Baby Bump With A Fist Pump - Hatch 22

In fact, the only thing in motion was the multiple tears streaming down my wife’s face. Although I did my best to keep it together, I could feel my body becoming numb because my arteries were clogged with so much pain from the recent news. It felt as if we were trapped in a “Catch-22” scenario where our desired outcome of having a healthy baby was impossible to attain because of the paradoxical conditions that plagued us.

Joseph Heller, an American author renowned for his Catch-22 phrase and novel, once stated that “destiny is a good thing to accept when it’s going your way. When it isn’t, don’t call it destiny; call it injustice, treachery, or simple bad luck.”

Even in the midst of tragedy, our outlook was positive. While mourning our loss, even till this day, our faith never wavered. We celebrated the fact that pregnancy was possible and kept trying.

Today, I’m ecstatic to rephrase the Catch-22 term to “Hatch 22.” Yes, we’re having a baby girl! In fact, the featured image associated with this post is actually the ultrasound of our daughter giving a fist pump to the world:-)

To celebrate our baby bump, I’ve compiled a general list of 22 recommendations from experts to help new parents:

When Pregnant

1. Avoid Neurotoxins – This is obvious but things, such as cigarette smoke, alcohol, or drugs during pregnancy negatively impacts brain development that could potentially lead to behavioral and learning problems.
2. Nutrition – Eating a healthy diet daily that includes lots of fruits and vegetables will assist with nourishing your baby’s growing brain and body.
3. Exercise – Not only will this give you additional stamina for labor & delivery but also moderate levels of “cortisol,” which is a stress hormone secreted when exercising used to promote the development and growth of your child’s brain and other major organs.
4. Supplements – Make sure to include folic acid, Omega-3 fatty acids (DHA), and Iron in your diet to lower pregnancy risks and to promote the healthy growth and development of neurons and other brain cells for your baby. You can get these supplements at any vitamin store, along with consuming walnuts and other fatty fishes, such as Salmon.
5. Iodine – Low levels of thyroid hormone were linked to subtle IQ deficits. To address this, doctors recommend ~220mcg of iodine per day to assist with ensuring that your glands function properly. This could be found in milk, yogurt, and even iodized salt.
6. Reduce Stress – Like exercising, doing your best to reduce stress will also moderate your cortisol levels to promote healthy brain growth.
7. Interact & Bond – Research indicates that your baby can hear and respond approximately halfway through your pregnancy. Because of this, it’s recommended that parent’s interact and bond with their child as much as possible when pregnant (e.g. speaking, touch, music, reading, etc.). Babies are known to recognize those same bond and interactions later in life.
8. Stimulation – Experts also believe that some form of bodily stimulation when pregnant also assist with increasing your baby’s alertness.
9. Bisphenol A (BPA) – Do your best to avoid items containing BPA, such as plastic bottles and canned foods, since it’s been tied to neuro-development disorders that potentially lowers your baby’s intelligence.
10. Sleep – Make sure that you get enough rest when pregnant, especially since your body is working overtime to provide the needed nutrients for your growing child.

Remember, your baby’s brain develops faster in the mother’s womb during these 9 months compared to any other time in their life!

After Birth

1. Breastfeed – Research confirmed that children who were breastfed as infants had higher IQ’s compared to those who weren’t.
2. Interact & Bond – Experts concluded that parents who interacted more with their children led to kids with higher IQ (e.g. sing, talk).
3. Touch – Infant development specialists believe that touching your baby frequently has a powerful influence on your child’s intellectual, including physical, development.
4. Carry – Motion regulates babies so carrying your baby will minimize the amount of crying, thus allowing more time and energy for growing, learning, bonding, etc.
5. Read – Scientist confirmed that reading to your child will help them with learning and language so do your best to read to them daily.
6. Games – Playing fun games that stimulate your child’s brain will help them make smart connections in life.
7. Obstacles – Setup obstacle courses with pillows and blankets to help boost their mental and motor skills when encountering obstacles in life.
8. Question – Teach your child to question things that they don’t understand so that they learn the process of thought, ideas, facts, research, etc.
9. Basics – Educate your child as early as possible on the basics of life and the importance of family, friends, finance, business, education, investing.
10. Creativity – Promote an environment for your baby that fosters imagination, creativity, and innovation.
11. Decision-Making – Researchers confirmed that children who learned how to make decisions early in life are better at it later in life.
12. Love & Nurture – Most importantly, always love and nurture your child since this will affect all aspects of their life – research also confirmed that it’ll help your baby develop a larger “hippocampus” which is an important region of the brain used for memory, learning, stress responses.

As you can imagine, this is a very personal post that I’m finally ready to share in an effort to help others. Thrilled to be a new dad, I’ll provide another update once our daughter is born. Till then, fist pump to all from SuccessPenPal (SPP)!

https://pregnancyready.com/baby-bump-with-a-fist-pump-hatch-22/