Nutrition for you and your baby 

While the average weight gain in the first trimester is about 5 pounds, some women actually lose weight because of morning sickness and food aversions. Don’t panic if this happens to you.

 Just remember that pregnancy is not the time to go on a diet, but rather to eat as much healthy foods as you can consume 

The first thing you can think of is nutrition to maintain a healthy pregnancy and make sure your baby gets the right ingredients and the energy he requires. Remember, making healthy changes to your lifestyle will benefit both you and your baby and will help you cope up after birth.

 In the early days of pregnancy, women generally start getting worried about their weight gain. T

• Take small meals several times a day. Don’t be too tempted to eat in one go.
•  Eat folate-rich foods, such as the following, during the whole of your pregnancy:

Asparagus, Beetroot, beans, sprouts, Fortified breakfast cereal, Oranges, Spinach, Whole meal bread, Pasta…

Read more about Nutrition in our nutrition in pregnancy section

·        The first trimester is critical for your baby’s development. Read more about what steps you can take to maintain a healthy pregnancy in our website ourbabysworld.com

·        Take extra precautions to keep your home safe. Read our dos and don’t section on pregnancy.

Night terrors and night mares

How often have you all experienced your child getting up in the middle of the night and shouting in fear? She may/may not be awake at the time.
Night mares are very common in 2-3 year old children.
Scientifically it has been shown that this is the age when the right brain or the imaginative and the creative aspect of your child’s brain is growing. In addition they also realize that there are dangerous things like big animals, ‘parents made’ bad uncles, getting lost in a mall etc .
This is also the age when dreams and fantasy is as real as a real life. and so the terror attacks in the dream which may create a havoc in your night life for few months to come.
Also at this age, 25% of your child’s sleep is the stage (REM) where they dream. This constitutes a lot of hours in a nominal 8 hours sleep that parents tend to snatch.

Night terrors are again bad dreams but as compared to night mares, they come in the earlier half of the night and your child continues to shout in his sleep. You may not wake your child at this stage but continue to be there till it passes.

 As for treating the night mare when your child is awake and responding, you may try these things.

• You have to be there for comforting him. Even a hug or a pat on the back may make him feel very secure.
• His night mares are very much real for your child. Try tio tell him that dreams aren’t real. He may not understand though but repeated talking about this may make him understand the concept of dreams faster.
• When your child is awake, show him the stars and moon outside and reassure him about the reality, you may also keep a night lamp on in the room as dark shadows in a dark room may intensify his fear.
• Be with your child for as long as possible.
• It has been shown that sleep deprivation and irregular bedtime schedules can trigger off night mares. So see to it that your child gets enough rest in the daytime also.
• Try to listen to his night mares and create a happy ending to these. It might drive away these night mares with time.

There are some things that you may avoid in such cases

Do not take the child to your bed if he is in the habit of sleeping alone. This may cause confusion or he may learn to manipulate you.

• To a toddler these things are very much real. So do not take it too casually
• Do not send him to some other room as this may instill a fear of the previous room in his mind

Also visit other blog topics or our website ‘ourbabysworld’ for a complete and comprehensive guide on pregnancy and parenting