Baby is overdue, what to do now?

I am now officially overdue with 40 weeks and 4 days, which I hear is quite common when having the first baby and also being over 30. So here I have the perfect combo and the waiting game begins. I have been talking to many people and gathered some ideas to help the baby to come quicker without intervention. I am honestly testing and doing all of them for the last 2 weeks or so, not sure if anything is helping but I am at least trying:

-         

Spicy food – Many of my friends said that after their last spicy food, contractions started. So now “Tabasco Chili” is my new best friend in every single meal
Walk Walk Walk – I am walking at least 2 hours per day in the park, shopping mall and trying to avoid getting my car for small errands. It is tiring but I did notice that it helps me sleep as I get quite exhausted so I see an advantage there.
Going up and down the stairs and squats – Also trying to do as much as possible of it, so far the only up side of it is getting my legs strong, which can be good for carrying the baby later
Jump on the Pilates ball – This is my favorite as I am now watching TV while jumping up and down. This one of the techniques for labour pain too so I am getting a good practice.
Acupuncture – I hate needles but as it was recommended I did 3 sessions while I was 39/40 wks, but other than being relaxed I didn’t feel anything else so far, so I decided not to continue with it. I confronted my fear of needles but still was not good enough to make anything happen.
Writing a letter to your baby – I did it as friend recommended and I think even if doesn’t help her coming out, it is a nice thing to share with your kid when she grows up. I handwrote it so it has a personal touch and I will keep it to give to her later.
Making an official eviction notice for the baby – That was just a fun thing that I think made me relax and made me laugh which can also help.

I guess those ideas can support the baby but she will come only when my body is ready and she really feels ready to explore this new world.

An overdue Mom After 30

#momafter30 #overdue #40wks

Some cool online support to use during the pregnancy

I found some apps and webpages that are very cool and informative. For sure you always need to take everything with a pinch of salt, but funny enough on some of the selected apps below that track the pregnancy I could really read about what was happening at that moment with me, so I would recommend it. They were all free but had paid versions that I didn’t even use it as the free versions were good enough for me. Sorry that I am not good with apple and I am not sure how to get the app’s link at ITunes but they are easy to find if you type the app name.

Pregnancy + (Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hp.pregnancy.lite)

This app let you track the pregnancy weekly with tips, images, weight and many interesting info that you can use like how to pack a maternity bag for example. This is best looking app in my opinion and does have a paid version which I didn’t even need to use.

Nurture (Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.glow.android.nurture)

This app has a daily tracking and you can tell it how you are feeling daily and will give you tips of how to improve your overall health. I liked this a lot when feeling insecure by different changes and I think is the one that really can support you all the way and help you remind to take your vitamins, drink water, etc. Also has a cool feature of a community for momos having babies and you can read nice comments and experiences.

Baby Bump (Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alt12.babybump)

This app has a day by day tip, but even being the simplest app I liked the information and the tips I could get from it. Also had tips for daddy once in a while.

Story of this life Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/StoryofThisAndersonLife/

I really enjoy her posts and she was my inspiration for why I started my blog as I think sharing experiences can really help others. I think she has a great humor and I like to see her videos and pictures she posts (By the way the picture I am using right now on my personal FB and also on this blog is hers as my due date is now gone - It was supposed to be 26/may/16).

A tech Mom after 30

#Momafter30 #pregnancy+ #nurture #babybump #storyofthislife

Competition - Like and Tag on our Facebook page for a chance to win

LIKE the Facebook page Momafter30 and TAG at least 1 friend on the competition post and have a chance to WIN a Pee-Pee Teepee. 

Competition ends on 28/May - Sat - 5pm and the winner will be chosen at random and announced on 28/May - 8pm. (Winner must live in Australia so I can send the product).


Facebook Competition post:

https://www.facebook.com/momafter30/posts/284219258584957 

A Mom that likes competitions after 30

#competition #momafter30 #peepeeteepee

News from the Pregnancy, Babies and Children's Expo - May 2016

As my baby is still not wanting to show her face (by the way today is my due date). I decided to go to this Expo to see what I could find of interesting for the future, there were many regular products like Nappies, Prams and others but I found some very interesting products that could be useful.

Booby Trapper – It is a great way to feed your baby with privacy. It is much bigger than others I saw in the shops and gives the baby more air flow. I really liked the idea of not having to hold anything other than your baby while feeding. (www.boobytrapper.com.au )

Pee-Pee Teepee – It is small cone for baby boys when doing their diaper change, to avoid possible accidents. Very smart idea so Moms of boys are a bit safer of a possible Pee-Pee shower. (www.bebabean.com)  

Mamaway Vest - 3 in 1 for when you are pregnant, carrying the baby and after you can just detach the zipper and use as regular vest. So is 1 vest that serves all the purposes. Also is very lightweight. (www.mamaway.com.au )

Cutesy Bottles – It is a 2 in 1 baby bottle with teats or spoon. I tested it and the food only comes out when you press the bottle, so it is perfect to carry the food, heat it up and it give on the go without having to change containers. They have small and large sized to cater for baby’s needs (it is also BPA Free). ( www.cutesy.com.au)

The Teething Egg –  Teething Egg is similar to the baby’s gums, so they love chewing and rubbing their sore and swollen gums against it. It is made of thermoplastic elastomer which seems to be safe for babies to use. (www.theteethingegg.com.au)

A Mom in love with innovations after 30

#momafter30 #boobytrapper # Peepee #cutesy #theteethingegg #mamaway 

Freebies for Babies and Moms

I did a good research about where to find freebies so I could try different products before buying them and here are some good ones:

-  Bounty Bag – You can go to a pharmacy and get a Mom to be Bag. Mine came with some Huggies nappies and baby wipes, Sudocream, Stretch Marks Cream, Panadol Teething toy, Comfort, 2 great maternity magazines and some others papers with information. (I heard each pharmacy may have different items. I got mine at Coogee Bay Road Blooms) Here is the list where you can find one - http://www.bountybags.com.au/uploads/Bounty_Pharmacy_List_20160101.pdf

- Bounty Rewards - You can also subscribe to their website and get some rewards by looking at promotions and answering surveys that can be redeemed later for gift cards - http://www.bountyrewards.com.au/

-  Gaia Products – You can contact them via the website and send them a postpaid envelope so they can send you some samples of their products – http://www.gaiaskinnaturals.com/wgform.php?controller=form&action=view&access_code=free_samples

- Baby Love – They offer a free Baby Shower pack with 1 pack with 30 diapers, 90pk baby wipes and a soft toy. All you have to do is register online with your baby shower dates and they will send you a voucher to be exchanged at Babies R Us:- https://babylovenappies.com.au/baby-shower-gift-pack/

- Huggies – You can ask them for samples of different size nappies to try when you sign up and there are also many promotions and competitions to participate online - https://www.huggies.com.au/promotions

- Mamaway – If you a RWH patient go to their Randwick store (Inside the Randwick Mall - Upstairs) and you can get a free Maternity Bra and Free 60 pack of nursing pads. All you have to do is go in person and ask them. It was that easy. This is a special 150 years celebration from Royal Woman’s Hospital. - https://www.mamaway.com.au/store_location

Some expos are also a great place to see some new products and get samples and I will have a post all about the Pregnancy and Babies expo that I went last week with all the news soon.

A Mom in Love with Freebies after 30

#momafter30 #bountybag #gaiaskinnaturals #babylove #mamaway #huggies

What does a newborn need after they are at home?

This is a good topic but a very hard one. I have been buying some things for the baby, but there are so many gadgets that honestly having a baby can become a very commercial thing.

My first tip is not to buy anything before doing a good research. I checked many websites, mother’s communities, visited many baby stores and and finally have all my things sorted. But one thing I learned was that babies don’t need much, they don’t care about the brand, color or latest trend. So we need to find what is really useful, safe and that you feel comfortable to use for your baby.

For most of the items I bought I decided to look at Kids Swap and Sell groups on Facebook from my suburb, Ebay and gumtree. This way I could save at least 40% of the prices that I would buy in store. I would check if the items were in good condition and recommended by the Australian standards and buy it. I did wash everything with good quality baby soap to make sure it was all clean and ready for my baby.

Other than the basics I got some small things that may be a little luxury but I had to try: Nappies Bin (with very expensive refills, so I will give it a try for the first months and see), Ewan the Dream Sheep, Baby Shusher And Oricom Baby monitor with breathing monitor (this is my first time Mom paranoid side saying the baby may not sleep well or have any problems at night), a Quinny Zapp Travel Stroller ( As we will travel in November to Brazil when she will be 6 months, so I need a good and small pram that can be consider a hand luggage to go around during connections and to use while there), Skip Hop Nappy Bag color coded with my City Select Stroller (both in purple) which by the way is also matching the whole room decoration in purple and pink. I will give my feedback about those and other items after I have a chance to use them.

But all this are just for our eyes, family, friends, etc. For the newborn eyes the most important thing for sure will be you. So we don’t need to really worry, just stick to your budget and make this “getting ready” moment a happy one J

A learning Mom After 30

#Momafter30 #Babyshusher #Ewanthesheep #Cityselect #Skiphop #Quinny #Oricom

Is your partner ready for the baby as well?

It is essential to have your partner ready for the new addition of the family. Most of the time everything is only going to be about the person caring the child for 9 months. Your partner can’t feel the pain, the joys and the movements from inside but in my view it is essential for him to participate on the journey, as after the baby is born things will change and he will be able to really feel the same emotions as you.

For my husband to be involved we decided to do a 8 weeks baby classes at the hospital. It was a bit tiring as we needed to attend every Monday night after work from 6pm to 9pm. And sometimes we almost gave up as we were a bit sleepy, but we know that this was very important.

We attended the RWH classes with a Midwife that covered from birth to 3 months of the baby, running from the body anatomy, birth to how to change a diaper and give a bath. Somethings can be common sense, but it is important to hear again so we can make sure we are in the right track.

But the best part of this course was the networking. We meet other couples that also were having their first baby and this helped us to see that were not alone in this new world. We even have a FB page were we can keep track of all the babies that are being born and organize meet ups. By the way I am the last one of the group to have a baby, all the couples already had theirs. Mine is the only one that wants to stay in the belly a little longer… she is too comfortable here.

While we wait, we also have fun, so me and my husband are trying creative ways to pass the time like this photo which we can’t stop looking and laugh at it ;)

A New Mom After 30

#momafter30 #rhw #babyclasses

How to prepare for labour and birth? Is it possible to be really ready?

LABOUR - This has always been a very scary part of the whole process, at least for me. I used to say to my Mom and friends that I would not have a baby inside my body because I was afraid of the pain, instead I would adopt a kid. And this was in in my mind for many years.

But when your mind is ready, things change. When I decided that I wanted to have a kid my fear really started to fade. I started researching a lot about the whole process and I felt confident that whatever happened would be the best for me and my baby. I may still adopt in the future but for now I decided that having a baby was doable.

I read many books (I may have more than 20 books at home that I at least started reading the first pages) but I really liked a book called: “Birth Skills” from a very famous physiotherapist called Juju Sundin. And after feeling that her pain management techniques for labour and birth were in my line with my thinking I booked for a half day course where she would put that all into practice.

It was a great morning, with a very small group of ladies and Juju, that was very energetic and helpful. The main thing that I learned on that day was: “Labour Pain is not sick pain; it is good pain – healthy pain”. This really helps me think about labour as a good thing. I will put all the techniques into real practice soon and then I will be able to say if it really helped, but one thing is for sure my confidence level now is very high, so this will give me a good support during my special time.

Also talking to many Moms I found out that the part that they remember as the worse was: “nothing”, they can’t describe the pain as they don’t remember it. As soon as they could see their baby’s face all the fear and pain was gone. Like if they became numb and the whole world stopped. I hope this is my experience too and I can say the same thing soon.

A very hopeful Mom after 30 ;)

#momafter30 #jujusudin #birthskills #labour

Mind, Body and Soul during the pregnancy

I am glad that so far I had very little pain and also felt very active during the pregnancy but three things for me where for sure essential.

Eating Healthy – When I found out that I was pregnant I decided to research more about what was good not only for me but also the baby and the main thing is to take a daily multi-vitamin proper for pregnancy (I started with Elevit, but later changes to Blackmores Pregnancy Gold as it was a better cost benefit). This not only supported the folic acid which is essential for babies, but also helped me not getting any flue or disease.

From the food side I ate a variety of food and did have some sweets, as mum’s will always crave it, but I tried limiting myself and also tried not to skip meals. In the first 4 months I had morning sickness and could only eat after midday so I did lose a bit of weight.

My GP said I would need extra protein, so I talked with a nutritionist that recommended me to add a Protein Shake into my diet, which was nutritious but also delicious (I love the Isagenix Dutch Chocolate one with 1 frozen banana and milk, it is like a milkshake and would help me a lot with my chocolate craving while giving me many nutrients). I added this into my diet (not replacing as we need more instead of less while pregnant) and that for sure also helped me feel good and energetic. (Some people may be against it, but for me it worked so I do recommend it).

Exercise - I continued to be active playing at the beach and I also started doing Aqua Aerobics twice a week. This is a very fun part of the day as I can spend time with my Mom that also attends the class and I am very “spoiled’ by the trainer and others in the class as they see me progress week by week. I am now almost 40 weeks and they always think that the baby will during the class ;) By being low impact it does really help me feel confident that I am not hurting myself or the baby and my body continues to feel awesome.

Meditation -  I also did some Meditation during the pregnancy recommended by my best friend which is also Reiki Guru, that for sure supported me mentally by being less stressed about life and work. Which may be even more important than anything else as when your mind, body and soul are in line, everything else flows J

A mom after 30

#momafter30 #blackmores #isagenix #aquaerobics #meditation

Can you have a pain free pregnancy, even after an injury?

I had a small incident during my Honeymoon (luck me J ) and I was diagnosed with an spine protrusion between L4 and L5. For that I tried many treatments and the only thing that could take my pain away was a Chiropractor using an “activator method”, that doesn’t look like he is doing anything but really helped me, it is not invasive and it doesn’t hurt.

I did the treatment from May to August and at the end he told me to just do a favor to myself: “Don’t put on much weight or get pregnant”, as I needed to wait my body to heal 100%. And so I did…September I found out I was pregnant and when I told him all we could do was laugh

We did a plan where I would see him every 15 days and he would correct any “issues” I could have because of the weight adding up. And incredible enough the only pain I had was related to my sacroiliac joint (SIJ) getting lose for the baby to one day come out, and I never remember I had the injury. He really did a miracle for me. Sure I also helped myself by only putting 10 kilos during the pregnancy but if wasn’t for him I am sure I would have suffered from real pain.

Also because of the SI Joint pain I talked with my Hospital and they offered me free Pilates/Physio classes in the hospital. That also helped with the SI joint and also with the pelvic floor as sometimes when sneezing things were a bit messy down under.

In the end both the chiro and the physio supported me to feel great and confident. So I think that is worth talking to you doctor about any and every issue you have and you may find helped, even free one like I did.

A Mom After 30

#momafter30 #chiropractor #activator #sijoint

First things First…

How did I get pregnant if I was over 30 and not “medically “capable?

After being on the pill for long and using Inplanon for 1 year (which I actually hated as it gave me a gift of extra 10 kilos) I went to the doctor to understand what I would need to do to get pregnant.

I got married in March/2015 and from April I was prepared to get pregnant and start my family. I went to the GP that told me that because of my age (33, not old at all in my view), history of taking the pill for over 15 years and also having thyroid disease (Hashimoto) I would need to wait at least 1 year without the pill to give my body a chance to start conceiving and if nothing worked I would be recommended for an IVF treatment. This crushed me a bit as I wanted to be pregnant asap, but if that was the way, I would just try my best.

I decided to stop the pill right away, made sure that I was taking my thyroid medicine regularly, continued to exercise and eat well (which I did for a whole 1 year before getting married to try look my best on my wedding day… things that I bride would do) and started taking Elevit and my husband Menevit (Pregnancy Vitamins) all in preparation for a chance in the future. In my mind I was calm as I had a whole year to try, so I also kept positive that I had time, so no rush was necessary.

From May to August I had to travel a lot for work and also for fun (my best friend bachelorette party in Hawaii J), so I didn’t have much time to worry about it. In September I was at another work related trip when my massage therapist questioned me if I was pregnant. I denied and she recommended me to check, so next day I got a pharmacy test and “SURPRISE SURPRISE” I was pregnant of around 3 weeks in September/16.

It didn’t take long at all (actually around 4 months) for me to be pregnant and I give all the merits to being calm, not over worried about it, eating healthy and exercising. Having my body and mind in the best shape possible for it.

I see people that really struggle to get pregnant and now I wonder if all the worry and all the misinformation makes us scared, so we actually tell our bodies not to do what we want. So from now on my focus  is to give anything a real try first, even if someone says is pretty much impossible, and if doesn’t work than we try somethings else, but being positive and relaxed for sure helped this Mum here that is very anxious to meet her baby in the next weeks J

A New Mom After 30

#momafter30 #inplanon #elevit #menevit 

First Post.. Who Am I? What do I know?

Being a Mom after turning 30… From what I see around me this is the new trend.

My grand grandmother had my grandmother at 18, who had my Mom at 18, who had me at 24. And here I am, at 34, pregnant of my first baby.

I am 39 weeks pregnant and I am lucky enough to have had an easy pregnancy so far. But I hear from many after 30 new mums, that the 1^st pregnancy after 30 is not so easy as the body starts to “complain” a bit more.

But why have the 1^st baby after 30? In my case I focused in my career since I was 18 and to break the work cycle before 30 would not be ideal, so I decided that I would work at least 15 years and be financially and emotionally stable before having my first baby.

I guess everyone have their own opinion but for me I wanted to have the baby at the correct time where I could enjoy my pregnancy and also my baby.

So far my pregnancy has been amazing. I was able to enjoy it, pretty much pain free but I did focus a lot in eating healthy, doing Pilates, aqua aerobics, seeing a chiropractor regularly and being very active. Things that I only really cared and understood about after 30. Pregnancy for me is not a sickness, it is your body changing and adapting to give you a bundle of joy, so being positive plays a big part and if the timing is also right, it only makes things easier.

So far having my first baby after 30 has been a great journey and I will be able to share more of my experiences here from now on.

I want to be able to share good and bad moments so together we can learn and make this time of our lives as enjoyable as possible.

I am happy to hear your comments,

A New Mom After 30 ;)

#momafter30