It is important at all times to eat nutritious and balanced meals. However, it is even more essential to eat the right food when trying to conceive (TTC) and during pregnancy. You and your baby require essential nutrients, protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals to ensure a healthier pregnancy. Most foods are safe, however, there are some foods that you should avoid during pregnancy. These specifically include potentially infectious foods (listeria, hepatitis B, toxoplasma), and food that contain too much mercury or other harmful agents.
Pregnancy Complications from A to Z completely explained
A high risk __pregnancy is a __pregnancy with medical, surgical or other issues that could put the fetus, the pregnancy and/or the mother at risk. It includes:
A woman who is more likely than usual to become sick or die
A fetus or baby that is more likely than usual to become sick or die
Medical, surgical, or other complications during pregnancy, before or after delivery which have a higher risk to occur than usual.
Many women with high-risk pregnancies can continue and see their regular Ob-Gyns, others may need to get care from a special team of doctors such as Maternal-Fetal Medicine ObGyns (high risk obstetricians) to ensure that their pregnancies are healthy and that they have a healthy pregnancy outcome.
Pregnancy is a time of quick changes and preparation for the time after delivery. Your diet changes, your activitioes change, your body changes, your clothes change. You have a lot to prepare for, and think and dream about. While the baby-to-be is at the center of your attention, you should also take care of yourself! Here we've compiled the ultimate guide to life during pregnancy: maternity clothes, getting your sleep, maternity leave, and more.
Ultrasound and Sonograms during __pregnancy are important to obtain important information such as the __pregnancy due date, fetal anomalies, anatomic malformations, uterine and placental issues, cervical measurements, amniotic fluid changes, estimated fetal weight, fetal measurements of bipariental diamater (BPD), head circumference (HC), abdominal circumference (AC), femur length (FL), and much more information.
The BabyMed ultrasound tools help you understand more what the measurements mean and whether they are normal or not.
Fetal Ultrasound Calculator - Calculates percentiles for all fetal ultrasound measurements and weighs
Is my fetus/baby normal size? - This tool calculates whether the size on ultrasound or estimated fetal weight during pregnancy is normal
Abdominal Circumference Calculator - Calculate and graph the abdominal circumference of the fetus and watch it change over time. Does it grow normally?
Biparietal Diameter Calculator - Interactively create a curve to watch the growth of the fetus' BPD biparietal diameter
Femur Length Calculator - Interactively create a curve to watch the growth of the fetus' FL femur length
Head Circumference - Calculate and graph the head circumference of the fetus and watch it change over time. Does it grow normally?
Ultrasound Interactive Measurements - Enter the fetus' ultrasound measurements and check if they are within the norm
Fetal Weight Calculator AC&BPD - Enter AC and BPD to check the fetus' size
Fetal Growth Calculator - Interactive create a graph to observe the growth of the fetus
Ultrasound Scan Percentiles and Estimated Fetal Weight Calculator - Enter measurements and obtain percentiles and calculate fetal weights with 20+ formulas such as Shepard, Hadlock, Warsof and others
A gay, lesbian, or LGBT pregnancy can be the same or can be different than a __pregnancy in a heterosexual relationship. Like with other couples or singles, choosing to become a parent or parents in a gay or lesbian LGBT relationship is a big decision. Once you have chosen to expand your family, there are several options for the pregnancy. It is important to understand that there is rarely a right or wrong decision regarding the choice of birth parent as long as all parties involved understand the end result is a new baby and a new life.
According to the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) there is ".. no sound ethical basis for licensed professionals to deny reproductive services to unmarried or gay and lesbian persons." However, on a case-by-case basis you still may encounter resitance from some doctors. In addition, laws for gay and lesbian parents can still be very depending on in which state you plan to have your baby.
For example, in some states fertility treatments are denied by insurance companies to LGBT couples unless they prove that they are infertile.
In a number of states, a person who is not a legal parent does not have any legal decisionmaking authority over a child, even if that person lives with the child and functions as the child’s parent. Read more HERE.
So consulting a lawyer before __pregnancy is advisable so you know your legal rights.
The Surrogate
One path to parenthood in a gay and lesbian pregnancy is the surrogate mother. This option can be utilized by both a gay couple and a lesbian couple who wish not to carry their own child. The surrogate will often be impregnated with in-vitro fertilization with the sperm coming from a donor that is either a friend of the family or a donor sperm bank. The most important part of surrogacy to remember are the legal ramifications. The surrogate will need to agree to carry the child for the duration of the pregnancy and give the child up for adoption to the “parents” after the baby is born. In cases of surrogacy, there have been times when the birth mother chooses to keep the baby after birth and a legal battle ensues.
Donor Sperm
In a lesbian relationship, donor sperm can be used to impregnate one or both of the parents. The use of in-vitro fertilization will often be used with the one of the lesbian couple being the biological parent of the baby.
Co-Parenting
One of the most popular choices in gay and lesbian pregnancy parenting is the co-parent option. Co-parenting occurs when a gay and lesbian couple come together to raise a child. One or both of the lesbian couple will be impregnated with the sperm of the gay male parent. After the baby is born, the couples choose to raise the child together as one family. The impregnation may occur through sexual intercourse or in-vitro fertilization.
Adoption
While there are a few cases where gay and lesbian couples have successfully adopted children, the red tape and legal paths are stringent at best. Gay and lesbian couples often face the prejudices of those involved in the adoption process when trying to adopt a child.
The Cost of Gay and Lesbian Pregnancy
Surrogacy in a gay and lesbian pregnancy is, without a doubt, the most expensive option for parenting in a gay or lesbian relationship. Not only with the parenting couple be responsible for the medical costs of the pregnancy, but the surrogate is often paid to carry the baby for the duration of the pregnancy. The cost of a surrogate tends to be a minimum of $20,000.
Donor parenting and co-parenting are the least expensive options. Generally there is very little added cost to these pregnancies outside of the traditional prenatal and birthing care. Any extra costs would occur as a result of receiving the donor sperm and in-vitro fertilization.
Becoming a parent is an exciting time filled with love and joy. When a gay or lesbian couple wants to expand their family the options are vast and the chances of becoming a parent are high.
Surrogacy
Will There Be Child Development Issues?
Is Gay Parenting More Difficult for Men?
Traveling with a Baby
Should Lesbian Parents Have Girls and Gay Parents Boys? Vice Versa?
How to Find a "Gay/Lesbian-Friendly" Doctor
Facts and Myths about Gay and Lesbian Parenting
Should my Partner Adopt?
Growing Up with Two Moms or Dads
Second Parent Adoption
Foster Care Alternatives
Are there Advantages of having Gay/ Lesbian parents?
BabyMed has created for you an extensive collection of free tools during __pregnancy to help you achieve a healthy __pregnancy and to answer your most important pregnancy questions. These tools include calculators, trackers, ultrasound tools, labor & delivery tools and mobile apps such as due date calculators, fertility and gender predictors, a pregnancy calendar, and more.
Most Popular
Week By Week pregnancy Calendar and Calculator
Pregnancy Due Date Calculator
Monthly Pregnancy Calendar
Pregnancy Weight Gain Calculator
Pregnancy Weight Gain Graph
Pregnancy Symptoms Calculator
When to do the pregnancy test Calculator
Enter your personal data and find out when to do the pregnancy test
Weekly Pregnancy Weight Change Calculator
Enter your height/weight and pre-pregnancy weight and check/ the weekly recommended weight gain
Baby & fetal Kick Count Tool
Count your baby's movements daily
Enhanced Due Date Calculator
Much more than just your due date, includes important events
hCG Calculator and Graph
Calculates and graphs if your hCG levels are normal or not and whether they change normally
Conception Pregnancy Reverse Due Date Calculator
Enter the due date and calculate the conception date
Fetal Movement Count Chart
Count your babies movements and download an interactive chart to ensure a healthy pregnancy
Retro Conception Birthday Calculator
Calculate when a person was conceived based on their birthday
Preterm Risk Calculator
Calculates your individual risk of delivering preterm
Blood Type Calculator
Calculate the blood type possiblities of a child and its parents
Partner Violence Tool
Find out if you are in a violent relationship
Eye Color Predictor
Find out what your baby's eye colors will be based on the parents' eye colors
Down Syndrome Risk Calculator
Calculate the risk of Down syndrome with your current age
Weight Change Calculator
Calculate the proper weight gain during pregnancy
Labor & Delivery Tools
Are you in Labor? - Labor contration timer. Check your contractions with this interactive labor counter and tool
Interactive Labor Curve Partogram & Partograph - Is your labor progressing normally? Check it with this interactive tool
ObWatch - Helps you time the delivery between baby's head and body. Especially helpful for midwives, nurses, and doctors.
Bishop Score Calculator - Is the cervix easily inducible?
Apgar Score Calculator Interactive - Calculate your newborn baby's Apgar score 1 and 5-minutes after birth
Ultrasound Tools
Is my fetus/baby normal size? - This tool calculates whether the size on ultrasound or estimated fetal weight during pregnancy is normal
Abdominal Circumference Calculator - Calculate and graph the abdominal circumference of the fetus and watch it change over time. Does it grow normally?
Biparietal Diameter Calculator - Interactively create a curve to watch the growth of the fetus' BPD biparietal diameter
Femur Length Calculator - Interactively create a curve to watch the growth of the fetus' FL femur length
Head Circumference - Calculate and graph the head circumference of the fetus and watch it change over time. Does it grow normally?
Ultrasound Interactive Measurements - Enter the fetus' ultrasound measurements and check if they are within the norm
Fetal Weight Calculator AC&BPD - Enter AC and BPD to check the fetus' size
Fetal Growth Calculator - Interactive create a graph to observe the growth of the fetus
Ultrasound Scan Percentiles and Estimated Fetal Weight Calculator - Enter measurements and obtain percentiles and calculate fetal weights with 20+ formulas such as Shepard, Hadlock, Warsof and others
Postpartum & BREASTFEEDING
LactMed Breastfeeding Drugs - Search whether it's safe to use certain drugs during breastfeeding
Edinburgh Postpartum and Postnatal Depression Score - Answer these 10 questions to find out if you are at risk for postnatal and postpartum depression
Follow your __pregnancy as it evolves week by week. See the developing fetus, your bodily changes and even the dad-to-be's changes. See ultrasounds and other information. See ultrasounds and other information.
[Access the slides from our panelists’ presentations: 2016 Fall Public Policy Forum]
“Our past has nothing to do with who we are today–[Sister Tesa] loves me for the person I am. I was given simple words and those simple words made a light go off in my head. And if I can give that to just one person–I mean I can’t even explain what that feeling is.”
For the past 6 years, Kellie Phelan has worked with hundreds of children whose parents either are incarcerated or formerly incarcerated. Before becoming the Program Coordinator for Hour Children’s “Hour Friend In Deed” Mentoring Program, Kellie herself was incarcerated, pregnant, and in treatment for opioid dependency. Two days before her release date, an Hour Children advocate let Kellie know she had re-entry housing ready for her and her newborn daughter. __maternity Care Coalition had the pleasure of inviting Kellie to our Fall Public Policy Forum, Pregnant Women, Infants and the Opioid Crisis. Kellie’s story was highlighted by Hour Children and can be watched below.
Eight years after her release, Kellie’s daughter Savannah had a question for her mother:
“What was it like to be pregnant with me in jail?”
Savannah was on the internet looking up her mom’s work when she found a video of Kellie talking about giving birth to Savannah while she was in jail. Savannah and Kellie’s conversation was documented by StoryCorps.
At __maternity Care Coalition, we assist mothers through the earliest stages of their children’s development. But what happens when parents are not their child’s only teacher, when children spend hours learning—and developing—in front of a screen?
Lisa Guernsey, Director of the New America Foundation’s Early Education Initiative and mother of two daughters, wants parents to tune-in to how screen time affects childhood development. She researched with cognitive scientists, media analysts and families in their homes.
“I was really trying to understand the world through my children’s eyes,” Guernsey said. “But I was also really trying to get at how we as human beings have come to understand the world through the screen. This thing, the screen, it has some real power over us, it has a hold on us.”
In her TEDx talk, Guernsey emphasizes the importance of interaction on screen, that active learning comes from engagement, not merely watching.
“We know from the brain science that children learn from a conversation—even at younger ages before they even can learn to talk. They learn by having a back and forth interaction with someone.”
Check out Lisa Guernsey’s TEDx Talk by clicking the link below:
Earlier this month, __maternity Care Coalition became a pioneer in parental leave policies. JoAnne Fischer, Executive Director of MCC, announced that the organization will begin aligning their Human Resource policies with their mission, offering 6 weeks of paid family leave—which extends to new parents, whether biological, adoptive or foster parents, and same sex domestic partners.
Currently the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)—used as a baseline for most organizations’ parental leave policies—allows for 12 weeks leave for eligible employees, an entirely unpaid leave which only covers about 50 percent of Americans.
Casper, the son of Sara Jann, MCC employee
“When we default to the status quo, we focus on all the reasons typically given not to offer paid leave,” JoAnne Fischer said. “We emphasize that we are a small organization; we are a nonprofit; 97 percent of our staff are women. But we did our research, we ran our reports and you know what? We realize that we can make it work, and we think other organizations and businesses can too.”
And then there are al the important reasons supporting this policy change. Women need a minimum of six weeks to recover physically after giving birth. Yet one quarter of American women return to work within ten days of delivering their babies. Paid parental leave provides families with the time and space needed to recover and bond during the crucial early days of life without financial worry. From a business prospective, paid parental leave increases employee retention, attracts talent and ensures a healthy start for the next generation of workers.
Maternity Care Coalition’s Executive Associate Sara Jann was thrilled to learn about MCC’s new policy.
“I was surprised at my own emotional response. It felt like such an incredible gift that the organization was providing its employees. But you know what? It’s not a gift. It is a reasonable and long overdue policy. It is good for families and good for businesses.”
Big tech companies like Facebook and Netflix have caught on to the trend—but where do non-profits and advocacy agencies stand? While MCC is very proud of this new policy, the organization is now challenging other agencies and businesses take note and follow suite. Additionally, MCC encourages Americans to recognize this as an opportunity to take action during the upcoming election season. Tell your local and state legislators to stand-up for families so that other organizations will question their outdated assumptions and make similar policy changes.
Members of Congress collectively receive more than 200 million emails and letters every year[1]. However constituents often forget that policy changes develop on an individual level. Pennsylvania State Representatives and Senators are our voices in Washington. Enduring advocacy may pay off for you, your family and your community.
Source: APA Science
The way we can directly affect change is by inundating the inboxes and answering machines of policy makers with our voices. Personal messages from constituents, whether in the form of a letter, a phone call, an email or even a tweet can strongly influence a legislator.
You will be most effective contacting legislators who represent you directly. Unsure about who represents you in the PA House of Representatives and the State Senate? You can find your legislator’s contact information—phone number, email and address—along with their bios and committee assignments on the Pennsylvania General Assembly website. You can also use the hashtags #PASenate and #PAHouse to encourage others to follow your example.
Please take the time today to contact our policy makers. It is not enough to talk with friends and families about your political ideals—we need our representatives to listen. They will only hear us if we lend our voices.
Find your Pennsylvania legislator by following the link below. http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/findyourlegislator/
Not sure how to get started? Contacting Your Legislator Sample.
[1] according to the Friends Committee on National Legislation.
First and foremost, I want you to know that your dad and I love you very much. You are an amazing little girl and we love everything about you. In all honesty, our lives have been turned completely upside down since you were born, but we would never, ever have it any other way. You bring joy to our lives that we never thought was possible.
That being said, I think we owe you an apology for a few things. Being that you are the third child, and last in line, I know we don’t do everything quite like we did with the first two. It’s not intentional, of course, but rather, it’s just the way things go with the chaotic freak show that we call our lives.
So with that, here we go …
I’m sorry there are not nearly as many professional photos of your infancy.
Things were busy. I did the best I could.
I’m sorry we sometimes forgot to change your diaper.
You didn’t complain; must not have been too bad!
I’m sorry that my response to anyone that asked for gift ideas for you was: “She doesn’t need anything! We have way too many toys already!”
I truly hope you didn’t miss out on the latest and greatest thing because I told everyone all you needed was clothes.
I’m sorry I let you eat dirt, sand, and sometimes chew on the occasional rock.
There are three of you, and only one of me — and truthfully, sometimes I just wasn’t quick enough to grab the latest gross thing you wanted to put in your mouth. But hey, you survived!
I’m sorry the house was not clean as for you.
There were crumbs, hair, toys, clothes, used Kleenex, band aid wrappers, and a million other things all over the floor. (It’s hard to keep up with three tornadoes!)
I’m sorry you never experienced the sweet sound of silence.
I hope that someday you will. It is glorious.
I’m sorry we didn’t write down all your milestones.
I truthfully have no idea when you started walking, or when you said your first word. It’s not that it wasn’t as important, but I simply had so much going on that I didn’t write it down.
I’m sorry that I regularly called you by the wrong name.
Three kids, a dog, and a cat is too confusing for my old brain.
I’m sorry you don’t know what it is like to be on time for anything.
It’s damn near impossible to get out of the house in under 30 minutes with three kids. One day maybe you’ll understand.
I’m sorry we didn’t baby-proof the house as diligently for you.
Thanks to those darn LEGOs and Shopkins your brother and sister are obsessed with, I literally can’t keep on top of all the choking hazards.
And finally…
I’m sorry you have basically been fending for yourself since you could walk.
But hey, look on the bright side: You have excellent survival skills!
The truth is, we may have let a few things slip through the cracks in the midst of the craziness of life, but that doesn’t change the fact that we love you more than words can say. You are our strong, sassy, spunky baby girl, and our family wouldn’t be complete without you.
I’ll never forget the first time a colleague asked me for a tampon. I was flummoxed. I was 20 years old — in my first real job and completely floored by this kind of publicizing PRIVATE information. To curb my embarrassment, we agreed that if someone needed a tampon in the office, they’d ask, “may I have a dime?” And so began my journey to normalize normal things.
I began to practice talking out loud about natural things like periods, childbirth, and bodies. Later, when our lamaze class nurse said we would be naked in the delivery room, I laughed out loud. And I most certainly was not naked. I physically pulled down my gown while pushing my baby out to cover as much up as possible. Yes I know it sounds silly, now.
We know that in order to truly understand calculus, we begin by learning addition, subtraction, and multiplication in first grade. And to become a thoughtful writer, we must first know how to make letters, spell, and comprehend words on a page. But when it comes to our bodies, we make up funny names for genitals and deem related subjects untalkable in polite company. And then, when puberty hits, it’s time to be in a relationship, have sex, or make a family (arguably more important than calculus!), we don’t even have the fundamental information.
So I vowed that with my kids, we would speak openly and accurately about bodies and sex. We may have gone a little overboard in the early days — as evidenced by the anatomically correct snowman craft that came home from preschool. My daughter’s teacher was gracious but, did suggest the picture be hung in the bathroom instead of on the refrigerator. In third grade, I hosted a “puber-tea,” lead by an incredible RN with a passion for making fallopian tubes fun. My friends, our kids, and I learned about armpit hair, puberty, and nutrition. The unfettered questions these sweet 8- and 9-year-olds asked brought me to happy tears. We did it again in sixth grade and talked about periods, social media, and body image. It was amazing to watch these girls NOT be embarrassed to talk about feminine hygiene, ovaries, and deodorant. In fact, they were proud of their bodies and all they could accomplish. With a strong foundation, we crossed our fingers, prayed, and hoped that they were ready for the conversations that come next — hormones, gender identity, birth control, consent, intercourse, and more.
Watch More Videos >
I was a little squeamish to talk about these subjects with my daughter. So I was delighted to find out that AMAZE — a collaboration between Advocates for Youth, Answer, and Youth Tech Health — created an online sex education resource for young adolescents. My daughter, Maddy, and I recently watched the videos together and though she’s 15 — they’re generally made for tweens 10-14 — each vignette provided ample fodder for conversation. The site offers videos and supplemental resources about puberty, identity, personal safety, and more. They’re short — between two and five minutes, and they kept my teen’s attention, which in today’s Snapchat world is no small thing. We giggled together through “How the Boner Grows…” but did YOU know that it’s normal for boys to get 4-5 erections a night? And, more importantly, did you know that boys feel alone with their awkward puberty? My daughter had thought that was just a girl thing. When we watched “I’m So Happy, I’m So Sad,” I realized that no one ever told me about what it feels like to be a hormonal teen. EVER. Maddy mentioned that she and her friends sometimes wonder if mood swings are normal and don’t know what the heck is going on inside. This video suggests what is normal and also when kids might need to seek out help.
The videos are mostly judgment free. They lay out facts and allow parental follow-up with conversations about your own beliefs and values. We engaged in nervous laughter, truth telling, and question asking, like when we watched the video “When Will I Be Ready?” (here’s where I give myself a “you can do it” pep talk). This kind of interaction is exactly what I hope for as my teen gets older and the topics get more complex.
One of the cool consequences of these body and sex conversations we’ve been having since toddler-hood is that my daughter is far less nervous about this stuff than I am. With practice, I’ve gotten better — but for her, it’s second nature. We, like everyone else, are figuring this stuff out as we go (exhibit A: snowman penis!). As we continue to learn and grow together, our conversations become more and more natural. And we’re building knowledge upon what we have already learned — like discovering an exciting, complicated new equation for a math concept we already know.
If you’re a parent with a Twitter account, chances are you tweet about your kids — and often. Some of the things we’ve seen (the good, the bad, and the very, very ugly) are just begging to be shared, and who has the time for more than 140 characters? Not us. So here you go, the funniest tweets from __parents on Twitter this week. #yourewelcome
1. True statement.
The shortest distance between two points is not bringing your kid with you.
— Charlie N Andy (@HowToBeADad) September 28, 2016
2. Awww.
I can tell my son loves public displays of affection by how when I blow him kisses he karate chops the air, drops & says, "YES. Deflected."
— Kim Bongiorno (@LetMeStart) September 23, 2016
3. Who knew “cereal” could sound so angry?
Being a mom means saying things that shouldn't be threatening in a very threatening manner. Like, "EAT YOUR CEREAL!" for example.
— Mommy Cusses (@mommy_cusses) September 27, 2016
4. Yeah, dad.
Me: Don't run with scissors.
6: What if there's a scissors emergency?
Me: What's a scissors emergency?
6: When you have one, you'll know.
— James Breakwell (@XplodingUnicorn) September 28, 2016
5. Who is this guy??
There was a guy in the coffee shop w/ 3 kids and he ordered decaf. I just stood there doing nothing and that decision will always haunt me.
— MyQuestionableLife (@2questionable) September 28, 2016
6. We don’t know, BUT THERE SHOULD BE.
Do baby head scented candles exist?
— Sean Lowe (@SeanLowe09) September 25, 2016
7. You’d think he’d get bored …
How long can my son "go to the bathroom" when he is supposed to be doing homework? Answer: well over 45 minutes.
— Sarah (est. 1975) (@est1975blog) September 26, 2016
8. Now that’s what we call problem-solving.
I just settled an argument over the last waffle by eating it myself.
Parenting is easy.
— Sarcastic Mommy (@sarcasticmommy4) September 27, 2016
9. Smart move.
I'm typing this so I don't have to talk to the other __parents at my kid's soccer practice
— David DeWeil (@daviddeweil) September 27, 2016
10. He makes a valid point.
Me: Hillary would be the first female president ever.
6 year old son: There's never been one? That's dumb. Mom's take care of everyone.
— Elizabeth (@Elizasoul80) September 27, 2016
11. Parenting at its finest.
I just explained cause & effect to my daughter by showing the empty bag of cheez-its then promptly showing the button undone on my pants.
— Danielle Herzog (@martinisandmini) September 28, 2016
12. Parsley is the worst.
I never knew that parsley had the power to destroy someone's life, but six leaves of it in my kid's rice has taught me otherwise.
— Six Pack Mom (@Six_Pack_Mom) September 28, 2016
13. All hail the mighty credit card.
If I tell the kids I can't buy them something the standard response is "JUST USE THE CARD" so clearly they're set up for financial success.
— Valerie (@ValeeGrrl) September 28, 2016
14. That’s good … ?
7yo: I don't eat other people's boogers because I don't know if those people have germs or not.
Me:
— Kate Hall (@KateWhineHall) September 28, 2016
15. Close enough.
My mom asked my son if we read the Bible at home. His answer: "No, but we watch Harry Potter a lot." Winning at parenting. Clearly.
— Jill Robbins (@JillRobbinsRJAB) September 26, 2016
My two children, ages 8 and 5, know damn well there’s a good chance I’ll say “no” before I say “yes” when it comes to ordering fast food. While there’s no doubt that it’s quick and convenient (and I’ll admit, it sure seems like a good idea when that chicken pot pie didn’t come out the way I’d hoped), I still won’t order take-out or pick up fast food if I don’t absolutely have to.
I’d honestly rather have my children eat plain bread with butter than hit the McDonald’s Drive Thru for a Happy Meal of chicken nuggets and fries. At least then I know the nutritional benefits that come with that a slice of bread and butter from my fridge than anything that comes with a side of grease and peanut oil and God knows how much MSG.
Call me crazy, call me neurotic, call me every horrible name in the book, but I’ll say what everyone else is generally too polite to say: Our kids are getting fat. Obese. Overweight. Whatever you want to call it, our kids are at least (in some cases, but not all) 15 to 20 pounds heavier than we were at their age, because they are eating more and doing less.
If you don’t believe me on that one, just consider the stats: According to the CDC, childhood obesity has more than doubled in kids and quadrupled in adolescents in the last 30 years alone. And while obesity can be tied to certain genetic factors, it is also, by its very definition, largely caused by a “caloric imbalance” — in other words, when the amount of calories consumed is vastly greater than the calories burned.
So yeah; that is why I am a little bat shit crazy over keeping an eye on the calories — and quality of food — my kids put in their mouths. I figure at this stage, their nutritional health is one of the only things I can control, and maybe, just maybe, setting these patterns early will help them make better decisions for themselves in the future.
Of course, sometimes this makes me, how shall I put this … an “unfun” mom.
Case in point: I’ve totally broken one of those delicious-looking Panera Bread cookies in half so my kids can split it — and divvy up the 400 calories each one of them comes along with. I also buy gluten-free snacks whenever I can and never allow them to order food from the school cafeteria (with the exception of the occasional pizza Friday, because even I’m not that cruel). And juice? Yeah, that doesn’t exist at our house. I know some of those “kid-friendly” grab-and-go boxes look convenient and even pretty cute sitting on the grocery shelf, but no. Just, no. Honestly, the sugar content most juices pack inside of them isn’t worth it.
I know how all of this comes off; really, I do. And I know that you may be reading this and thinking, Sheesh, calm down, lady. But I don’t care.
I’m also aware that accepting each other and our bodies for what they are and what they can do is important, and that setting up aversions or negative relationships to food during childhood can be damaging, long-term. But I’m not exactly standing over them, meticulously adding up their every bite in a calorie tracking app or something. I’m merely giving them a real-world “eat this, not that” lesson they can hopefully take with them for life. I’d be doing my kids a huge disservice by giving in and allowing them to eat whatever they want, whenever they want it. (And believe me, if it were up to our kids, they’d all be existing solely on Fruit Roll-Ups and M&Ms.)
Isn’t it our job to show them the way? To teach them life-long healthy habits early, so they’ll hopefully continue following into adulthood? So far, the science points to yes. A 2012 study examined just how much a parent’s influence has on their child’s relationship to food, and it was pretty telling. Specifically, researchers found that the food preferences of young children had a strong link to their risk of becoming obese later in life, according to the European Food Information Council, and that the role __parents play the foods their children eat could help or hinder them.
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7 Healthy Foods My Kids Actually Love to Eat
No matter what people might say, encouraging unhealthy eating habits in kids just isn’t right. And that’s perhaps why more dining establishments and fast food franchises are adding calorie counts to the menu — the numbers are right there, in black and white, and hard to ignore.
Jessica Shepard, a certified holistic health consultant who has studied nutrition, spoke to the New York Times about the new menu trend earlier this year, saying that when it comes to our children, we absolutely should teach them calories is a way to measure the things we eat; and that it’s a measurement of limits. “Calories are a guideline,” said Shephard. “But we need to think about things like nutritional density and the value our body gets as a whole.”
She’s right. But honestly, children’s meal selections at most restaurants have always been craptastic at best. And it’s not just because of the calorie count or the sugar content — it’s because by any guidelines, processed chicken fingers, hot dogs ,and buttered noodles have such poor nutritional value. Same goes for most packaged foods, for that matter. And as much as our kids love their morning cereal (complete with fun toy surprise inside), the fact is, most just aren’t subtable substitutes for a hearty breakfast.
So whether we’re eating at home or out at a restaurant, I’ll continue to monitor what my children eat — from fat grams and calories to protein and other important nutrients — and I don’t care if that makes me seem “controlling.” If we’re on the road, I sure as heck appreciate the menus that now come along with calorie counts before ordering lunch. That goes for kids’ meals as well as mine. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve opted for a salad over a burger myself, after seeing how many calories I’d inhale in one sitting, or skipped the Frappucino because OMG they’re loaded with more sugar than I ever expected.
I’m not being neurotic (hopefully), I’m just trying to be a good mom who sets good examples. And at the end of the day, that’s really all I care about.
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