7 Tips to Control Weight Gain During Pregnancy

This is soooooo important if you don't want to have an extra 30kg to lose after giving birth. Given that we have a healthy weight gain to support the growth of a healthy baby, we want to make sure we do not overload ourselves on unnecessary calories. If your starting weight is within the healthy range, your gynae will most probably recommend that you gain 1-2kg every month on average throughout your pregnancy. (note that this number can fluctuate, where some months you gain less and some you gain more. The gynae will have a better recommendation catered to you and your child's medical needs) I gained a total of ~11-12kg throughout my pregnancy, without having to restrict my diet much. Here's what I did:

1. Snack on nuts. These keep you fueled up consistently, and you can almost never eat too many nuts. Not only are you eating good fats, you know that these contribute to a healthy baby (they need lots of good fats to grow well, especially when developing the eye and brain in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters).
2. Limit indulgence of unhealthy cravings. If you're craving char kuay teow, or deep fried wantons, or german pork knuckles, think twice! It's ok to indulge once in a while to ease that craving, but definitely not daily! Being pregnant doesn't mean you get your way with eating unhealthily. And remember that everyone can have cravings, not only preggies, so don't think that you are THAT special to be able to bend the rules. 
3. Replace unhealthy cravings with healthy ones. If cravings keep coming and are very strong, try replacing them with some healthier options. Yoghurt? High in fat and calcium, just perfect for a preggers. Fruit salads and nuts are also very good as snacks, provided you do not have issues with gestational diabetes. When you feel that you need something more substantial, how about a baked sweet potato, a slide of bread with cheese, or an oven roasted chicken breast? These are all packed with goodness, taste delicious, and can fill you up.
4. Keep walking. Walking is good to make sure you build your muscles to support the additional weight your body has to handle. It also prepares you for motherhood, which is physically demanding. If you have pelvic pains, getting your butt off that chair will also ease the pains. Start early, so you don't feel the sudden pressure on your legs. Muscles don't develop overnight. Walking is also said to lead to smooth labor. Do note that walking is not recommended for high risk pregnancies, and even healthy mothers should be limiting walking to stretches of not more than 30minutes. Stop if you feel pain in the tummy or start spotting. Any exercise should be done with caution and with advice from your gynae. I personally walk a lot throughout pregnancy. There happened to be a walking challenge, and I met the 180-240 minute targets almost every day, up until I was 8 months when I became too heavy to move that much. Plus, I didn't want to go into early labor, so I stopped. 
5. Go swimming. This has low impact on the knees if you're feeling heavy. In fact, you'll be happy to feel a lot lighter suddenly. A good break from heavy pregnancy. You'll feel sooooo good in that cool water you won't want to come up. Same warning applies as above. 
6. Shop for baby items. And I mean shop at physical shops, not online shopping. This will be a lot of fun especially for first time mothers, and indirectly keeps you moving. There will be a lot to buy, so I bet you do not need much motivation or instruction for this. (you just need your husband's credit card!)
7. Involve your husband. Resisting cravings is never easy. So why not rely on your husband / partner, who is equally responsible for the pregnancy? Have him remind you not to submit to cravings all to time, or have him reject your pleas to buy you more food (moderately, that is, as you still need to take in sufficient nutrients for you and your baby!). You can also ask him to pass you the healthy snacks, or to go walking with you. Knowing it is for the health of the baby as well as to return him the hot wife he had as soon as possible, I'm sure he will be more than happy to help. 

5 Reasons Why Breasfeeding is Awesome!

Breastfeeding is such a great thing that nature has created. But it's not easy to breastfeed exclusively, and even less so if the mother heads back to work. Knowing the many difficulties, it takes a whole lot of determination to keep on breastfeeding. Many times, I had wanted to give up. But thinking of all the benefits of breastfeeding that both my son and I get, I press on. Through sweat and blood (literally!), I toil on, alongside many other breastfeeding mothers, because we know it is the best present we can give to our child. With breastfeeding, I mean direct latching. Feeding breastmilk does not totally equate to breastfeeding, as you will understand after reading my points below. From all the many benefits of breastfeeding, I list here the top 5 that encourage me the most through my (still ongoing) breastfeeding journey.

1. Breastmilk is adjusted according to baby's needs. When baby is latched on, his sucking motion creates a vacuum. This in turn causes a backflow of his saliva back into the milk ducts. The mother's body detects the baby's saliva, including any form of infections, and reacts accordingly. The next milk feed is adjusted according to the information transmitted to the mother's body through the baby's saliva. This includes varied nutrients as the baby grows, and any anti-bodies if the baby is fighting an infection. As my husband said, this is nature's way of increasing an infant's survival rate! This real-time communication makes every baby's breastmilk unique and personalized! 
2. Breastfeeding taps into mummy's fat reserves. Yes, that means weight loss. A pregnant mother naturally puts on weight as a way for the body to store enough fats to make breastmilk for the baby later on. If we defy nature's call to breastfeed, we do not tap into those fat reserves meant for feeding the baby, and thus weight loss is more difficult post partum. Nature put on weight for the baby, nature will help shed weight for the mummy. 
3. Breastmilk gives much more than formula milk. Formula has fats, proteins, and carbohydrates that the baby needs to grow. It is even fortified with higher levels of iron, calcium, DHA, etc. However, there are many things that money just cannot buy. There are things that the formula milk companies just cannot add into the milk - at least not with the existing technology. This includes a variety of antibodies from the mother (unique to each mother and child pair), and all kinds of good bacteria that will help the baby's gut system develop and mature. Some of these stay with the child throughout his life, and so a breastfed child has a stronger immune system, and lower risk of obesity and diabetes later in life. 
4. Breastfeeding increases baby's security. While latching, we naturally hold the baby very close to our bodies. That warmth, that coziness, that heartbeat, that smell, all contribute to creating a very strong sense of security in the newborn baby. A newborn is suddenly thrown into a cold, strange, new world. Cuddling them helps them calm down and adapt to the new environment. Research has shown that extensive cuddling of infants contributes to secure babies and kids later on. A secure baby is a happy baby. A happy baby means a happy family :)
5. Best of all, breastfeeding is FREE. Should I say more? I've saved hundreds of dollars on formula milk already. More benefits for free, why not?