13Nov 2023 by Sarah Glenn

First Trimester Woes

Health, Pregnancy
If you’ve been feeling the first trimester woes, take it easy, give yourself permission to take a nap or go to bed early.  Understanding the changes your body is going through will help you conquer this first phase.  An amazing amount of effort is going on behind the scenes.  Not only does your body have to work double time to keep you both alive, but your brain must shift gears into the less logical and more nurturing side.  Imagine the magnitude of hormone changes to allow for this.  Here’s a peak at the most common first trimester woes: Tired all the time/low energy-those prenatal vitamins may be hard to swallow right now, but can aid in giving you the correct vitamins to give a little more energy. Unfortunately there isn't…
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07Nov 2023 by Sarah Glenn
The Captivating Home of Your Fetus

The Captivating Home of Your Fetus

Health, Infants, Life, Parenting, Pregnancy
The captivating home of your fetus is riveting when you genuinely take the time to learn each discovery. The microscopic to the most significant details will blow your mind. The more you understand about this symbiotic environment, the easier it is for you to nourish yourself a little bit more through the pregnancy. From the time you saw the pregnancy test appear favorable, you’ve likely done a lot of reading about pregnancy, labor, birth, and babies. Maybe you’ve even watched a bunch of videos or taken a class to become more comfortable with the process or perhaps talked to a variety of seasoned moms. Whatever route you are using to learn about motherhood, it probably does not include enough information about the complex environment your protégé is growing in. Parents…
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24Oct 2023 by Sarah Glenn

An Essure Nightmare

Health
Permanent Birth Control: Warning**Content May be Scary and Graphic to Some People** Let me start at the beginning; In 2008 I had a permanent birth control, called Essure, put into my Fallopian tubes.  I was 40 and knew I was done with children.  Since I lead a healthy lifestyle, I didn’t see any downside to this-knowing my body could handle it. They are simple t-shaped springs used to create scar tissue and block any sperm from getting to the egg. Boy, was I wrong?  From this point on, my body changed completely.  Unbeknownst to me the implants are made of nickel and my body was rejecting them.  I kept having strange side effects that were not disclosed before surgery.  Maybe an allergy to nickel?  By 2010, I was fully loaded…
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26Feb 2023 by Sarah Glenn

Cooking with Breastmilk

Breastfeeding, Health, Infants, Kids, Parenting, Toddlers
Cooking with breastmilk doesn't require a degree in culinary. Don't let the term "breastmilk" throw you off your cooking game when considering how to use it. You could simply use what is leftover in the freezer or pump fresh for a specific recipe. There is no trip to the store required. The most straightforward way to use your milk would be by replacing the milk in any recipe -nut or otherwise-with your breastmilk. Do not throw away your remaining milk from the freezer. Get creative! The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for a minimum of 2 years. While the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding for at least 1 year with both arguments that it is a preferential decision and no expiration of health benefits. Just to reiterate, the healthy milk you are successfully making, feeding,…
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04Feb 2023 by Sarah Glenn

Breast Pain

Breastfeeding, Health, Infants, Pregnancy
When breast pain doesn't go away it can leave a mother to feel defeated and distraught. Especially for those that felt breastfeeding was going well and her achy breast was not much of anything to worry about. Clearly, having a plan to resolve the issues quickly can bring peace back to the symbiotic relationship. Breastfeeding is an intricate exchange between a mother and her child. The mother relies on her offspring to take the milk from the breast while the child expects to find a quality bounty while suckling. Now and again the communication between the breast and infant goes awry for one reason or another and a "back-up" in the breast occurs. A firmness that makes the mom feel full and uncomfortable can become rather troublesome. Despite all the…
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15May 2020 by Sarah Glenn

They Told You the Baby is Posterior

Health, Infants, Life, New Parenthood, Pregnancy, Relationships, Third Trimester
They told you the baby is posterior, what exactly does that mean? Posterior fetal position (OP), otherwise known as "sunny-side-up," is a term used to determine how the baby's head is presenting when inside mom's belly. In the OP position, the back (occiput) of the fetal head is towards the woman's back (posterior), and the baby is looking "sunny-side-up." Babies have many challenging tasks to accomplish when going from in-utero to mother's arms. The majority of these efforts are done without mom having to do anything special to be successful in finding the optimal fetal position for birth. In a nutshell, babies are driven to find the correct way out of the water world. Most munchkins settle into the optimal fetal position between the 32nd and 36th week of pregnancy. Eager…
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13Apr 2020 by Sarah Glenn

Parenting in a Pandemic

Health, Infants, Kids, Life, Parenting, Relationships, Teens, Toddlers
Parenting in a pandemic can be overwhelming, even for the most level headed parents. We are called upon to dig down deep into our hearts and souls and find all the good we can to transfer onto the worried children we are trying to protect- much easier said than done! The majority of the universe has never lived through a pandemic such as this. It's not to say that we haven't had horrible things happen in our lifetime- including other pandemics- but the worst-before now-was in 1918 and most of that generation has left this earth. Not to minimize some of these runner ups: Spanish FluTuberculosisSmall PoxPlagueCholera outbreakSwine FluSARS coronavirusRussian FluHong Kong fluSerum run to Nome (diphtheria)MalariaWest Bank fainting epidemicHIV/AIDS I imagine you may have never heard of some of…
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08Apr 2020 by Sarah Glenn

Third Trimester Planning

Breastfeeding, Health, Infants, Life, Parenting, Pregnancy, Relationships
Third-trimester planning takes the pressure off when you are busy learning your new role- MOM! It's not essential for you to do everything on the list before the baby, but it can improve your recovery from birth. You will become an awesome mother whether you're prepared or not; after all, babies don't require much more than diapers, clothes, breasts, and shelter. It'll be ok! To-Do List Employer conversation: Know the federal, state, and office policies on FMLA-pregnancy-maternity leave and the pumping at work laws before you broach the subject with your boss. Be well versed in your rights and start that conversation now about your plans to return even if you're not sure or think you may not go back. Get a tentative return to work date agreed upon and…
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07Feb 2020 by Sarah Glenn

Middle-School Crisis

Health, Kids, Life, Parenting, Relationships, Teens
This middle-school crisis is a story of corruption, greed, negligence, and power concerning the ramifications on the youth involved. Our school district has been in crisis mode for the past few years (that we are aware of), with the assortment controversies. With the use of free speech, the general public has since learned about dangerous secrets and misrepresentation from past administrations. Forcing the new one to clean up the mayhem. I won't go into all the details involved but think along the lines of the nepotism going on in the most significant administration in the USA-although on a smaller scale. There always seems to be someone with something to gain while others suffer. Our most recent issue has brought about the safety of the people who inhabit a few of…
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07Feb 2020 by Sarah Glenn

Meeting Your “New Mom” Needs

Health, Infants, Life, Pregnancy, Relationships
Integrating your baby in your life while meeting your "new mom" needs can be tricky. Everyone wants to be part of those first few weeks, but quickly lose interest after the first month. Check on your new mom friends after week four, and you'll find some of them chomping at the bit to "feel normal again." Incorporating that balance will take time. Finding something that can help improve your new daily regimen AND keep your baby with you can be challenging. As a new mom, you're always looking for a small window of opportunity to duck out and exercise, meet friends for lunch, groom at the hairdresser, read a book, run to the store or take a bath without 487 interruptions. It becomes especially important when your health could be…
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