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Perhaps the only known variable in parenthood is the unexpected. No matter how hard we prepare ourselves for what parenting entails, we will always be faced with surprises, some pleasant and some ...

Baby’s Flat Head May Correct Itself

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While technical reading instruction usually doesn’t begin until children enter elementary school, early literacy development — during the first 3 years of life — builds the foundation for children ...

Reading to Your Infant Builds Literacy Skills

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It’s the ultimate Catch-22: The first trimester of pregnancy makes you more exhausted than that last ultramarathon you ran, and yet this is the exact time you’re supposed to give up caffeine! How ...

Hillary Easom commented on Hillary Easom's post Caffeine and Pregnancy

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In the early days postpartum, new moms use their wrists and forearms more often than they may recognize: lifting baby from the crib, patting the baby’s back, carrying the heavy car seat and ...

“Baby Wrist” Afflicts Many New Moms

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When I was 12, I remember seeing a cousin giving her toddler a baby bottle filled with Diet Coke. At the time, I thought something seemed out of place, but now as a parent I am appalled on so ...

Kids and Caffeine: a Dangerous Combination?

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It’s the ultimate Catch-22: The first trimester of pregnancy makes you more exhausted than that last ultramarathon you ran, and yet this is the exact time you’re supposed to give up caffeine! How ...

Caffeine and Pregnancy

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Let’s face it. In today’s busy world, juggling work, kids and who-knows-what-else, sometimes a caffeine mainline sounds like an appealing support system. But while about 90 percent of adults use ...

The Truth About Caffeine

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As parents, we often find ourselves faced with difficult decisions regarding our children’s wellbeing. Of course we want to choose what is best for our children, especially when it comes to their ...

Hillary Easom commented on Hillary Easom's post To Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate?

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As parents, we often find ourselves faced with difficult decisions regarding our children’s wellbeing. Of course we want to choose what is best for our children, especially when it comes to their ...

Hillary Easom commented on Hillary Easom's post To Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate?

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As parents, we often find ourselves faced with difficult decisions regarding our children’s wellbeing. Of course we want to choose what is best for our children, especially when it comes to their ...

To Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate?

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Before becoming pregnant, chances are you never experienced heartburn. During pregnancy, hormones such as relaxin and progesterone relax muscles and ligaments throughout the body. As digestive ...

Yoga to Alleviate Heartburn During Pregnancy

Hillary Easom commented on EmpowHER's post Have you ever used a doula?

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Often misdiagnosed at first, HELLP syndrome occurs in one to two out of every 1,000 pregnancies and can lead to serious complications if not treated early. The acronym HELLP stands for Hemolysis, ...

Hillary Easom commented on Hillary Easom's post HELLP Syndrome: Are You At Risk?

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Often misdiagnosed at first, HELLP syndrome occurs in one to two out of every 1,000 pregnancies and can lead to serious complications if not treated early. The acronym HELLP stands for Hemolysis, ...

HELLP Syndrome: Are You At Risk?

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All women need calcium to protect their bones. In pregnancy, calcium intake is particularly important. A fetus’s growing skeleton requires a lot of calcium, and the baby takes its necessary ...

Why Calcium is Important During Pregnancy

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Recently, in our farm share bundle, my roommates and I have been getting a lot of cabbage. Cabbage has gained a sad reputation of being somewhat unexciting. It is not colorful like swiss chard, ...

Hillary Easom commented on Hannah Cutts' post Appreciating the Unappreciated: Why You Want to Make Cabbage Your Bosom Friend

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After months of preparing for baby arrival, most new moms are ready to shed the maternity clothes and leave pregnancy behind. But one of the unspoken truths of the early postpartum period is that ...

Hillary Easom commented on Hillary Easom's post Bye-bye, Baby Weight! (But How Long is the Good-bye?)

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While these symptoms are often blamed on PMS, headaches, trouble concentrating, lack of energy and grumpiness might actually signal a different health problem: anemia. If anemia goes untreated, ...

Is it Just PMS or Are You Anemic?

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If our great-great-grandparents had been told that Americans today would regularly eat dim sum, pad thai, souvlaki, tikka masala and arroz con pollo, they might have looked at the messenger with a ...

5 Rules for Choosing Healthy Ethnic Food

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After months of preparing for baby arrival, most new moms are ready to shed the maternity clothes and leave pregnancy behind. But one of the unspoken truths of the early postpartum period is that ...

Bye-bye, Baby Weight! (But How Long is the Good-bye?)

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Singers from Faith Hill to Anna Nalick, from Eddie Vedder to Alexi Murdoch croon about the benefits of just breathing, but while we may be keen on huffing out the words of their latest songs, we ...

Breathe Stress Away

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In July 2011, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists released a Committee Opinion that all women should be screened for alcohol use at least once a year, and within the first ...

When is “One More Drink” Too Much?

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During pregnancy, a woman’s focus turns to many different things. She pays close attention to what she puts into her body, makes decisions around career and family, and begins to prepare herself ...

Open Up Your Hips with Prenatal Yoga

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Summertime weather entices most everyone to spend more time outside. But along with sunshine can come excessive heat, and if your body becomes overheated, it can also suffer the repercussions of ...

Wet Your Whistle and Avoid Dehydration

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Pregnancy can drain your energy, especially during the first trimester. Some women experience bouts of nausea that make exercise seem like an impossibility. Even on good days you may rightfully ...

Is it Safe to Run During Pregnancy?

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Many women would agree that being stuck with a bunch of needles is a small price to pay for the possibility of motherhood. While not the answer for every couple, evidence suggests that acupuncture ...

Acupuncture May Help with Infertility

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As the doctor looked at the sonogram screen, his brow furrowed and I knew something was wrong. He continued to move the wand around, as though he was looking for something elusive. Finally, he ...

I Will Survive: Life After Miscarriage

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Despite compelling arguments to breast-feed babies for a year or longer, most mothers who opt to breast-feed stop doing so completely by the time their babies are six months old. According to the ...

Breast-fed Babies Reap Lifelong Benefits

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In the summertime, my kids and I love eating Popsicles as a refreshing escape from the afternoon heat. A few days ago I went to buy some frozen pops at our local grocery store, and I was surprised ...

Eating for Good Health: Antioxidants

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While many beginners are drawn to yoga for its physical benefits, along the road most of us begin to recognize that there is much more to yoga than merely exercise. The mind-body connection is ...

Yoga for Beginners: Choosing the Right Class--Relaxation and Spirituality

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Yoga has become more popular in the U.S. over the past decade. Many people try their first class at the urging of a friend, or because a class at their gym is offered at an opportune time. But ...

Yoga for Beginners: Choosing the Right Class and Physical Practice for You

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A 22-year-old mother from Madrid has had her daughter removed from her care because she was breast feeding her at the age of 15 months. The mother, known as Habiba (an assumed name to protect her ...

Hillary Easom commented on Joanna Karpasea-Jones' post 15-Month-Old Baby Removed from Mother Because She Breast Feeds

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Despite images of feasting on pickles and ice cream, a positive pregnancy test is not an invitation to eat twice as much for the next nine months. “Eating for two” should be interpreted carefully. ...

The Pregnancy Diet: 9 Months of Eating for Two

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How would you react if someone told you to eat more fats? If this thought perks you up, you’re in luck…sort of. You still need to steer clear of saturated fats. However, omega-3 fatty acids, ...

Hillary Easom commented on Hillary Easom's post Eating for Good Health: The Importance of Omega-3 Fatty Acids

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How would you react if someone told you to eat more fats? If this thought perks you up, you’re in luck…sort of. You still need to steer clear of saturated fats. However, omega-3 fatty acids, ...

Eating for Good Health: The Importance of Omega-3 Fatty Acids

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We all know logically that our diet should be “well-balanced,” and that our daily food intake should include a plethora of vitamins and minerals. Sometimes, though, the list of “necessary” ...

Eating for Good Health: Top Fiber-Filled Food Picks

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While many good things come from the sun—vitamin D and mood-elevating bright light, for example—the star’s ultraviolet rays can cause a lot of damage to the human body. In the past, people ...

Does Your Sunscreen Protect You from UVA Rays?

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Parenting trends have shifted quite considerably in the past 40 years. In 1970, the average age of first-time mothers giving birth was 21. According to National Vital Statistics Reports published ...

The Biological Clock: Perimenopause and Fertility

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Anyone who’s ever heard the expression “talk to the hand” knows that gestures communicate just as powerfully as spoken words. Think about the emotions stirred by loud clapping, a thumbs-up sign, ...

Mudras: “Handy” Tools to Benefit Your Health

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Women are often told during pregnancy to exercise their pelvic floor. (You’ve heard of Kegel exercises, right?) But what exactly are “Kegels” and why are they important to practice even after the ...

Practice Your Kegels: The Importance of a Strong Pelvic Floor

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No one told you that getting pregnant would lead to more than just pickle and ice cream cravings. Alas, despite the wonderful physical effects of pregnancy--thicker hair, radiant skin, and of ...

Constipation, Hemorrhoids and Other Joys of Pregnancy

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The first time I attempted a headstand (sirsasana) during yoga practice, I was alone in a hotel room reading instructions from a book. Not moving as slowly and mindfully as headstand requires, I ...

Hillary Easom commented on Hillary Easom's post Flipped Upside-Down: Benefits and Cautions of Yoga Headstands

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You’ve found a new job, earned a bonus at work, raised a family—whatever your achievements, no doubt you worked hard to reach your goals. But sometimes in the midst of working and caregiving, the ...

De-Stress for Your Heart’s Sake

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The first time I attempted a headstand (sirsasana) during yoga practice, I was alone in a hotel room reading instructions from a book. Not moving as slowly and mindfully as headstand requires, I ...

Flipped Upside-Down: Benefits and Cautions of Yoga Headstands

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You’ve decided to breastfeed your newborn, but for some reason your baby doesn’t seem to be on-board with the master plan. She keeps falling asleep, her mouth isn’t opening wide enough to get any ...

Hillary Easom commented on Hillary Easom's post Trouble Latching On? Tips for Successful Breastfeeding

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You’ve decided to breastfeed your newborn, but for some reason your baby doesn’t seem to be on-board with the master plan. She keeps falling asleep, her mouth isn’t opening wide enough to get any ...

Trouble Latching On? Tips for Successful Breastfeeding

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Whatever the time of year, boosting the immune system helps us stave off colds and flu. Scientific evidence suggested that a diet rich in antioxidants strengthens the immune system, helping ...

A Diverse, Antioxidant-Rich Diet Can Boost Your Immune System

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Much of the western world in the 21st century thrives on accomplishment, driven to achieve no matter what the cost. It’s no wonder that 45 million Americans experience chronic headaches or that 74 ...

Yoga Poses to Relieve Headaches: Restoration and Relaxation

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In his book Light on Yoga, B.K.S. Iyengar, one of the foremost yoga teachers in the world, provided a yoga sequence for headache relief. Interestingly, the first prescribed pose is supported ...

Yoga Poses to Relieve Headaches: Lengthening the Spine