Strollerderby : newborns

New Jersey Woman Tweeting While Giving Birth

Brett Singer — Fri, 01 May 2009 15:00:00 GMT

Melissa Skabich of Cedar Grove, New Jersey is 39 weeks pregnant. She is being induced today due to high blood pressure. You can read more about it on her blog. You can also follow the delivery process live via Twitter. So, what's for dinner? I was thinking hamburgers, but I guess we had that once already...

Wait, what?

Yes, Melissa will be tweeting. Not before. Not after. DURING. DELIVERY.

My initial reaction is summed up by this commenter at NJ.com: "Worry about giving birth to your child, not tweeting. You twit." I would have left out the "twit" part, but I understand the frustration.

On the other hand, what's the harm? If she's into it, that's cool, right?

Mostly it seems like an unnecessary distraction. Isn't being in labor difficult enough without being concerned about tweeting? I'm also wondering if her doctor will tell her to put the darn Blackberry away and focus on pushing. This is her third kid, so I guess she knows what she's doing.

What do you think? Would you tweet while giving birth? Or is this just plain silly?

You can follow Melissa on Twitter at twitter.com/mommyblogger76.

Source: NJ.com

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Congress: End Amber Alerts by 2010, MicroChip Newborns

JeanneSager — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 15:26:00 GMT

After news that an Amber Alert was cancelled last week when a missing child miraculously walked in her front door, is it any surprise that Congress is taking seriously the toll that helicopter parents are putting on law enforcement with their overreactions?

Congress has put out the call for all newborns born in American hospitals to be microchipped, beginning July 1, 2010. The simple process can be done in the hospital nursery by pediatricians, who will then log the newborn's vital statistics into a national database linked to the FBI for all law enforcement to access. When an officer encounters a child, he will be able to use a scanner to immediately determine if this is the missing child in question.

Funds to outfit the hospitals with the proper equipment, similar to those used in most veterinary offices, and to provide police with scanners will come from President Obama's latest stimulus bill.

Children born before that date are grandfathered - so to speak - but parents will have the option of taking their children to their local hospitals to have the chips implanted just under the skin in a quick outpatient procedure. The chips will be placed near the shoulder for easy access by the scanners, but because of their very small size, there should be no lasting scars on a child's skin.

Will you be taking Junior in?

Image: Zazzle

Baby Born in Penn Station During Rush Hour

Brett Singer — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:30:00 GMT

Rush hour in New York is so dull. Pushing, shoving, playing the old "how many people can we fit into this subway car" game. A couple of days ago, commuters heard something new:

"Forget the ambulance ... I'm going to have the baby right here."

Well then. You go right ahead, Miss. As Susan Wagner at ParentDish wrote, "And you thought your commute was rough this morning."

Marie Boothe went into labor at Penn Station in New York City on Wednesday (she was on her way to the hospital with her husband), and successfully delivered a baby boy with the help of three members of the NYPD counter-terrorism patrol team, as well as an Amtrak police officer. Adhering to cries of, "'Name him Penn, after Penn Station!" from the crowd, Marie named her seven-pound bundle of joy Caesar Penn Boothe.

I wonder if counter-terrorism officers, or Amtrak police, receive training in labor and delivery. Somehow I doubt it, but maybe.

Mother and baby are doing well, proving that yes, you can give birth just about anywhere. Doesn't mean you have to, but if it happens, hey, go with it.

Anyone give birth someplace a little different?

Image/Source: CNN via ParentDish via Babble

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Angelina Jolie Could Always Use an Extra Baby

Stroller As Gun Rack

OctoMom's Second Publicist Quits

Ban BPA? Manufacturers Cry Poverty

JeanneSager — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:26:00 GMT

You've got to love the recession - all of a sudden big manufacturers are worried about the poor. Worried their poor customers won't have the money to buy their products anyway.

As Suffolk County, New York tries to become the first county in the country to enforce a ban on Bisphenol-A (BPA) in children's products, manufacturers are crying poverty.

Force them to remove the reported carcinogen, and makers say they'll have to jack up their prices so high it will be bad for low-income parents and create problems for hospitals. Snort.

They do realize six of the largest baby bottle makers JUST announced they're going BPA free, right? It's obviously working for some companies . . . or at least six of them. Lobbying against the county, representatives of the plastic bottle and sippy cup makers asked lawmakers to point the bill toward EMPTY containers, freeing them up to fill bottles of formula sent to hospitals for newborn babies with lots of icky chemicals.

But, hey, they're helping poor people. They can sleep at night!

The Suffolk County Legislature voted unanimously in support of the ban on BPA earlier this month, and a set of state legislators are now working together to make a similar ban effective across New York.

Image: OhMyGov

Maternity Ward SVU: Crackhead Mom Swipes Other Mom's Purse

Kate Tuttle — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 20:00:00 GMT

It's hard out there for a crackhead. New mom Jennifer Morris, 36, has admitted to stealing the purse of another new mom from a maternity ward in the MetroWest Medical Center, just outside Boston, last weekend. Morris took the victim's cell phone and camera, which she then tried to exchange for crack. She also took the other mom's wallet, but was thwarted at the hospital ATM because she didn't know the PIN. D'oh!

The victim, who has not been identified, is described as a 49-year-old new mom of triplets. Doesn't she have enough on her plate, without having to contend with a crime spree right there in the hospital?

No word yet on whether the state's social services are involved in the matter, but I'm guessing the authorities might want to talk with her about some of her post-partum choices.

More by this author:

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California Daycare Closed; Worker Was Mocking Kids' Genitals

"Angels in Waiting" Apparently Still Waiting

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Former Foster Care Kid Adopted At 36

JeanneSager — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:31:00 GMT

I may be totally ripping off Grace Slick, but everybody wants somebody to love, right? Even if it's been eighteen years since you aged out of the foster care system and gave up your dreams of one day finding a mom?

Alice Jones spent sixteen years in the foster care system, and she's been out of it for eighteen. But last week, Jones finally got adopted.

The thirty-six-year-old computer programmer entered a Texas courtroom with friend Kate Held, a fifty-year-old mentor and mother figures of sorts who officially became her mom during a short ceremony complete with "It's a Girl" balloons.

Are you crying yet? Just wait.

Alice Jones was abandoned by her biological mother as a baby, by her biological father at two. Until she was eighteen, she spent her life in foster care - but her foster family opted against adoption. She went on to college and began a successful career as a programmer. At a fundraiser for a Texas charity that helps low-income kids last spring, Jones was paired with one of the organizers, Tracy Eilers, executive director of the Adoption Coalition of Central Texas, for a special meet-and-greet section of the program. She told Eilers she'd been in foster care, and though she never asked for it, Eilers hatched a plan to get Jones adopted.

Eilers told the Austin-American Statesman. “It was very hurtful to her. The pain doesn’t go away at some miraculous age.”

Eilers convinced Jones to talk to Held, and voila . . . instant-family.

My hat's off to all involved - Eilers for realizing adults who have aged out of the foster system are still in need of family support, Held for opening her heart, and Jones for keeping her heart open. But for all the good in this story, I'm still angered by the fact that it had to happen.

She spent sixteen years in the foster system, and no one stepped forward. There is still too much emphasis put on adopting babies in this country - and out of this country. I'm not against international adoption, but I find it hard to sympathize with people who say they could have adopted domestically, but they would have had to "sacrifice" their dreams of adopting a baby. Parenting means parenting kids - period. If you can't have your own - or decide not to - turning to adoption is supposed to be a mission of helping a child as much as that child will help your family.

Babies, people say, are easier. They don't come with baggage. Not true, actually, when you talk about a baby born addicted to drugs or you're dealing with an open adoption (a wonderful thing for parents to opt for, I might add). Kids don't come in neat little packages at any age.

Adopting babies is a wonderful gesture. There are hundreds of thousands of kids who come into this world in need of a Mom or Dad, and adoption will change their lives. It will prevent them from ever ending up in a foster system, it will give them a chance they likely wouldn't have had with their birth mother. But it shouldn't be the only option for new parents.

Consider when you're planning to expand your family - do you want a baby because a baby is cute and cuddly? Do you want a baby because it's a fresh start? Do you want a baby because you think it will be easier? Or do you just want to give a kid a chance at a better life, and let them enrich your family with all they can offer?

If your real desire is the latter - keep your options open. You may find an Alice Jones, two and just abandoned by the only parent she had left, waiting to come home with you.

Image: Yell

They Say: More Abuse, Neglect Among Bottle-Feeding Mothers

Kate Tuttle — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 21:01:00 GMT

The nutritional and health benefits of breastfeeding are, of course, well-known, as is the general medical recommendation that nursing is the overall best method of feeding one's baby. Most research on breast versus bottle focuses on physical health and wellbeing, from allergies to asthma to obesity -- but what if the choice has ramifications beyond the actual realm of feeding?

A new study out of Australia reports that failure to breastfeed one's baby is associated with higher levels of infant maltreatment, including neglect, emotional and physical abuse, and sexual molestation. Researchers looking at a longitudinal study of nealry 6,000 mothers and their children found that mothers who did not nurse were 3.8 times more likely to mistreat their children than those who did, and that the duration of breastfeeding had an effect on those numbers.

From the article:

They found that of the 1421 women who did not breastfeed their children in the group, 102 women - or 7.2 per cent - neglected or abused their child in some way. This compared with 4.8 per cent of the 2584 women who breastfed for less than four months and 1.6 per cent of the 2616 women who breastfed for more than four months.

What are we to make of this? Does the very act of nursing a baby elicit feelings that would tend to mitigate against any otherwise present urges to hurt or neglect her? Is the bonding that takes place over a Boppy really that powerful? Or is it a case of correlation, not caustion, with mothers in the groups least likely to breastfeed -- poor, young, less well-educated -- also at risk for abuse and neglect for environmental reasons?

I'm as big a proponent of nursing as anyone I know, but even I have a hard time believing that breastfeeding alone is the decisive factor in whether or not one mistreats a child. And while I'd like to see data from studies like this used to help promote breastfeeding among populations where strong advocacy is useful, I'm worried it will be used, instead, to further alienate or villify those mothers who are most in need of hearing positive reasons to breastfeed. What do you think? Is there a way to read this that doesn't feel judgmental and divisive?

More by this author:

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Biracial Twins -- Is One "Black" and One "White"?

Death by Peanut: Epidemic or Urban Myth?

Is This Baby Obese? Aussie Mom Says No

Newborn Baby Pics: Cute Little Aliens

JeanneSager — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 17:07:00 GMT

I didn't wait long after they'd rolled my newborn daughter off to the nursery to give my husband the "tell me the truth" look.

"Is she really beautiful, or do I just think that because I'm her mother?"

Face it - newborns look like aliens.

Before you get your maternity panties in a bunch, keep reading. No one ever said aliens weren't cute!

Newborns have flaking skin, pruney fingers and surprised looks. Those delivered vaginally often have coneheads from all the pushing and stretching.

Proving my point quite nicely, Just Cute Pics put up a collection of newborn baby pictures that will force you to put on that high pitched "aww, wook at the wickle widdle nooooose" voice. From the tongue stuck out to the pursed lips, they're the ultimate in ugly cute (and I mean that with pure love - my kid was ugly cute too).

A few of my favorites:

Want more? Check out Just Cute Pics, and just try to tell me you didn't get a little "wooga, wooga" in your voice.

Images: Just Cute Pics

Mom Says Hospital Fouled Childbirth - Twice

Famed Child Killer Mary Bell is Now a Granny

Cops End Search for Baby Thrown in Hospital Trash

Kid and Kangaroo Best of Friends

UK Schools To Teach About Breastfeeding in Kindergarten

Kate Tuttle — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:31:00 GMT

Facing falling rates of women who even attempt to nurse their newborns, local officials in Liverpool, England, are launching an educational program to introduce students, some as young as five years old, to the idea of breastfeeding. Early lessons would use diagrams and include the material in "general discussions about growing up," while students in high school would be visited by actual nursing mothers. Boys will be part of the curriculum because school officials acknowlege that male opposition is a factor in women's rejection of breastfeeding.

Two things shock me about this idea. One, that it's possible to go forward with this kind of endeavor in England, while in the US you'd face rampant objections from all sides. And two, that a breastfeeding rate of "just one third" is considered particularly low. The current US rate is something like 70% upon leaving the hospital, but less than a third at three months. It's too bad our culture wouldn't allow such a program here; we could use it.

More by this author:

Is This Baby Obese? Aussie Mom Says No
Baby Nearly Starves to Death, Diluted Formula to Blame
Grandmother’s Right? Or Totally Obnoxious?
Health Scam: Crisis Pregnancy Centers
Mama’s Got a Brand New Bag

Morning News: Power to the People! (Now with Baby Picture)

Shannon LC Cate — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:08:00 GMT

Chicago isn't all about corrupt power mongers. Former employees of Republic Windows declared victory and ended their sit-in at the factory after winning about $1.75 million for severance packages amounting to around $6,000 per worker. Employees argued they were owed the pay after Republic Windows shut down the plant on only three days' notice, rather than the two months' notice required by federal law.

Viva la Greenland!

The 57,000 inhabitants of Greenland, long-ruled by Denmark (sure, we knew that before we read this news, didn't you?) voted last month to dissolve the relationship and become an independent nation.

Why? Global warming.

It seems that beneath the ice, Greenland has a dragon's horde of precious stones like diamonds and rubies. Oh--and oil. Greenlanders want the goodies for themselves, seeing as their homeland is melting away. They'll need the proceeds to build themselves a flotilla of houseboats.

Daily Blagojevich:

One of the ickiest allegations against Bloojevich is that he tried to get a $50,000 kickback from Children's Memorial Hospital for his support of $8 million in state funding to its statewide pediatric medical-care initiative to pay hundreds of doctors to treat poor sick children throughout Illinois.

Allegedly, after they refused to pay, Blogojevich tried to get the grant back.

And finally, in happy news, Strollerderby welcomes our latest little stroller jockey, Earl Frederick, born to Madeline Hollar on 8 December in a kiddie pool in her living room. Here is his perfect little rosy-cheeked 10 lb, 3 oz self.

Baby Dropping: It's Not Just For Celebrities

Kate Tuttle — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:30:00 GMT

Move over, Britney and Jacko: it seems that normal people drop their babies, too. A fair number, in fact, and often in hospitals. Now a national healthcare provider wants to investigate falls involving babies, to see what can be done to prevent them. According to an article in the Portland Oregonian, folks in the Providence hospital chain in that state reported some 20 baby falls annually, but it's suspected that the number is under-reported due to embarrassment by the adults involved. In the vast majority of cases, the baby is just fine.

The article goes on to report that a study in the journal Pediatrics projected national baby-falling numbers in the 600-700 range annually, and went on to report on the specifics of the 14 accidents reported in a hospitals in Utah (all the babies were fine, though one did sustain a skull fracture):

Number of babies delivered unexpectedly, directly onto the floor: 2

Number of babies droped by delivery-room doctor: 2

Number of babies launched from hospital bassinets when hitting a bump in the floor: 2

The remaining eight falls were from the arms of a sleeping parent, typically the mother. Naturally, the hospital chain is looking into structural or policy changes that can lessen the number of baby falls, whether by providing better parent education on the need to return a child to the bassinet before they nod off themselves, or by implementing changes in bed and room design to make such (inevitable, exhausted parent) lapses less potentially harmful.

In the meantime, for those moms and dads who have accidentally let junior hit the floor: welcome to parenthood! It may be the first time you inadvertently do something dumb (but ultimately harmless) to your kid, but it certainly won't be the last.

Related (but seriously, way worse): Baby Dies During Game of Airplane

Barack Obama Becomes Popular Baby Name in Kenya

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:35:00 GMT

The election of the first African-American president in the U.S. will have a lasting impact in Kenya for years to come—not only because this historical moment has been ingrained in the people’s memories, but because “Barack Obama” will be a popular name amongst the next generation of schoolchildren.

Several mothers at a hospital in Kenya proudly told Reuters that they were christening their newborns “Barack Obama,” and that they hoped their little Baracks would grow up to possess the same qualities of success, intelligence, and perseverance that they see in America’s 44^th president.

"I would like that by the time he is in his 40s he becomes the president of this country," one mother said, indicating that not only is the American Dream live and well in the U.S., but it is being exported to other countries as well.

The Obama naming trend may also catch on in the U.S. A Florida couple named their child, who was born shortly after the election, “Obama Hall.” Obama was the first name of the president-elect’s Kenyan great-grandfather, so using it as a first name is actually makes sense.

The name Barack means blessed.

Photo: Reuters

iPhone app for nursing, diapers, wedding day

Brett Singer — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Actually, these are all separate apps, and are not necessarily to be used in that order. (Not that there's anything wrong with doing things in that order, of course.)

Proving that the iPhone is good for more than just viewing dopey YouTube videos, ANDESigned has released iPhone apps to help busy parents remember that the kid is hungry, smelly, and oh yeah, shouldn't you be married?

Here are the apps:

- Baby Tracker: Diapers
"With the tap of a button, Baby Tracker: Diapers records everything you need to keep track of concerning this “stinky” part of child rearing! Forget about journaling, lists and charts...Baby Tracker: Diapers does the remembering for you!"

Me, I didn't keep track of any of this stuff, but if I did, this seems like it would be an easy way to do it. At 99 cents, it's actually cheaper than some notebooks.

- Baby Tracker: Nursing
This more expensive ($7.99) app "keeps track of your nursing sessions with just a few clicks, allowing you to relax and focus on feeding your baby without worrying about lists and sheets of paper, stop-watches and safety pins in your bra, or extraneous ribbons and bracelets!" This one I admit to being totally ignorant about, so I ask the readers: is this something nursing mothers keep track of, which breast, etc.? To my completely untrained eye, it always looked like the schedule was partly dictated by baby hunger, and partly by reality (must… get… milk… out… NOW…).

This feature is interesting: "Multiple baby support (up to 6), with names and easy switching (slide your finger left or right)." Is it possible to nurse that many babies? That's a LOT of milk.

- Wedding Day
Again, the order these are listed in is probably accidental, but with teen pregnancy being much in the news of late, it's sort of funny that Wedding Day comes after diapers and nursing.

This app (not yet available) will cost 99 cents, and seems to be arguably the most useful in terms of helping someone to organize things. I found my wedding plans to be incredibly complicated, and most of my involvement was limited to, "If we use that band, I’m not coming."

Any iPhone users out there planning on trying these apps?

See also: techmamas, Gizmodo, daddytypes

Read more:

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Capturing The Cute For Posterity

Amy Kuras — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 23:32:00 GMT

Please tell me I'm not the only parent to have experienced this: You get your little one all fancied up for a professional photo session, only to have them balk and lose their little minds at the very prospect.

And it seems to be an age-related thing. My daughter's first one, at about seven months, was completely hilarious – she flirted with the camera, smiled huge for all her pictures, and generally seemed to consider the whole thing a great time. Five months later for her one-year picture, her enthusiasm waned, and she just flatly refused to sit for her two-year pictures (we managed to get one shot for posterity because of the nice photographer's idea to blow bubbles across the room). For her last birthday, we practically had to wrest her bodily out of the studio, she loved it so much.

Now we're planning the same rite of passage with the boy, so I found this article by professional photographer Anna Myers especially interesting. She suggests the best ages to do professional portraits are between five and ten days old, maybe around four months, definitely at six or seven months, nine months and about 13 months. (excuse me, but who are these people that are all ready for professional portraits at five days postpartum? The only reason I could get it together to brush my teeth and shower, never mind get prettied up for a photo session, is because my husband was home).

I'm not so sure about that many photo sessions, and if I was better with a camera I'd just do them myself. But I'm not, so wish us luck.

Controversy: Dressing Newborns

Amy S.F. Lutz — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 14:31:00 GMT

Two posts this past week highlighted novelty clothing for babies: Brett's post on high heels for newborns, and Madeline's post on the "I'm an accident" onesie. And I was a little surprised by how many readers were offended by these items, some even going so far as to predict dire outcomes for these young sartorial victims - such as emme, who foretold, "These will be the 14 y.o. moms of the future."

Look, dressing babies is and always has been about the parents, not the babies. If all we cared about were what our babies would want, we'd probably dress them in footie pajamas all the time, or maybe just cotton sacks. But we don't, because we know how our babies look reflects our own personality, aesthetic, and worldview.

For example, my favorite T-shirt to put on my two-year-old son says, "I still live with my parents," which I love in all it's beautiful irony. Of course, Aaron has no idea why it's funny, which is probably why he's starting to reject it in favor of shirts with animals on them. For another example, my sister just announced her intention to go out and spend money on clothes for her newborn when she literally has eighty pounds of girl baby clothes sitting in our attic passed down from my three daughters. She just doesn't like a lot of it - my sister, that is, not her daughter. I'm sure Molly couldn't care less.

So, I have to agree with Sara, who pointed out, "Putting an infant in high heels is not at all the same thing as putting a toddler in high heels." When they come out with string bikinis for preschoolers, or shirts that proclaim "I'm an accident" for kids old enough to know what that means, I'll be the first to rail against them. But I don't think there's anything wrong with having fun dressing your baby - as Archaea said, "I don't know that it's any more harmful than sticking foreign objects into a child's ear lobes, gluing a bow to her head, or putting colored enamel on her little nails!"

Baby born in mid-air

Brett Singer — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 14:00:00 GMT

Next time I'm on a plane and there's a baby crying, I'll try to think that it could be worse. I could be sitting next to an actual birth.

That's what happened on a Korean Air Lines flight the other day. En route to the Philippines from New York City, Jacel Brown suddenly went into labor and gave birth to a baby boy, Jadan. The father delivered his own son, with an assist from a surgeon who happened to be on board (handy!). Before you say, "Why was she flying when she was so close to giving birth?" I need to point out that she wasn't all that close at all – it was her seventh month, so the little guy was premature. He weighed less than 3 pounds, and is currently at Lourdes Medical Center in New Jersey, where the couple is from.

That must've been some in-flight meal -- it caused her to give birth! (Ba-dum-bum.) Here's hoping baby, mother, father, and even the surgeon, are doing OK.

image: WCBS TV

High heels for newborns

Brett Singer — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 21:00:00 GMT

No. Really. That's what this is.

Is this how you end up with a Britney Spears? Start 'em off young?

They're from a company called Heelarious. They are, "extremely funny, completely soft, fully functional high heel crib shoes for babies." Despite being "fully functional" the shoes are "not intended for walking (heel will collapse with weight). Not intended to harm children in any way." Well, not physically, anyway.

Favorite comment (among many): Oh thank god! I was thinking my 4-week-old niece's legs were looking a little chubby…

Can we do better? I know we can.

Via Jezebel.

image: Heelarious

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RetroFitted: Glamour Gals Were, Like, Way Better Than Bratz

10 Ways You're a Great Parent (add to the list, "you don't dress your infant in high heels)

Nipple Cream pulled from shelves; could harm nursing infants

Brett Singer — Sat, 24 May 2008 02:20:00 GMT

If you're using Mommy's Bliss Nipple Cream, stop. Now.

Not to be alarmist, but the FDA has issued a warning about the product, which is meant to nursing mothers "help soothe dry or cracked nipples." Problem is, two of the ingredients – chlorphenesin and phenoxyethanol – "may cause respiratory distress, vomiting and diarrhea in infants." Nice.

From CNN/AP: "FDA is particularly concerned that nursing infants are being unwittingly exposed by their mothers to this product with dangerous side effects," said Janet Woodcock, director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. "Additionally, these two ingredients may interact with one another to further compound and increase the risk of respiratory depression in nursing infants."

It needs to be stated that we have no information other than what has been reported by AP and numerous other media outlets.

A quick Google search of the two potentially offending ingredients shows that one of them, chlorphenesin, is listed as "not commercially available in the United States" on one of the first web sites to pop up in the search listing. Makes you wonder what exactly the company was thinking when they put out this stuff. Last year, MOM Enterprises recalled another product, Apple Flavored Baby's Bliss Gripewater, because it may have contained a parasite.

As of this writing, contrary to news reports that "the company has stopped selling the cream", the product is still for sale on MOM Enterprises' web site. Again, not wanting to be alarmist, but this sounds like potentially nasty stuff that mothers and their children really don't need.

image: Amazon.com

Celebrity Tips For Losing the Baby Weight! (BARF)

Kelly Mills — Fri, 16 May 2008 20:33:00 GMT

Omigod, Forbes has this ah-mazing article on how celebrities lose the weight right away after they have their cute little babies. Oh, sure, the article acknowleges right away that famous mamas have all this pressure to drop pounds immediately, and that can be frustrating for regular old moms to watch. And yeah, we'll all admit celebs have personal trainers and chefs and full-time nannies and so on to help with the baby weight loss endeavor. But that doesn't mean we common folk can't learn from celebrities, right?

And the first big thing we learn is that celebrity weight issues must make money for mags, because this article has about as much substance as JLo's postpartum dinners. You know what we are supposed to take from the lifestyles of the rich and famous moms? 1. Be motivated, just like those poor famous people who have tons of cameras documenting every postpartum jiggle; 2. Breastfeeding will help you lose weight--except some celebs say it won't; and 3. Get fit before you conceive, and maybe exercise carefully during pregnancy. Gosh, that is sooo insightful and helpful, I'm sure we've never heard anything like that before. Next you'll be telling us we should "burn calories" and "eat healthy"! Thank gawd we have the chance to worship at the altar of fame, because we gain so much!

Can I share something with you? The focus on post-partum weight loss among the A-, B-, and C-listers is idiotic. These people start with a genetic advantage, have every resource available to make weight loss a primary life goal, and are sometimes shedding the pounds in unhealthy ways and at a dangerous rate. Screw. This. Shit. If you care about dropping the baby fat, at a minimum tell yourself "Nine months on, nine months off." And better yet, just enjoy your newborn, because you have time to lose the weight, and your infant is only going to be this little and precious for the blink of an eye.

Mets player thanks wife by letting her have his baby

Brett Singer — Fri, 16 May 2008 18:00:00 GMT

Ryan Church plays right field for the New York Mets. He's having a great year so far, with a .310 batting average, 8 home runs and 30 RBIs.

One reason is that, despite having just become a father a couple of months ago, he's getting enough sleep.

In an interview with the New York Times, Church seems to be saying that he figures letting his wife have his baby is thanks enough for getting up in the middle of night with the newborn. Maybe I'm interpreting this wrong. Here's the quote:

HOW ABOUT THE SLEEP? Well, I was expecting it, but I didn’t know it was going to be this bad. Actually, sleepwise, it’s been relatively easy for me. She’s been really good. He cries, she gets up and lets me try to stay there and try to sleep. Still, I wake up, and it’s one of those things where you hear a noise and you’re like, O.K., I have to go pick him up.
HOW DO YOU PLAN TO REPAY HER FOR LETTING YOU SLEEP? Having my kid. I’ve gotten her some gifts.

Maybe I'm just jealous. OK, no maybe about it. Because if I said to my wife, "Honey, thanks for getting up with the baby. To show my appreciation, I got you pregnant. Enjoy!" I think I might get a baseball bat upside my head. To be fair, Church is a baseball player, makes $2 million a year, and probably wouldn't be much good at the plate if he couldn't keep his eyes open. (Mets' fans booed Johann Santana, arguably the best pitcher in baseball, the first time he pitched for the Mets this year; I doubt they'd be forgiving of a guy nodding off in the outfield because junior kept him up all night.) Still, his phrasing leaves something to be desired. (Maybe he's been hanging out with Barack Obama.)

Church went on to say that he and the missus were "planning on going on a trip this off-season." When asked if the baby would stay home, he said, "Hopefully. We’ll see how that works."

Excuse me; I think I just fell down from laughing so hard. Okay, I'm back.

Church suffered a concussion during spring training. Maybe he's still a little dopey.

image: Yahoo Sports

Weekly Check-Up: Pain Relief For Preemies

Kelly Mills — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:32:00 GMT

Parents and nurses report that one of the hardest things about having a premature baby in neonatal intensive care is the number of invasive and painful medical procedures the babies have to endure. However, a new study has one method for easing some of that preemie pain, and it's pretty simple and cost-effective, if you ask me.

So what's the miracle way to soothe the littlest infants? Being cuddled tightly against mom's bare skin. Doesn't that sound nice? I think I'm regressing just thinking about it. Anyhow, the cuddling, known as "kangaroo mother care," had been shown in past studies to help older infants recover from pain, but preemies had not yet been studied. The researchers found that premature infants who got kangaroo mother care before and after a heel lance procedure recovered in about a minute and a half, while babies placed in incubators were still suffering more than three minutes after the procedure. This delay could have an impact on preterm baby health, according to the researchers. Plus, um, if it's at all feasible, how can you go wrong with a good snuggle?

Pregcellent: What Exactly Should You Expect?

Kelly Mills — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 12:33:00 GMT

With the fourth edition of "What To Expect When You're Expecting" slated for release next month, Jezebel asked the question, what should women really, actually expect? I'll totally take that one up, and perhaps some of you will too. First, anything goes, and good luck trying to predict what will happen. You might be exhausted for nine months, or you might run around like a cracked-out chipmunk. You might all of the sudden need glasses; your hair could fall out or it could get thicker; you might glow or you might feel your life force sucked from your face. Oh, and it can change for the same person from pregnancy to pregnancy. The only consistent stories I've ever heard: Your belly will get big. (Duh.) Your hips will spread. Your boobs get larger. You will at some point have to get that baby out of there.

Second, on the pooping front so popular in the J-bel comments: Yes, you might poop during labor, but if you are like me, you will not give a shit because you will be otherwise occupied. (Ba dum.) However, the first crap after giving birth will probably be your worst nightmare come true. Also, the episiotomy, should you have one, is probably less painful than anything else. Your body will most likely be altered to some degree forever, but you might not mind as much as you think you will. Oh, and the belly doesn't disappear when the baby is out, so get ready for the "When are you due?" questions for a while after delivery.

What else? Share the hard-won wisdom...

Quitters Have Happier Babies

Madeline Holler — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:26:00 GMT

A new formula for getting the happiest baby on the block -- and it doesn't involve swaddling! It involves smoking. And not smoking. But not not smoking.

Here's what I mean: a new study found that pregnant mothers who quit smoking had significantly happier babies than those born to mothers who smoked through pregnancy. The smokers' kids were grumpy (and totally ashed all over the new crib sheets).

But get this: babies born to non-smokers were also a little fussier than the babies whose moms quit smoking during pregnancy. Well, dammit! What do these kids want from us?

Interpreting the results we get a lot of speculation.

From Reuters:

"What we think: quitting smoking is a really difficult thing to do at any time. And we do know that most women who quit smoking when they are pregnant start smoking again afterwards," she said.

"So what they are doing is taking a very specific maternal action to protect their babies. We are seeing it as a marker for other characteristics of women who manage to quit. It may also be a marker for their easy temperament."

But what does that mean about the non-smokers? Too uptight to start smoking and they pass that along to the young'uns?

Photo: Reuters

Maternity Leave and Sick Newborns

Madeline Holler — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 20:03:00 GMT

Here's the Sophie's Choice of parental leave: use up all your leave time to be with your preemie newborns at the hospital or save it for after they get home?

A federal employee in Washington, D.C., had to make that decision and wound up going back to work two weeks (two weeks!) after giving birth.

Going without pay, which she can under the Family Medical Leave Act, wasn't an option, as it isn't for many families.

The mother's story comes up as an example of how inadequate family leave for federal employees is. This mother had saved up all her sick and vacation days for maternity leave. But when the babies were born early and had to spend time at the hospital, she had to use those days carefully and make the tough choice to return to work two weeks after giving birth. A N.Y. congresswoman is working to get federal employees eight weeks of paid paternity leave.

From the Washingtonpost.com

Too often, federal employees are forced to choose between their paycheck and their new child, said Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), vice chairman of the joint committee, noting that "even the best-prepared workers face difficult choices when children need their care."

We all know the U.S. is painfully behind in terms of family and maternity leave. So how would you have used the days, particularly if going without pay isn't an option?

Are Hospitals Bad for Babies?

Karen Murphy — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 18:27:00 GMT

About the last thing you'd want to hear when planning an upcoming birth is that the place you're going to give birth in? The hospital? May be one of the worst places for your baby. Yikes.

But a new (small) study looked at 388 babies born in a teaching hospital in the south of France during most of 2005. Of those 388 babies, 116 were affected by a total of 267 "incidents", defined as anything compromising the safety of the baby. That's almost 30%! And here's why:

Most of the incidents involved babies who had low birth weight, were in the hospital for an extended time, or had an IV line or breathing tube or were on a mechanical ventilator. In short, these were the babies who were subject to more handling by hospital personnel, and therefore were at greater risk for "incidents." (yes, that word bothers me) In addition, these are the babies who already may be somewhat compromised, in a weakened state, etc, and so are more susceptible to problems and "incidents." Plus, this was a teaching hospital, which implies that there's a level of learning involved (and therefore, possibly, a greater risk for mistakes).

But a large number of the "incidents" involved medications, dosing errors, etc. And it's admitted that pediatric medicine has a long way to go with newborns, who seem to be a science all their own and can't be treated, necessarily, as older babies are.

And, it's fairly common knowledge now that anybody spending time in a hospital these days is at greater risk for developing infection. (Did I hear that a little handwashing could help with this?)

So here's the bottom line, in my opinion:

Babies who need medical intervention do belong in hospitals, but it's a double-edged sword. Babies who are healthy (and everybody else) should stay out of hospitals (home birth, anyone?) beyond the necessary.

Oh, and medical science has a long way to go.

Photo: www.mcmasterchildrenshospital.ca