HOW TO KEEP YOUR WEIGHT UNDR CONTROL
When we’re pregnant, there’s no reason to eat for two. You basically need 300 calories extra per day, so just an extra snack, really will do.

Obviously ones preference of food changes as the hormones do their own thing and heart burn can also cause a major problem, probably because we tend to eat more carbohydrate type foods, so if you try and keep each meal balanced with a bit of protein, carbohydrates and a little fat, you should be heartburn free.  Eating more often will also prevent heart burn.

TRAINING
Training should not be a problem to carry on as per normal, depending on your energy levels. Also your body will tell you very quickly if something is hurting your ligaments, Just Listen! Stop whatever is hurting. Those would normally be things like lunges, abductors extensions where the ligaments in the pubic area have been put under too much strain. Remember your ligaments are more supple now, so be careful.  Other than that, you can carry on doing any type of training as long as you have been doing them all along. To start a new training regime at this point is not advisable, unless you take it easy.

BEST FOR STRECH MARKS
Obviously better to prevent stretch marks then to try and get rid of them, so you can take Vitamin E, 1000 iu’s  per day, without causing any harm to the little one (the only vitamin you should avoid is Vitamin-A) . When it comes to rubbing creams, I find that good old olive oil still works the best. This I only start rubbing on at around 6 months. Up until then just a good moisturizer like Skin nutrition’s Moisturizer works wonders.

TO RPEP FOR BREAST FEEDING
Now this is something that the women or my friends do not take to heart as serious as I have explained to them, and then after a week of ”eletrolux” sucking the daylights out of you, their nipples just crack and break and bleed, and that is the end of the breastfeeding. Women, when I say prep your nipples properly, if you want to breastfeed, I mean it. You will not believe how hard that little mouth can suck.  I tell you, it will kill you if you are not prepared for it properly.

So right from day one when you find out that you are pregnant, use the towel, after showering, and brush down once with the towel over your nipple. It will hurt , that’s why you only do one down. Then the next day try and wipe down and up, and so you progress till you can rub your nipples hard with the towel, or even plug and pull on them without hurting, because remember,  little baba is going to plug and pull and do it every 2 – 3 hours, so be prepared!

If you are going the Formula route, the best I found were those that were lactose free, and even soy free, as both my kids had a dairy intolerance and the soya gave them eczema (a sure sigh that they are allergic to something they are getting in, and it also just made them very fat), so AL 10 or any new product out that is lactose free, is better. A baby can also get colic form dairy, so avoid it as much a possible, even in your diet.

TO GO NATURAL OR CAESAREAN
I gave birth to both my 2 boys with nothing, and I mean nothing, and yes, I know we don’t get a Noddy badge for doing so, but I’ll be doing it all over again, Lord willing all goes normal with the little girl that is on her way. Obviously if the baby is breach you don’t have a choice, but doing it natural, and yes, girls, you are stronger than you think you are, we just recover so much quicker.

Best tip is walking, once your water has broken and when the contractions get too intense, then just lean forward. Gravity is what makes the baby come down and that is what causes the pain. Then it also helps if you are fit and quite supple, because as your contractions become closer to one another, the best position is to squat next to your bed, and every time the pain starts, to then hold onto the bed and lean backwards, with your legs as wide a possible, nature will then do the rest without you having to push too hard. The nurse will keep an eye on when babies head is there and it’s time for you to then go onto the bed, and don’t let them tell you how and where to lay. If you want to squat, then squat till you are about to give birth.

If you are not as person that likes to train, I will say then a caesarean would be best, as you need those pelvic training exercises to get everything back to normal after the birth. If you do not get those pelvic muscles tightened again, you will end up with problems later on in life where the bladder can fall out, and I know it sounds profound, but it will happen.

HOW DO I GET MY WEIGHT BACK TO NORMAL AFTER BIRTH
Don’t be too hard on yourself; you have just given birth to a beautiful little bundle of joy. . . And heart ace J So give yourself 4 weeks if you gave natural birth, or 6 weeks if you had a caesarean.  Then get back into it straight away. Don’t wait too long, time doesn’t stand still and before long the baby is two years old and you’re still stuck with the weight you had when you were pregnant. Get back into your training routine and eating right and ONE RULE! Don’t play human vacuum cleaner, just get a dog or throw the left over’s away, once the baby starts eating solids.

It is not worth it!

SOME TIPS THAT NO ONE TELLS YOU (not for sensitive readers)

If there are any other questions you need to ask, then just send me a mail at bdtarde@iafrica.com.  And we will also do a blog on the site with all the questions asked.

Also if you would like me to help you with the gender of your next child, then I can do so. It is all in the foods you eat, the acidity of your blood and the timing, and also a lot of praying. ;-)

We successfully had a little girl now after two boys, so it is 95% guaranteed, if you do exactly what we say.