December, 2008  

Many of you will have some type of celebration after bringing your baby home.  These events can be very meaningful, since it is the first time many of your loved ones will meet your new bundle of joy.  Every month, we will bring you tips to make this event more unique and personal.

1) If you are having a ceremony, ask a close friend or family member who is not being honored as part of the ceremony to videotape it.  Even if you are not having a ceremony, ask your friend to videotape the party.  This will provide a wonderful memory for you to keep.
 
2) For music during the party, you can burn your own CDs.  These hold more music than purchased CDs and you can pick your favorite songs.  Sites such as Amazon, and Walmart offer many song choices, usually for $1-$2 per song.  There are also many subscription services that allow you to download unlimited music.
 
3) If you have older children, help them to present the new baby with a gift.  An especially personal gift is something they make themselves.

WHO WILL DELIVER YOUR BABY

There are different healthcare options for the pregnant mommy.  Most expectant parents choose an obstetrician to deliver their baby.  This is a doctor who has attended medical school, trained in obstetrics and gynecology and is board certified.  Another option for pregnant parents is a midwife.  Midwives may have a variety of training, but many are certified nurse midwives (CNM).  This means they have completed both nurse and midwife training and have passed national and state licensing exams.  A certified midwife (CM) is another option.  These professionals are only recognized by the state of New York.
 
Women who visit an obstetrician are confident in their doctor's training.  They are comfortable that their doctor has the education and experience to handle any situation that may develop during the pregnancy or delivery.
 
Women who visit a midwife prefer the time that the midwife devotes to each patient.  Midwives stress that pregnancy and childbirth are natural, healthy events and believe that their role is to support the expectant women while nature takes its course.  Most midwives have a relationship with an obstetrician in case there are complications that require surgery.
 
An obstetrician will deliver your baby in the hospital.  While most midwife births also take place in hospitals, midwives also perform deliveries at childbirth centers or at the mother's home. 
 
There are different options for expectant parents depending on what they seek for a birth experience.  Different parents have different priorities and there is a healthcare provider to meet everyone's needs.  Consider the factors that are most important to you and your husband.  This will help you determine what type of healthcare provider is right for you.

M.A.Z.E. CORD BLOOD SETS THE INDUSTRY STANDARD
  A DISCOUNT FOR SUBSCRIBING TO WAITING FOR BABY

M.A.Z.E. Cord Blood Laboratories is offering Waiting for Baby subscribers an additional $50 off of its state-of-the-art cord blood banking.  Cord blood banking offers expectant parents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to save their infant's cord blood to be used for treatment of more than 40 different diseases.
 
M.A.Z.E. Cord Blood Laboratories offers superior cord blood banking at an affordable price.  M.A.Z.E. does this by eliminating many of the expensive marketing campaigns used by other cord blood companies.  We pass this savings on to our patients.
 
M.A.Z.E. also offers a unique pay-one-price program that includes 20 years of storage.  The price of $2050 includes all charges for 20 years, except courier charges.  Please call us at (877) MAZE-LABS to determine the courier fee. 
 
For more information, visit M.A.Z.E. Cord Blood or call (877) MAZE-LABS.  
 

Before you even start to show, your baby's five senses have begun to develop.  We will tell you how each of your baby's senses develops and grows throughout pregnancy.
 
Touch: At about 8 weeks gestation, your baby will begin to develop a sense of touch.  Touch develops first in the cheeks.  At about 10 weeks, your baby will develop a sensation to touch in his or her genital area.  Next to develop are the palms, at 11 weeks and the soles of the feet at 12 weeks.  The buttocks and abdomen will be sensitive to touch around 15 weeks.  By 32 weeks, the entire body is sensitive to cold, heat, touch, and pain.

Hearing: Your baby's ears will start to form at around 8 weeks.  At around 18 weeks, the bones in the inner ear and the nerve endings in the brain are formed enough that your baby can begin to hear sounds.  The ears will be structurally complete at 24 weeks.  By week 25, your baby will be able to hear voices and will even be able to distinguish between voices by week 27.

Smell:  Your baby's nose will develop sometime between week 11 and 15.  For many years, it was believed that smell did not develop until after birth because of its dependence on air and breathing.  Scientists have since discovered that amniotic fluid passes through your baby's oral and nasal cavity, triggering the sense of smell. 

Taste: By week 22, taste buds are forming on your baby's tongue.  By 24 weeks, your baby can often taste the same flavors you taste.  Some experts believe taste preference comes from what you eat during pregnancy, but no matter what, all babies are born with a sweet tooth.

Sight: Sight will be the last sense your baby develops.  At about 26 weeks, your baby's eyes will begin to open and blink since the retinas will be fully developed.  At week 18, while your baby's eyes remain closed, the retinas can detect the small amount of light that filters through the mother's body when out in the sun or bright light.  By 33 weeks, your baby's pupils will detect light and dark and constrict or dilate accordingly, to allow your baby to see dim shapes.

WAITING FOR BABY is brought to you by M.A.Z.E. Cord Blood LABORATORIES, THE PROVIDER OF State-of-the-art cord blood banking at an affordable price.  For additional information on quality cord blood banking visit www.MAZECordBlood.com or call 914-938-0000.

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