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In case you were holding your breath all this time…. J.Lo Jennifer Lopez is finally letting us all see pictures of her babies. (In part of the mega-million deal with People, they are forbidden to call her JLo anymore, apparently she is waaaay over her Ben Afflick/P Diddy days)

Beware the dangers of child safety products. I remember walking through Babies R Us a few years ago when my last child was born. I was looking at those mirrors you put in your car that let you see the baby in the back seat clearly. I had the box in my hand and a man spoke over my shoulder and he said “I am a fireman, and I have seen the horrible results of that mirror. In an accident it can become a projectile and can cause damage to your child.” I said “Gee, thanks”, put the box back on the shelf and never again thought about buying that.

One would think that we are buying these products to protect our children. Little do we know that we could be potentially harming them. The Today Show has a list of 9 products that can potentially harm your child. Those car mirror thingies are on the list. Others include: Plastic outlet covers that babies can choke on, baby wipe warmers (which to be honest I never really “got” that concept - I didn’t need yet another piece of baby paraphernalia, TYVM) and bath rings. Please check out the article and use your best judgment when considering purchasing these items.

Charges dropped for mom who left child in car. You have probably read it in the headlines lately. A mom pulled in front of a grocery store, got out, put on the hazards and locked the car, and walked about 30 feet to put coins in the Salvation Army kettle. Her two year old was asleep in the car. She was arrested for child endangerment and was due to start trial, possibly facing up to a year in jail. The case was dismissed due to lack of evidence. What do you think? Should she have been arrested in the first place? Should the trial have continued?

Baby bottles go retro! Amid growing concerns over bisphenol A exposure, we may be seeing a new baby bottle trend - glass. Of course there is always concern over breaking glass, but some moms are finding it an alternative that gives them a better peace of mind. If you are interested in switching to glass yourself, Evenflo and Dr. Brown’s both are making glass bottles.

Dad paints his car for his son. A dad painted his new 2007 mustang to look like a police car to please his 7 year old son who is a big fan of the transformers movie. Prior to doing so, he called the district attorney’s office beforehand, and the response was that even they weren’t thrilled with the idea, there was nothing in the law to stop him… so long as he does not impersonate a police officer. The dad is an Iraqi war vet and since coming back he has vowed to be the best dad he can as he admits he probably wasn’t before he got deployed.

What is the going rate for baby teeth? I had this problem when my oldest lost his first tooth. I had just pretty much gotten the Santa Clause and Easter Bunny roles down pat, now I had to put my “Tooth Fairy” hat on. And for the life of me, I could not remember how much I got as a kid! I knew it wasn’t too much, so hubby and I settled on a fiver. That seemed reasonable.

This is a question many parents wrestle with. Thankfully, there is no “playground competition” where we live, so we got by just fine. (Although some times “the fiver” was a handful of coins we scraped together at midnight, we figured it was a good money counting lesson). But what is a parent to do when they forget, or their child is not happy with the amount compared to their friends? These can be tricky moments, we just need to put on our “superparent quick thinking cap” to come up with a believable excuse for our kids.

I carefully saved my firstborns first teeth in a ziploc baggie. When number 2 started looking her teeth, I was a bit lax and would tuck the teeth from both kids in my jewelery box, in the medicine cabinet, wherever…and somehow all the teeth have ended up together! Short of DNA testing, I have no idea whose is whose. But then, what are we supposed to do with these teeth? Suggestions are definitely welcome….

Take care of your breasts! They are not only for men to ogle or to feed your children, they are an important part of yourself and they deserve to be taken care of! Our breasts will change over the years - and they could change significantly after you have had children. Beware of family history, and make sure you have exams regularly and mammograms when needed. And a tip for today - get yourself properly measured and fit for a new bra. Make it something pretty and sexy if you wish. And make sure those straps are properly adjusted! You will be surprised how this can change your appearance. And don’t forget to love your breasts and the rest of your body too!

Why aren’t girls getting the HPV vaccination? This is a subject that has been covered many times here in the blog. The controversy about some thinking it condones underaged sex and the anger over it potentially being required. The dust has nearly settled and what is becoming clear is that despite all the press and the multi-million dollar ad campaign, only 20% of eligible girls are getting this vaccination.

Why not? Quite a few reason are suspected. Firstly, it is inconvenient as it comes in a series of 3 shots. As well, it is expensive, at $360 for the entire treatment. That may not seem like a lot of money to protect yourself against deadly cancer (and genital warts at the same time…. ewww!), however please keep in mind that a whopping 27% of women between the age of 19-26 do NOT have health insurance. That number is staggering to me, especially as that also is peak childbearing years. (I can’t say enough how disappointed I am in our healthcare system)

Other reasons are the fact that despite about 25% of all women having HPV, only 40% of women had ever heard of the virus. And most still do not know that it is the primary cause of cervical cancer. And of course the whole “if I vaccinate my daughter against this she will go out and have underage sex” argument. (which I never really understood, because I personally don’t think the entire explanation of the vaccination needs to be fully discussed to a pre-pubescent girl)

What am I taking out of this? I get the impression that many women are not empowering themselves and taking care of their bodies. They are not aware of what they can do to improve their health. And don’t get me started on the lack of health insurance for those young women between 19-26. I see that as a disgrace and another failure of our healthcare system. Our bodies are miraculous. They can do so many things. It just saddens me when I read these facts. Things need to change.

Celebrities “seeing double”. There is an increase in the amount of celebrity women giving birth to twins. Seems like Julia Roberts started it. Then there was Marica Cross, Marcia Gay Harden, Nancy Grace, Garcelle Beauvais Nilon, and most recently JLo. Now the rumor mill is saying that both Jessica Alba and Angelina Jolie are expecting twins as well.

Is something in the water in Hollywood? Probably not. But a lot of these gals have delayed motherhood for their careers and are now of “advanced maternal age”, so I am wondering if they had a little bit of fertility help…

Dangerous lighters. Novelty lighters make be fun to adults, but they are even more dangerous to children because they look like toys. The fire marshalls are on the case, and they are backing efforts to ban these lighters. Recently, the European Union has, and now the US marshals are concerned that Chinese manufacturers might try to unload their extras in the US.

If you are an adult with children in the home, please think twice before purchasing a lighter that looks like a toy.

Genetically modified babies? Scientists in Britain claim to have created an embryo that contains the genetic DNA of three persons. They mixed in some DNA from a third donor that replaces defective genes. The hope is that one day embryo’s can be produced that are free of inherited diseases. A quote from the hospital:

“We are not trying to alter genes, we’re just trying to swap a small proportion of the bad ones for some good ones,” said Patrick Chinnery, a professor of neurogenetics at Newcastle University involved in the research.

Maybe that is the original intention, but what is to stop it from going any further. Am I in the minority these days in still believing that things (even heartbreaking and horrible) happen for a reason. Stuff like this scares the bejesus out of me and it makes me wonder what kind of world my grandchildren will live in.

Anyone else want to weigh in here?

Preggo brain is real! Scientists have confirmed that yes, pregnant women do experience memory loss. Fortunately it tends to be lesser important things, or things that are newer or less familiar to them. And yes, forgetfulness can continue after the birth.

Let’s see… for me, pregnancy number 1 I left my purse under the table at McDonald’s. Thankfully when I went back about 10 minutes later one of the staff had kept it and it was returned to me. Pregnancy number 2, I left my brand new glasses on the McDonald’s (notice a trend here?) food tray and threw it out with the trash. When I went back, literally 5 minutes later the trash bin was just emptied. I asked the staff if I could look through the old trash bag . They went to the back of the store and came back with a compacted square cube about 10″ big. Bye bye glasses. Pregnancy 3, I don’t remember what forgetful things I did. (giggle)

New child-seat ratings to be announced. The transportation department will revamp their safety ratings to make it easier for parents to determine the best seat for their child. Unfortunately, these days 70% of child-seats are incorrectly installed or not the proper size for the child. When used properly, child-seats are very effective. All the programs out there to inform and help parents install their seats do not appear to work. Please don’t wait for the new guidelines - go out today and ensure your car seat is the right size and properly installed.

One smart little girl. Courtney Oliver is only 10 years old, but she has already received a college degree to be a Veterinarian’s assistant. Child prodigies like this are always amazing to me! I realize that especially gifted children like this need to be stimulated, but those childhood years really are precious, so I am hoping that she is able to find a good balance in life.

Great news towards curing childhood leukemia. Doctors in Great Britian have identified the specific stem cells that cause this disease. In doing so, they now can work towards developing new drugs to target this specific stem cell, and hopefully greatly lessen the bad side effects to current treatment.

By researching twins, doctors now believe that there are two mutations that cause the disease, the first in utero and the second one early in life. They do not know what causes these mutations, but as always any information they discover is one step further to a cure!

How to handle your toddler. The folks at Parenting magazine have a written an insightful article about how to be a better parent to your 2-3 year old. It focuses on seven key things including:

Micromanaging - ensuring every detail is OK to keep up with those very important routines. Kids at this age love their rituals!

Interpretation - How to understand what they are saying when their vocabulary (and patience) is limited.

Diplomacy - how to deal with those wonderful temper tantrums that occur when they don’t get exactly what they want.

Feigning Interest - in whatever your toddler is currently obsessing about.

The article goes on in an insightful and fun to read way. Even as a three-time mom it was nice to be reminded of why they are the way they are in this oh so cute yet sometimes frustrating phase - have a read.

Now what to do when your infant gets sick? There still are “safe”things you can do to make your child comfortable when they are sick. This includes:
having them drink lots of water, breastfeeding, clearing out that nose (saline and those yucky bulbs), and giving the proper amounts of acetaminophen.