That special bond with your baby… Doctors, in trying to understand postpartum depression, have been looking into that special mommy-baby bond and why it can break with depression. They have located a place in the brain that distinctively drives parents to nurture their child.

The idea goes back to Darwinism. Taking care of our young for the species to survive. In tests, they showed adults pictures of adults, and when there was a picture of an infant there was a specific reaction in the brain. The reaction happen so fast if it not possible to have conscious control over it. Next step is to link this with people suffering postpartum depression to assess any correlation.

Old names regaining popularity? At least for boys names it appears that parents often choose a classic. The Today show site has listed the most popular baby names, per decade, since 1900. the results are interesting.

I was somewhat surprised that the boys list contained many names that are “classic” and still often used today, like John, William, James, Charles, Robert, Joseph. Some girls names didn’t fare as well… Florence, Ethel. Also surprising to me was that in 2000, most of the boys names (9 out of 10, Tyler was the odd one out) were biblical in origin. Jacob, Michael, Matthew, Joshua, Christopher, Nicholas, Andrew, Joseph, Daniel, and Tyler.

In any case, I always enjoy looking at baby names. Especially when it is not MY baby that is being named!