29Jan 2020 by Sarah Glenn

Milk Coming In

Breastfeeding, Health, Infants, Parenting, Pregnancy
Milk-coming-in is part of the changes you experience after the delivery of your progeny. Your body has been making all the necessary preparations since egg and sperm met. Possibly you've even seen a discharge from the nipple occasionally during pregnancy. Remember you've spent 40 weeks creating life and now you need to sustain that life. At first, women worry whether milk will come in but after a few days, they realize how bountiful their yield is. Engorgement is when the breast tissue overfills with milk, blood, and other fluids. It may cause your breasts to feel very full, to become hard and painful, and your nipples to flatten and tighten. Engorgement is a temporary stage to the milk-coming-in part of breastfeeding. Milk-coming-in is part of the changes you experience after…
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22Jan 2020 by Sarah Glenn

Rock Your Labor in These Positions

Health, Life, Parenting, Pregnancy
To rock your labor in these positions, you will need an open mind, sense of humor and a little flexibility. Don't wait until crunch time to check these out! Let's face it; LABOR is hard work and requires creativity and instinct to help move the process along. Giving birth is not a sedentary sport. Active involvement can lessen your birth time, reduce pain, and decrease the need for medications. Overall, satisfaction with the birthing process comes from freedom of movement and allowing your body to do what comes naturally. Contrary to images you may have seen in movies or books, the lithotomy (laying on your back with feet in stirrups) position is not the ideal choice for women. However, many factors can influence the mother's position decision, including setting, mother's choice &…
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18Jan 2020 by Sarah Glenn

When Life Gives You Lemons

Health, Life, Parenting, Relationships
When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. What if the lemons are rotten or too sour to make tasty lemonade? Or if you don't have the stamina to process the instructions to create said lemonade? I entered my 40's feeling young and vibrant, only to have the wind knocked out of my sails due to devastating life events. Follow along with the previous blogs to understand the whole story.  Starting off this decade, I have a 3rd husband, seven children, a dying mother, and my 13-year-old becomes very ill. What appears to be a persistent cold turned into a sinus infection, which seems like no big deal at the time. With the strongest of antibiotics, my son continues to be ill and wakes up one morning with a swollen…
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09Jan 2020 by Sarah Glenn
How to Keep Breastfeeding Comfortable

How to Keep Breastfeeding Comfortable

Breastfeeding, Health, Infants
To master how to keep breastfeeding comfortable can take time and patience but feeling pain shouldn't be part of the equation. It's hard to know what breastfeeding should feel like if it's your first time. You've probably heard women tell stories of nipple and or breast pain at one time or another. Maybe you've witnessed someone wincing or crying out while feeding. Or perhaps you have experienced this yourself. Some women think suffering is part of the natural process of being a successful breastfeeding mother. What no one tells you is that breastfeeding should not be painful. Sure, you've never done this, and you may feel "tender" for the first week or two, but that's it. Typically, in the first minute of the feeding. A strong tugging and pulling sensation is appropriate.…
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02Jan 2020 by Sarah Glenn

When You Need More Fertility Help

Health, Infants, Life, Pregnancy, Relationships
When you need more fertility help it can be confusing. The medical jargon and technical terms are beyond the layperson's understanding. Infertility is already stressful so let's unveil the puzzle in simpler terms. We've covered a lot of ground on a subject that should not be this burdensome. As I mentioned in the beginning, humans grow up believing that it is a right of passage to produce offspring, not a difficult feat with blood, sweat, and tears. If you're reading this and have seen your tale told here, I'm sending you a hug and positive energy. While that may not be enough, getting the people you associate with on board with your dilemma could change your passageway. Surround yourself with a supportive, loving, and understanding community while you navigate this…
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30Dec 2019 by Sarah Glenn

Sleep- A Hot Topic

Health, Kids, Life, Parenting, Relationships
Sleep-a hot topic in the world of parenting. Especially those with a new baby in the first years. Newborns are exhausting and require much of our physical self, but older babies and children are an emotional drain. Everything is compounded by the fact that every human is different and requires a new parenting strategy-what worked for Adam Is not necessarily going to work for Aubrey. Throw in the millions of parents offering advice on social media, and you've got a total collapse of the "mothering instinct." Let's explore what sleep means first: but wait, there is a different answer for everyone! Talk to your adult friends, family, and co-workers; ask how many hours they sleep per night, what time they go to bed and wake up if they get up…
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26Dec 2019 by Sarah Glenn

Reasons You’re Not Getting Pregnant

Health, Infants, Life, Pregnancy
There may be many reasons you're not getting pregnant that you haven't explored yet. Aside from the low odds of sperm and egg meeting due to lifestyle factors, let's take a more in-depth look at other arguments, often overlooked, that couples struggle with when trying to conceive.  Men and Reasons they're not Getting you Pregnant Healthy sperm are made and transported effectively to meet the egg for successful conception. Some of the below conditions are irreversible, but almost all have alternative ways to achieve their goals. Lifestyle changes can help with other sperm conditions. Read everything to give yourself the best odds for success. The most common cause of infertility in men is varicocele (overheating). When the veins in the testicles are too large, similar to varicose veins in your legs, this,…
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20Dec 2019 by Sarah Glenn

The Magic of Cervical Mucus

Health, Infants, Life, Pregnancy, Relationships
The magic of cervical mucus is part of a series of fertility blogs. Be sure to read them all to gain the most insight and have the best chance of success. Cervical mucus (CM) is a fluid or gel-like discharge from the cervix (the neck of the uterus), the production of which is stimulated by the hormone estrogen. You are aware of this by feeling “wet” in your underwear. Its’ purpose is to accept, filter, prepare, and release sperm for successful transport of the egg for fertilization. Throughout a woman’s menstrual cycle, hormones will predict the amount and thickness of this fantastic material and let you know when ovulation is optimal. Without CM, the sperm will not be able to reach the ova. In this part of fertility enlightenment, we will learn about…
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