Also, when doing some research, I thought that these myths were quite funny. These were also found on WebMD. I think that many people don’t think about these kinds of things, but many people do. I chose this one, mainly because it’s funny, but I do think that some of it is informative. So, enjoy!!

Sex and Pregnancy Myths

Pregnancy Myths: Keep Your Fingers Crossed, or Your Legs?

One pregnancy myth many teens believe is "if I don’t ejaculate inside the vagina, you won’t get pregnant." Or "If I pull out, or just put it in a few times, you won’t get pregnant."

Wrong. Did you know there is such a thing as pre-ejaculation? It's fluid that seeps out of the penis before the guy ejaculates. This fluid contains sperm, and the sperm are going to do whatever they can to get to the egg. If any semen is present around the penis and it comes in contact with any part of the vaginal area, there is a risk of pregnancy.

Some couples use the "rhythm method" of birth control, where they try to have sex only during "safe" periods of the female’s monthly menstrual cycle. Unfortunately, there is still a high risk of pregnancy. There is also a risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease (STD), since you're still having unprotected sex.

There are many more sex and pregnancy myths out there. Here are a few of the most common. Sure, some of them might be funny, but it’s always surprising what some people actually believe:

Pregnancy Myth: Having sex standing up prevents you from getting pregnant.

Reality: False. Having vaginal sex in any position carries the risk of pregnancy.

Pregnancy Myth: If a girl does "jumping jacks" after sex, she won’t get pregnant.

Reality: False. You can jump up and down all you want, but if one sperm makes contact with one egg, bingo: someone’s pregnant.

Pregnancy Myth: If a girl doesn’t have an orgasm, she won’t get pregnant.

Reality: False. Female orgasms have no bearing on whether an egg can be fertilized.

Pregnancy Myth : Having sex in water prevents you from getting pregnant.

Reality: False again! Any sperm contact with the vagina increases your risk of getting pregnant. If the water temperature is proper, sperm can survive outside the body for several minutes. Many babies are born about nine months after a guy and girl had sex while swimming around in a lake or the ocean.

Pregnancy Myth: A girl can’t get pregnant if she has sex while on her period.

Reality: Again, untrue. Remember, a sperm can survive for up to a week inside the female.

Pregnancy Myth: Douching or washing my vagina out after sex will prevent me from getting pregnant.

Reality: Nope. Remember, sperm are designed to do one thing – fertilize the egg. Even washing thoroughly after sex does not prevent you from becoming pregnant.

Pregnancy: Weight Gain During Pregnancy

Gaining the right amount of weight during pregnancy by eating a healthy, balanced diet is a good sign that your baby is getting all the nutrients he or she needs and is growing at a healthy rate.

It is not necessary to "eat for two" during pregnancy. It's true that you need extra calories from nutrient-rich foods to help your baby grow, but you generally need to consume only 100 to 300 more calories than you did before you became pregnant to meet the needs of your growing baby.

Ask your health care provider how much weight you should gain during pregnancy. A woman of average weight before pregnancy should gain 25 to 35 pounds during pregnancy. Underweight women should gain 28-40 pounds during pregnancy. Overweight women may need to gain only 15-25 pounds during pregnancy. You may need to gain more or less weight, depending on what your health care provider recommends.

In general, you should gain about 2 to 4 pounds during your first three months of pregnancy and 1 pound a week for the remainder of your pregnancy. If you are expecting twins you should gain 35 to 45 pounds during your pregnancy. This would be an average of 1 ½ pounds per week after the usual weight gain in the first three months.

Where Does the Extra Weight Go?

Baby	8 pounds
Placenta	2-3 pounds
Amniotic fluid	2-3 pounds
Breast tissue	2-3 pounds
Blood supply	4 pounds
Fat stores for delivery and breastfeeding	5-9 pounds
Uterus increase	2-5 pounds
Total	25 to 35 pounds

Is It Safe to Lose Weight During Pregnancy?

No. It is never safe to lose weight during pregnancy -- both you and your baby need the proper nutrients in order to be healthy.

How Can I Gain the Appropriate Amount of Weight During Pregnancy

If your health care provider recommends gaining more weight during pregnancy, here are some suggestions:

• Eat five to six small, frequent meals every day.
• Keep quick, easy snacks on hand, such as nuts, raisins, cheese and crackers, dried fruit, and ice cream/yogurt.
• Spread peanut butter on toast, crackers, apples, bananas, or celery. One tablespoon of creamy peanut butter will provide about 100 calories and seven grams of protein.
• Add nonfat powdered milk to foods such as mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs and hot cereal.
• Add condiments to your meal, such as butter or margarine, cream cheese, gravy, sour cream and cheese.

What Should I Do If I Gain Too Much Weight?

It’s important to keep track of your overall weight gain during pregnancy; the amount of weight you need to gain depends on your weight when you became pregnant.

Too much weight gain during pregnancy can increase the risk of having a large baby or early delivery. According to the March of Dimes, if you were overweight when you became pregnant you should gain only about 15-20 pounds. The March of Dimes adds that while gaining too much weight is not something you want to do during pregnancy, “you should never try to lose weight during pregnancy because that could harm your baby.”

Be sure to eat a variety of foods to get all the nutrients you and your baby need. Here are some tips to slow your weight gain:

• When eating out at a fast food restaurant, choose lower fat items such as broiled chicken breast sandwich with tomato and lettuce (no sauce or mayonnaise), side salad with low-fat dressing, plain bagels or a plain baked potato. Avoid fried foods such as French fries, mozzarella sticks or breaded chicken patties.
• Avoid whole milk products. You need at least four servings of milk products every day. However, using skim, 1% or 2% milk will greatly reduce the amount of calories and fat you eat. Also choose low-fat or fat-free cheese or yogurt.
• Limit sweet or sugary drinks. Sweetened drinks such as soft drinks, fruit punch, fruit drinks, iced tea, lemonade or powdered drink mixes provide many calories with little nutrients. Choose water, club soda, or mineral water to avoid extra calories.
• Do not add salt to foods when cooking. Salt causes your body to retain water.
• Limit sweets and high calorie snacks. Cookies, candies, donuts, cakes, syrup, honey and potato chips provide many calories with little nutrition. Try not to eat these types of foods every day. Instead, try fresh fruit, low-fat yogurt, angel food cake with strawberries, or pretzels as lower calorie snack and dessert choices.
• Use fats in moderation. Fats include cooking oils, margarine, butter, gravy, sauces, mayonnaise, regular salad dressings, sauces, lard, sour cream and cream cheese. Try the lower fat substitutes that are available for these foods.
• Prepare meals using low-fat cooking methods. Frying foods in oil or butter will increase the calories and fat of that meal. Baking, broiling or boiling are healthier, lower fat methods of cooking.

Exercise. Moderate exercise, as recommended by your health care provider, can help burn excess calories. Walking or swimming is generally safe, effective exercises for pregnant women. But, be sure to talk to your health care provider before starting an exercise program

After I was reviewing my blog posts, I realized that I have nothing about signs of pregnancy. I think that this could be helpful for couples trying to get pregnant as well as people that are having an unplanned pregnancy land in their lap. On WebMD I found this list.

Pregnancy: Am I Pregnant?

If you're unusually tuned into your body, you might begin to suspect that you're pregnant within the first few days of pregnancy. But, most women don't suspect they are pregnant until they miss a period, and a few don't suspect or believe they are pregnant for months after conception.

Here are 5 common signs of early pregnancy. You may experience all, some or none of these symptoms.

1. A Missed Period. Missing your period is the most clear-cut sign of pregnancy. But it is not definitive, as stress or other factors may cause irregular periods.
2. Frequent Trips to the Bathroom. Even before missing a period, most pregnant women report having to go to the bathroom more often. You may even have to get up during the night! This occurs after the embryo has implanted in the uterus and begins producing the pregnancy hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). This hormone triggers frequent urination.
3. Fatigue. Utter exhaustion is a very early sign of pregnancy. Fatigue is a result of high levels of the hormone progesterone.
4. Morning (and Noon and Night!) Sickness. Guess what? That queasy feeling isn't limited to mornings. Most pregnant women who experience morning sickness feel slightly nauseated at other times during the day as well. About half have vomiting, but very few have severe enough morning sickness to develop dehydration and malnutrition.
5. Sore (and Enlarged) Breasts. If you're pregnant, your breasts will probably become increasingly tender to the touch, similar to the way they feel before your period, only more so. Once your body grows accustomed to the increase in hormones, the pain will subside.

If you have any of the above symptoms, consider taking a pregnancy test as soon as possible.

Managing morning sickness

For many women, the toughest part of early pregnancy is morning sickness. If you are suffering from nausea, vomiting, or both, you need safe measures that will bring you some relief. Your best course of action for managing morning sickness is home treatment. By following a few proven guidelines, you are likely to gain significant relief from nausea and vomiting. Home treatment measures for morning sickness include:

• Changing what, when, and how much you eat.
• Taking ginger, vitamin B₆, or vitamin B₁₂, which are known to reduce nausea and/or vomiting during pregnancy.
• Avoiding foods and smells that make you feel sick.
• Trying acupressure, which seems to work for some women.
• Taking doxylamine with vitamin B₆, which you can buy without a prescription. Talk to your health professional before taking this remedy.

If you have severe, persistent nausea and vomiting, see your doctor or nurse-midwife immediately. This uncommon complication of pregnancy can lead to dehydration and malnutrition, sometimes requiring prescribed medication or hospitalization.

http://www.webmd.com/baby/default.htm

Gosh, the more we are supposed to write in our blogs, the more I become blank as to what to write about. The girls I nanny for are now six months old, which means that they are eating normal baby food and discovering many new things about themselves everyday. On Wednesday we are going to JCPenny's for the girl's six month pictures. I am so excited to get to dress them and help make them smile for the camera. Throughout many of my human development classes I have learned a lot about how humans develop as well as being a parent. I am learning what a huge decision this is. I feel like it is something that people really look over and don’t always think seriously about. There are many young people having sex and then the child is the one who ends up paying the price for not always having a great childhood. I learned that on average raising a child that is born in 2007 until he/she is 18 years old, they will cost $250,000. I am sure that is not something most people think about. Babies not only require your time, energy, love, support, discipline, structure, books, toys and your undivided attention, but lots and lots of money. This can be a really scary thing for low income parents or even worse a single parent. Let alone, a single woman. Women don’t make as much money as men do and they end up being stretched in many directions. I do think that there are many resources for low income families here in Fort Collins, but what I really think parents need is information as well as support. I have found a few websites that might answer a few common questions parents often have.

http://www.tnpc.com/

http://www.parenthood.com/

http://www.ehow.com/how_2426_care-infant-after.html

Throughout this last week of babysitting I am realizing how fast children grow up. I have always wondered about their patterns, when they do what developmentally and when they do things such as start eating real food. The girls I nanny are beginning to eat sweet potatoes and baby cereal. I found some websites about general developmental progress that babies go through. Children generally start teething anywhere from five months to eight months, start eating real food around six months, and start talking around one year old. Really, the development changes from child to child. There is so much information available on the web as well as in books as to what parents will expect of there children.
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Teachers/Time.html
http://health.discovery.com/centers/kids/timeline/timeline.html