Baby Pregnant

Early Pregnancy Testing After years of trying unsuccessfully to conceive a child, I am the queen of early pregnancy testing. I know that science tells us that early pregnancy testing is not always accurate, but who has the patience to wait weeks before finding out if they are carrying a little bundle of joy? My doctor frowns on early pregnancy testing. He told me that it takes about two weeks after you conceive to accumulate enough HCG for a test to give a positive result. By his calculations, early pregnancy testing is just a waste of money. Maybe he is right, but I just can’t help myself and I give into the early pregnancy testing bug every time. I order pregnancy tests online by the case. I keep them in my bathroom so that I can satisfy my early pregnancy testing whim any time I feel like it. Early pregnancy testing can be extremely frustrating. The three minutes it takes for a line to show up can seem like hours. I try to follow the early pregnancy testing directions. I try to wait for three minutes before I look at the test to see if I am pregnant. Oh, who am I kidding? Every time I give into the urge for early pregnancy testing, I end up sitting on the bathroom counter, holding the test in my hand for the entire three minutes, verbally willing a line to show up. When the three minutes have gone by, I stand there, twisting the test to every angle imaginable. I hold it at arms length. I put it right up to my nose. I squint my eyes, hoping that the blur it creates will show me an early pregnancy testing line. I examine each shadow and I have even been known to rip apart an early pregnancy testing kit to see if the line is more visible outside the casing. Yes, I know. I have it bad. I am suffering from EPTS. (Early Pregnancy Testing Syndrome) I have even been known to dig an hour old test out of the trash just to see if a line somehow snuck onto it. When I finally did get pregnant, I couldn’t believe that I was really seeing a line. I went through five more early pregnancy testing kits before I believed that I was pregnant. I had spent so many years with negative pregnancy results that I didn’t know a positive result when I saw it.

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Early Signs of Pregnancy

It’s a good idea to keep a look out for the early signs of pregnancy if you are trying for a baby. Its very important to see a doctor and begin a regiment of prenatal care as early in your pregnancy as possible, so the sooner you become aware of it the better. Even if you aren’t trying for one, no birth control is totally effective and so it’s a good idea to be familiar with some early signs of pregnancy just in case. Probably the most well known early sign of pregnancy is a missed menstrual cycle. A late period for most women is their first sign that they might be pregnant, yet there are actually some early signs of pregnancy that can occur even before then. One early symptom of pregnancy that can occur even just a week or two after conception is the dreaded ‘morning sickness’. While morning sickness does indeed often occur in the morning, it can happen at anytime throughout the day, and can be persistent. Many women report having had morning sickness symptoms up to two weeks before the expected period was missed. Another common early sign of pregnancy that can occur shortly after conception is tender and swelling breasts. Breasts often become tender before a normal menstrual cycle, but swelling and tingling sensations in addition to tenderness is a strong indicator of pregnancy. Finally, fatigue is another early indicator, especially if other early signs of pregnancy are present as well. It’s a good idea to keep in mind that many women don’t experience any of these early signs of pregnancy at all and do not realize they are pregnant until well after their expected menstrual cycle was missed. Other women begin experiencing symptoms almost immediately after conception. The types and intensity of symptoms women experience varies from woman to woman, and can vary from pregnancy to pregnancy within the same woman as well. Many women may experience some combination of early signs of pregnancy and not be pregnant at all. All of the symptoms discussed above can occur due to stress, sickness, hormone imbalances, diet, birth control pills or other medications, or pretty much anything else that throws your body a little out of whack. If you suspect you could be pregnant, its always a good idea to take a pregnancy test and see a doctor just to be on the safe side.

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Patchwork Quilt

My grandmother and mother are both quilters. I love looking at the works of art that each have created over the years. My sister and I decided that we would like to learn how to quilt to keep this tradition alive in the family. Our mother makes very elaborate appliqué quilts. We knew that we did not want to start with something that complicated. We went to a fabric store together to find quilting patterns for beginners. The sales clerk suggested that we start with a patchwork quilt. This would be less difficult and also less expensive. A patchwork quilt consists on different fabrics cut into pieces and sewed together to create the quilt top. A coordinating solid or print fabric is used for the back of the quilt and a batting is placed in between. The top and back are then quilted together through hand sewing with thread, or by tying knots through all the layers with pieces of yarn. That process is known as tying a quilt. Each patchwork quilt is different because the quilter decides if each piece of fabric will be the same size and shape and also how to arrange the pieces. The clerk suggested using the same size squares of each fabric and to alternate the fabrics to create a sequence in the colors. As people get more involved in quilting they can create designs and patterns in the patchwork quilt by the placement of the colored fabrics. I decided that I would make the patchwork quilt for the bed in our guest room. I wanted jewel tones for this room. I chose three solid colors and three coordinating patterns. I found a striped fabric that featured all of the colors to use for the back of the patchwork quilt. My sister’s daughter is pregnant so she decided to make a baby quilt. She bought pastel colored solids and prints that had animals on them. I like the look of hand stitched quilts so I new that I wanted to quilt my patchwork quilt by hand. I did not want to attempt an elaborate pattern for my first project so I decided to cut my different fabrics in six inch squares. Once I cut out my squares I arranged the squares alternating solids and patterns. I sewed the squares together and then pinned the top, bottom and filling together. With chalk I placed as X in each square. I then hand stitched the outline of the square and the X. I used an embroidery hoop to hold the fabric taunt while I sewed. I then used a solid color binding to complete the edging. My first patchwork quilt is not perfect, but I enjoyed doing the project and look forward to making another one.

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Chlamydia Treatments and Infertility

Chlamydia Treatments Chlamydia is a nasty little sexually transmitted disease (STD) that can cause major damage to the female reproductive organs if not diagnosed and treated effectively. According to www.womenshealth.about.com, chlamydia affects over 3 million people per year, and three out of four of these people are under the age of 25 years. An overwhelming 50% of women have had chlamydia before they reached the age of 30. The signs of symptoms of chlamydia may be absent or only slightly noticeable, and if Chlamydia treatment is not sought soon enough, severe damage can happen to the ovaries, Fallopian tubes, and uterus, causing infertility. Many women who have sought chlamydia treatment in the past may not even know that their reproductive system has been affected until they are unable to get pregnant. Chlamydia treatment usually does not include checking the function of the reproductive organs, and is only discovered when these women seek treatment for infertility. More than 50% of infected women and 25% of infected men may not show any symptoms of chlamydia. If symptoms are present, it may be abnormal discharge or painful urination, both of which can be very slight. Often times Chlamydia has progressed far enough that some damage has already occurred because treatment was not initiated sooner. These chlamydia treatments usually consist of prescription antibiotics, such as Zithromax, tetracycline, or erythromycin, all antibiotics that are effective in killing chlamydia with only a few doses. Patients should be instructed to finish prescribed chlamydia treatments even if symptoms are no longer present. Other the STD may not be totally eradicated and come back with a vengeance, requiring more chlamydia treatment with an even stronger antibiotic. The only way to avoid having to seek chlamydia treatment is to use a barrier device, such as a condom during intercourse. If you don’t know your partner that well, or there are extramarital relationships occurring, then by all means use a condom just to be safe. You may never know, especially if you are single and having one night stands and engaging in other promiscuous sexual activities. If you do contract the bug, then seek testing and chlamydia treatment as soon as possible. You may be too embarrassed to seek chlamydia treatment, which is understandable, but at the same time, your reproductive health is at stake. Confide in your health car provider if you have engaged in unprotected sex, and get tested. You may not have Chlamydia, but you will feel much better knowing that, and if you do, you can start chlamydia treatment right away.

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Infertility Treatments

Infertility Treatments Many couples find themselves seeking infertility treatments because they have not been able to get pregnant within a reasonable amount of time on their own, usually considered to be a year or more of unprotected sex. Infertility treatments have become more progressive over past years, and have resulted in successful outcomes for couples desiring to have children. It may take more than one attempt in many cases, which can run into tens of thousands of dollars for some couples, if insurance coverage is not available. Only a handful of states across the nation require health insurance carriers to cover infertility treatments, leaving couples who want to have a baby having to finance the whole expense. For such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) or gamete intra-fallopian transfer (GIFT), this could be as much as $8–10,000 each attempt. Some couples even take out second mortgages on their homes to provide the funds to pay for infertility treatments. When couples first decide to consult a professional for infertility treatment, there are many questions that they want answers to right away; they want to know who has the problem. These concerns can usually be addressed quite easily with a few simple tests. Women may simply have a hormone imbalance that affects her chances of getting pregnant, which can easily checked and treated. The first thing checked from the male partner is the sperm assay, to make sure that enough are being produced. If the count is low the chance of the sperm penetrating the egg is decreased. Further evaluation of both partners will be needed if nothing is found with the initial testing, at which time the couple will probably be referred to an infertility specialist. Treatment for infertility does not have to involve complicated technical procedures, and in many cases can be resolved with hormone treatments and/or surgery. If couples do proceed with more extensive infertility treatment, they should take the time to research the infertility clinic, the reproductive endocrinologists on staff, that clinic’s success rates for various procedures and how much they cost, what insurance plans they accept, and what services are included and not included for the quoted cost. Infertility treatments usually are based on the couple completing one cycle from beginning to end, but of course can vary depending on each individual case. Many couples find success with infertility treatments, and though results are not guaranteed, it is an option that is available. Infertility treatments are the answer to many couples’ dreams, to have a child of their own, no matter the cost, whatever it takes.