When I was pregnant with my son, my toddler loved to lift my shirt, poke my distended belly button, and yell, “Belly belly belly!” - even in public. I found myself hastily covering up again, and then I’d feel dumb for being embarrassed.

After all, big bellies are “in” these days!

Today, the baby belly is celebrated, exalted, shown off, and in the case of celebrity bellies, stalked. And these bellies are everywhere: They’re popping out of tight-fitting maternity fashions. They’re glistening in semi-nude family photographs that can be taken at the corner mall. They’re on display in homes, maybe even in a neighbor’s, in the form of plaster belly-casts, three-dimensional mementos of a biological process now considered less Discovery Channel and more prime-time viewing.

Ever since Demi Moore glamorized her pregnant belly, appearing nude and heavily pregnant on the cover of Vanity Fair way back in the early ’90s, pregnant fashion has been changing to reflect a profound change in society’s attitude toward pregnancy. Pregnant women are now widely seen as beautiful, even sensual. Women flaunt their baby bellies in public, wearing bikinis and–

Wait, did I just say that?? Yep…heavily pregnant women are often seen on beaches in swimwear that accentuates, rather than hides, their extra curvy fronts. I have never been comfortable in a bikini, much less during my stint as a rare zebra whale (I was - and am - that striped, from my belly and chest all the way down to and including my thighs)! I’m quite sure the world at large appreciated my modesty, since I never had one of those adorable, tanned, mark-free bellies with either pregnancy. I don’t regret my stripes - they are tangible reminders of just how blessed I am - but I would never show them off, either.

But you know what? To those moms who feel comfortable baring their pregnant bellies, YGGs - that takes a confidence I wish I possessed. The pregnant belly is worth celebrating, and more power to anyone who does that.

Posted by Sunshine.

Baby Cereal Recall: Gerber has announced a recall of its organic rice and organic oatmeal cereals because of potential choking hazard. The company has received complaints from consumers that some boxes contain lumps that do not dissolve. Consumers should contact Gerber at 800-443-7237 or 231-928-3000 for a full refund.

Get that flu shot? It’s been established that when a mom-to-be has the flu during her second trimester, her offspring is at greater risk of later developing schizophrenia. A neuroscientist out of Cal Tech has been working with pregnant mice and believes that as the mother’s immune system kicks in to fight the flu, the developing fetus’ brain becomes inflamed and altered in a way that sets the child up for mental illness later in life. One particular protein appears to be the problem; when that one protein was blocked in the pregnant mouse with flu, her offspring appeared to be completely normal.

Too Hot? Two New Zealand entrepreneurs have come under fire for their line of lingerie aimed at pregnant and nursing women. When Hot Milk catalogs were emailed to women listed in a database of pregnant and nursing mothers, many women complained that they were explicit “soft porn”. Lisa Ebbing, one of Hot Milk’s founders, weighed in: “Our campaign, empowering pregnant women to be sexy, is a world first…Poor mums, at a stressful time in your life, all you can wear is horrible brown lingerie. It doesn’t make you feel good. Our designs say to women ‘You can still be beautiful and sexy.’ They can still be fun and cheeky and our product empowers them to feel better when there is a lot of change in their lives.”

Via Working Dad, a new trend in wedding dresses - gowns for the maternity set!

This Pea in the Pod dress is sweet. Almost tempts me to get pregnant again and renew my vows.

Posted by MommaSteph.

The Future of Maternity Wear?  What’s hot among preggos in Chinese cities? How about maternity wear that claims to protect the developing baby from radiation encountered in daily life, from computers, TVs and the like? “Nowadays, we are exposed to so much radiation in offices and we need to take precautionary measures. I have bought three maternity garments that can protect me from radiation. Although they are by no means cheap, I feel it is still worth it,” said Ms. Gao, a young woman who has been in a family way for only two months. Do they work? No one can say.

I, Robot:  Hakuo Yanagisawa, Japan’s health minister, managed to alienate at least half of his audience in a recent speech on his country’s declining birth rate:  “The number of women aged between 15 and 50 is fixed,” Mr Yanagisawa, 71, said. “Because the number of birth-giving machines and devices is fixed, all we can do is ask them to do their best per head … although it may not be so appropriate to call them machines.”   Not appropriate?  Ya think?

There’s something in the water over on the MomSquawk Message Boards.  Preggos are popping up left and right.  It seems we get a couple new announcements a week and we have already welcomed a new “Super” baby this fall. 

I’m not ready for another baby right now, but I am a little jealous because maternity clothing has become so cool during the past year.  I have to admit that shopping for a new maternity wardrobe was one of the highlights of being pregnant, for me. 

Which is why I headed straight to RockStarMoms when I found out that my Sista from anotha Mista was pregnant.  They have the best selection of hip maternity novelty tees, hands down.  Now mommies can look cool and sassy while baking up their little squawkers and squawkettes. 

My personal favorite is the Mudflap Girl, a pregnant version of those sexy metal girls on the mudflaps of big rigs.   RockStarMoms also has retro 80’s rock shirts, rock n rollshirts, and for our football loving preggos, custom NFL team shirts. 

Here’s the best part, ladies; RockStarMoms offers two different sizes so you aren’t stuck with the one size fits all teeny tiny tees.  Every pregnant woman should feel like a RockStar.

Posted by Virgierox.

Why, oh why, did I never look this sexy during my third pregnancy?  Come to think of it, I never looked close to this good during my first or second ones either.  Some women look absolutely glowing and marvelous during pregnancy.  I looked like a bloated, pimpled beached whale.

Is it my jealous eyes, or does it look like her ankles might be swelling a bit?  Those strappy sandals look a little tight.  Come on, it’s just not fair to look that good while pregnant!

Hats off to you, Heidi!  You look so fresh and so happy… I wish you and your family all the best!

Posted by Meganlux

This definitely goes in my “Why didn’t I think of that?” file…

Belly Ups!  Discrete suspenders that connect your most annoying maternity pants to your bra and keep you from dropping trou.

Well done!

(Via The Poop.)

Posted by MommaSteph

Cute and hip maternity shirts from Preggers n’ Proud.  Say goodbye to your mama’s boring maternity wear.

When you buy this shirt (pictured) a donation is made to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer research.  

And it’s on sale!

Posted by Virgierox.

As part of a nationwide effort to encourage more women to have babies, Tokyo rail companies are offering pregnant women pink and blue badges that read “There is a baby in my belly”.  The idea is the badges will encourage other commuters to give up their seats to the expectant moms.

“Especially in the early stages, it is difficult to tell from someone’s appearance whether they are pregnant,” said an official at the Health Ministry which came up with the idea. “But these early stages are rather unstable and it is important to take care.”

The move comes as Japan scrambles for ways to persuade women to have more babies. The dwindling birth rate has left the nation with a shrinking population and the world’s highest proportion of elderly people.

“We want to create an environment that is pleasant for pregnant women,” the agency official said.

In addition to the rail passes, recent initiatives to persuade Japanese women to have more babies include improving employment conditions for working mothers and government-sponsored speed dating.

Hm…or they could just force the dads to do more diaper changes and get rid of instant noodles.

Posted by MommaSteph

I’m really looking forward to this: Linda Evangelista is going to be on the cover of the August issue of Vogue! Not only is she 41, she’s pregnant (baby #1 on the way this fall).

One of the infamous “supermodels” of the 1990s, Evangelista gained notoriety by claiming that she didn’t “get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day”. She took a lot of flak for that remark, and rightly so (true or not, how obnoxious). But for all that, I love looking at her old photo spreads. She is perfection. If it takes talent to be a model (something I’ll never find out first hand), she must have it in spades. (Left: Her September 1992 Harper’s Bazaar cover, often cited as one of the greatest magazine covers of all time.)

I haven’t bought Vogue in at least seven years, but I’ll be watching the newsstands.

Posted by MommaSteph