Parenting success relies on understanding developmental benchmarks, managing maternal health during and after pregnancy, and implementing effective behavioral strategies for toddlers and teenagers.
After watching your belly grow for nearly 10 months, you may be eager to lose baby weight. While breastfeeding may actually expedite your weight loss, you shouldn't make a concentrated effort to shed pounds during the first two months postpartum.
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Although high in fat, hamburgers do contain some nutrients beneficial to you and your baby, including iron and protein. Proper preparation is key to enjoying ground meat without risking bacterial illness, however. Opt for the leanest possible ground beef to make your hamburger a little healthier.
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Breastfeeding establishes an intimate connection between mother and child. It's common for nursing mothers to worry about whether their diet affects the baby. If your child is consistently fussy a few hours after you eat certain foods, you may need to modify your diet. Talk to your physician first, though.
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Infants grow rapidly from the day they are born, but if you compare your child to other babies, you probably will notice a significant difference in size. Children come in all shapes and sizes and grow at different rates. To determine that your baby's growth is within the "normal"
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At six weeks' gestation, the only visual sign a woman has of her pregnancy is the pink indicator that revealed her pregnancy test to be positive. At this early stage in your baby's development -- you can't see him -- but he is already forming lungs, a nose, a jaw and a palate.
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Because of hormone-related relaxation of the intestinal muscles, reduced physical activity, a low-fiber diet and anxiety, constipation is a common side effect of pregnancy.
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Some types of soft cheese are unsafe for consumption during pregnancy because they may contain a bacteria called listeria. An infection with the listeria bacteria, called listeriosis, causes mild flu-like symptoms in the mother.
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You may have heard that contaminants make fish unsafe for consumption during pregnancy, but salmon is an exception.
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When you find out you're expecting, everything changes. You are charged with the tremendous responsibility of ensuring that you and your child grow together in good health. There will be vitamins to take, doctor's appointments to make, and of course, you'll have to watch what you eat.
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Babies have only a few needs -- food, shelter, sleep and, of course, lots of love. The essentials are basic, but parents often fret over their baby's eating habits. Fortunately, healthy babies are very good at communicating hunger.
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Most women have no trouble packing on pounds over the course of their pregnancy. Extra food and calories give your baby the nutrients he needs to grow and allow you to build fat stores for breast feeding.
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Adolescence is a time of rapid -- and often awkward and uncomfortable -- physical development. While many teens worry about gaining too much weight, a study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association in 2001 estimated that 17 percent to 37 percent of teenage males would like to bulk up.
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After nine months of stretchy waistbands and tent-like tops, you are eager to shed your pregnancy weight. It may take awhile to shift the numbers on the scale. Remember, your body is forever changed for having housed your little one. Give yourself nine months to a year to lose the baby weight.
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