Let's Talk About "Pregnancy Nose"

TOP OF MIND

What in the world is a pregnancy nose?
When you're a first-time mother, there are several symptoms you expect to have: morning sickness, weird food cravings, swollen feet, body aches, and the list goes on and on.

But there's one "symptom" that seems to catch a lot of women by surprise, and that symptom is often referred to as pregnancy nose. Several new moms have jumped on TikTok to show before and after photos of their swollen noses. They also warn that it gets worse as you enter the late stages of your pregnancy.

The important bits
According to Dr. Jessica Madden, hormones are to blame.

In addition to making your nose swell and appear larger, pregnancy can trigger inflammation of the nasal cavities, resulting in rhinitis. You may notice more sneezing and nasal congestion in the final months of your pregnancy. Additionally, if you get IV fluids during labor, that can also cause your nose to swell.

Basically, pregnancy really wants to attack your nose. The good news is that most of the time, the swelling will go down and your nose will return back to its original size.

But in some rare cases, the changes can be permanent, which is why it's extremely important to talk about and normalize, so new mothers don't feel alone in this. 'Little Mermaid' star Halle Bailey gave birth to her first baby late last year, and she experienced swelling in her nose.

Fans started pointing it out in her comments, forcing her to reply with this...

We support this message 1000%! We really shouldn't be commenting on anyone's body, but especially not new mothers. The changes that one's body goes through during pregnancy can be a lot to deal with. The last thing we need is people critiquing them.

What's it all mean?
Changes to your body during and after pregnancy are completely normal. Most of the time, the changes are temporary, but in some rare cases the changes will be permanent.

And it's okay. Your body produced another human! It would be weird if that didn't have any lasting impacts.

Here's a list of physical changes you can expect during pregnancy.

DID YOU HEAR

📺 The 30 best TV moms
Let's be honest, we all had one TV mom or dad we secretly hoped would adopt us on those days when our own parents were extra lame. The fine folks at PureWow decided to look back at some of the best TV moms and rank them. You can see if your favorite made the top 30 list by clicking here, but we'll give you the top five...

5. Carol Brady (The Brady Bunch)
4. Kitty Forman (That '70s Shows)
3. Vivian Banks (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air)
2. Clair Huxtable (The Cosby Show)
1. Sophia Petrillo (The Golden Girls)

🛟 Mom asks for advice after her kid describes her classmate as "fat"
Brittany Cole recently went viral on TikTok after revealing her 4-year-old daughter described a new classmate as, "the fat girl with pink glasses." Cole had no idea how to respond to this and turned to the internet for advice. Parenting expert Rachel Simmons told Good Morning America that it's important for parents to educate their children on the nuance behind certain words.

"A 4-year-old can totally get it," she revealed. Read how Cole ended up handling it here.

🥪 High levels of lead found in Lunchables
Sending your kid to school with a Lunchable? You may want to reconsider. Consumer Reports, a trusted nonprofit watchdog group, is urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to remove Lunchables from the National School Lunch Program. They made the announcement after a test of 12 store-bought versions of Lunchables found "relatively high levels" of lead, cadmium, sodium and even phthalates.

😰 Raising an anxious kid? 6 things you need to know
One in eight kids will be impacted by a childhood anxiety disorder, and the majority of parents don't know how to handle it. Anxiety disorders in kids aren't talked about a lot, and mental health experts believe that needs to change. A group of experts talked with Fortune recently, and they shared six things parents need to know when it comes to anxiety in kids.

Among them? Don't avoid the things causing your child's anxiety. Get all the tips here.

🥛 Kourtney Kardashians believes drinking her own breast milk prevents sickness
But is there any evidence to back this up?

A DOSE OF GOOD

BITES WITH KIYAH

I have a cookbook that is solely focused on ways to hide vegetables in your kids' favorite foods. Summer squash in macaroni and cheese and butternut in chicken nuggets. Carrots in your spaghetti and meatballs. Spinach in your brownies. On the surface there’s nothing wrong with this - I even like many of the recipes. What I don’t like is hiding that the veggies are in there: I want my kids to learn how to enjoy vegetables, not just eat them because they have to.

But I did wonder what would happen if I made a dessert with a veggie inside. So I did. Here’s what happened:

kiyahduffey

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Want the recipe I used to make this delicious cake? Click here.

You're welcome 😉

PARENTING WIN/FAIL

This week, loyal reader E.G. shares a magical weekend tale...

You don't know if that's a win or a fail? IT'S A WIN! A HUGE WIN! In fact, invite us over next time!

Do you have a parenting win/fail you'd like to share? Submit one using the button below to have it featured in a future edition!

HERE’S A QUESTION

Last week, we asked you what the sugar situation looked like in your household, and nearly 80% of you said, "a limited amount, only for special occasions."

RECALLS

YOTO MINI SPEAKERS

Have a Yoto Mini Player in your home? The popular device uses Yoto cards to play audiobooks, music, radio and podcasts without the use of a screen. Sounds pretty neat, right?

Sadly, over 250,000 of the speakers are being recalled due to the battery overheating and catching fire. There have been at least six reports of the speaker overheating and melting. Thankfully, no injuries have been reported, but the risk is certainly there.

This recall only impacts the mini, not the larger Yoto Player. The speakers are pale gray with orange controls. If you believe you may have one of these, you can check the bottom of the speaker for the serial number. You should be looking for the SKU: PRPLXX00860.

For more information, visit the Yoto website, or call them at 844-370-0426.