Saturday, October 28, 2017

Pregnancy After Miscarriage: How to Ease Your Mind

Most people may expect you to be overjoyed with your pregnancy news after previously suffering from a miscarriage. But, getting pregnant after a miscarriage is usually fraught with worry. In fact, for the first trimester at least, you may be feeling downright miserable. That isn’t because you’re displeased with the news of being pregnant, but you may be terrified that you’ll go through the same thing again. It isn’t uncommon for pregnant women who have suffered from miscarriages to detach themselves from their new pregnancy as a way of putting a guard up. So, how do you deal with it all?


Find Distraction

One of the best ways of getting out of your own head is to find some really good distractions. During your first trimester you may not feel like doing anything exciting, but that doesn’t mean you can’t distract yourself close to home. If you already have young children, they may be enough of a distraction anyway, but there are other things you can do. For instance, reading a book or watching a movie you know you’ll love. Even playing a board game with your partner could be enough to ease your mind a bit.

Get Professional Help

If you’ve been through a miscarriage before, you may need some extra assurance this time around. That’s perfectly normal, and most midwives are willing to do whatever it takes to put your mind at rest. That may mean additional scans at your clinic, additional antenatal appointments with your midwife and even some counselling if you see the benefit. However, if you don’t feel like you’re getting what you need, you can always take matters into your own hands. At FME you can purchase fetal monitors that allow you to hear your baby’s heartbeat from the comfort of your own home. There’s nothing as reassuring as that sound when you’re worried.


Wait Before You Tell People

The last thing you need is other people getting excited around you when you can’t be. Many women wait until after the first trimester to tell people they’re expecting, even if they haven’t had a miscarriage before. So, keep your precious secret a little longer until you feel more secure in your pregnancy. However, it can help to tell close family and friends who will understand what you’re going through. It’s a large burden to try and carry on your own, so the more support you have during this critical time, the better.

Relaxation Exercises

Your mind is so full of thoughts and your body is going through a tough transition; it can feel like you’re fighting a losing battle. Doing some relaxation exercises, like pregnancy yoga, can really help you to quiet your mind and get some well-deserved rest. It’s also a great coping mechanism for morning sickness and fatigue, so it could benefit you immensely during those tough first few weeks.

The best thing you can do is listen to your body and try to give it what it needs. Don’t be afraid to disappoint people. You come first!

Do You Protect Your Tech?

Most of us have a wealth of gizmos and gadgets in our homes. We might even have a few in our bags when we’re out and about! Without a doubt, you have an arsenal of tricky-to-remember passwords for each one. On top of that, you have to remember all the other passwords for your apps and online accounts. It’s good to protect your personal information and data like that. But what about the device itself?

Lots of us have had a mishap with a smartphone or tablet in the past. Perhaps you just shrugged it off and carried on using it until your contract renewed? After all, we get a new device every year with most contracts. No wonder these devices can feel so disposable! Technology develops at such a pace that it renders devices unusable after just three or four years anyway.

No matter how much you spend on your devices, you shouldn’t really be flippant about it. It’s your hard-earned cash after all. And if you got it on credit, chances are you’re paying well over the retail price for it anyway. Taking care of portable devices is never easy to do. Think about all the places you go with it. Is it tucked safely in a rugged case? You can’t encase everything in bubble wrap, but there are a few ways you can increase your protection.


The first, and most obvious, is with insurance. Household insurance rarely covers the full value of your device, and might not cover it if you take it from the house. Try to find specialist insurance for that type of gadget. 

The second level of protection is a ruggedized case. This can sometimes restrict the use of the device, though. It won’t protect against every serious knock or water accident either. But it’s a good start for daily use.

The third way to protect your device is to actually repair it if you damage it. With companies like Forever Wireless cell phone repair is quick, painless and affordable. Glass continues to crack and leave your device vulnerable once it is damaged. Get it fixed to protect your tech straight away. 

What about your other devices at home, like TVs and sound systems? This type of tech doesn’t tend to be upgraded nearly as often as phones, tablets and computers. That means it might be even more important to ensure your technology is in good working order. Most of our home tech is just as connected as anything else. Bluetooth and WiFi are the most common ways to connect to these devices. Software and operating system updates should benefit the equipment. Make sure you’re up to date.

Positioning is everything at home. Sturdy shelves, no heat sources, and sensible socket use are essential to protect your tech. Keep kids and pets well away from any of your wires to ensure nobody gets hurt, and nothing gets damaged. How do you protect your tech at home and away?

Friday, October 27, 2017

Avoid Fall House Maintenance Faux Pas


Fall is finally here, and that means that it’s time to get the pumpkins for carving, stock up sweets for trick or treaters and make sure you have a pantry full of food for thanksgiving. However, it also means that we’re approaching the time whether the wind and rain take their shots at our homes, attempting to do some damage and maybe blow a few tiles from the roof. As such, you have to make sure that your home is prepared for the fall season with a little maintenance work. There are a few tips we can recommend here. 

Get Some Shutter Gutters

Wind and heavy rain equal one thing: blocked gutters. Usually, this is due to the fact that the wind blows up the leaves and other muck to the roof. The rain pushes it into the gutters, the gutters get clogged, and before long you have a smelly mess. That’s right, if gutters are left clogged up for too long, they can and will start to small. 

That said, there is an easy fix. You can get shutter gutters from http://www.guttershutter.com/. Shutter gutters fit over the gutters of your home like simple plastic coverings. Since they have holes in them, the rainwater seeps through, but the muck and mess of leaves and other dirt is kept out completely. As such it is the perfect solution, and the best part is that they are totally easy to install. 

Check Your Roof Regularly 

You might find that there is a hole in your roof, damage left over from a recent storm. It’s important to get this fixed well before the fall weather really kicks into high gear. An issue with the roof can leave your house more vulnerable and may cause issues with damp or even allow animals to enter. Don’t forget, as the weather starts to turn animals will be looking for shelter and if there’s an entrance point to your attic, this could be the perfect place. 

The answer here then is to get a roof inspection. If there is any damage, make sure it is fixed as quickly as possible before the weather starts to turn. Luckily, there are companies like https://www.crownremodelingllc.com/, that can take care of this type of storm damage for you. That way, you won’t have to worry about attempting a weird and potentially dangerous DIY repair. 

Prep The Yard 

You won't get much of a chance to get out in the garden through the fall and especially as the winter winds arrive. So make sure you are preparing your garden. You can cut the grass short, and you won’t have to cut it again until after winter. Grass tends to grow slower through the winter season, much to the joy of all gardeners. As for the rest of your garden, it’s probably time to let it go until spring arrives. 

We hope this helps you prepare your home for the fall season and ensure that everything is in place before winter comes.

Big, Black Mold: The Home Horror You Have To Avoid


Mold is not a particularly nice topic. It’s something we’d all rather pretend doesn’t exist; we know it’s possible, but that doesn’t mean that we’re entirely comfortable discussing the idea of it. 

However, one thing that’s worse than just discussing mold is living with mold-- especially the pernicious and ruinous black mold. So, in an effort to ensure that your home is always mold-free, it’s necessary to have a discussion about this fungal invader-- and ensure that your home is always a mold-free zone. 

Thursday, October 26, 2017

Healthy or Hoax? Rethink These Common Health Tips

Health is a complicated thing. It seems like everywhere you look, you can find advice on how to be healthier. And if it's not telling you how to be healthy, it's trying to convince you that looking a certain way is better for you. It can be really difficult to know what to believe and what to dismiss. Even things that are widely accepted as being good for you can turn out to not be true. The best thing to do is to look at what scientists and dieticians say about how to stay healthy. The health industry is just trying to sell you various products, so they're not the best people to rely on. 

Take a look at these common tips and the truth behind them.


Take Lots of Vitamins

Taking vitamins, on top of what you get from your diet, is recommended for lots of things. It's true that we all need to get a range of vitamins to help our bodies in the right away. And taking supplements can help you if you're not getting what you need from your diet. Many people take a multivitamin or one particular vitamin to help them stay healthy. However, at some point, taking more vitamins isn't going to do anything. For example, vitamin C helps your immune system. But if you have a cold or other illness, taking vitamin C supplements is unlikely to help you, beyond a placebo effect. High doses of vitamin C could help slightly but ultimately won't cure your cold.

Dark Chocolate Is Really Good For You

We all love to believe that the things we're told are bad for us are actually good for us. Unfortunately, you can usually find matching stories for pretty much any food or drink. If there's one story saying it's good for you, you're almost guaranteed to find another that says it gives you cancer or increases your risk of heart disease. One example is dark chocolate. Chocolate does actually contain something called flavanols, which are good for your brain. But to benefit from them, you'd have to eat an awful lot of chocolate. However, chocolate can still give you a little boost by making you happy.


Cleaner Water Is Better Water

A lot of people worry about what's in their water. Aside from conspiracy theories about fluoride, you still might think that perhaps your water isn't as clean as you would like it to be. Some people think that super clean water is better, and opt to drink distilled water. However, distilled water has pretty much nothing in it. That means all the good minerals are removed, alongside the things you actually want to be removed that can affect the taste and safety of your water. A better option is to buy a water filter, which will remove the bad stuff but leave all the good stuff behind.

Navigating the world of health and diet can be difficult. But if you listen to the experts and look for evidence, you can find out what's true and what isn't.