5 Tips for Sleeping Well While Pregnant

Some people say that not sleeping well while pregnant is helping your body prepare for not getting any sleep once the baby arrives. I say, that’s crap. Get as much sleep as you can before that baby comes!

Some common problems that keep you from sleeping while pregnant are: heartburn, back pain, snoring (this is a problem if you’re husband wakes you up to tell you you’re snoring) and nasal congestion. At some point you might also deal with plain old insomnia and I couldn’t find a solution for that. But here are a few things that helped me with the others.

Heartburn
- Don’t drink anything before bed.
- Take a couple Tums when you lay down to sleep and keep them on your nightstand in case you need them throughout the night.

Back Pain
- Splurge on a pregnancy body pillow like this one from Boppy. They are perfect for the pregnant body. A normal body pillow really doesn’t work as well.

Snoring
- Breathe Right strips worked for me. The one thing I didn’t like is that my nose would be really red in the morning from the adhesive.

Nasal Congestion
- I suffered from the worst nasal congestion when I was pregnant. And really, it wasn’t even quite congestion. It was actually sinus swelling so even if I could’ve taken cold medicine, I’m not sure it would’ve worked. The one thing that helped was a humidifier.

Hard Baked Eggs?

I know I’m a little late in posting this since I tried it over Easter, but still wanted to share. I had seen a few posts about baking, instead of hard-boiling, eggs. I happen to have a terrible stove top that takes about 2 days to boil water so I was game to give it a try.

hard boiled eggs in the oven

It worked! And it was super simple! This is how I will make hard “boiled” eggs from now on.

I just put them in a muffin pan and put them in the oven at 300 degrees for 30 minutes. Followed immediately with an ice water bath.

We used them to color Easter eggs and then later to make deviled eggs. There was no difference between a boiled egg and the ones I baked. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Review: Green Giant Veggie Snack Chips

I recently had the opportunity to try new chips from Green Giant. The Green Giant Veggie Snack Chips are available in two flavors:
- Roasted Veggie Tortilla Chips with Zesty Cheddar are crispy tortilla chips made with real vegetables like carrot, broccoli, and tomato, plus 17g of whole grain
- Multigrain Sweet Potato Chips with Sea Salt are made with real sweet potatoes and 14g of whole grain, with 40% less fat than regular potato chips* (10g per 28g serving)

I think it’s smart for Green Giant to jump on the veggie chip band wagon. Everyone associates the brand with healthy vegetables so if you were looking for something healthy in the snack aisle, that would probably catch your eye.

Green Giant Veggie Chips

The Tasting:
I really enjoyed the Roasted Veggie Tortilla Chips with Zesty Cheddar. I opened the bag intending to have just a few for a snack…but I ended up eating the whole bag! Eating that many probably doesn’t fit the healthy profile but it tells you how tasty they are.

I was really excited to try the Multigrain Sweet Potato because I’ve been on a sweet potato kick lately. Unfortunately, I was not a fan…I didn’t finish a small bag. I do think they could work as a healthier choice when you are eating dip. As a vessel for your dip, they would be fine because it’s really all about the flavor of the dip.

Overall I’m excited about these new healthy snack options. I think they’ll be great for families who need a quick snack option but want to make sure they are eating healthy whenever they can.

I tried the products for free from BzzAgent.

Appropriate Zoo Behavior?

On a recent trip to the zoo, my family and I spent some time watching the Grizzly Bears. They were very active and close to the glass so there was a bit of a crowd gathered around. There were two male bears and one female. The males were fighting on and off (presumably over the female – she was lounging in the sun nearby).

Each time they started to fight, a few young boys would chant: Fight, Fight, Fight. It struck me as really inappropriate, but not one single parent told their child to stop chanting. Yes, bears fight. It’s in their nature. But do we really want our children encouraging it?

My son isn’t old enough to understand what was happening. He just happily watched all the action. But when he is old enough, I really hope he doesn’t take part in the chant.

Am I wrong? Was this totally normal and fine behavior for the zoo?

“Spring Cleaning” giveaway event sponsored by Tip Hero

Welcome to the “Spring Cleaning” giveaway event sponsored by Tip Hero, featuring some fabulous bloggers and the opportunity to win a prize that’s sure to help you with your spring cleaning efforts!

We’ve featured many tips here at Tip Hero that can help you save money on spring cleaning. Our free homemade cleaners ebook, for example, features some great homemade cleaner recipes from us and from our extremely helpful readers. But if you’re in need of some of the basics for cleaning up or redecorating, a $100 Walmart gift card is sure to come in handy!

This giveaway begins on April 10th and will run until April 24th at 11:59pm US Eastern time. It will be open to residents of the US only, 18+. Use the PromoSimple form below to enter, and be sure to take advantage of the many entries you can gain. You can also come back daily for more chances to win. Good luck!

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“Spring Cleaning” giveaway event

5 Minutes for Mom Ultimate Blog Party

I’m joining the 5 Minutes for Mom Ultimate Blog Party! Thanks for stopping by to check out my blog.

I’m a relatively new mom – my son is about to turn 1. I created this blog because I felt like it was hard for me to find great advice about being a new mom when I needed. It seems like everyone had a different opinion about what you should and shouldn’t do as a parent. It’s hard to know who to listen to!

So like most people, I found myself turning to Google, a lot. What else was there to do late at night while nursing? I was on the iPad constantly, searching for things like “nipple pain,” “can you get pregnant while breastfeeding,” and “foods that cause baby gas.”

Most of my searches brought up chat room discussions from years ago which were only partially helpful. So like thousands of other moms, I decided to create a blog where I could write about everything I’ve learned and share it with others. I can only hope that a new mom stumbles upon a post like “Tips for Increasing Milk Supply” in her time of need.

8 Things I Learned as a New Mom

1. How to do my make-up in less than a minute.

2. How to quietly listen to everyone’s advice, knowing I have no intention of using it.

3. Breastfeeding makes you even hungrier than when you were pregnant.

4. Breastfeeding is wonderful (after you get through the painful stage).

5. There is no way a parent knows if they have an ugly baby. Luckily mine really was adorable. (See what I mean?)

6. There are way too many door-to-door salesmen in my neighborhood. Must get “no solicitors” sign for next maternity leave.

7. Turns out that changing diapers is no big deal.

8. No matter how many books or blogs I read, nothing could’ve prepare me for this life changing moment.