Caffeine and Miscarriages?

There is a Newsweek article detailing a troubling link between caffeine consumption and an increased risk of miscarriage. The study was performed over a two year period on 1,063 pregnant SF area women.

The summary of the study is described in this quote:

A study published Monday in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (AJOG) reports that women who reported consuming more than 200 milligrams of caffeine a day during the first three months of pregnancy doubled their risk of miscarriage (from the 12 percent average among participants who used no caffeine to 25 percent). During a two-year period, 1,063 pregnant San Francisco-area women participated in the study.

The article describes how a regular Starbuck’s coffee, the “Tall”, contains 260mg of caffeine! While the link betwen caffeine consumption and mis-carriages is considered controversial, it certainly gives you and your wife something to consider. If your wife is a caffeine drinker have her consult her doctor.

Pregnancy - week by week

One of the parenting books in our household right now is Your Pregnancy Week by Week, Fifth Edition. It is easy to read for Dad’s and packed full of great info. As the title implies, it is a week by week guide to your wifes pregnancy with each chapter representing a week of pregnancy.

This is a great resource for expecting dad’s to read as each chapter brings you up to speed with what is going on with her body and the baby. It’s pretty amazing to learn about how the baby is developing throughout the pregnancy. There is also lots of information about nutrition for your wife, exercise tips (for both of you!) and lots more.

Being There While Away

We all have to travel from time to time. Some of us more than others. Whether your travel involves a trip to China for a walk through of the new manufacturing facility, or just a day in the office for work, your kids will miss you! Wouldn’t it be great if you could shoot home just to say “Hi” even when you are miles (or continents) away!

Well, chances are you already have all the tools you need to do this: a computer with internet at home? Probably. A computer for the road/office? Most likely. An internet connection on the road? I’m sure you’ll find one! Well then, go ahead and install Skype so you can make free skype-to-skype calls. Better yet…go get yourself a web cam for the home and your laptop and you can make skype-to-skype video calls for free as well!

“Home Work” from the Road

For those road warriors out there whose jobs take them away on business, listen up! Just because you can’t be home, doesn’t mean you can’t help out at home. There are so many ways to contribute when you’re away on business; even the little things can go a long way when your wife doesn’t have to deal with them. You can either get a head start on the house chores while you travel, or hang out with Ted from accounting, raid the mini-fridge and watch infomercials.

Paying the Bills
This is an easy one and you probably bank online already. If not, see if your bank offers online banking. It’s a huge time saver to begin with and if you can take care of your bills on the road, that means more time to spend with your family when you get home.

Making Appointments
You don’t need to be home to pick up the phone. See what calls need to be made, you may already have your list, but check with your wife to see if there are appointments to be setup (doctors visit, play groups, etc). If you are traveling between time zones, that may be to your advantage. You may be able make calls after hours your time and catch the Dr. while he is still in.

Grocery Shopping
In the Northeast we have Stop and Shop and their Peapod Home Delivery service. I am sure there are similar services available in your area so check them out. With Peapod you can create a set list of the items you always buy which makes it easier to do your weekly/bi-weekly shopping.

This was just a short list of tasks you can take care of while you are on the road so your wife doesn’t have to. I’d love to hear what things you do from the road that help out at home.

Pets and your Newborn

As we are expecting our first child we began wondering how our two cats, Nikki and Dakota, will take to having a new addition to the family. Nikki is a crotchety old lady and Dakota is blind and curious, but we were mostly concerned that Nikki would use the crib as her new bed. So that got us to do some research.

Here are some good tips I found:

• Keep your pets nails trimmed (if applicable, obviously!)
• Introduce your pets to your newborn gradually. Perhaps greeting your pets without the baby first. Then acclimating the pets to their new friend over the next few days.
• Be sure to spend quality time with your pets, make sure they don’t feel neglected.

And to keep the cat out of your baby’s crib you can place tinfoil over the mattress to teach your cats prior to bringing home the baby. Or BabyCenter.com readers recommend using a crib tent.

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