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Sadly, many new parents discover this truth first-hand when they’re on their own, overtired, and just days into breastfeeding with painfully engorged breasts, tender lumps, cracked nipples, or inflamed areolas. Learn more about how to get relief from breastfeeding pain. Pain While Breastfeeding Most painful breastfeeding symptoms are highly treatable and preventable. Information is key—ideally, before the sore nipples and other painful issues arise—but at any point, changes can be made to greatly alleviate symptoms....

Chinese names are usually made up of three characters. The family name is the first character, and the remaining two characters are the given name. Sometimes, especially in Mainland China, the given name is just one character. Most Chinese characters have a meaning that can be translated into English, but Chinese names are often not fully translatable. Traditionally, parents would consult an astrologer to suggest a good name for their baby....

These editor picks for plane and car travel with a baby will help keep them fed, rested, comfortable, and entertained on short or long journeys, which means you can relax a little too. Lamaze Captain Calamari It’s a pirate … octopus? Sure, why not. All I know is that, when I bring it out, my baby is riveted. Is it the mirror on the bottom? The ball with the colorful little balls inside that rattle when he shakes it?...

Some of these milestones will have more psychological than medical significance. With certain milestone moments, your odds of miscarriage will actually drop once you’ve passed that point in pregnancy. If your doctor checks and doesn’t find it when you’re just 9 or 10 weeks, it may just be too early. If you plan to rent a Doppler for home use, consider waiting until your doctor has found the heartbeat during a prenatal checkup so you know whether it should be audible yet....

Your identity is changing too. If this is your first baby, you are experiencing the psychological transformation of becoming a parent—of your life suddenly being about much more than your own well-being. If you are expanding your family, you may be feeling anxiety about sharing your heart with a new little one. You may be worried about finances, family structure, childcare options, and so much more. It’s no wonder that pregnancy can be a taxing experience—there are so many highs and lows throughout the 40 weeks of pregnancy....

For parents looking for summer-themed names, there are a wealth of sunny choices. These names may be infused with the warmth of the sun, the cool, salty spray of the ocean, the heady, freshness of summer grass, the breathtaking bounty of bright wildflowers, or the piercing blue of the summer sky. Other parents may want a summer name simply because their baby is due (or was conceived) during the summer months....

Meet With Your Teen’s or Older Child’s Teachers Collaborating with your child’s teachers is a great place to start. Explain exactly what concerns you have about your child’s reading ability to the teachers. Be prepared to provide specific examples of times when your child wasn’t able to read or struggled with reading. Explain how this affects your child’s ability to complete homework and other tasks. You can also find out from the teachers what they have noticed about your teen’s reading....

Contractions occur in pregnancy when you have a certain level of oxytocin flowing in your blood. This can be very normal, like labor, when your body and your baby’s brain release oxytocin to stimulate contractions for labor. Or it can happen if you are dehydrated, meaning a little bit of oxytocin your body would have ignored earlier is in greater concentration, and now you’re having contractions. Here are some times when contractions happen and what you need to do about them....

As more women wait until their 30s or older to start having children, it may be difficult for young mothers to know exactly how to navigate being a young adult and having a child. At a time when it feels like most twenty-somethings are barely moving out of their parents’ houses in their twenties, let alone raising children, becoming a young mother might feel rather isolating. But if you’re a young mom, you shouldn’t feel ashamed....

Your Baby’s Development at 5 Weeks At 5 weeks, a baby measures approximately 1/17th of an inch or 1.5 mm. That’s about the size of a strawberry seed. The baby is growing rapidly, and the major organ systems of their body are beginning are to form, specifically the brain and the heart. Which Trimester? First trimester How Many Weeks to Go? 35 weeks Layers of Development At this time, your little embryo begins to lengthen and take on the appearance of a tadpole thanks, in part, to the development of the all-important neural tube that runs from the top to the bottom of the embryo....

When faced with a snow day, it can be helpful to plan some activities that will keep your children occupied. “Start by segmenting the day’s activities into chunks that echo the child’s school schedule, and put timers on your phone to keep the day moving,” suggests Deimosa Webber-Bey, director of information services and cultural insight at Scholastic, Inc. “Brainstorm the to-do list together and post it in a visible location where activities can be crossed off as they are completed....

Even if your family lives in a climate where spring can be rainy or muddy, there are still plenty of engaging activities for teens to do. So, whether you are looking to fill time over spring break, encourage your teen to set down their smartphone, or simply have a bored teen on your hands, here are 55 fun activities you can do with teens or they do on their own....

Numerous resorts and vacation hot spots offer childcare services, but parents should check out the facilities and staff qualifications before leaving kids at an unknown facility. Here are things to consider when looking for daycare on vacation. Many large daycare centers can accommodate an extra child on vacation and you may be able to arrange for special rates or services that would typically be found at the regular location. If possible, go online to the main website and look over the locations....

Not only are bedtime behavior problems frustrating, but they also interfere with your child’s sleep. Missing even a little shut-eye can be a big problem for kids. Sleep deprivation has been linked to everything from increased academic issues to behavior problems. What can you do to solve bedtime woes? Here are some strategies that can help put an end to bedtime behavior problems fast. Establish Bedtime Rules Create bedtime rules that outline your expectations....

Disenfranchised grief is a natural emotional reaction following a loss that is not openly accepted by society. And although we’ve seen a small shift toward a less stigmatized view of pregnancy loss, largely in thanks to everyday people sharing their stories with friends and family and on social media, the stigma and silence surrounding pregnancy loss still remains. Grief can make us feel alone and isolated, and disenfranchised grief can further complicate our healing process which makes a due date an emotionally challenging time....

Newborn Poop The number of times your newborn has a bowel movement will vary, but most have at least one or two bowel movements a day in the first month. However, this is not true for all newborns. In the first week of life, a breastfed baby may have a bowel movement with almost every feeding. A formula-fed newborn, on the other hand, will have fewer poopy diapers. Both are normal....

Pre-Reading Skills: Print awareness (helping kids make the connection between printed letters and words and the ideas and stories they represent), vocabulary building, print motivation (interest in reading, in books, and in how they work) If you think he’s up to the challenge, you may even want to cut the text from the illustrations (if the book’s design allows this). Then see if he can match the text with the pictures....

While eating disorders are often associated with women, men also suffer from disordered eating and may experience reduced fertility as a result. What’s the connection between eating disorders and fertility? Can you get pregnant on your own even if you are currently dealing with or have previously dealt with, an eating disorder? What happens if you do get pregnant? Types of Eating Disorders The three most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and a third category known as Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED) formerly known as Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS)...