If you have been a subscriber to my newsletter for long, you know that I always send out neat Christmas gift ideas as the Holiday approaches.  I like to send out weekly suggestions from the end of October to the middle of December.  I usually send out one suggestion for adults and a few suggestions for children. 

So here are my suggestions for this week:

Adults

1) 4 Seasons Wine Club - This is an excellent choice if you know someone that loves wine.  They will be able to experience various wines from all over the world and will think of you every time they pour a glass. They have a great deal right now where the person can receive 6 bottles FREE when you purchase 6 bottles for them, plus a beautiful FREE Vintner’s Reserve Tabletop Wine opener(It averages out to $4.99 per bottle).  Follow this link and there is an option to purchase a gift membership.

http://www.timetogetpregnant.com/4seasons.php

(This is not for any of you trying to get pregnant, you need to stay away from alcohol!!)

Children

1) Disney Book Club - You can’t go wrong with Disney.  If you have some young readers that you need to buy a gift for, then this is a great option.  Every child loves Disney stories and right now there is an offer where you can get 7 free Disney books plus preview the Disney book Cars for only $4.99 plus s/h.  Take advantage of this offer before it’s gone if you have some young readers in mind.  For more information, click here:

http://www.timetogetpregnant.com/disneybooks.php

2) ThunderClimb - Zero Gravity Wall Climber - If you haven’t seen the video for this remote control car actually climbing walls, then you are missing out.  It is the coolest thing I have seen for kids in a long time.  It will spark their imagination as they watch it defy gravity.  Even if you don’t buy one, you have to watch the video on their site.  Click here to watch it:

SOLD OUT!!

3) Santa Letter - If you want to see excitement in your child’s eyes, have them sent a letter from Santa.  I think this is the neatest idea and helps to make a magical time of the year for your child.  Click here for more information:

http://www.timetogetpregnant.com/santaletter.php

4) Child’s Christmas Video (A Must!) - This is going to be the biggest hit for a child ever.  Basically, you send a picture of a child to this company and they create a Christmas DVD story with the child as the lead character that helps save Christmas.  It is great!  If you have any children yourself or any nieces or nephews, then this is a great gift that they will watch over and over.  Go watch the video to see what I’m talking about:

http://www.timetogetpregnant.com/christmasvideo.php

That’s it for this week’s suggestions.  If you have any suggestions for great Christmas gifts, send them to me, so we can all have the great ideas for this Christmas and not give the same old gifts that everyone else gives.

I have been bombarded with questions from my readers about Ovulex and whether it works or not.  So instead of answering them one by one, I thought I would share my thoughts on this supplement with all my wonderful readers at once in my newletter.

For those of you who are not familiar with Ovulex, it is a complete fertility system that includes a lot of fertility information, software to track your fertility, and most importantly a natural supplement that has no harmful side effects and has been used for the last 5 years to help women improve their fertility.

The real question is does it work?  Is it worth spending hard earned money on?

Here are my thoughts, good & bad:

The Bad:

1) They don’t guarantee you will get pregnant and there have been no controlled clinical trials done by an independent doctor to my knowledge.

The Good:

1) There has been a lot of anecdotal evidence and testimonials from women who swear that it works. 

2) A lot of women have said that it has regulated their cycles and they have felt better while taking it.

3) There hasn’t been any harmful side effects reported.

4) They have a 1 year guarantee for any unused portion, so if you think it hasn’t helped or it didn’t work, you can return it for a full refund for up to a year.  This actually is a pretty impressive guarantee in my opinion.

Summary:

I have mixed feelings on this one.  It is one of those things where it can’t hurt to try, especially before I spent any serious money on other types of fertility treatments.  Since they offer a 1 year guarantee, I would buy it and try it for 6 months and if nothing happened, return it for my money back. 

If you want more information or want to give it a try, click here:

http://www.timetogetpregnant.com/ovulex.php

If you do end up purchasing it, please let me know how you like it so I can have more up to date information from real people using it.

I just wanted to let everyone see my beautiful baby boy that I just delivered this past weekend.  His name is Sam and he weighed in at 7lbs. 1 oz. and he was 3 weeks early, but in excellent health.

I am a happy Mom!

All the best,

Jennifer

I have often wondered how car manufacturers determine the safety of a pregnant woman, if she were in an accident. Apparently, the pregnant woman’s thorax and pelvis are both restrained by the belt, but her abdomen is free to move in the direction determined by the impact. This presents a serious problem for the fetus, since it is basically floating inside her. It has been shown that the most common injury is that the placenta becomes partially or completely detached. This prevents the baby from getting enough oxygen. Other less common injuries are physical injuries due to impact with the mother’s pelvic bones, the car’s interior or an airbag.

I am not the only one wondering what happens to a pregnant woman in an automobile accident. Volvo, in 2000, developed the world’s first official computer model of a pregnant crash dummy. They call it Linda. They chose to develop a computer model because it would be way too difficult to build a physical model, plus it can put through as many crashes as they need to and it won’t wear out.

These days, the automobile airbag systems are under scrutiny and there are new rules for airbags that require testing and certification with high risk drivers and passengers including pregnant women. Automobile manufactures are searching for a safer airbag solution. Initially, safety research with pregnant crash dummies focused on seat belt safety and the findings weren’t good. Seat belts keep the mom safe but don’t protect the fetus. Now, airbag research is even worse. It shows that airbags can do more harm than good for a pregnant woman in an automobile accident. The government recommends being no closer than 10 inches from the airbag, and private researchers recommend 12 inches from the airbag. For now, the government recommends that people who are at risk of injury from airbags, which includes pregnant women, apply for permission to have an airbag switch installed.

It is a great idea to make sure you get enough Folic acid, a B vitamin, before and during your pregnancy. Folic Acid has been shown to help prevent birth defects of the brain and spinal cord when taken very early in pregnancy.

What you should do:
Take a multivitamin with 400 micrograms of folic acid every day before pregnancy and during early pregnancy. Also, be sure to eat a healthy diet that includes foods that contain folate, the natural form of the vitamin. Such foods include fortified breakfast cereals, dried beans, leafy green vegetables and orange juice.

According to an article in the July 2007 Fertility and Sterility journal, changes in the thickness of the uterus lining during in vitro fertilization predict the likelihood of pregnancy.

Those patients who show a quick endometrial response have a much better pregnancy outcome than those who have a slower response. The women that had a thickening of the endometrium more quickly were the ones that became pregnant. It was noted that the thickness of the endometrium while undergoing the procedure had no effect on pregnancy rate, but rather the speed of change seemed to predict the success of the procedure.