Swell Pregnancy Guide Blog

We got this great video of the Big Woodrow’s 4th Annual Pre-Labor Day Pregnant Bikini Contest from the Houston Chronicle.

Pregnant Bikini Contest Video

Check out these brave pregnant women.

September is National Baby Safety Month, so all this month look for some great tips and products to make your home safer.

Following are some home safety tips from www.usa.safekids.org and diapers.com that can help prevent child injuries in the home.

· Install safety gates at the top and the bottom of stairs.

· Keep toilet lids closed and locked, and doors to bathrooms and utility rooms closed, when not in use. Put razors, curling irons and hair dryers out of reach.

· Lock up potential poisons out of children’s reach, including cleaning supplies, pet food, medicine, vitamins, beer, wine and liquor.

· Cover electrical outlets that are not in use.

· Keep furniture away from windows. Install guards or stops on windows that are not emergency exits.

When given the opportunity to choose the sex of their baby, women are just as likely to choose pink socks as blue, a new study shows.

“Sex selection is a topic that’s almost taboo for physicians to talk about,” said Tarun Jain, a reproductive specialist at the University of Illinois, Chicago. “Yet, it’s important to understand patient interest in non-medical sex selection and adequately address the ethical and social implications before the cat is out of the bag. Prior to this study, there has been no data to indicate what the demand might be.”

Of the 561 women who participated in the study, 229 said they would like to choose the sex of a future child. Among these 229 there was no greater for demand for boys or girls.

However, the data showed that women who already had one or more children of one sex would prefer for their next child to be of the opposite sex to create gender balance within the family.

LiveScience.com

Weirdest thing about pregnancy? Strangers touching your belly. Now there are shirts that tell people to just back off.

Jeanette Chase has launched the Don’t Touch Me Maternity apparel line for pregnant women who don’t want people to touch or rub their bellies. The maternity shirts feature the wording over the belly that range from sayings such as “Thank you for not touching” and “Please resist the urge to touch” to “We’re not at the petting zoo,” “The baby is allergic to strangers” and “Please celebrate the miracle of life from afar.”

The maternity shirts are designed to allow pregnant women to express their wish to maintain their personal space. The sayings vary from gentle requests to not touch to more sarcastic commentary. The entire product line can be viewed at www.donttouchmaternity.com

No need to hide this glider, it would make a great nursery focal point.

Dutailier, the industry leader in innovative gliders, introduces JAZZ, a new addition to its popular Comfort Recliner Collection. With more than 150 trendsetting fabrics, 15 leather styles and 5 wood finishes parents can create more than 10,000 stylish combinations.

In addition, this trendy new Jazz glider-recliner is offered with three different mechanisms for optimal comfort: glide and lock, glide, lock and recline, or glide, lock, recline and flip-up footrest. Plus, there’s an optional ottoman to maximize comfort and home decor.

Just this week in Egypt, a woman, who already has three girls, gave birth to septuplets. The children were obviously conceived with the help of fertility drugs. The reason she decided to undergo fertility treatment? She wanted to give her husband a son. Well now she has four sons and three more daughters!

The pressure to have a son in Egypt is so high that many women are resorting to government-subsidized fertility drugs to increase the odds of having a boy. But the sad thing is, Egyptian hospitals are not prepared for the onslaught of multiple births.

This woman delivered at 34 weeks, the longest ever for septuplets, because they did not have enough newborn respirators. Then, four of the babies had to be transported to two other hospitals to ensure proper care. The mother is only able to breastfeed the three that remain in the hospital with her.

Once the babies are all released, the family will head back to their two-room mud hut. The mother is not sure how they are going to afford ten kids. They even resorted to nicknaming the children after Egyptian president Mubarak and his family in hopes of getting government support.

But, hey, they have four sons! I hope daddy is proud.

Looking down at an 8th month pregnant belly, you think, “I can’t wait to have a flat stomach again!” Then, the baby comes, the belly isn’t even close to flat and now feels like a bowl full of jelly. Don’t call the surgeon yet, seek out support.

For centuries, women from around the world used belly wraps to speed up weight loss and tone abdominal muscles and skin after childbirth. In ancient Indian rituals, stomach binding is practiced to warm and close the open stomach and birth canal. They also believe it speeds up the ridding of waste blood. It is still common for modern Indian women to wear these binders to promote good posture during breastfeeding, persuade the stomach muscles back together, reposition the womb, and eliminate stretch marks.

Introducing a solution from the good ole US of A…The Belly Bandit™ is designed to help women’s midsections bounce back quicker after giving birth. The Belly Bandit™ belly wrap has new moms, from celebrities to second-timers, returning to their original forms quicker than ever before.

The manufacturer says: In one specific case, two cousins got pregnant at the same time. The one who resisted binding took a year to get her pre-pregnancy figure back, while her cousin was back in her skinny jeans in 2 months! Do the math, that’s seriously quicker.

Now that is proof enough to me!

Being the mom of two boys, I am thankful that they can sit on opposite sides of the car and not reach each other…yet. But all too often, they will try to play catch with Hot Wheels cars, which is quickly followed by someone howling, “He hit me with car!” All while I am driving, admittedly, too fast on the freeway. Just so you know, distractions while driving are a leading cause of accidents and injuries. No mom I know can make her drives distraction-free, so we can at least be a little bit safer and use a We See You Mirror.

The We See You Mirror has two independently adjustable mirrors for driving safety. The 2 mirrors allow the driver AND the front seat passenger to monitor vehicle backseat passengers or cargo without turning around or readjusting the rearview mirror. Safely monitor your children while you drive. The We See You Mirror also allows backseat passengers to see the driver and front seat passenger as well.

The We See You Mirror is easily installed in minutes on most domestic and import models. It does not affect the factory-installed rearview mirror. Just decide on the mounting location, then clean the windshield with alcohol & adhere it to the glass.

To learn more, click here

So much celebrity baby news these past few days…Gwen Stephani and Gavin Rossdale had another boy yesterday. His name is a little off the wall: Zuma Nesta Rock, I guess it is a Bob Marley reference.

Rumor has it that Spice Girl, Mel C. is pregnant, more on that to come.

Did you guys hear…Ricky Martin is a dad! His publicist announced Wednesday that Ricky is the proud father of twin boys. The babies were carried by a surrogate mother. Does this story sound familiar? Yep, just like Clay Aiken.