As women, we prefer conceiving naturally. But situations can be a little tricky. Intrauterine insemination is a saving grace in such situations. It is the medical technique of placing the sperm directly within the uterus to get you pregnant by enhancing the chances of fertilisation. No doubt this can be stressful, but it could hold a treasure at the end of it. The days following IUI can emotionally weigh you down - considering you would always be anxious and curious to know if you are pregnant or not. You could have your own doubts, looking for signs and symptoms that confirm that the baby is finally here! Here are a few symptoms that you need to watch out for almost two weeks after IUI.

Cramping

Pretty much the same old pain that we face every month during periods. But this could feel a little different though. You could feel mild cramping in your abdomen if you are pregnant. Make sure that you rest enough and do not strain yourself by doing strenuous activities. Take it slow and wait for the good news!

Implantation bleeding.

This could be mistaken for periods but if it happens two weeks after IUI, it could be a sign of pregnancy. This small vaginal discharge happens when the egg deposits itself in the lining of the uterus. Take it seriously and get yourself checked if you come across this symptom.

Menstrual delay

This is by far the most popular symptom of pregnancy. If you have been getting periods regularly and miss your period almost two weeks after IUI, congratulations! However, if you find mild spotting in between, it could be a sign of implantation bleeding. The ideal way to be sure is to consult your doctor and get it confirmed.

Breast Tenderness.

This is one of the common signs found during periods as well as pregnancy. Your breasts could give you trouble and make you feel they are tender than ever. You could feel really weird but getting to know that you are pregnant can transform the weirdness into joy!

Aversion to food

Surprisingly, you could start hating the food that you once used to go gaga over. No kidding but this is a common symptom in pregnant women. You could also start craving for food that you once hated like plague. Yes pregnancy makes such weird things happen. It is natural that you feel pukish and would want to puke when you get certain smell, particularly of certain food. Make sure that you take enough protein to keep your baby and yourself healthy and safe. Eggs, fruits and vegetables, meat, cheese etc are a few of the safe foods for new moms that you should include in your diet.

Increased body temperature

You will witness a rise in your body temperature if you are pregnant. This happens when there is an increase in the level of progesterone. Keep a track of it. If it crosses over a period of 20 days, you are there already!

Fatigue and nausea

Pregnancy makes you feel super tired - to the point where you would just want to be on the bed all day. You could also feel nauseous and feel sick in the morning. These are common symptoms in pregnancy. Give it some time and you will be alright soon.

If you find these symptoms in your body already, and it has already been two weeks since IUI, it is about time you get it checked and confirmed. Waiting can be hard. But what if you find your pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?

Molding your child into better people is important. But it isn’t easy anyway. It demands a lot of patience, attention and understanding. You could raise your child in any way you want but what matters most is that he or she adds value to the lives of the people they meet as they grow up. A child’s mind is a white paper and it us, the parents who write on it for the very first time. Every experience contributes to molding him for better or for worse. So what are some of the good habits that you need to teach your children? Read on!

Teach him to be kind

Kindness comes first. Be an example to your child by being kind to the people around and he will gradually adapt it. Have random conversation with him regarding how important it is to be kind to his fellow beings. Teach him about helping the people in need, lending arms, feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, helping the not-so-bright students with their studies, comforting the people in pain etc.

Encouraging physical activities

There are children who face obesity at a very young age. Obese children are most likely to be bullied in school. They become couch potatoes and prefer watching TV over going out and playing. Do not let your child do this! Urge him to get out and play with his friends. This can keep him physically fit and get more healthy in the years to come. Enroll your child at a sports club and let him decide which sport he would like to pursue.

Reading maketh a full man

Reading can widen the possibilities for a child. It lets him think from different perspectives and know more about the world around. It improves his communication skills and fills him up with the knowledge that can come in handy anytime. So make sure that you buy reading books for your children and encourage their reading skills.

Keeping his surroundings clean

Children aren’t grown enough to actually care about where the sweet wrappers go after they throw it around carelessly. They are not aware of the magnitude of their act that can affect the surroundings. Hence, make your child understand that every sweet wrapper he throws make the environment filthy for his fellow beings, animals and birds. He should be made aware of how a polluted environment can affect the entire world badly in the years to come. Motivate him to pick up plastic covers and bottles and chuck them in the bin and this could eventually develop into a habit.

Eating healthy

Children are inclined to junk food which is not very good for his health. The junk food with colour and preservatives added can be really harmful to the health of your child. To avoid this, get him used to all kinds of food right from the beginning. They may have an aversion against a particular kind of food but if you could cook it in a way which is appealing to his eyes, nose and senses, he would be more than happy to eat it without any fuss. Be smart about how you present the food which he may not be very keen on eating.

Respecting others

There is nothing more disheartening than seeing children disrespect the elders. Respect should begin from home. Make sure that parents talk to each other with respect before the children. This lays the very foundation of how he would perceive others. Motivate him to respect others, especially the elders.

Working hard.

Be it in his academics, or else where, your child should have the willingness to work hard no matter the circumstances. Success comes to those who work hard and hence, teach him the importance of working hard. Give him an idea about how beautiful it is to enjoy the results of hard work. For this, be an example that he can look upto.

Your call is to raise your child to be a better human to serve humanity when he is old enough. If you do it right, be assured of the fact that your child is going to conquer the world and make you insanely proud with his kindness and virtue.

It goes without saying that parenting takes up a lot of time, effort and energy. It sort of demands the whole lot of your time, and there are times when you feel you need more than 24 hours a day to finish up all your chores while catering to every need of your baby. So what happens when you are a working mother? No doubt you would need to put in double the effort and energy. It is only natural that working mothers feel extremely guilty at times for not being able to be around their children all the time - for leaving them in crushes/daycares or with a nanny until they are back from work. If you are going through such struggles in life right now, this is for you!

You are not a bad mother!

Keep saying this to yourself! - You are not a bad mother. People may guilt trip you into believing this. People may urge you to quit the job and be there for your baby 24/7. You may have this feeling in mind that you are depriving your child of your time that he deserves. But relax! The very fact that you are juggling between work, chores and parenting is because you want to provide the best for your baby. Do not give in to the ‘I am but a bad mother’ dilemma. Plan your day accordingly and make sure that your baby gets a decent share of your time so much so that the bonding between you both stay intact.

Choose the best

I’ve heard somebody say this - You wouldn’t dare to leave your wallet unattended at home when your maid is around, then how would you dare to leave your baby who is way more precious than your wallet with a maid for 8-9 hours. Well it makes a lot of sense. To make sure that your baby is safe with the Nanny or at the daycare, do a thorough research about the daycare or the Nanny before you decide to enroll your child. Ask the people who have already used the services of the particular daycare or Nanny before you jump headfirst. Choose the place wisely and you will have a peaceful work-life balance.

Make your home baby friendly

First and foremost, make sure that your home is baby friendly. Seal the sockets that are placed within the reach of the children. Do not leave any sharp objects around the home within his reach. You could also buy baby safety products online to make your home baby friendly. Banister shields, cabinet and drawer latches that prevent your baby from opening cabinets, oven lock, toilet seat lid lock, furniture safety brackets etc are some of the baby proofing products that you could opt for.

Set a routine

If you decide to leave your baby with a Nanny, it is always a great idea to set a routine for your baby to make it easy for her. This could make it less frustrating for her. When you are at home, make sure that you set a pattern for your baby - from the time he wakes up to having breakfast and taking an afternoon nap. Pretty sure that your baby will also would find it easy and convenient to follow this routine and feel settled even when you are not around. You would find it convenient too on off days when you can get some beauty sleep or finish off the chores that you’ve been procrastinating for the entire week.

Last but not the least - take up responsibilities equally. It is natural that you may feel drained out at the end of the day after a lot of work and may not have the energy to spend on your child. But know that parents have equal responsibility over the child and the Father should also make sure that he puts in the effort to raise the child. You both are a team and parenting could be a cakewalk if you take up responsibilities equally and raise the child together as one team.

Having a place of one’s own is important. Giving the baby a place of his own is all the more important. Baby cribs are places where your baby would love spending time sleeping and playing. But it is also important that the baby cribs that you choose for your baby are safe enough for him. Here are certain tips that you need to keep in mind before buying baby cribs for your baby.

The slats shouldn’t be too apart.

Our petite babies are most likely to fall through the gaps between the slate, if they are too apart. Hence be very careful about the gap between the slats. The gap shouldn’t be more than 6 centimeters apart. You need to also make sure that there are no missing slats in between and the slats are not cracked or loose.

Keep it simple.

You tend to get excited about how pretty the baby cribs look like - decorative, eye catchy and pleasing to your baby’s eyes. But ideally, there should be no decorative pieces on the headboard or footboard that can cause the baby to get caught.

The latches should be secure enough

Now this is a serious one. You need to be sure that the sides latch securely. This has to be considered seriously as it determines the safety of the entire crib. Not just that, no doubt your baby could get really naughty in the months to come. He may try unlatching the drop-side latches to get himself out of the crib. Be very sure that there is no chance of this happening.

Screws can get it screwed up

Another factor that you need to consider and be careful about is that there should be no screws sticking out. This can be harmful for your baby and may hurt him really bad. So tighten all the screws and make it easy for him.

No ribbons or strings

There is a high chance of your baby getting strangled by the ribbons or strings lying carelessly in the crib. So make sure that there are no ribbons or strings longer than 7 inches lying loosely in the crib or hanging above the crib. This could choke the baby and make it dangerous for him.

Minimalism is safe

Keep the crib minimal - do not dump a lot of soft toys, pillows or blankets in the crib. This could make the baby uncomfortable and deprive him of the space to breathe.

Remove the mobiles

Once your baby is old enough to hold somewhere and stand on his feet, you know it is time to remove the mobiles. If you fail to do that, the crib may get into motion and cause great danger to your baby.

The above mentioned points can help you to a great extent in making sure that the baby crib is safe enough for your baby. There are yet other factors that you need to take into consideration while preparing a crib for your baby. The mattress that you choose for the crib should be hard, and not soft. It has to fit perfectly against the sides of the crib and should be without any big gaps between the mattress and the crib. Also make sure that the crib sheet that you choose comfortably fits the mattress - meaning, you should avoid using an adult sheet.

True that until your baby is a little older enough to take care of himself, you need to have your eyes and ears open and be alert all the time. The best way to ensure the safety of your child is to research, ask for advices and be updated on how to have a safe parenting experience. So go ahead, research more and buy a baby crib online while keeping all these safety instructions in mind.