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For many people celebrating New Year’s Eve involves getting together with friends, enjoying a few drinks, a little champagne, some great food and staying up late to ring in the New Year. Being pregnant at this time of year does not mean that you have to give up on all the festive fun. You can still enjoy those New Year’s Eve parties, you just need to make a few adjustments. So go ahead and celebrate New Year’s Eve, pregnant style 
- Obviously drinking alcohol is out of the question. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a few drinks with friends. Yours will just need to be of the “virgin” variety. If you are going to a house party ask your friend to buy a few bottles of sparkling cider or grape juice to give you a little something to toast the New Year with (a bar or restaurant should already have some).
- Keep your food limits in mind when enjoying all the yummy festive treats. If you know somethings bother your stomach or give you heartburn steer clear of them.
- With pregnancy often comes aches, pains and tiredness. If you know you can’t last the whole night consider taking a nap part way through so you can stay up to ring in the New Year. Or, just tell your friends you can’t stay all night, but want to join them for a few hours. No one will mind if the pregnant one has to go home early!
- You may want to leave the high heels at home! There are tons of beautiful maternity clothes you can find so getting all dolled up shouldn’t be a problem, but if you are going to be on your feet all night you may want to go with a pair of flats instead of those heels. Your back and legs will thank you later!
Just think, not only will you be celebrating with friends and ringing in a brand new year, but you have something extra to celebrate; the new year is going to bring a new baby into your life. Enjoy yourself, be safe, and Happy New Year.
After all the holiday travel and visiting with countless relatives many babies and toddlers end up with a post Christmas cold. It is wonderful to see everyone and have fun with the extended family, however, at this time of year there is always someone in the family who brings the unwanted (and uninvited) cold virus to Christmas dinner. Babies and toddlers are more susceptible to the cold germs because their immune systems haven’t been exposed to as many viruses, not to mention the nature of their play, everything in the mouth.
Unfortunately there isn’t a whole lot you can do when your little one has a cold. There is no magic remedy that will make it go away overnight. However, there are a few things you can do to help ease the discomfort a little bit.
- Use a humidifier in their bedroom at night.
- Put them in a warm bath with a little menthol added, the vapors will be soothing and will help clear up the sinuses. You can also run the shower hot for a few minutes before running the bath to get the air in the bathroom moist and warm.
- If your baby or toddler will tolerate it you can use saline drops in their nose to help break up the congestion.
- Elevate the head of your baby’s or toddler’s mattress at night to help reduce postnasal drip.
- Give your child lots of fluids and health foods. Keeping them hydrated and making sure they eat will keep their strength up and help them fight the cold off.
- If necessary give your child a pain reliever/fever reducer like acetaminophen.
- Lots of extra cuddles
Remember that it is NOT OK to give your baby or toddler any over-the-counter cold medicine. Talk to your doctor if you aren’t sure what is OK and not OK for your child.
Here are a few signs that you may be dealing with more than the common cold and it is time to call your doctor:
- Your child has a fever of 103 degrees or higher.
- Your child takes a turn for the worse instead of getting better after 5-7 days.
- Your child’s cough worsens or he is wheezing or gasping.
- Your child pulls on or rubs his ears a lot.
- Your child acts especially tired or listless.
Always call your doctor if you are unsure about a symptom your child has or you are in anyway concerned about them. It is always better safe than sorry.
I wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas. I hope you all have a wonderful time celebrating with your families.
My husband, daughter and I are up in the great white north visit our families. As we spend time with loved ones opening gifts, eating good food and enjoying good company our hope is that everyone is having just as much fun as we are!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL
Happy Hanukkah everyone!
Today marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday also know as the Festival of Lights. I hope you and yours enjoy this holiday season.
For those of you looking to learn a little more about this Jewish holiday click here.
The environment and globe warming are often in the news these days. Everyone is becoming a little more conscious about the impact they have on the world around them. More and more people are trying to “live green” and make changes to their life style that will have a positive impact on the environment. So why not “go green” with your Christmas gifts as well. Green gifts are perfect for those on your list who are already making environmentally-friendly changes to their life style and for those who need a little push in that direction.
Since “going green” is a pretty popular thing these days it isn’t really that hard to find “green” gifts this holiday season. Here are a few suggestions to help you get started:
- Great gifts for those on your list who have or are expecting new babies are organic cotton layette gear, including bath towels, cloths, crib sheets and baby clothing.
- For those kids on your list consider environmentally-friendly toys such as wooden toys like blocks and pull toys, or stuff animals and dolls made from organic cotton. This site has some neat eco-toys, Eco Toy Town.
- If you have a letter writer on your list consider stationary and address books made from 100% recycled materials.
- For those who are just getting started at “going green” consider books or magazines that can help them with their changes.
- Another great idea for those just getting started is a gift basket of eco-friendly cleaning products like household cleaners, dish and hand soaps, laundry detergents.
- A neat gift idea with a global impact is carbon credits. If you are a member of Facebook there is a cool new application called Project Purify that allows you to buy carbon offsets for your friends. This can be a great gift idea for those friends you aren’t going to see over the holidays (just think of the time you’ll save since you won’t have to wrap the gift and mail it!!).
- For those on your list that love to be pampered you could make up a gift basket of natural and eco-friendly bath and beauty products.
- A membership to a local CSA (community supported agriculture) so they can get locally grown, organic, in season produce all year long. Typically they will get a large basket or box of fresh produce every month.
- An organic themed cookbook. A great idea to go along with the CSA membership or just for those on your list who love to cook.
- A hand-made Christmas ornament. This is a great idea for the kids to give to the grandparents.
There are tons of green-themed gift ideas out there. Just think about the people on your list and what they love. Be creative and have fun with it.