. Pinch the nostrils closed during mouth-to-mouth. If chest rises, airway is clear. If not, repeat the sequence until help arrives or normal breathing/object is dislodged. Don’t give up.

Children Over 1 year, Conscious

1. Stand behind child and wrap your arms around her/his waist
2. Position the thumb side of one fist against child’s abdomen in the midline slightly below the navel and way below the top of the breastbone
3. Administer thrusts, grasp the positioned fist with other hand and press into child’s abdomen with a quick upward thrust (be gentle but firm). Repeat until object is ejected or baby breathes normally again.

Even after object is dislodged and baby is breathing normally, call your doctor or visit the Emergency Room to ensure all is well. I also suggest that you read the entire chapter in What to Expect the First Year for first aid techniques and help. The information above was re-written from the book and is not my own content.

Keep your babies safe!