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Hemorrhoids in Pregnancy

admin — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 15:34:27 +0000

Also referred to as “hemmies”, hemorrhoids are unfortunately a common part of pregnancy for many women. They can also appear during labor and cause trouble for women after the baby is born. What is a hemorrhoid?

A hemorrhoid is an enlarged vein that develops in and around the anal canal in both men and women. They are caused by excessive pressure to the pelvic and rectal areas. As pressure increases, blood builds up in the veins causing painful distention of the veins, leading to hemorrhoids.

The pressure that helps create a hemorrhoid is generally caused by rushing to complete a bowel movement, or from constipation. Constipation is a very common problem in pregnant women both in the first trimester, as first their organs start moving around to make space for the uterus, and in the third trimester as their intestines get cramped and crowded. Because of constipation, many women get hemorrhoids for the first time during pregnancy.

Hemorrhoids often develop during labor as a woman strains and pushes her baby out. A woman is normally told to “push like your are having a BM”, which is effective in helping the baby come down the birth canal, but it often also puts extreme pressure on the veins in the area.

Once they appear, hemorrhoids can be very painful even while you are doing the simplest things, like sitting. There are different suggestions your doctor may have to help you control and ease the henorroids. Pads soaked in witch hazel, like Tucks, can be used to wipe your hemorrhoids in an effort to help them decrease in size faster and be less painful. Some women will actually place a Tucks inside a maxi-pad in their panties so that it will sit on the hemorrhoid constantly.

Another option to help with hemorrhoids is to take a “sitz bath”. A sitz bath is a type of bath where only the woman’s hips and butt sit in warm water or a saline solution. It is used for people who have hemorrhoids or other issues like a recent surgery in the rectal area.

If your hemorrhoids do not seem to be going away, or they are increasingly painful, ask your doctor or midwife if they have any further ideas for relief.

Quick Facts About Potty Training

admin — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 17:28:36 +0000

By Elizabeth Pantley, Author of The No-Cry Potty Training Solution

Potty training can be natural, easy, and peaceful. The first step is to know the facts.

The perfect age to begin potty training is different for every child. Your child’s best starting age could be anywhere from eighteen to thirty-two months. Pre-potty training preparation can begin when a child is as young as ten months.

You can begin training at any age, but your child’s biology, skills, and readiness will determine when he can take over his own toileting.

Teaching your child how to use the toilet can, and should, be as natural as teaching him to build a block tower or use a spoon.

No matter the age that toilet training begins, most children become physically capable of independent toileting between ages two and a half and four.

It takes three to twelve months from the start of training to daytime toilet independence. The more readiness skills that a child possesses, the quicker the process will be.

The age that a child masters toileting has absolutely no correlation to future abilities or intelligence.

There isn’t only one right way to potty train – any approach you use can work – if you are pleasant, positive and patient.

Nighttime dryness is achieved only when a child’s physiology supports this–you can’t rush it.

A parent’s readiness to train is just as important as a child’s readiness to learn.

Potty training need not be expensive. A potty chair, a dozen pairs of training pants and a relaxed and pleasant attitude are all that you really need. Anything else is truly optional.

Most toddlers urinate four to eight times each day, usually about every two hours or so.

Most toddlers have one or two bowel movements each day, some have three, and others skip a day or two in between movements. In general, each child has a regular pattern.

More than 80 percent of children experience setbacks in toilet training. This means that what we call “setbacks” are really just the usual path to mastery of toileting.

Ninety-eight percent of children are completely daytime independent by age four.

This article is an excerpt from The No-Cry Potty Training Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Child Say Good-Bye to Diapers by Elizabeth Pantley.

About the author:
Elizabeth Pantley is the author of several books, including Gentle Baby Care : No-cry, No-fuss, No-worry — Essential Tips for Raising Your Baby, The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night, Kid Cooperation (with an introduction by William Sears, MD), Perfect Parenting, as well as her latest The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers and is also president of Better Beginnings, Inc. She is a popular speaker on family issues, and her newsletter, Parent Tips, is seen in schools nationwide. She appears as a regular radio show guest, and has been quoted in Parents, Parenting, Redbook, Good Housekeeping, American Baby, Working Mother, and Woman’s Day magazines. Visit Elizabeth’s web site http://www.pantley.com/elizabeth.

Managing Morning Madness

admin — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:49:46 +0000

by Elizabeth Pantley, Author of Kid Cooperation and Perfect Parenting

Are your mornings rushed, chaotic and disorganized? Then it’s time to get control and make morning a good start to a wonderful day! When your morning activities run smoothly, and you’re out the door on time it can make your whole day feel better. To create a peaceful morning routine, follow these steps:

Start your morning — at night!
A real key to smoothing out your morning is to prepare as much as you can the night before. This means choosing the day’s clothing, packing lunches, gathering homework, signing permission slips and setting the table for breakfast.

Post a calendar
Buy the biggest wall calendar you can find and hang it in a central location. Write down events and appointments for everyone. Use different color marking pens to code items for easy reading. (As an example: ball practice in red, carpool in green, doctors/dentists in purple) Keep the calendar up to date and you’ll be more organized!

Create a drop box
Have a labeled box for each family member by the door. Use this to store shoes, keys, backpacks, coats and anything else that goes out the door with you in the morning. Plastic tubs or decorated crates make great drop boxes!

Use a morning list
Sit down and analyze a typical morning. Make a list of everything that needs to be done. Create a poster-sized list of the standard morning activities listed in order to be done:

If you have a child who gets easily distracted and ignores the morning chart – don’t give up! Just make a small mini- size chart, laminate it, put it on a chain and let your child wear it as his “morning necklace”! Your part is to make a few gentle reminders, “How are you doing on your chart this morning?”

Check out sleep time
If your child has trouble getting up in the morning and sticking to his schedule take a look at what time he or she goes to bed. Without adequate sleep a child won’t be able to follow a morning routine successfully.

Fix problems with a family meeting
If problems persist take the time to sit down with your children and talk about it. Let everyone have a turn talking, and then work to arrive at solutions that will benefit everyone.

Get up fifteen minutes earlier
You’d be amazed at the difference fifteen minutes can make to your morning, it can mean a peaceful pace instead of a rushed frenzy. Try it!

Praise successes
Remember, your words of praise will encourage your children to continue to meet their goals!