Hey Congratulations you’ve found out your having a baby –What Now!

You’ve heard all the things your friends and family have told about what to expect, Morning sickness, weight gain, pain, swelling Back aches, tiredness need I continue!

But hey there is a plus side to this- the miraculous body transformations altering every system in your body- and with that does come different aches /pains,
SO if you haven’t had a massage before now is a PERFECT time to start! Not only will you benefit from a massage but your little growing life inside you will also.

Bodywork (massage) will ease your pregnant body as it transides through each changing trimester, Improving maternal and infant health in a myriad of ways.

–Eases muscular aches/discomforts
–reduces stress
–Aids in digestion
–enhances blood and lymph circulation
–promotes body and mind awareness
Pregnancy massage will also prepare mother for labour/birth.
Support lactation and can assist in any postpartum depression.

FIRST TRIMESTER MASSAGE
In the first trimester the client is able to lye on her stomach
(obviously if nipple pain is to server) on her side or back.
Deep Pressure points are to be avoided in first trimester,
Long relaxing strokes are great.

SECOND TRIMESTER MASSAGE
In the second trimester the lady may not be able to lay on her stomach so side laying or a pregnancy table is preferred.
From week 13 onwards a small pillow should be placed under her right hip this tilts the pelvis to the left and shifts the uterus off the inferior vena carva (a vein) and facilitating the return of blood to the heart.

THIRD TRIMESTER MASSAGE
After the sixth month of pregnancy the unborn can sense massage of the abdomen and responses to the touch, pregnant women can do their own bellies daily not only when her belly begins to grow but as so as she finds out she is pregnant, moisturizing cream as this is soothing and bonding (great to help with stretch marks) she may even notice her unborn responding to her touch.

The latter stages of pregnancy massage can assist in swollen legs feet, assist lumbar pain /discomfort and help prepare the body for labour and childbirth, plus general feeling of relaxation.

Once the women begins labour, massage can be helpful, the father to be ,can assist in this , circular motions on her lower back can help labour pains, whether she is laying on her side or sitting in chair or bath/shower. This will aid in comfort and reassurance and help him to feel useful.

Massage during labour can assist in reducing anxiety and stress which can stall labour and help replace it with endorphins which will facilitate a healthy labour.

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Tracy, the owner of Knots Corner is a qualified Massage Therapist, who is visited by a great number of clients with a wide range of reasons for a massage, from relaxation to muscular repair, headache relief to everyday stresses. Massage Brisbane

Your children should be reminded about the limits of their traveling outside of the home, to ensure their safety. Is it advisable that your child plays where Children at Play signs indicate where there are children at play? If you cannot be with your child during the day, they must know which homes they can visit, and limits to the areas in the neighborhood they are permitted to play in. Next, warn your child to never talk to strangers or accept rides from adults besides their parents or other familiar adults. For very young children, set a curfew that does not expand past dusk. Also, regardless of your child’s age, ensure that he or she checks in frequently.

Next, when other adults are to supervise your children, you should also take precautions. Use several resources that exist, to conduct background checks for potential babysitters. Closely observe your child’s interaction with a babysitter, and particularly watch for any wary responses. Also, do meticulously research potential day-care centers. Review the center’s activities and personnel, and verify that you can visit and leave the day-care center at any time. A wise action to take involves visiting the center unannounced a couple of times, to assess your child’s wellbeing. Thirdly, if you send your child to camp, engage in a background check of the camp and the employees who will be working with your child. In particular, review field trips that your child will go on, and the adult-to-child ratio. It would be wise to request your child’s day-care center or camp to ensure that there are enough Children at Play signs visible where there are children at play.

On the other hand, if your child remains at home, he or she must also take safety precautions. Children at home who receive phone calls must never reveal to anyone that they are home alone. Furthermore, they should never open the house’s front door except for someone who they can trust completely. Also, ensure that children do not have access to objects such as firearms, which could harm them. Instruct your child about how to call emergency numbers, such as 911, for assistance. Inform them that they may also call the number from any public payphone.

Other summertime safety tips for parents with children include:

• Talk frequently to your child about safety issues, and listen carefully to what he or she tells you regarding them.

• Require your kid to memorize his or her name, address, phone number; and how to contact you or another adult who you trust, in the case of an emergency.

• All younger children should be prevented from being near water unless an adult is supervising the child.

Summertime can be a fantastic time for children, creating vivid memories that will last a lifetime. However, take particular precautions, such as having Children at Play signs posted where there are children at play in your neighborhood. This will ensure that your child’s summer will not merely be fun—but also safe!

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Children at Play Signs Child Safety Signs

When designing a child’s bedroom or nursery all too often the decisions about storage tend to come quite far down the list of essentials. With the pressing matters of colour schemes and décor it can be all too easy to overlook the essential need for practical storage solutions. Bedroom storage needn’t stop at toy boxes as there are a number of stylish options out their.

With the arrival of a new child parent soon come to realize the necessity of designated areas for all the nik-naks and accessories that go with modern parenting and the need to house the fast growing toy collection, book library and the many other necessities of life.

With a baby the key needs are reasonably straight forward but with a little planning a room and its storage capability can grow with the child to ensure the bedroom doesn’t become a cluttered mess.

Babies main needs are simple; somewhere for clothing, a place for bedding, storage for changing paraphernalia such as nappies and wipes and some form of toy storage for the many gifts that although may not be appropriate now will be treasured toys for later life.

A great solution for bedding and toys is a toy box and blanket box. In fact with the stylish designs on the market toy boxes can be used for either purpose. In addition many modern changing stations allow for the accessible storage of nappies, wipes and other changing gear. Modern toyboxes also tend to feature a number of safety features to prevent small hands from becoming trapped and stop lids from slamming.

At this point however it is always useful to think ahead. Baby won’t be baby for long and with toddler hood comes a whole new set of challenges. One item overlooked by many is the need for somewhere to store the vast libraries of books the majority of toddlers seem to accumulate. There are now many bookcases designed purely for children’s bedrooms in a variety of designs from fire stations to castles to fairy castles allowing them to add extra style to a child’s bedroom.

The next overlooked area is shelving! Shelves are a great way of preventing the floor resembling a bomb site and also can prevent young hands from reaching things they shouldn’t. A set of sturdy shelves can house anything and again many stylish designs exist to compliment the look of your nursery or child’s bedroom.

At the heart of a child’s room is likely to be clothes storage in the form of wardrobes and chests of drawers. Designers now cater for the child market with a range of funks designs and features such as double railed wardrobes that increase the usability of the furniture. When choosing furniture spend as much as you can comfortably afford as good furniture will last for years and repay the investment whereas inferior products tend to wear out and fall apart before your child has outgrown them.

It is also important to give a little thought to the future. The obsession with Pooh may be emphatic now but 12 months down the line the expensive Tigger Toybox, Eeyore Wardrobe and Pooh bed might not be flavour of the month. It is therefore sensible to buy neutral furniture and create the look with accessories such as lampshades, wallpaper, borders and curtains to ensure you don’t end up spending a vast fortune on a fad.

So with this information in mind it’s time to plan for that nursery or bedroom and head out looking for toxboxes. ——— Gary Clay is an expert on toy boxes and a retailer of a number of stlylish nursery storage solutions.

Swimming is a fantastic sport and leisure activity which many adults and especially, children love. Try keeping an energetic child out of a swimming pool if it is available, regardless of how blue their lips are with cold!

Even within the confines of a public swimming pool with other swimmers nearby and all Health and Safety standards/government legislation adhered to, including life-guards, drowning does occur.

With private/home pools, children are at the highest risk, younger children who escape supervision for a moment and fall in and older children who deliberately access the pool area whilst unsupervised are most at risk. However adults who are under the influence of drink or drugs are also at risk.

Indeed, concern is such that some countries have introduced legislation to ensure that home pools are fenced. French and Australian legislation states a minimum of 1.1 meter high fence with vertical rails of no more than 500mm apart must be installed. Any gate/access points should have a child-proof latch or lock and a self-closing mechanism.

Should a door from the house open directly onto the pool area, then this should be kept locked when the pool area is unsupervised. While these measures should ensure that toddlers cannot gain access to the pool, they will not stop a determined older child from accessing the pool but they may act as a deterrent.

Pool covers can operate as a safety feature, depending on the type of cover installed, however, soft covers, whose purpose is to prevent heat loss and exclude debris, will not offer any protection from drowning and may in fact exacerbate the problem. Someone falling into a pool with a soft pool cover may slip beneath the cover making it more difficult to get out and less likely that they will be detected.

Steps which can be taken to reduce the risk of a tragedy in a private/home swimming pool:-

• Fence the pool area and ensure that entry points are installed with locks which are either childproof or at adult height
• Warn children of the dangers of a swimming pool and the need to have an adult present
• Teaching children to swim will help however, it does not fully eliminate the risk (even children who could swim have been drowning victims)
• Always make visitors aware of the pool (particularly those with children)
• Install suitable and sufficient lifesaving devices
• Lock pool plant room and balance tank access points
• Learn rescue techniques, basic first aid and know who to phone in an emergency.
• Discourage swimming after a heavy meal, alcohol or drugs

Whilst fences and covers can offer some protection against children drowning in pools, there is no substitute for active and constant supervision, particularly of children.

If you remember only one thing from this article, consider that more children from the UK drown in hotel and villa pools abroad than drown in public pools at home. When booking accommodation for your holiday be sure to ask about pool safety from the owner or agent.
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The author owns a Cyprus holiday villa equipped with perimeter fencing to the newest standards and locking entry gates.
Esentepe Seaside Villa

Common concerns for the elderly include difficulty with stairs, difficulty with community activities such as grocery shopping, difficulty taking care of their home and difficulty taking care of them. Even with these concerns, there is a trend in today’s elderly to want to stay in their own home rather than go to an assistive living facility or a retirement center. The good news is that with the right help the aging population just might be able to accomplish staying in their own homes.

The first thing to think about is the kind of help that might be needed as the aging process ensues. It is important to think about the kind of help that might be needed in the near future. It is difficult to plan ahead because one never knows what life will throw their way. Some people start by having trouble doing everyday activities of daily living such as shopping, cooking, and taking care of the home as well as themselves. Whether you live alone, live with a partner that is ill, or have a chronic illness such as diabetes, lung disease, or heart disease there is help out there for you.
Most people begin to rely upon family members to help them out. However, this can become draining on family relationships. In today’s growing health care field, you can get almost any type of help that you want in your home. The different types of services that can be used for help include:

1. Personal care services for help with bathing or dressing, meal prep, light housekeeping, and transportation to appointments.
2. Companion/homemaker services for help with housecleaning, yard work, laundry or shopping, meals or even just someone to talk to.
3. Home health aide for short term health care needs. It is usually covered through Medicare for when someone gets out of the hospital and still need nursing care at home.
4. Adult day care centers are there for when the time when someone cannot be alone during the day. They usually pick you up and bring you home.

The cost of help varies depending on the types of services that are required. Some types of help do cost, however Medicare, Medicaid, or other long term insurances might assist with some home care. Funding is also available through non-profit programs on the Federal and State levels. It is important to check into individual insurance coverage to see what is covered. Checking into community resources and finding volunteer programs can also be a big help in assisting home care. In order to fulfill your wish of still living in your own home, make sure to look at all of your options, speak with your family and physician.
About the Author

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Bekie Cohner is a nurse and writer who has 10 years of experience working in the Austin Health Care field in the geriatric population.