The less alcohol you drink the better since alcohol passes through the placenta and affects your baby. No one knows how much alcohol is safe, but we do know that a high consumption of alcohol can affect your baby’s growth and can interfere with your baby’s ability to get enough oxygen and nourishment for normal cell development in the brain and other organs. Current guidelines say its safe to drink one or two units of alcohol once or twice a week but some experts advise cutting it out altogether.

Alcohol and pregnancy – One unit of alcohol is the equivalent of:

100 mls of wine (1 small glass)
100 mls of champagne (1 small glass)
300ml (1/2 pint) beer, larger or cider
1 pub measure of spirits
1 pub measure of sherry or liqueur

There are various causes of insomnia during pregnancy. The hormone that leaves women feeling weak during the day can also make it hard to sleep at night.
Tips for avoiding insomnia:
• Try to maintain a routine with a regular sleep and wake schedule
• Sleep in a quiet bedroom with a good mattress and comfortable pillow
• Use the bed only to sleep and not to read, watch television or work on a laptop
• Maintain a balanced diet
• Create a before bed routine like taking a shower, drinking a glass of warm milk or listening to calming music, which also benefits the baby
• Avoid stimulants like caffeine
• If you cannot fall asleep, get out of bed and try doing something else in a different room. When you feel tired again, return to bed.
• Try to sleep on your left side to improve blood pressure and this can help prevent swelling in the feet
• Do not drink a lot of liquid before going to bed

Regular aerobic exercise during pregnancy is likely to reduce a baby’s birth weight and reduce the risk of obesity later in childhood.
The team of researchers from the University of Auckland and Northern Arizona University, divided 84 mothers into two groups. One group exercised regularly and one control group. The women in the exercise group were instructed to perform 40 minutes of exercise on an exercise bike no more than five times a week. The routine had to continue until at least the thirty-sixth week of pregnancy.
After measuring birth weights and body mass indexes (BMI) of the babies within 48 hours of birth the results showed the babies of the women from the exercise group were approximately 0.32 pounds lighter than those of the women in the control group. The findings show that regular aerobic exercise has an impact resulting in a reduction in baby birth weight.

Your baby may be ready to start solids if she:
Can hold her head up. Your baby needs to be able to maintain a steady, upright position, to take her first foods.

Sits well when supported. You may have to have your baby on your lap at first. A highchair can be used when she can sit up by herself.

Makes chewing motions. Your baby should be able to move food to the back of her mouth and swallow. As your baby learns to swallow efficiently you may notice that she dribbles less. She may even have a tooth or two.

Has gained a healthy weight. Most babies are ready to eat semi-solids when they’ve doubled their birth weight. This may happen before or around their sixth month.

Is curious about what you’re eating. She may look at your meals and try reaching out to try foods that you are moving from your plate to your mouth.

Pregnant women may not be able blame lapses in concentration or memory on their baby bump. Researchers say that it is a myth that having a baby affects your brain power. A study concluded that there was actually no difference in how pregnant women or new mums scored on tests of thinking speed and memory compared with those women who did not have children.

There are several options for you to look at:

In Hospital – This is the most popular choice. There will be medical staff and equipment on hand and access to pain relief.

A Birthing Centre – This is more relaxing environment with access to equipment such as a birthing pool. The same midwife should be with you throughout. There is a possibility that you may need to be transferred to hospital if there are any complications.

At Home – If there are any complications you may need to go to hospital.

1 Establish a pre-bedtime routine. This may be tea, playtime, a bath and then story in baby’s room.

2 Bedtime in the bedroom. Once baby is in the bedroom he should stay there until morning. This will associate his room with sleep.

3 Put baby in his cot in his room whilst he is awake. Try to read baby a story and put him in the cot before he falls asleep. Dim the lights and make your baby’s room calm and soothing.

4 If your baby wakes in the night try not to pick him up. If your baby needs comforting you should put him on your shoulder and once calmed down place him back in the cot. Do not feed baby until it is a time that you consider to be the morning.

5 Try giving you baby something to remind him of you, for example a toy or blanket.

6 Don’t give up! The third night can be quite testing and many will be tempted to give in…keep going.

A simple blood test might tell you the sex of your unborn baby. This is the conclusion of research published in the issue of the journal Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Between 2003 and 2009 the researchers tested women who were between eight and 10 weeks pregnant. They studied DNA from blood samples to predict the sex of the babies in 186 pregnancies. They predicted 105 boys and 81 girls. They were right every time.

Emily and Eric Thompson of Midvale, Utah were expecting their third child on 20th December, but the baby had other plans. The baby boy arrived five days early on the same day that his sister Emery aged 8 and brother Easton aged 4 were born.
Emily realized she was in labour on 15th December and she also realised she did not have time to get to the hospital. The 9lb 3oz baby boy was delivered at home by dad Eric.

Many parents often believe that the order of birth for their children has an impact on how they grow up, things such as their personality and outcomes in life can be affected.

In an effort to get a better answer on the topic, a survey of 10,000 mums was carried out to get their opinions on the subject. The following are examples of some of the questions:

Do you think birth order (ie position in the family) has an effect on a person?
23% answered No and 77% answered Yes.

If you have more than one child, which one do you think will succeed most academically?
Oldest Child 35%, Middle Child 6%, Youngest Child 15% and Cannot Say 44%

If you have more than one child, which of them do you identify with the most?
Oldest Child 39%, Middle Child 7%, Youngest Child 16% and Cannot Say 38%

If you have more than one child which one do you think is more likely to be susceptible to anxiety or depression in their life?
Oldest Child 45%, Middle Child 7%, Youngest Child 16% and Cannot Say 42%

If you have more than one child, which of them do you think will be happiest in life?
Oldest Child 7%, Middle Child 7%, Youngest Child 35% and Cannot Say 51%

Despite 77% of mums believing that birth order does affect a child, there were a large number of mums who wasn’t sure about, or were not able to answer some of the questions. However the results are rather interesting. For example, despite the older child being expected to succeed more academically, the youngest child is expected to be the happiest in life – as well as being least likely to fall into depression or anxiety.