• Posted by Pregnant Stories
  • 20 Jun 2011

Can pregnancy influence your ability to observe or persecutive the paranormal?

My experience with motherhood is restricted to research and theory, so I can’t answer that question from a personal perspective. I can shed a different light on the matter… in hypnotherapy there is a technique called natal regression. Basically, the client regresses to the pregnancy period for deeper insights into thoughts or beliefs that the client adopted during this time. Before trying this technique I was a skeptic. I honestly thought that I would regress into nothingness and twiddle my thumbs at the boring turn of “non-events”. What I found, upon regressing to the natal state, was information from the night of conception, as well as an event during gestation (where I felt my mother worrying about finances), and then the birth…where I felt the tightness of the birth canal and a feeling of suffocation. When a fellow hypnotherapist asked me to focus on the first person I saw in the delivery room, it wasn’t human. My eyes were drawn to a spirit form, which is the best way I can explain it – someone or something who was there to watch over me. I felt completely comfortable in its presence.

Why is natal regression important? It is thought that, during the pregnancy, a mother’s thoughts and feelings will transfer to the child. The child, at this point, has no way of distinguishing between the mother’s “stuff” and his or her own, so everything is accepted as a personal experience (natal regression is the process of reversing some of these limiting or negative beliefs, if there are any…some people experience only love and a profound feeling of acceptance from their families, which is equally powerful).

Any emotion of the mother’s has the ability to transfer to the unborn child, and so it is especially important for women to take care of themselves during pregnancy. Try to remove any outside stress and remain positive and nurturing (even in your thoughts about yourself, women). For the hypnobeginning portion of my courses (hypnosis for a natural childbirth), we watched a video of a fetus. The baby cringed as it listened to sounds of a man and woman arguing, and then it jumped in the womb when something crashed in the background.

As a father, you have the awesome privilege of being there for your unborn child in more ways than you might realize. What you say to your wife – and the emotion behind those words – are interpreted on some level by your child. In many circles within the clinical hypnosis community, it is believed that the soul of the child actually chooses its parents before coming to earth. Thousands of regressions to the interlife state support this, but that is only an opinion and like any belief, you can accept or reject this.

This is just a little of what I have gathered over the years. Your experience will be beautiful in its own way…enjoy every moment.

 
  • Posted by Pregnant Stories
  • 09 May 2011

Women were asked for natural ways to induce labor. There are so many wives tales it’s hard to find what really works. Most women want to avoid inductions and c-sections. Here are some ways to get the baby train moving naturally.

Sexual intercourse – This works in two ways to induce labor. First, female orgasm can bring on contractions. Second, semen contains prostaglandins. Prostaglandins work to help ripe and soften the cervix.

Nipple stimulation – Stimulating the nipples triggers the production of natural oxytocin. Oxytocin contracts the uterus.

Accupressure – Accupressure may be helpful in inducing labor. Some pressure points you can try are the roof of your mouth, the webbing of your fingers between your pointer finger and thumb, and above the ankle about four fingerspaces above is a pressure point.

Massage – Find a massage therapist qualified to work with pregnant women. Many will know various points to massage to induce labor. This is why massage is not recommended during the early stages of pregnancy.

Stripping the membranes – This can only be done by a health care provider. Your doctor or midwife will separate the bag of waters from your cervix and this is thought to help encourage labor to start.

Raspberry Leaf Tea – Raspberry leaf tea is not actually known for its labor inducing properties, but it is believed to be helpful in toning the uterus and helping with labor.

Cinnamon stick tea – Take cinnamon sticks and boil them into a tea and drink. It actually tastes good so even if it doesn’t bring on labor it may help you to relax.

Evening primrose oil – Evening primrose oil comes in small capsules similar to vitamin E. It is believed to help soften and ripen the cervix.

Yoga – Many places offer special classes for all stages of pregnancy.

Walking – Walking may help to get baby to drop into proper position.

Visualization/relaxation – Relaxation can help with labor induction. Try doing relaxation exercisers. They are also good practice for when labor actually begins.

Pineapple, cumin tea, eggplant parmesan, and spicy foods – are another thing you can try.

Exercise Ball Bouncing – Bouncing gently and sitting on an exercise ball can also help baby drop into position and get your hips flexible for birth.

Spicy Food & Chinese Food – Some swear if you eat both mexican and chinese in the same day it can bring on labor.

 
  • Posted by Pregnant Stories
  • 06 May 2009

A lot of parents today do not realize that their baby products may contain harsh chemicals that can possibly harm their children. Even products that advertise words such as “natural,” and “fragrance free,” may still contain harsh chemicals.

 

It is always important to read all of the ingredients contained on the label of your products. If you would like information on which products may contain harmful chemicals, SkinDeep, a cosmetic safety database, is a site that breaks down any harmful ingredients that your products may contain.


Additionally, if you would like to purchase baby products that do not contact harsh chemicals, but don’t know where to shop, I recently came across a website that contains a lot of natural products that your baby can use.

 

The website is called Baby Earth and contains everything a parent could need from nursery gear, to clothes, to bath products. I really like that a lot of Baby Earth’s products are natural and free of harsh chemicals. One of my favorite products is the SwaddleMe Bamboo wrap, which is eco-friendly.

Another company that sells natural baby products is Burt’s Bees. Burt’s Bees products can be purchased online, and also at stores such as CVS, Target, Ulta, and Wegmans.


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  • Posted by Pregnant Stories
  • 14 Jan 2009

belly

 

When I was pregnant it seemed as though my belly had a sign on it that said “Please Touch.” Everyone and anyone would come up to me, rub my belly, and ask how far along I was. I consider myself to be a polite person, and did not want to be rude; but, I became very uncomfortable with strangers always rubbing my pregnant belly. So, I had to think of some creative ways around it. If I saw them coming at me, I would say something like, “ Oh it is very sensitive right now, please don’t touch it.” Or, I would back away enough distance, and extend my hand for a handshake instead; sometimes catching them off guard, but they would still smile and stay for a quick chat. Although, there were those times that I was just caught off guard and it happened anyway. It is nice that even strangers care, but personally, for me it became a little unnerving after awhile.

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  • Posted by Pregnant Stories
  • 14 Jan 2009

As if being a parent isn’t worry enough, every day you hear about another recall of children’s products. Whether it is lead paint in toys, tainted formula, or defective car seats, accessories and clothes, it seems like everything we buy, we have to second guess!  Now it has just been released that over 500,000 Stork Craft Cribs have been recalled.  The brackets that support the mattress can break and lead to suffocation!   So far, the CPSC has been informed of 10 injuries, including one child who suffered bruises to his head, and another child that became trapped between a gap in the mattress and drop side rail. The cribs that are being recalled were manufactured and distributed between May 2000 and November 2008, and were sold through January 2009 at major stores such as J.C. Penny, Kmart, Wal-Mart, and Babiesrus.com.

If you have a Stork Craft Crib, it is advised that you immediately find a different and safe sleeping area for your child.  You can also contact Stork Craft’s Toll-Free Number at (866) 361-3321 to order a free replacement kit that contains new mattress support brackets.

crib-pic-1crib-pic

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  • Posted by Pregnant Stories
  • 16 Dec 2008

What a heck of a day. Didn’t get a mile from home on my way to work at 8:30 a.m., wet and foggy out, I was stopped in traffic. Started to move forward and I let off the brake, then my foot slipped (wet shoes) when I went to hit the brake and it hit the gas instead, and I got into a decent fender bender. The cars aren’t that bad, my front bumper is pretty messed up (other car looks fine), but more importantly the lady I hit complained of neck pain and was on the phone before I could pull over and get out and ask if she was ok. She nodded and was calling 911 because we were on a busy 2 lane route blocking traffic. She then noticed that I’m pregnant and said “are you pregnant?” I said yeah and she kinda did a ‘oh geesh’ and rolled her eyes and let me know an ambulance was coming.

I called my husband and he was just about to get on the train to go into the city to work, so he wasn’t that far away. The cops and paramedics showed up and we got our cars off the road. The paramedics wanted to take me too after finding out I’m about 30 weeks pregnant. I called my doctor’s office and they said not to refuse treatment and go get checked out even if I felt ok, which I did. I told the paramedics my husband was going to take me to the hospital (he had arrived) I was already registered at, and they said ok and left. I don’t think they would have let me not go with them if my hubby hadn’t showed up and said he was taking me to our hospital. The cop didn’t give me a ticket, just a case number.

We went to the emergency room and I love this hospital, it’s just not too busy. They took me up to L&D within 5 minutes and had me on the monitors for about 3 hours. I was having some small contractions and the baby’s heart rate was all over the place, from 170 to 120. We had lunch and the contractions stopped, and the baby’s heartbeat leveled out at about 150 for a good hour, so they sent me home. The doctor there was actually the one from my group that I have an appointment with on Friday, she was really nice.

I had a feeling everything was ok. The baby was really active, trying to kick the monitors off my belly. They did blood tests to check for placental abruption and any bleeding since I’m RH- (I just had a rhogam shot anyway) and all came back negative.

They let me go home around 1:30 p.m. with a list of signs to watch for. I feel ok. Just a bit sore from tensing up during the hit I think. More importantly the baby is fine. I feel horrible, but accidents happen and on a scale of 1-10, this was a 2.

It is very upsetting. I never had an accident before I got pregnant, and now I’ve had 2 in 3 months. I’m getting scared to drive.

 

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  • Posted by Pregnant Stories
  • 16 Dec 2008

Why do people feel the need to comment on how big or small you are? Who are they to say? Just because I’m not huge like they may have been when they were preggo, doesn’t mean that I am small. No there is nothing wrong, I’m measuring fine thank you!

Sorry, I’ve noticed since I’ve been working, that people all the time are asking me how far along I am, and when I tell them they are shocked, because I look small apparently. It’s just frustrating because everyone is different!! Some people have bigger feet than others, do they feel the need to comment on that? I don’t think I look small at all.

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest, because I think I might explode at the next customer who tells me I’m small!

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  • Posted by Pregnant Stories
  • 02 Dec 2008

You just found out your friend or family member had a baby and you can’t make it to the hospital, what do you do, and what will they think?  Sometimes, life’s hectic schedules can get even the best of us, and even though we would like to be there for all of life’s events we can’t.  That is why a gift basket is always a great gift and a well appreciated idea when someone has a new bundle of joy.   Sometimes the new mom is so exhausted after giving birth, that she would probably prefer the quiet time alone for rest and to bond with her new baby anyway.  Below are some pictures of my favorite gift basket ideas.  With these gift baskets, your gift is sure to be a hit and greatly appreciated.

 

These yummy cookie baskets will please the new parents and their guests

These yummy cookie baskets will please the new parents and their guests

 

 

These Fruit Baskets are healthy, cute and creative

These Fruit Baskets are healthy, cute and creative

Every woman loves flowers

Every woman loves flowers

 

Burt's Bees makes healthy and natural gift baskets for mom and baby

Burt's Bees makes healthy and natural gift baskets for mom and baby

 

Diaper Cakes make fun and creative gifts

Diaper Cakes make fun and creative gifts

 

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  • Posted by Pregnant Stories
  • 02 Dec 2008

My sister has a 12-year-old son and just had a baby girl about 8 weeks ago. I asked her how her son dealt with her pregnancy and having a new baby sister come into the family.

She said at first he wasn’t sure how he felt. It didn’t really seem real to him until she started to show. He had a hard time grasping the reality of it all. My sister had to get a Caesarean Section and her son knew this. As her pregnancy went on he became excited but also very worried and anxious at once. She was feeling very tired and sick all of the time. This worried him and made him scared that something bad was going to happen to her or that she might even die. My sister said this was because someone being pregnant was something completely new to him so he did not know what to expect. Once my sister had the baby, her son was over joyed and became more relaxed in knowing he could see and feel his new baby sister and that his mom made it through alive and healthy. When she got home from the hospital her son was very helpful around the house and with the new baby. But sometimes he would fight for attention and almost revert to acting like a baby himself by wanting to climb on her lap and things like that. Overall, everyone is happy and doing well. I think children adjust differently and come to acceptance at different times.

brother-and-sister-pic

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  • Posted by Pregnant Stories
  • 01 Dec 2008

My husband and I are the same age and we both met in Junior High; even though we were young, it was love at first sight. Unfortunately, but also of course now happily, we had our son when we were only 18 and then our daughter at 24. Now at the age of 40, we both just realized that I am pregnant again, which is a very unexpected surprise! It feels a little odd that my son could be old enough to be the baby’s father (our son is 22, soon to be 23); but at the same time, I am really looking forward to having another baby and I am very excited. What makes the surprise even better, is my best friend who also has older children, just recently found out she was pregnant, also by surprise; so our children we will be able to grow up together, which I think is great J

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