It is true that you should be eating more calories to give your baby the nutrition that he/she needs to grow, but you should still be doing this in a healthy way.

I am not a doctor and I don’t know any of you personally, there for I am not going to tell anyone how much weight you need to gain. But I did some research on where pregnancy weight goes and would be glad to share that with you.

The baby averages about 8 pounds, the placenta is about 2 to 3 pounds, breast tissue will also be about 2 to 3 pounds as well as the amniotic fluid 2 to 3 pounds. The blood supply is about 4 pounds and the uterus will get bigger adding another 2 to 5 pounds. The fat stores for breastfeeding and delivery will be about 5 to 9 pounds, which will be a total of about 25 to 35 pounds.

This is just a guideline, don’t be discouraged if you go higher than this, but if you are loosing weight you may need to consult your doctor.

This is similar to a birth plan, just at home. Many new mom’s and dad’s would love to spend the first couple of days at home alone bonding with their newborn instead of passing them around. If you have a coming home plan you can let all of your family and friends know in advance that they will be more than welcome to see the new baby after a few days to adjust to being at home with the parents.

When doing a coming home plan it is also a great time to stock your house for the things that you will need when you get home for the hospital to save yourself unwanted trips to the store.

A birth plan is a way for the mommy and daddy to be able to make decisions ahead of time about the care that the new baby and mommy will be given.

Your birth plan should include health information about the mommy and daddy, this way if there are any health concerns they will be known. A birth plan should also state where the couple wishes to the baby. At home, in the hospital or a birthing center are some options. Also consider if you want to allow any inters or students in the room as you are giving birth. Is this something that you want to be just between the mommy and the daddy? Think about who all you want or don’t want in the room with you.

The medical part of it are things like will the mommy-to-be want any type of pain medicine, or does she want it to be a natural birth? Having a birth plan can really put the future parents mind at ease and they wont have to think about all of this while trying to have a baby!