Growing Your Baby - Parenthood from Pregnancy to Pre-school

Contemporary Baby Style: Songes et Rigolades Evolutionary Baby Bed

Lisa — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:07:54 +0000

French Children’s Furniture Designer Songes et Rigolades has a smartly designed collection for babies that will grow with your child from birth to 6 years. Aptly titled Evolutionary, this assortment of furniture features an egg shaped crib, a changing table which turn into a chair and a shelf to offer more playground.

The company’s mission is to help kids grow by offering a fun working space and safe.

Dreams and giggles, is to think like a child, without limit, just like with … with just the desire to go all the way to new ideas.
The goal is always to improve, enhance, enrich the space of children dreaming of innovative objects!

When designing the collection, founder Stephanie Chaussereau wanted the furniture to be at a child’s height and climbable so that could access and play with toys independently.

I wanted furniture that resemble them, soft, round, fun, accompanying them in their progress. From these findings, I decided to ignore the teacher in Marketing that I was to sketch and imagine a room concept scalable and secure …

Gap and Stella McCartney Announce a Second Kids & Baby Collection

Lisa — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:00:47 +0000

GapKids and babyGap announced today plans for a second collection created for Gap by Stella McCartney. Expected to launch in March 2010, the collection will be carried in select GapKids and babyGap stores in the United States and Canada, the UK, France and Ireland, and Japan, as well as online in the US. In addition the collection will be available in selected stores in Russia, Turkey, Greece, Asia and the Middle East.

“We’re pleased and encouraged by the response to our first collection working with Stella,” said Marka Hansen, President of Gap brand. “The combination of her unique aesthetic and our brand’s experience in childrenswear has resonated with our customers around the world, with certain styles including the Miller jacket being a sellout success. We’re thrilled to be working with Stella on a Spring collection.”

How exciting! It will be interesting to see what she comes up for Spring and Summer.

Heidi Klum Walks The Runway For Victoria’s Secret Just 6 Weeks Post Baby!

Lisa — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:11:30 +0000

Heidi Klum surprised everyone tonight by leading the parade at the annual Victoria’s Secret fashion show, which returned after four years on the road.

The sexy mama, who gave birth to daughter, Lou, just 6 weeks ago, was supposed to host the event, instead she took to the runway in a purple corset covered with a half gown with poufs of tulle.

{WENN}

2-Year-Old Helps Mom Deliver Baby

Lisa — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:08:11 +0000

A Tennessee mom was caught by surprise when her fourth child, who was scheduled to be delivered by C-section, arrived 3 weeks early – at home.

After experiencing contractions all night, Bobbye Favazza, 27, called her daughter in around 8:30 a.m. to call 911.

When emergency services personnel didn’t arrive in time to help, Bobbye’s 2-year-old son Jeremiha Taylor stepped in.

Jeremiha even remained calm and went to get his mom a towel,without being told, when she started to bleed.

“It happened so fast,” Favazza said. “My water broke, and the baby came two to three minutes later. I just pushed and (Jeremiha) caught him.”

In order to open the door for the arriving firefighters, Favazza held her newborn with the umbilical cord still attached.

Mother and baby finally arrived to the hospital, where they were each given a clean bill of health.

SOURCEPhoto by Stan Carroll

Camila and Levi’s Park Play Date

Lisa — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:17:40 +0000

A very pregnant Camila Alves and son Levi Alves McConaughey enjoyed the afternoon at Cross Creek Park in Malibu yesterday.

The pair met up with photographer and former Sweet Valley High Twin Cynthia Daniel and her youngest son, Colt(not shown).

Camila and boyfriend Matthew McConaughey expect baby#2 at the end of this year.

{INFPHOTO.COM, WENN}

Preemie Profile: 23 Week Twins Olivia & Logan

Shannon — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:47:01 +0000

November is Prematurity Awareness Month. In honor of this, some parents who have had babies prematurely have offered to tell their stories to create awareness about his important cause.

Our fourteenth profile is of twins Olivia Paige and Logan William.

Olivia and Logan were born on August 27th 2007 at only 23 weeks 1 day.

Mom Jodi said that the doctors best guess about why she gave birth so early was because of an incompetent cervix (A condition in which the cervix opens prematurely without contractions.)

At birth Olivia weighed 1lb 1.5oz and Logan was 1lb 1.75oz. Olivia’s NICU stay was as smooth as it could possibly be for a 23 weeker. She had no brain bleeds, no ROP surgery (Retinopathy of Prematurity) as she only got a stage two. She had no issues with bowels, intestines or brain damage. Mom said it was just a miracle.

Logan, however, did not get to go home to his family. He passed away after 1 month, 1 day. Jodi says that people don’t realize how the death of your child will affect you for the rest of your life.

It was tough to plan my child’s funeral, while still not knowing if I would get to take my other child home.

Logan had a grade 2 brain bleed, but no sign of PVL (damage to the white matter of the brain near the ventricles.) Doctors could never get his blood pressure stabilized and his kidneys had trouble functioning and he stopped urinating multiple times. In the end, his heart gave out and after resuscitating him multiple times, multiple shots of epinephrine to the heart, he passed away.

After 105 days in the NICU, Olivia came home. As for lasting effects from her prematurity, Olivia’s skin is severely scarred because it was so underdeveloped at birth. She is about 6 months behind developmentally and has some sensory disorders. She has had one strabismus (eye muscle) surgery and will probably need another one. She wears glasses and has a lot of problems gaining weight. She is 2 years old and 20 lbs.

Jodi and her husband do not have any other children. They tried for 3 years to become pregnant.

We wanted our babies more than anything and I did nothing in my pregnancy that would cause prematurity. It can truly happen to anyone.

If Jodi had one piece of advice for a new preemie mom it would be this: Take care of yourself. I was diagnosed with severe adrenal fatigue about a year later. It is such a stressful time that you run on adrenaline to get you through. Eventually, you can completely run out. Pumping breast milk is the one thing that I felt I could do for my babies when all other new mother experiences were taken away. I never got to hold Logan until after he passed away. I couldn’t hold Olivia until she was over a month old. Providing breast milk was something special I could do for her and Logan.

I asked Jodi to describe her children in one word and she said “MIRACLES.”

These two are definitely miracles in my eyes as well. If you would like to read more about this amazing family and follow their journey, you can go here to Olivia & Logan

Is It Unsafe To Drive With The Handle Up On Your Infant Car Seat? Yes, On Some Models!

Lisa — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:43:31 +0000

While out the other night a friend told me that using an infant car seat with the handle up while driving can compromise the safety and cause it to not protect the baby properly in the event of an accident.

I had no idea this could be a problem and am pretty sure I have driven with my baby in the infant seat with the handle up.

Looking for the answer, I contacted our rep at Britax and this is the response they sent. (The Chaperone they are referring to is their infant car seat, that was introduced last year.)

The reason many seats require you put the handle in the in-vehicle (or “down”) position while traveling is because the handle position can actually affect how the carrier performs in a crash and or crash simulation. The fact that the handle can move changes the center of gravity and thus changes the weight dynamics of the seat. A lower center of gravity (ie with the handle down) makes it “easier” to pass the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. For many carriers out there it can mean the difference between passing and failing the minimum Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

Unless the user manual and/or stickers on the side of the carrier specifically state you may leave the handle in the carrying (or “up”) position, you should assume that you cannot. Our Chaperone infant carrier allows the caregiver to leave the handle in any of the three locked positions while traveling in a vehicle. This was important to us while developing the carrier for a few reasons:

Many people leave it in the up position simply for convenience (one less step to take)

A perception of safety – it looks like a “roll-bar”

If you had to rotate the handle to the forward position, the carrier would require more room between the carrier shell and the vehicle’s front seat-back in order to clear the handle of the carrier…and, with the trend of larger, high-weight capacity carriers and smaller cars – is not a desirable combination.

There are now a few infant carriers on the market that allow you to keep the handle in the carrying position while transporting the child/carrier in a vehicle. There are however no carriers on the market other than the Chaperone that feature True Side Impact Protection (with non-rethread harness adjustment), an Anti-rebound bar and the convenience of a handle that can be left in any locked position.
Please note that I did not list the fact that people want to hang toys off the carrier’s handle as a reason for us developing the carrier to be able to leave the handle up. Due to the fact that toys are never crash tested on any carrier (and their size and weight and material vary so widely), they are not recommended to hang off a carrier’s handle while in a vehicle.

So, after this, I checked my infant seat and it specifically says on the side to put the handle down while the vehicle is in motion. Ughhh!

Additionally, I contacted Peg Perego, Dorel(makers of Safety 1st, Eddie Bauer and Maxi Cosi), Graco and Evenflo. Of those manufacturers, both Dorel and Graco told me that their newest seats have been engineered so that the handle can be left up if it is locked. Peg Perego and Evenflo both told me that the handle has to be locked behind the baby.

*Thank you to Britax for providing me with me with this response*

Keith and Sunday Rose Run Errands In NYC

Lisa — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:18:44 +0000

Keith Urban and daughter Sunday bundled up to run errands in NYC yesterday.

The proud papa recently said he altered his musical career so he can spend more time with his family.

“I structured the tour so I would do three shows in a row, then take about three or four days off. Now we have Sunday, it is about enjoying the simple pleasures – just being able to say ‘Goodnight’ to my girls and not be on the phone doing it.

“It’s the real normal things like that that have brought such a grounding to my life. It’s a wonderful experience.”

An adorable pig-tailed Sunday wears a pair of baby Baby UGGS..

{FAME AND PACIFIC COAST NEWS}

RECALL: Natursutten Baby Teethers Over Contamination Risk

Lisa — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:18:35 +0000

Health Canada issued a recall of two types of Natursutten baby teethers yesterday after tests showed the liquid inside might be contaminated by bacteria.

The Natursutten Liquid-filled Teethers were distributed by EcoBaby Aps of Denmark and were made in Germany. About 2,500 were sold at independent children’s stores across Canada and by online retailers between October 2008 and October 2009.

The teethers are made from EVAtane, filled with water, and labelled as phthalate-free, silicone-free and BPA-free. One recalled model looks like a fish, while another looks like an apple.

The bacterium, Bacillus sphaericus/fusiformis, is a type that generally does not cause illness, but it could cause infection in children with weakened immune systems if the teether is punctured and the liquid ingested. It could also cause infection if it comes into contact with open wounds.

Health Canada has not received any reports of incidents or illnesses but said consumers should take them away from children and return them to the store where purchased for a full credit.

For more information, consumers may contact Monarch Distributing at info@monarchdistributing.ca.

SOURCE

Elisabeth Hasselbeck For Dialogue: Chic and Functional!

Lisa — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:03:36 +0000

Just in time for the Holidays, new mom Elisabeth Hasselbeck has introduced a great new collection for Dialogue, available at QVC.

‘The View’ co-host’s designs are both reasonably priced and fashionable. There is something for everyone including warm jackets, multi-wear dresses and comfortable sweaters.

Since having the baby, I have had to re-build my wardrobe every season. I like that everything in this line is priced so that you can afford a whole outfit and not just one piece.

While going through the collection there are many pieces that fit my style. Below I have put together 4 looks that I would personally wear.

I am not usually an online clothing shopper, but I like that other QVC shoppers have commented on each item with their tips. This is a helpful tool if you are going between 2 pieces and can’t make up your mind.