If you are actively trying to conceive, you may want to consider avoiding some activities in advance to help increase your chances. Once you are pregnant, there are also activities to avoid for the health and safety of both you and your baby. While you have not met your baby yet and may not feel like a mother, this is the time to start acting like one and caring for your expected child.

So what are some activities you should avoid during those 40 weeks?

Some Amusement Park rides are not safe for expecting moms. These rides are usually marked clearly with warning signs for you. Water slides should also be avoided since a forceful landing or sudden start or stop could be harmful for your baby.

Soaking in hot tubs / Jacuzzis or sitting in a sauna can be dangerous to your developing baby because overheating has been linked to birth defects.

Gymnastics in a no no! because it puts you at risk of falling and there is an increased chance of trauma to your abdomen.

Bicycling should be avoided while pregnant, unless you are an experienced rider, in which case you may be able to continue throughout your first trimester. Talk to your OBGYN for more information regarding this issue.

Horseback riding is a bad idea even if you are an experienced rider. The risk of falling is just not worth it.

Scuba diving is an absolute forbidden activity now that you are expecting. As you surface, air bubbles can form in your bloodstream, which can be very dangerous for both you and your growing baby.

If you are not a runner, now is not the time to take it up. From your second trimester on, the risk of falling increases and you should run with caution. As with all forms of exercise, avoid becoming overheated, and drink plenty of water.

These are just a few activities to avoid while pregnant. Speak to your healthcare provider for more specific information regarding activities you should avoid and the ones that put you or your baby at risk. Stay safe and avoid strenuous activities that could cause injury or involve serious risks. Remember, even if you do not “feel pregnant”, you are carrying your child and are about to become a mother.

After 40 weeks (give or take) of carrying and nurturing your baby inside your womb, doctor visits, parenting classes, a baby shower, research and advice, some may think you should be ready for the arrival of your newborn. But how can you be ready to perform a roll you never had any practice in?

Talking to friends and family, taking parenting classes at your hospital, and researching for blogs and books, are all ways to get yourself ready for the arrival of your offspring. But there is nothing like first hand experience, which you will get once your baby arrives. Ready or not, you will find that you deal with what life and your newly expanded family hands you.

So what should you expect when your newborn arrives? The level of emotions you will feel is personal. You may bond with your baby immediately or it may take a little longer. Either way, take into account the temporary ups and downs you may experience if you suffer from baby blues. Feeling overwhelmed, no matter how prepared you may believe you are for this baby, is natural and normal. After all, your life as you know it has changed and you are now a mother.

You can expect little sleep and not very much time for yourself in the beginning. But this will change with time. As your baby grows, he will learn to sleep through the night and you will feel more comfortable to take some time for yourself.

If you plan to breastfeed, you may experience an adjustment period where your body will learn how much milk to produce for the needs of your newborn. Until that happens, you may be leaking (so get pads for your nursing bras). Also you may experience engorgement, nipple pain and other discomforts that will disappear with time and experience. While you are still in the hospital, ask to see a lactation consultant to learn about breast feeding tips and make sure your baby latches on correctly.

Having a baby is demanding, can be exhausting, sometimes nerve wracking and above all, a big responsibility. But at the end of the day, raising your newborn is the most rewarding job you can have. You will melt when your baby starts to smile and find tremendous joy seeing him accomplish milestones and learn new things.

Give it time. You will feel more comfortable in your new roll with experience, and your baby’s growth and development will be an indicator to the fabulous job you are doing.

While breast milk is a natural way to feed your newborn, not all Moms can or choose to do so. There may be various reasons why you cannot or choose not to breast feed your baby. But no matter what the reason is, you will have to choose a supplement.

There are many choices in the market today. Do not give your baby cow milk or other milks that adults ingest before one year of age. The best option for infants is baby formula. When selecting, decide what form best fits you, whether it is ready-made, concentrate, or powder. You may choose to go organic, or if your baby is colicky or is lactose intolerant, you may need to switch to a more specific formula.

Feed by demand but don’t force feed. This means to feed when your baby when he is hungry and when he is done, do not force him to finish the bottle. Newborns usually eat 2-4 oz every two to three hours in the first 6-8 weeks. This depends on the baby’s weight, weight gain and appetite. Consult your doctor if you think your baby is not getting enough food.

Signs that your baby is hungry include a variety of mouth movements, sucking on their hand or blanket, etc. and crying.

To heat Formula, do not use the microwave. It warms liquids unevenly and may burn your baby’s mouth if too hot. Soak the bottle of Formula in hot water for several minutes or hold under the faucet. Test the temperature on the inside your wrist before giving the bottle to your baby. Your baby may also like it cold or at room temperature.

Make sure to check the expiration on the Formula container and notate the date of when the container was opened. Once opened, its life time is shortened dramatically. Read the label on the container to determine how long it will be good for. Do not save any unfinished bottle of formula.

Never dilute the formula to get more feedings out of it. Adding even just a little bit of water can be dangerous and even fatal. When diluting baby formula, the nutrients and electrolytes in it are weakened and other than affecting the baby’s nutritional balance, it can cause seizers and brain problems.

As for anything else, if you have any questions or concerns, contact your baby’s pediatrician for assistance and information.

Sometimes after you find out you are pregnant, possibility of having twins may have crossed your mind. It usually takes 8-10 weeks before you find out if your nurse hears one or more heartbeats at your first ultrasound.

In the mean time you are left to wonder. So what are your chances?  This usually depends on the biological history of twins in your family.  So if you are a twin, already have one set of multiples or have twin relatives, your chances of having twins are higher. Also if you have undergone fertility treatments, you have a 10% chance of having multiples.

Possible signs that you could be carrying more than one baby include:

Uterus measurements are large for dates.

Excess weight gain.

Amplified pregnancy symptoms including severe morning sickness, extreme fatigue or a strong metallic taste in your mouth.

An AFP blood test result that is inconsistent with a singleton pregnancy.

The above signs may or may not mean you are carrying multiples. Also, you may have no unusual symptoms at all, even if you are carrying more than one baby. Though it is not the perfect solution, waiting for your first ultrasound and hearing from you OBGYN is the best way to know for sure how many babies you are expecting. So try to be patient and whatever is in your future will be revealed soon enough.

Deciding how and when to share the news of your pregnancy is a big deal. Once you discover you are pregnant, you will find it hard to keep the news to yourself even if you decided not to announce it yet. This is an exciting time in your life as your pregnancy becomes your top priority.

“Why wait…when to tell, how to tell and who to tell first”, are all things you and your partner want to decide about together. There are different reasons to share or keep the news private in the beginning. Some people just want to take a minute and enjoy this exciting time with each other, or digest the big change ahead before announcing the news to the world (family, friends, employers, etc.). Some couples choose to keep the pregnancy private until the end of the first trimester for fear of miscarriage, and avoid the hassle of re-informing those of the sad news. Some wait for signs of pregnancy such as a growing belly.

Others may rush to tell right away to enjoy family and friends’ support dealing with this thrilling, yet overwhelming news. Sharing the news early can also lead to getting advice throughout the pregnancy right from the start, as well as help choosing between an OBGYN and a midwife, finding a good book about pregnancy and other resources such as possible methods of childbirth, and more.

Sharing with your employer is another thing to consider, depending on your job description. If you work with hazardous materials you may need to share the news with your employer right away so you can be stationed appropriately. Also if you are a flight attendant, you may need to share your news early, so you can be assigned a land post.

Regardless of when you choose to share the news, make sure you are content with your decision, and change it if need be. Remember once your news is made public, you cannot reverse it and it may spread faster than you anticipated.

Expanding your family, whether you already have children or you are working on your first, is a life-changing experience. The decision is usually a mutual one (unless the pregnancy was a surprise to you both), and can bring about joy, but may also cause stress, anxiety, confusion and other feelings.

It is normal to be emotional about a change of this magnitude in your life. After all, the lifestyle you have known up until this point is about to be drastically altered.

If your family is expanding from two to three or more, you may be worried about the unknown, such as basic baby care for multiples, or parenting styles accustomed to each child. Parenting classes, usually offered by your hospital, can help prepare you for your new role as a parent by covering some of the basics.

If you worry about making mistakes, rest assure, you WILL make them, so there’s really no need to give it too much thought. Do your best and use your judgment, and remember you can always ask for help or advice from other parents or professionals.

Planning to expand your family the second or third (or more) time around has its own joys and challenges. You consider age differences and what the perfect spacing is for your family, but remember that most women don’t conceive on the demand and getting pregnant usually takes several tries.

What ever the age differences may be, there are different challenges to overcome and joys to be shared when raising siblings. Research sibling preparation classes for your kids when expecting a new baby, or talk to them; get them ready for the new addition to the family.

Raising children is the most demanding and the most joyous job you will experience and once you have them, you are in for the long run. Embrace your new title as a parent with all that comes with it. Remember to make time for romance and don’t forget how it all started.

Medical science has yet to discover what exactly causes contractions to start and labor to begin.  If your due date has come and passed with no delivery in sight, you may be at a point where you are ready to do anything to get the process started. It is normal to want to meet your little one already, or want the pregnancy to be over because you are uncomfortable.

There are different home remedies to jump starting labor, but you should know that none of them is a sure thing, so don’t get your hopes too high, and cross your fingers when you try them.

You can try Maternity Acupuncture. Certain spots between the thumb and the pointer finger, near the ankle, and on the shoulder are considered by shiatsu practitioners to be linked to the uterus. According to shiatsu practitioners, pressing these points can speed labor up.

Having Sex can help induce labor. Semen contains prostaglandin, a natural fatty acid that helps soften and dilate your cervix. That, as well as an orgasm, can cause your uterus to contract.

Take a Long Walk. Gravity helps lower the baby and the pressure on your cervix can dilate it.

Raspberry tea helps to tone the muscles of the uterus.  To make it – boil water, let it sit for 5 minutes and then, add two to three teaspoons of red raspberry tea leaves. Drink two to three cups a day. Start only after week 35.

Your OBGYN may offer to strip the amniotic membranes to induce labor, if your cervix has started to dilate. This method can cause labor to start within 48 hours. However effective, it may be painful procedure.

Try nipple stimulation. Rubbing your nipples with your fingertips helps release the hormone oxytocin, the natural version of the labor-inducing drug Pitocin, which causes contractions to begin. It’s a slow process that requires breast stimulation for an hour at a time, three times a day. Some practitioners only recommend doing this at a hospital, where you can be monitored, since very strong contractions could affect the baby’s heart rate.

Castor Oil taken with orange juice for example, can stimulate prostaglandin production and in turn cause contractions. However, it is also a known laxative, so you may get terrible diarrhea before or during labor, suffer from vomiting, sever cramping and other unpleasant side effects. So think twice and speak to your doctor before choosing this method.

Consult your health provider before trying any method.