National Day of Midwives

Well tomorrow in the "International Day Of The Midwife". It is not a biblical holiday or celebration, but organized by man kind to bring awareness to the profession and calling of midwifery.
Midwives have been serving women since the beginning of mans existence.

Exodus 1:13-14 says:13 "And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: 14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour."

So GODS people were in bondage being used as slaves, and the king had heard of the promised coming of a MESSIAH from the people for the people-that would set the Hebrew people free. He wanted to try to avoid that from happening so he set a plan into motion. He thought if he had all the baby boys killed then this 'promised KING' would not be alive for the salvation of the people. What the king did not understand is that the salvation of the Hebrew people did not mean physical as much as for our souls. So the king spoke to the midwives who served the Hebrew women.


15 "And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah: 16 And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live."

The midwives were asked to kill the babies. If your a midwife of GOD/YHWH, if you have TRUE fear of the one true GOD/YHWH then you can not possibly kill a newborn baby! 

   

17 "But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive. 18 And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive?"

Midwives from as far back as this time in history have been called before the authorities for what they do or do not do. In this situation it was for failure to obey the king of the land, who had ordered the midwives to do something that could be considered (in my opinion) to be the law-issued by a king to the midwives- A LAW- to kill which the midwives refused to do.

19 "And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them."

Now, you might say (and some have said this) that the women really were hard workers as slaves thus they did deliver easier. We midwives know that those who are in good shape, often deliver a bit easier.  But I personally have seen women who in today's standards would not be considered to be in 'good shape' deliver even faster so I am not sure that this is true.  If it is,I say, good. If that is what really happened then GOD/YHWH worked it out so that the midwives had a 'way out' from the order/law that the king had issued to them.

    I have also heard some say that the midwives lied. That there was no way that every boy baby delivered -the midwives missed the delivery for. Well, I tend to agree with this version. I do believe they lied. Many christians have a real hard time with this theory, but remember: they lied to an ungodly leader, not to GOD/YHWH.  
    As a midwife, there is no way that they could miss that many births. 
 
    IF that was true, I bet that the women would probably stop calling them to their births,the women would be unable to trust that they would even be of assistance to them. Eventually the midwives would not be of any service because the women would stop calling them to their births, and we do not see that in scripture-so I do not believe this to be true.

     
    Another theory is that the Hebrew people knew of the kings order/law issued to the midwives and thus did not call for the midwives until they were about ready to deliver so that they would happen to deliver just prior to the midwives arrival. Well, this sounds good, it cold be what happened to some, but most women do not want to have an unattended birth. I could believe this to be true except for that. Also due to the culture beliefs (if you are Jewish and know different  please contact me and let me know) but my understanding of birth, it was attended by women, not men, due to  'being clean and unclean'.  
 
No matter the reason, GOD dealt with the midwives in a positive way. HE blessed the people they served, again-HE blessed the people they served...
interesting....


20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.

Fearing GOD-what is that? Does that mean be afraid? To be scared? Well, in a way it does, but it means respect, honor, to be in a place of submission to -as I fear GOD --I honor HIM, I am in submission to HIM, in HIS will, doing HIS will, as HE wants me to be. As we do that HE will honor us- Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.”  We need to have a reverence for HIM, we need true wisdom that comes from that reverence.  That is fearing the LORD GOD YHWH.

" And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?"  Deuteronomy 10:12-13


21 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses. 22 And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.

Because the midwives refused to do what the king ordered them to do-he required his people to do the job of killing the baby boys...

So tomorrow is the day of the midwife. What can you do?

Thank your midwife.  Thank your doula.  Thank your child birth instructor.  Thank your care provider and supporter of your birth.

Support the ministry of midwives, contact your state legislator and representative and tell them you want your state to support access to the Certified Professional Midwife and the Certified Nurse Midwife for out of hospital births. Remember, this is about your freedom, your freedom to choose not only where you give birth but about who attends your birth. If your freedom to birth as you want to, with who you want to attend your birth is not 'allowed' then your other basic freedoms are also in jeopardy of being removed from you...

The government can not , I repeat, can not be trusted with the decisions for you and your family...So get involved and make a difference!

http://www.internationalmidwives.org/CongressesEvents/InternationalDayoftheMidwife/tabid/327/Default.aspx

http://cfmidwifery.org/index.aspx

http://mana.org/response.html    This is worth the reading again, even though it is a year old-it is a letter from the president of MANA...

Baby #12- For Randy and Kim-Baby Candace~

Unfortunately, this pregnancy and delivery would require some changes. After seven home births with our previous midwife, a wonderful friend who had supported and guided us for fourteen years, this dear woman had moved out of state and could no longer assist us. We needed to find a new midwife or use the hospital.

We have had a backup doctor for many years. While supportive of OUR decision to homebirth, she has always been skeptical of homebirth in general. She prefers births to be at the hospital with equipment standing ready, but not to be used except in an emergency. Persuaded by this doctor, we toured the hospital and met the other doctors and pediatricians on staff. Despite our backup doctor’s support, other staff members were not supportive of our hands off approach. We decided to search for a new midwife.

Our search led us to Ireena Keeslar. We met with her in her home and appreciated her sensible approach to birth, viewing labor as a natural process that women are designed to do. She told us she sees and respects the Creator’s hand in pregnancy, labor, and delivery. We decided to hire her as our midwife and prepare for another

This pregnancy was an easy one compared to our last two. I had more energy and less discomfort. The mental and emotional stresses were absent as well, and I was very grateful. Around 11:30 the evening of February 19 a week before my due date, my water broke with heavy blood flow. We called Ireena and, at her direction, headed for the hospital, planning to meet her there.

Large amounts of blood indicate the placenta has pulled away from the uterine wall and, depending on how much it has separated, constitutes an emergency.

My thoughts were scrambled. I understood the seriousness of the situation, but kept praying that somehow it would be just a minor thing. Nervous about going to the hospital, I also prayed for one of those “Three contractions and there was the baby” stories. As we were driving there, I realized that I could be in surgery in the next hour, we could have a dead baby, this could be a huge nightmare. Yet, through it all, I felt God’s peace and presence and knew He is in control. Nothing will happen that He will not be there to help us through.

At the hospital I learned that the doctor and pediatrician least sympathetic to natural birth, the reason we decided to homebirth, were indeed the doctors on call. This OB likes to “earn his pay,” is very hands on, and tries to sell every procedure there is to offer. Ugh!

The nurse, a friend from church, hooked up the monitor and, to my relief, the baby’s heart rate was good. Ireena arrived about the same time the doctor did and we had to decide whether to stay at the hospital or go home for the birth. I was still bleeding and we knew there will only be more blood lost during the birth. Unsure what the “tipping point” would be, we opted to stay at the hospital.

The doctor wanted us to have an internal monitor, IV, and no soaking in the tub. I graciously said, “No thank you.” He said he would settle for the external monitor since he knew we liked to go more natural, but again I replied, “No thanks!” We agreed they could check the heart rate every 15 minutes with a hand held monitor, but no tethers! We also agreed they could take some blood and have the lab prepare a unit in case I needed it. In the meantime, I was drinking grape juice to keep up my sugar/energy level. He was slightly flustered by our decisions but agreed and left to go sleep in the doctor’s lounge.

I was very grateful to have Ireena there. While the doctor ordered “No tub!” Ireena explained (after the doctor left the room) that heat would dilate the blood vessels and could increase the bleeding. Cold constricts the vessels and lessens the bleeding. I am much more accommodating when I understand why I am being told something.

So we all settled in for the night. I slept well with only minor but regular contractions. The nurse came in faithfully and listened to the baby’s heart rate. I went to the bathroom several times throughout the night and each time the bleeding was less. By 5 a.m. I had stopped bleeding and decided to get into the tub. The contractions were more painful and I wanted to relax in the warm water.

By 6:30 I felt I went through transition although it was the mildest one I have ever experienced. I asked the nurse to check me. She said I was around 9 cm. and suggested the doctor who just came in for two c-sections check me. This was my regular doctor who was supportive of our homebirth, so I was very happy about that. Dr. J checked me, said, “You’re there!” and told Ireena to catch because she had some c-sections to attend to. We couldn’t believe it!

By 7a.m. our daughter was born (tub birth) with just my husband and Ireena in attendance. The nurse came in when she heard Candace cry. We actually had our ideal birth at the hospital. No interventions. No procedures. No medications. We chose not to cut the cord for an hour after the placenta was delivered. We had everything exactly as we would have if the birth took place at home. The nurses were thanking me for allowing them to experience birth as it should be. They were in awe!

I am so grateful for Ireena. She came to the hospital. Not all homebirth midwives will do that. She came in scrubs, the health professional’s uniform Subtle but sweet, they respected her as one of their own. She never contradicted the doctor or staff but answered our questions and helped us understand our options. If she had not been there, they would have woken Dr. “Hands On” and the room would have been filled with staff.

After I was settled back in bed, Ireena went to the tub and fished out the large clump she had noticed. She examined it and realized it was an extra lobe to the placenta. She suggested this pregnancy had started out as twins but one child did not make it, thus the extra lobe. It was the separation of this section that caused the bleeding.

This was, by far, my easiest, least painful, least stressful, most surprising birth. Although the hospital was not my first choice for delivery, they have their purpose when things are not normal. I am very happy with the way things turned out. The food was good and we were home that evening. I learned that I didn’t have to go to battle but I did need to exercise my voice and have a clear knowledge of how I wanted things to be. Knowledge is the best tool.

Thank you, Ireena! I am sure this story would have been very different if you were not there and I am glad we both had a positive hospital experience.

Normal Birth? What is that in America? Does it still exist?

WHAT IS A NORMAL BIRTH?

A Vaginal Birth, A birth that has been allowed to progress as God has intended it to...

Birth today in this country, the medical community is so out of control with how they handle birth. The labor and delivery area of the hospital brings in from 40 to 60% of the hospital's income. (that is an average-each hospital may be slightly different, slightly lower or higher than the 40-60 average percentile)

When money if involved with anything, people will be greedy, and when they are greedy, they will often lie, and cause harm and anguish to others. Well, there it is. Money. “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Matthew 6:24

Many doctors are believers, but do they really believe and practice HIS word in truth and fullness? I do not mean that they should be perfect, no, we as humans will make mistakes, and we need to remember doctors are human... I am speaking of really- really living and acting like we are believers. I know many doctors, all who report they are believers, attend church, yet how they act in real life, well let me just say what HIS word says: Mathew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven

I am saying, those who feel it is ok to ignore what HIS word says, and just attend church because it is the thing to do, looks good to your patients, family and friends, well the LORD has spoken...How you treat others speaks volumes in more ways than audible words...

The LORD YHWH is watching..

If we would all live that way, remembering that HE watches us, we might live different...we might treat others different.

Ok, now back to Normal Birth. Lets talk about your uterus.

Your uterus is a very strong muscle. At the bottom of the uterus is the cervix. It is part of the uterus, but we will talk of it as if it is separate. Think of the cervix as a shape of a donut, with the center closed up. The cervix (this word means neck in Latin) is very powerful. It is a band of muscles.

The Cervix is closed during your pregnancy. It also has a mucus plug inside of it. The purpose of this is to reduce the chance of infection. Once labor begins, you begin to dilate (the cervix opens up, this is measured in centimeters) and effacement begins (softening and shortening of the cervix) It goes from feeling firm like the tip of your nose to soft like your lips.

As you dilate this mucus plug comes out. Sometimes it comes out in a glob, and other times it comes out a little at a time. You can be dilated 1-2 centimeters for a week or two before you go into labor. That means you may have to wear a panty liner due to the mucus discharge. It will look like 'snot', I know that sounds gross, but that is what it will look like. The mucus will be clear to white in color, and as true labor begins may become blood tinged. The blood can be pinkish to red (recent bleeding) to brown (older blood) but it should NOT be pure blood. No bleeding, just blood tinged. If you ever have unusual bleeding you need to see your care giver IMMEDIATELY!

If the mucus becomes bloody mucus this could mean that you are further dilated than what you think so call your midwife right away!

The practice contractions (called braxton hicks) will help you dilate. If you were going to run a marathon race, your would practice for months ahead of time, well your body is doing that for labor. Labor is like a marathon!

During labor your uterus will contract causing your cervix to dilate and efface (called ripening and effacement). Hormones called prostaglandins cause this to happen.

There are 3 stages of labor. The first stage is from the beginning of labor until you are completely dilated. The second stage of labor is when you begin to push. The third stage of labor is from the birth of your baby until the placenta is birthed. During the first stage, you have three phases.

In phase one, also known as early phase, you will dilate from 0-3 centimeters. Your contractions will be about 5 to 30 minutes apart. They will last from 15 seconds to 45 seconds.

During the second phase, also known as active phase, (in the first stage of labor), you will have contractions lasting from 30 seconds to one minute or sometimes a little more. They will be from 3 minutes to 10 minutes apart.

During the third phase of labor, in the first stage, your contractions will be lasting 1 to 3 minutes and will be from 2 minutes to 8 minutes apart. This final phase is known as transition phase. It is the hardest part of the first stage of labor.

Some of the Hormones you produce: Prostaglandins work to soften and thin the cervix. Oxytocin causes the uterus to contract . Once you are 10 centimeters dilated, you are done with transition. This is when you may start pushing. Many women describe the pushing part as "it feels better to push". I know for me personally, the transition was always the hardest part, the part that I thought-I am not able to finish this. But since it is the shortest part, it is over before you know it, and then your pushing and soon-your holding your little precious baby!

Sometimes you might have what is known as a 'resting phase' after you are completely dilated. I had this with one of my babies delivery, and my nurses wanted me to push right away. I did not want to, so I did not. This gives you time to rest. Resting is ok to do at this point.

The medical community usually does not want you to rest here. They may say things like "don't waste your contractions, or it will just take you longer then'.

Well, It is NOT wasting your contractions to wait, it is allowing you to rest.

So it will take longer, it allows the baby to move down into the birth canal slowly which reduces stress for you and baby.

When you push slowly, (not doing purple face pushing,) as what is often done in hospitals, it is safer for baby. I don't allow you to do purple face pushing. I want you to do slow exhale pushing or 'grunty' pushing. This way you are breathing during the contraction and not just holding your breath for the contraction. If you are holding your breath, so is your baby.

The third stage of labor is from the birth of your baby until the placenta is birthed. This can take from a few minutes to a half an hour-or more.

Nursing helps you to get the placenta to detach, so we will put the baby to breast right away. I do not pull on the placenta, I do not pull it off the uterine wall. I believe the process that God has designed for the placenta to detach is the best way to proceed. (there are a few very rare cases where a placenta does not detach, and those will often be taken care of by a physician)

Remember that God has a perfect design, and my job is to support you in your decisions, to work with you in those decisions, even if they are ones that the medical community would not agree with. My job is to work with you and your family.

Normal Birth? What is that in America? Does it still exist?

Yes it does, hire a midwife.

Cold and Flu help

Ok here comes the season for the colds and flu!
I think that if you are healthy, your body can fight most of anything. The key is being healthy, and staying healthy.

First, you should get what you need from real foods. Supplements should be just that, supplement. If you think that taking a pill or vitamin will always give you what you need, your fooling yourself.

I do think it is ok to increase your intake of vit C during the so called cold and flu season, but again, try to get what you need from real foods and juice.

Taking some extra zinc also helps.

Echinacea-either in tea form or capsules during an illness will give your body a boost for getting healthy.

Try this cough syrup if you need it:
1 cup Honey
1 tsp Garlic (crushed) and yes, it will not taste too good
1 tsp Elecampane root crushed (this acts as a cough suppressant)
(here is a link to see what the flower looks like)
http://images.google.com/images?q=Elecampane&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefo

1 table spoon lemon juice
2 sweet or sour cherries-crushed and juiced or 2 tbs mint for flavor

Mix all together and take 1 tsp as needed.
Remember that if your coughing and bringing up stuff, that is junk you want to continue to cough up and get out of your body. You should use a herbal mix that will help you with that. Do not try to suppress that type of cough. If your cough is not being productive, (that means your not coughing anything up) then you can suppress that type of cough.
here is another one:
http://www.recipezaar.com/Homemade-Cough-Medicine-56268

Lets talk about Vitamins and minerals!

I have always suggested that ladies take a multi vitamin. Even when your not pregnant. But first, you should be receiving your vitamins from the food you eat. A multi vitamin is a supplement, meaning it is filling in the gaps. It should not be a replacement for good nutrition. Hungry babies come out early. If your not feeding your baby healthy foods, it will effect your childs day of birth, perhaps be born early -and that is NOT a good thing ladies! If your child is born way too early it will be in the hospital for a while. Why would you do that to your baby?

So here are some of the vitamins that you need, and the amounts I suggest and where you can get them from with in your natural diet.

Vitamin A: 5,000 IU-don't over do with this one, as it can cause birth defects if you take too large amounts on a regular basis! Needed for growth and repair of the bodies tissues, for your eyes, skin, tooth and bones, helps to destroy carcinogens, helps with killing germs, . If you do not have enough, you may have rough and dry skin, skin that is scaly, you may be tired, find it hard to sleep, have dull dry hair, brittle nails, depression, and getting infections easily. Cod liver oil, liver, butter, egg yolks, whole milk, cream, yellow fruits and vegetables. Dark green fruits and vegetables.

Beta Carotene: 3000-5000 mg. This lowers heart problems. It is also important for the nerve system, helps muscles, gastrointestinal tract, hair eyes mouth and liver. If you do not have enough your skin may be dry, rough, hair may be dry or gray early, and be dull, you might be tired Kale, squash, tomatoes, broccoli, and spinach.

Vitamin B1 (thiamine): 50-100mg Is a brain energizer, helps metabolism, nerves, and muscle tone and growth. If you do not have enough you may experience tiredness, loss of appetite, nerve or heart issues, gastrointestinal issues. Get from natural sources such as Nutritional yeast, brown rice, meats, fish, poultry, eggs esp the yolks, nuts, legumes, whole grains, black strap molasses.
B2 (Riboflavin): 20-50 mg. important for carbohydrate and fat and protein metabolism, antibodies, cell respiration, formation of red blood cells. if you do not have enough you may experience the following: eye issues, sores in the mouth, digestive issues, skin issues. Get from eggs, meat, poultry, fish, nuts, nutritional yeast, whole grains, black strap molasses, egg yolks, legumes.
B3 (Niacin): 25-100mg (gradually increase to 100 mg a day, as it can irritate the liver.) Restores sanity, controls cholesterol, repairs joints, important for carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism. Important for the skin, and digestive system, also the tongue. If you do not have enough you may have hot flashes and sweating, palpitations of the heart, headaches, bad breath, sore mouth and gums, nausea, even vomiting. Meat, poultry, dairy, nuts, seeds, peanuts, milk and rice bran.
B5 (Pantothenic acid) 25-100 mg This helps your body to release the stored energy from carbohydrates, fats and proteins, also it helps with the formation of some fats, helps with stress too. If you do not have enough, you may experience vomiting, or gastrointestinal issues, fatigue, restlessness, depression, and easily get infections. Get from nutritional yeast, eggs esp the yolks, legumes, whole grains, wheat germ and salmon.
B6 (pyridoxine) 50 mg. This is not-toxic as long as you match its dose with other B vitamins in similar amounts and with a magnesium supplement. Take B6 alone and other B vitamins later in the day. It is important for the metabolism of fats, proteins and carbohydrates. helps in the formation of antibodies. If you do not have enough you may experience nervousness, muscular weakness, anemia, mouth issues, water retention (helps with sodium balance too!) and dry flaky scalp. Get from meats, whole grains, black strap molasses, wheat germ, legumes, green leafy vegetables.
B12 (cobalamin) 100-300mcg don't take alone, take with other B vitamins. This is important for normal cell building, for metabolism of carbohydrates , fats, and protein. Helps maintain healthy nerves and their function. If you do not have enough you may have pernicious anemia, problem with your nerves. Get from milk, milk products, fish, eggs, soy.
choline 25-100mg. This is a nerve builder and is important for normal function of the nerves. Helps with metabolism and transport of fats, which means helps with the liver and gall bladder. If you do not have enough, you may have a liver problem, high blood pressure, kidney problems, and gall bladder issues. Get from eggs especially the yolks, wheat germ, nutritional yeast, legumes, organ meats (although I do not recommend eating organ meats), dandelion greens, nuts, seeds, soybeans, fish, milk and milk products.
Vitamin C 500-2000mg a day. Well everyone should know this one, but just in case, vit c helps with collagen, healing, blood vessels-strengthens them, stimulates cell activity. It is sooo very important for healing! If you do not have enough, your gums may bleed easily, you may get infections easily or not heal from infections or a common cold very easy. You may have painful joints, and they may even swell. Get from dark green vegetables, lemon's and juice, red peppers, tomatoes, cabbage, broccoli, citrus fruits, paprika, strawberries, cantaloupe, mustard greens.
Calcium 500-1500mg a day. Is a mineral. Helps with bones, teeth, lowers blood pressure. Helps with muscles. Helps with normal blood clotting. If you do not have enough, your bones may be soft, trouble with teeth, brittle bones, trouble sleeping, be irritable or depressed. Get from dairy, deep green vegetables, molasses, sesame seeds, sea weeds. (don't take with iron) check the pills by placing in vinegar and it should dissolve in 1/2 hour or less. If not, you are not getting a benefit from it.
Chlorine Is a mineral. regulates the acid/base balance in the body. Maintains osmotic pressure, maintains joints and tendons, stimulates production of hydrochloric acid. If you do not have enough you may experience loss of hair, teeth, problems with your digestion, and poor muscle tone. Get from table salt or sea salt (sea salt is best), sea food/meats and kelp, meats, ripe olives (I mean the real ones), rye flour.
Copper 1-2 mg a day. Is a mineral. This helps with formation of red blood cells, works with vitamin C to form elastin. If you do not have enough, you may experience general weakness, loss of hair, skin sores. Take with zinc, it is toxic at high levels. Get from seafood, nuts, legumes, molasses, and raisins.
Vitamin D 400 IU. Do not exceed. Get natural from the sunshine! Improves absorption and utilization of calcium and is needed for your bones (for the formation of bones and teeth), helps maintain the nervous system and normal heart action. If you do not have enough you may experience softening of bones and teeth, in adequate of the absorption of calcium. Get from milk, salmon, sardines, herring, egg yolks.
Vitamin E 400 IU. Prevents tears, protects red blood cells, is important for cell respiration and production, prevents blood from clotting. If you do not have enough you may have problems with your blood cells, muscles, and abnormal fat deposits in the muscles. Take with food or drink that contains fat. Vegetable oils and fats, cold pressed oils, wheat germ, molasses, sweet potatoes, leafy vegetables are best.
Folic Acid-800-2000mcg Lowers birth defects. It is for red blood cell formation, important for all cells in the body. If you do not have enough you may have anemia, poor memory, for the baby neural tube defects are a possibility. Get from Liver, kidney (again I do not recommend that you eat organ meats), beef, broccoli, kale, turnip greens, beets, corn, orange juice, dried beans and peas, root vegetables and leafy green ones.
Inositol 25-100mg Natures sleeping pill. Is important for hair growth, and they thing may be important for metabolism of fats. If you do not have enough you may have hair loss, high blood cholesterol, eczema, constipation. From fresh produce, whole grains, meat and milk, citrus fruits, nutritional yeast, molasses, nuts, lecithin.
Iron 10-30 mg a day. Is a mineral. Don't take too much. Do not take with calcium. Take with vitamin C for better absorption. Important for hemoglobin and all blood cells, If you do not have enough you may be tired, planes of skin, constipation. Get from meats, fish, kelp, liver (again I do not recommend eating organ meats), dandelion greens, nettles, wheat grass juice, yellow dock root, green leafy vegetables, kidney beans, rice, black eyed peas, parsley, tofu, black strap molasses.
Iodine. 150-175 mcg Is a mineral. Is important for preventing goiters. Regulates energy and metabolism, promotes growth. If not enough may have enlarged thyroid gland, dry skin, and dry hair, slow mentally, loss of physical energy, goiter, . Is in salt, sea food, sea salt is best form of salt.
Lutein and Zeaxanthin get from food sources. good for your eyes. Get from kale, spinach, collard greens, leafy green vegetables.
Lycopene -get this from food sources. Get from tomatoes, watermelon. good for protecting LDL from oxidizing and building up on the artery walls.
Magnesium 450-750 mg daily. Is a mineral. Balance this with calcium. Take with calcium. toxic at very high levels. A good soak in epson salts (your feet) will help you absorb what is needed. Get from sea food, whole grains, dark green vegetables, molasses, and nuts.
Manganese 2.5-5 mg Is a mineral. Get from whole grains, green leafy vegetables, nuts, eggs, esp the yolks, legumes, pineapple.

Potassium- 1875-5675mg. Is a mineral. Get amounts from your daily diet. Is important for heart muscles, nervous system and kidneys. If you do not have enough your heart may have problems, even cardiac arrest, nervous issues, irregular pulse, insomnia, poor reflexes, respiratory failure, constipation. Get from meats, almonds, mushrooms, spinach, nuts, fish, turkey, avacado, chicken breast, sirloin, cantaloupe, whole grains, dried fruits, legumes, sunflower seeds.
Quercetin 500 mg- take on an empty stomach. Promotes proper circulation. Get from apples, green peppers, onions, tomatoes and broccoli.
Zinc-15-28 mg daily. Is a mineral. Makes the membranes stronger. (good for helping to prevent early rupture of membranes) also if you do not have enough, you will increase the risk of low birth weight. This is a part of insulin, helps with digestion and metabolism of phosphorus, aids wound healing. If you do not have enough you may have growth retardation, stretch marks, irregular menses, diabetes, loss of taste and appetite, central nervous system, take longer to heal, and damage to the baby. Get from pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, mushrooms, nutritional yeast, wheat germ, meats, eggs, seafoods, soybeans.

Organization while the children are little...

Ok, being pregnant can make anyone tired. If you're running around chasing other children that can make you tired even if you're not pregnant! Being a mother is a full time, 24 hour a day job. A job that you usually do not get time off! Weekends means you still do the same job, and holidays-well if you celebrate them, you're actually working harder when they occur!

I raised 5 children, and what worked for me may not work for you...but I still think that if you try the following suggestions...I think they may help!
When you're a mother, you should have some kind of schedule. This means that you should not just allow the day to 'happen'. Have a plan every day.
I planned stuff out-even when I would clean certain parts of the house, when the oil needed changed in the car, tires rotated. It did not mean I would be doing all of those jobs, it just would mean a way to keep track of when they needed to be done.

I liked to keep track of this on paper/index cards. Mothers today use the computer. Either way is fine. If using the computer works for you, great, I liked having a list that I could check off the items when done, as that gave me a since of accomplishment.
Cleaning: I divided my chores into daily-weekly-monthly-yearly. To get started you will need the following: a file box; dividers listing at the top the following: daily, weekly, monthly, yearly; file index cards; and about an hour of your time. I listed on a separate piece of paper the jobs that I needed to do,including everything from dusting to painting the porch. Look carefully at the list to be sure you have not left anything out, and then beside everything on the list place how often you need to do that particular chore-everyday, weekly or what. Now transfer this information to an index card. One index card per item. This allows you to place on the card the date you did the chore. (I did not do this for daily and weekly chores) Why do this? It gives you a reference of when the oil was changed in the car, or when the windows were washed last. (sometimes they need done again, due to weather-we all know that)
If your on a tight budget, and you only purchase certain amount of cleaning products each year, it shows you a record of how many you used last year-allowing a more strict budget.
This system also works well for keeping tract of health issues. You can have a file section for the families health keeping tract of dentist appointments etc. This is just one way to get yourself organized.

Why do this? Well, for those weekly, monthly and yearly jobs I found scheduling them into my plans allowed more freedom and less stress. I knew such and such job would be done, I knew I would have the supplies together by then and I also knew that I would not schedule too much on the day I was doing those big jobs. And if the little children needed special child care on the day of the larger jobs, it allowed time for me and for the family who I would send them to for that day-for planning ahead.

Well, lets talk about how bad for you sugar is and don't try to tell me it is natural! In this country we consume so much sugar daily! I know, I use to be a pop addict drinking on the average 3 to 6 sodas a day. I loved my pepsi! Now I struggle with problems in my personal health that I can trace back to soda. Oh I know that the pop was not the only cause of my weight and diabetes, yes having PSOS is a major cause too, and doctors who refused to listen to me when I was 30 and not having periods...yes, other issues contributed too. But consuming that much sugar on a daily basis is not healthy.

The following is from the web site http://www.mercola.com/article/sugar/dangers_of_sugar.htm
and I suggest that you sign up for their free newsletters and begin to make a change in your life!
Go ahead and check out their web site for the full article.

Basically the article list the following problems with consuming too much sugar: (I have listed all that apply to problems that can effect your pregnancy-there are many more listed on the site)

1. Sugar can suppress your immune system and impair your defenses against infectious disease.^1,2
   

2. Sugar upsets the mineral relationships in your body: causes chromium and copper deficiencies and interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium. ^3,4,5,6
   

3. Sugar can produce a significant rise in total cholesterol, triglycerides and bad cholesterol and a decrease in good cholesterol.^9,10,11,12
   

4. Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function.¹³
   

5. Sugar feeds cancer cells and has been connected with the development of cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostate, rectum, pancreas, biliary tract, lung, gallbladder and stomach.^{14,15,16,17,18,19,20}
   

6. Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose and can cause reactive hypoglycemia.^21,22
   

7. Sugar can weaken eyesight.²³
   

8. Sugar can cause many problems with the gastrointestinal tract including: an acidic digestive tract, indigestion, malabsorption in patients with functional bowel disease, increased risk of Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis.^{24,25,26,27,28}
   

9. Sugar can cause your saliva to become acidic, tooth decay, and periodontal disease.^31,32,33
   

10. Sugar contributes to obesity.³⁴
    

11. Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections)³⁸
    

12. Sugar can cause gallstones.³⁹
    

13. Sugar can cause hemorrhoids.⁴¹

14. Sugar can cause varicose veins.⁴²
    

15. Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses in oral contraceptive users.⁴³

16. Sugar can cause a decrease in your insulin sensitivity thereby causing an abnormally high insulin levels and eventually diabetes.^45,46,47
    

17. Sugar can lower your Vitamin E levels.⁴⁸

18. Sugar can increase your systolic blood pressure.⁴⁹
    

19. High sugar intake increases advanced glycation end products (AGEs)(Sugar molecules attaching to and thereby damaging proteins in the body).⁵¹

20. Sugar can interfere with your absorption of protein.⁵²

21. Sugar causes food allergies.⁵³

22. Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.⁵⁴
    

23. Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.⁵⁵

24. Sugar can cause atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.^56,57

25. Sugar can impair the structure of your DNA.⁵⁸

26. Sugar can change the structure of protein and cause a permanent alteration of the way the proteins act in your body.^59,60

27. Sugar can make your skin age by changing the structure of collagen.⁶¹

28. High sugar intake can impair the physiological homeostasis of many systems in your body.⁶⁵

29. Sugar lowers the ability of enzymes to function.⁶⁶

30. Sugar can increase the size of your liver by making your liver cells divide and it can increase the amount of liver fat.^68,69

31. Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney such as the formation of kidney stones.^70,71

32. Sugar can damage your pancreas.⁷²

33. Sugar can increase your body's fluid retention.⁷³

34. Sugar is enemy #1 of your bowel movement.⁷⁴

35. Sugar can compromise the lining of your capillaries.⁷⁵

36. Sugar can make your tendons more brittle.⁷⁶

37. Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines.⁷⁷

38. Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha, and theta brain waves which can alter your mind's ability to think clearly.⁸⁰

39. Sugar can cause depression.⁸¹

40. Sugar can increase your risk of gout.⁸²

41. Sugar can lead to dizziness.⁸⁸

42. Diets high in sugar will increase free radicals and oxidative stress.⁸⁹

43. High sucrose diets of subjects with peripheral vascular disease significantly increases platelet adhesion.⁹⁰

44. High sugar consumption of pregnant adolescents can lead to substantial decrease in gestation duration and is associated with a twofold increased risk for delivering a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant.^91,92

45. Sugar is an addictive substance.⁹³

46. Sugar can be intoxicating, similar to alcohol.⁹⁴

47. Sugar given to premature babies can affect the amount of carbon dioxide they produce.⁹⁵

48. Decrease in sugar intake can increase emotional stability.⁹⁶

49. Your body changes sugar into 2 to 5 times more fat in the bloodstream than it does starch.⁹⁷

50. The rapid absorption of sugar promotes excessive food intake in obese subjects.⁹⁸

51. Sugar adversely affects urinary electrolyte composition.¹⁰⁰

52. Sugar can slow down the ability of your adrenal glands to function.¹⁰¹

53. Sugar has the potential of inducing abnormal metabolic processes in a normal healthy individual and to promote chronic degenerative diseases.¹⁰²

54. I.V.s (intravenous feedings) of sugar water can cut off oxygen to your brain.¹⁰³

55. High sugar intake can cause epileptic seizures.¹⁰⁵

56. Sugar causes high blood pressure in obese people.¹⁰⁶

57. Sugar may induce cell death.¹⁰⁸

58. Sugar dehydrates newborns.¹¹⁰

59. Sugar can cause gum disease.¹¹¹