Every pregnant woman deals with a certain amount of stress. However, stress should be avoided at all costs during your pregnancy. Try this simple and quick pregnancy stress relief tips.

Stress Relief Tip #1: 15-minute foot soak.  If you’re tired and stressed from a long day, a nice, hot, 15-minute foot soak will ease the day’s tension like a charm. Your feet have many pressure points, so remember to get off your feet when you’re stressed. Add a little lavender or chamomile oil for a relaxing aromatherapy foot soak.

Stress Relief Tip #2: 30-minute massage
Make an appointment for a 30-minute massage at your local spa. You may not feel like it at first but push yourself to do it, a professional massage is not only relaxing but can physically work a lot of tension out of your body and relieve pregnancy aches and pains, particularly in the back area.  This is a really nice gift you can give yourself. After the baby is born, you probably won’t have time for many luxuries like this, so take advantage of it right now!

Stress Relief Tip #3: 30-minute manicure/pedicure
Another once-a-month stress reliever that is nice is a manicure and/or pedicure. Treat yourself to something nice. You deserve it. A manicure and pedicure might seem like an extravagance to some, but it will make you feel so much better.  Pregnancy is hard on the body and some of us don’t feel at our best, so nice hands and feet will make you feel sexy and pretty.

Stress Relief Tip #4: 30-minute afternoon nap - You may be experiencing extreme fatigue during your pregnancy. If so, don’t fight sleep. Get in a cat-nap during late morning or early afternoon. Whenever you feel fatigue setting in, stop and rest. The best relief for stress sometimes is just a good sleep.

By the same token try to get enough sleep at night.  A good way to avoid going to bed too late is to get into the habit of making yourself a nice relaxing herbal tea (chamomile and sleepy time are great) and get in bed to read a good book.  If you don’t like the thought of going to bed to early, think of it as just relaxing and catching up on some reading.  Before you know it you’ll be drifting off to sleep and ensuring you get some much needed rest.

Are you still on the hunt for coupon codes?  Coupon Chief can help.  They have online coupon codes for lots of online webstores.  Before you start clicking on Black Friday, you may want to check to see if they have a code that can help you save some extra money

I spotted a Joann’s coupon code which will come in handy for some craft shopping I have planned.  One of the coupons is for fifty percent off one item.

 

New mothers often feel overwhelmed by all the new responsibilities thrust upon them. Between bottles and diaper changes, you can easily lose yourself amongst it all. What’s worse is that moms often feel like they have to do it all on their own. If you’re tired of being Super Mom, let me share with you a few reasons why you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help.

Reason #1: You deserve a break. Moms are busy people. We take on a lot of tasks and often don’t get much credit or recognition for them. Moms work 24 hours a day, rarely getting breaks. Allow yourself to take a break every now and again.

Reason #2: You can’t do it all by yourself. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. In fact, it’s just the opposite, a sign of strength. Someone once said that no man (or mama) is an island. Oh how true this is! There is no way you could do everything by yourself, and if you did you would be exhausted so ask for help and feel good doing it.

Reason #3: They want to help you. If there is no other reason for you to ask for help, remember this one: your family and friends want to help you. That’s right—they want to. I’ve heard family members of so many new mothers say that they would love to help, but the mom never asks for help. Sometimes people don’t want to feel like they’re intruding so be proactive in asking for help.  When friends and family ask if there is anything they can do to help say yes.  If people ask you what you would like as a gift, mention housecleaning vouchers (or ask a close friend or relative to spread the word for you).

Reason #4: Being a “good” mom means taking care of you. Last, but certainly not least, asking for help does not mean that you are a bad mother. Lots of moms refuse help because they think others will view them as terrible parents for doing so. This couldn’t be further from the truth. A good mother knows when she needs help and isn’t afraid to ask for it. She knows when she needs a break. A good mother also knows that she needs to take care of herself first in order to keep the family going.

A good friend of mine planned to have only two children.  They had a nice home on property with three bedrooms and everything just as they wanted it. 

Then came baby number three.  

Rather than putting baby in with a sibling, they decided to add onto their house.  The project was very expensive and tons of work.  They had fun with it, but it added a lot of extra stress to my friend’s life during her pregnancy.

What if you could win a free home makeover?

We’ve all seen those great television shows about families winning an extreme home makeover.  But what if you don’t have a crisis situation?  You don’t have much hope of getting picked.  The good news is that you can still be entered to win an extreme makeover.  Just visit this website and enter.

I personally would LOVE to win a home makeover - and not because I’m expecting a new baby.  More because the baby I’ve raised has taken his toll on the house! LOL!

Air Travel With Baby - Michelle R. LaRowe
What Not To Say During Childbirth - Tara Crooks
Great Gifts for the Expectant Mom - Rebecca Powell
Twinfatuation - Cheryl Lage
The Happy Breastfeeder Part Seven - Carrie Lauth

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Cheryl Lage is mom to fraternal twins and she is going to be sharing a regular segment with Baby Talk Radio listeners where she will get to give us a peak into the life of a family with double everything.

Her first segment airs this week so stay tuned!