Because I had never tested a mountain buggy (some of our editors have) I was impressed with so many aspects of this stroller. It moves easily over any terrain and keeps up with me when I’m jogging. It is perfect for parents of 2 kids; whether you are having twins or adding a second child to the family.

This stroller is one of my favorites and to test it we took it everywhere. It performed beautifully under any condition. From jogging around the neighborhood to navigating down gravel trails the Duet didn’t falter once. It is also narrow enough to go through the busy market and robust enough to go everywhere you do.

In fact I tried to find something that I didn’t like and could only come up with the fact that the red brake cover vibrates while I’m strolling creating a jittery noise  – grasping at straws, I know.  This was quickly fixed by wrapping it with tape.

The stroller arrived on the morning of a trip out with my mom and sister.  I was so excited I put it together on the front porch in my pajamas.  It was that easy. The back wheels popped on in seconds, the front wheels need to be tightened in place with lock nuts and the canopies had to be attached to the sides of the frame,  snapped into the middle of the stroller and then attached at the back.

The Duet has a configuration for parents of a toddler/newborn, two toddlers, or newborn twins ; they’ve thought of everything.  You can even attach a freerider to the back if you have a pre-schooler that also needs to scoot along.

From birth parents can remove one or both of the seats and attach infant car seats (staggered) or two carrycots (side by side).

Removing the seat was surprisingly easy.  All you need to do is remove the canopy, 10 snaps, undo 1 zipper and 1 strap.  This can be done in 5 minutes or less.  In North America the Duet is only compatible with the Graco SnugRide(22) & SnugRide 35 but please check their ‘global travel systems compatibility chart‘ if you live in another country as it works with other infant seats around the world.  An adapter is needed  – $43.99 for the Graco SnugRide(22) & SnugRide 35).

With both seats in the stroller the Duet has a combined seat capacity of 79.2 lbs or almost 40lbs for each seat.  For your child’s comfort Mountain Buggy has included padded seats with a 5-point adjustable harness.  To undo the harness parents must press 2 red buttons before the actuators.  I like this because it means my boys can’t escape when I’m not looking.  To adjust the height of the harness Mountain Buggy uses a nice twist and slide system that is very easy to use.  The recline on each seat is individual and controlled by a strap at the back to give parents the option to have their child positioned at any height.  Fully reclined both seats sit flat for a sleeping newborn.  Inside the seats there are also tethers to keep toys close.

Like the seats, the Duet has separate canopies, which I love because it gives each one of my boys their own space.  Each canopy opens up to cover a good portion of my kids and also has a mesh pop out for extra protection.  The canopies are made with a very durable wire and won’t flip back during a windy day.  Additionally there are 2 plastic peek-a-boo windows with canvas covers that can be velcroed back for better visibility.

Storage on the Duet is good but not as big as some other double side by sides on the market.  There is room for a large diaper bag and some extra supplies, but you may need more room if you were taking this stroller out for a full day with two kids and all of their necessities.(change of clothes, snacks, or toys)

As I mentioned above the push on the Duet is perfect.  We took this everywhere but the beach and it pushed beautifully through all of our tests.  Fully loaded, almost to it’s weight capacity, it moved easily over snow, grass, mud, uneven pavement and gravel roads.  It was not designed to be a jogger but I did use it to jog with the boys and it did very well. To prevent it from rolling away there is a tether strap that parents can use to keep them connected to the stroller.

Mountain Buggy uses 4 – 10″ inflatable tires to give your little ones a nice easy ride.  The front wheels can be left to swivel for everyday use or locked forward for uneven terrain.

To lock the stroller there is a single bar that connects both wheels.  The Duet can be locked from either side and is ‘flip-flop’ friendly for vacationing or Summer trips out.

On the handle bar Mountain Buggy uses a textured rubber that gives you a good grip.  They have also made it so the handle bar adjusts to 7 positions, which is great for parents and caregivers of all heights.

The Duet has Mountain Buggy’s unique fold, which is done at the foot rest.  It took me a few minutes to figure out the sequence, but once I mastered it, it made sense.  Once initiated, the seats fold backwards and  the frame locks with a tether strap which is located on the handle bar.  Nothing fancy but it works well.

I really love the Mountain Buggy Duet.  It is my go to stroller for the mall, park or market. I even considered it for our recent trip to Caribbean but decided against it at the last minute because I was worried it may get trashed if I gate checked it.  I would have taken it if I had a travel bag because it was actually narrower than the umbrella side by side we ended up taking.  When you fold it, the front wheels actually shift under the frame to reduce the length.

This is not a lightweight stroller but a good durable buggy that is built to last.  I don’t often chose my gear by weight but by how compatible it is for my lifestyle and the Duet fits our busy lifestyle perfectly.

Additional Features:

• Same width as a single buggy – only 63cm / 25in
• Takes one or two travel systems or carrycots
• 2-mode front wheels – lockback or full swivel
• compact stand fold
• 600D polyester fabric – water repellent and durable, easy to remove fabric set
• capstan for cup holder
• lightweight aluminium frame
• detachable grab bar
• bottle holder
• newborn – 5 years

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According to Chief Executive Officer Angel Morales of the CMHA Police Department, the couple had started arguing and the dispute had made its way out into the street at some point. For whatever reason, the mother, who was holding her 18-month-old son, went back inside the home. Shortly after, the unthinkable happened.

The child’s father, 31-year-old Kevin Ford Jr., had doused the woman with lighter fluid. From the second story window, the mother yelled down to her neighbors and apparently gained the attention of a woman standing nearby because she then dropped her 18-month-old son down to the woman. Shortly after tossing her son out the window, the mother was lit on fire by Ford Jr. Had she not dropped him, the child might have been seriously injured or killed.

Thankfully, the mother was able to somehow remove her burning clothes and jump out of that very same window and save her life. Currently being treated for burns and possible broken bones, the mother is now at the MetroHealth Medical Center receiving medical care.

Ford Jr. fled the scene before police arrived, but officers located him later that day and he is currently in custody. There is no word on how the child fared in this horrendous incident.

As a survivor of domestic violence, I feel that I need to share with women – ALL women – that abuse should never be tolerated. Countless women and children lose their lives to domestic violence situations. Please, if you are in an abusive relationship, seek help before the situation gets worse…because it will.

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SOURCE

Some highlights of the collection include the stunning Sophie dress and skirt made of hand-dyed 100% silk chiffon. Each one of these dresses and skirts is unique! The equally special Frida dress of 100% stone washed silk and soft sheep leather trim provides a look as individual as the girl who wears it!

Also new for 2012 is the Stella collection, a trio of blazer, carrot pants and shorts guaranteed to appeal to the most sophisticated of young tastes. Pale pink cupro lining peeking out from the beautiful dark navy linen/tencel mix exterior, neat pleating and brass colored studs all lend a hand in completing the polished look.

For looks that will keep young fashionistas looking stylish wherever they go, be sure to check out the spring/summer collection from Pale Cloud!

• Pearls & Popcorn – Spring and Summer 2012
• Little Trendstar ~ Fashionable Tees For Little Super Stars!
• Jason Wu For Target ~ Affordable, Beautiful Clothes For All Occasions
• Gwen Stefani Expands Her Harajuku Mini for Target Collection!

Another daycare worker witnessed the event, but it took more than a month for her to tell the child’s mother. Originally, Alicia Lyons, a 20-year-old daycare worker, denied the allegations, but has recently come clean with her employers.

“These allegations were brought to the attention of the child’s mother a couple months after the fact by one of the other workers at the daycare and then the mother contacted Ludlow police,” stated Attorney Rob Sanders. “I’m confident to say that any sort of game or innocent excuse has been ruled it. If that were the case, we wouldn’t have pursued criminal charges.”

After Ms. Lyon’s confession, the daycare center fired her for violating the company’s written policy. The Mustard Seeds Center then contacted the police to give their report as well as the Kentucky Office of the Inspector General, the stated office in charge of regulating daycare facilities.

The daycare released the following statement about the incident:

“This is an unfortunate, yet isolated incident. Management of the daycare facility said that such an act violated the company’s written policy and training procedures.”

Ms. Lyons had passed all of the background checks mandated by the facility. They did state, however, that they will now be adding closed circuit surveillance cameras to all three of their facilities to help ensure better safety for the children while they are in the center’s care.

Ms. Lyons has been released on a bail of $2,500 and the boy was not physically injured. There was no statement, however, as to the impact an incident such as this will have on the child emotionally in the years to come. Hopefully, the child won’t remember.

As a child, I remember my parents joking about duct taping me if I wouldn’t sit still, but they never acted upon it…they were only joking.

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SOURCE

As a result of this packaging error, the daily regimen for these oral contraceptives may be incorrect and could leave women without adequate contraception, and at risk for unintended pregnancy. These packaging defects do not pose any immediate health risks. However, consumers exposed to affected packaging should begin using a non-hormonal form of contraception immediately. Patients who have the affected product (lot number are provided below) should notify their physician and return the product to the pharmacy.

These products are packaged in blister packs containing 21 tablets of active ingredients and seven tablets of inert ingredients. Correct dosing of this product is important in avoiding the associated risks of an unplanned pregnancy.

Any adverse events that may be related to the use of these products should be reported to Akrimax Medical Information at 1- 877-509-3935 (8 AM to 7 PM Mon-Fri CST) or to FDA’s Med Watch Program either online, by regular mail or by fax.

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SOURCE: Pfizer Press Release

Because I’m not really a jump in the puddles kind of mom we’ve been spending a lot of time indoors and I have to say the kids are climbing the walls.

I have, however, been hitting the craft store and buying DIY wood projects that they can paint and decorate for friends and family.  It really is fun watching them customizing their own treasure boxes with sparkles and stickers.  Best of all a set of these wooden boxes costs less than $5.

Play dough has also saved a few crazy days.  Over the years we have amassed quite a collection of tools to use with this magical dough.  They love to mold, squish and mix every color we have in the house leaving us with a pile of brown dough at the end, but two incredibly proud monkeys.

I also put away some the toys they got for Christmas and have been bringing them out slowly.  This is good because I put them away again after so they can be my secret weapon when all else fails.

Because I work at home I am often running around getting stuff done in between breaking up fights.  Having a few go-to activities helps the day run smoothly, while giving us all some time to do stuff together.

Parents who are out of ideas might like to check out Fisher-Price’s Play and Learn Family Activities page.   They toy manufacturer offers games for kids up to 6.

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“Disclosure: I’m part of the Fisher-Price Play Panel and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.”

The Mirror has reported that water ‘tears’ pour from baby doll Yume-chan’s eyes when she is given a needle in her arm.

Yes you read that right.  This is not a joke.  The bizarre doll, which was created by Tomy, was demonstrated at a toy exhibition in Tokyo yesterday.  I cannot think of any time when this doll would be appropriate.

‘Hey kids we’re going to get our shots tomorrow.  Here is what you are going to do when the nurse puts the needle in your arm.’

Weird. weird. WEIRD.  But if you want one Tomy plans to put the doll on the market in June.

It freaks me out just watching this woman, who is dressed as a nurse, smile while she’s injecting water into the crying baby’s arm.

The 30 Rock actress, who was nominated along with the rest of the cast,  in the ‘Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series’ category rocked the red carpet on Sunday night in an Antonio Berardi dress with a creme bustier cut out.

Dressed less formally, Jane toted her little guy from the SUV into the airport in a Maclaren Techno XT stroller.

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{WENN & SPLASH}

Designed with eight large windows, this modern playhouse is a departure from the plastic or wooden structures often seen in most backyards.

Instead this gorgeous structure offers a full view of your backyard so your children can enjoy the scenery and open space to play.

The Illinois playhouse is only available in the Maxi model, which is large enough for your children to fully enjoy themselves, alone or with friends.

Outside there is a small deck for a table and chairs and inside the simple space can be customized to fit your child’s needs.

The Illinois playhouse is inspired by the Modern Movement from the middle of the 20th century. Its design is characterized by simple shapes, the absence of adornment and the perfection of its details.

I personally think this could also work nicely as a quiet work space for mom or dad.  Add a little power and WiFi and I’d be good!

The big drawback?  These playhouses are only available overseas – just like everything else we love. ugh.

Priced from £7.600/8.500€,

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Booster seats are mandated by law for children under the age of 8 in some states. In others, the use of a booster seat is optional. But whether mandated or optional, parents should know that booster seats are designed to keep children safe while riding.

Death and serious injury can result from buckling a child into an adult seatbelt too soon. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, too soon is any time before the child reaches a height of 4’9” and before the age of 8. Before a child reaches these guidelines, they should be buckled into a booster seat, which ensures that the seatbelt harnesses the child correctly, protecting them during a car accident.

But it seems that most parents in the U.S. know this, because most of them reported using booster seats for their children in their own family car. Yet, researchers say that more than 30 percent of parents skip the booster seat when they carpool, and 45 percent said that they do not use booster seats for their child if other children in the car ride without them.

Dr. Michelle Macy, a clinical lecturer of emergency medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School and a pediatrician at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, who participated in the study had this to say:

“The majority of parents reported that their children between the ages of 4 and 8 use a safety seat when riding in the family car. However, it’s alarming to know that close to 70 percent of parents carpool and when they do, they’re often failing to use life-saving booster seats. Parents who do not consistently use booster seats for kids who are shorter than 57 inches tall are placing children at a greater risk of injury. Parents need to understand the importance of using a booster seat for every child who does not fit properly in an adult seat belt on every trip.”

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SOURCE

Researcher Marian F. MacDorman, a statistician at the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Md. says that the rise in home births though is steep.

“This is a fairly rapid increase over five years and it is fairly widespread, with increases in almost all states,” she says. “It seems like the beginning of a trend.”

The researcher found highest percentage of home births in Montana and Oregon while the lowest rates were seen in Louisiana and Washington, D.C. in 2009. The differences she felt might be due to different state laws for midwifery and out-of hospital births.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Medical Association do not support planned home births because they find the practice risky.

The research did not look into why so many women now preferred to stay at home to deliver but the researcher believes it might be because of the rise in C-section cases.

“Some women are fed up with the medicalization of child birth, with the rise in C-section, and inductions of labor, and all the stuff they do,” MacDorman says.

Some may also credit the rise to former talk show host Ricki Lake who filmed the home birth of her son and talked about home births in her documentary, The Business of Being Born, and its follow-up DVD series, More Business of Being Born.

MacDorman found that homebirths were most common among non-Hispanic white women, women aged 35 and older, and women who have had several children previously. She says that the significant rise in home birth rates from 2004 to 2009 was mostly because of non-Hispanic white women with one in every 90 births at home. Their home birth percentage was 3 to 4 percent greater than other women.

In 2009 62 percent home births involved midwives, 5 percent had doctors in attendance and 33 percent happened in presence of a family member or some medical technician.

Ms. MacDorman also noted that some home births were planned, while many others occurred as an emergency situation. Some states did recognize the difference in the birth certificate as to whether the home births were planned or not.

The researcher feels that midwives are getting better at judging which women are capable of home births without any pregnancy complications and planned home births are being opted by women with low risk pregnancy.

Saraswathi Vedam is the chair of the Home Birth Section of the American College of Nurse-Midwives’ Division of Standards and Practice and director of the Division of Midwifery at the University of British Columbia.

She says, “One would hope the rise is in planned home birth among healthy women with good risk profiles.”

The important things to remember by moms are that they should be full term, should not have any blood pressure problems during pregnancy and should be well nourished. She also says that the baby should be growing well with preferably the head facing downward.

“There should be nothing about the pregnancy that would suggest she will need interventions in the hospital,” Vedam says.

Dr. Gene Burkett, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Florida, however does not recommend home births.

 “The downsides are that when something goes wrong, such as an abnormal fetal heart rate, you have to respond in a manner that gets the patient delivered immediately,” he says. “Even with careful selection, one can get into difficult situations which demand immediate delivery, and you must have some way to deal with that rapidly.”

He adds that a compromise between a hospital and a home birth can be a birthing centre that are not too obstructive and still with enough medical facilities in case of emergency.

ACOG feels that hospitals and birthing centres are still a safe choice.  It states that planned home births still carry a two to three times greater risk of infant deaths than hospital births.

Former ACOG President Richard N. Waldman, MD, says that “it’s important to remember that home births don’t always go well, and the risk is higher if they are attended by inadequately trained attendants or in poorly selected patients with serious high-risk medical conditions such as [high blood pressure], breech presentation, or prior cesarean deliveries.”

The group though says that women who do prefer home births should take full advantage of prenatal care.

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SOURCE

“Let me please stand in solidarity with all of the women who are not a size 2 six weeks after leaving the hospital,” the 37-year-old actress told the magazine. “I thought, you read all of the stuff in magazines like, ‘Oh, I breastfed my baby and I am so skinny now.’ I am breast-feeding my baby and I am not getting any skinnier!”

It is widely reported that moms who breastfeed will burn an extra 550 calories a day. It never worked for me and apparently it isn’t working for Jenna either, but she’s okay with it.

“I think I’m just going to be a little bit bigger for a little bit longer,” Fischer said, “and that’s fine with me.”

Motherhood, she says, has changed her in ways she never imagined.

“I love being a family. I love going from two people to three people, and it has deepened the bond between me and my husband. We love being together, the three of us. Our little unit.”

Jenna and her husband Lee Kirk welcomed son Weston on September 24th, 2011.

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Leonidas Pacunda is a farmer who lives in Ajachin, a Aguaruna community in the remote Amazon region of Loreto. When Isbac, his three year old son, constantly complained of a stomach ache, the two travelled 375 kilometres to Chiclayo, capital of the Lambayeque region.

When Dr. Carlos Astocondor, a member of medical team at Las Mercedes Hospital, performed a CT scan on the toddler, he was shocked to find that the boy had the remnant tissues of a twin brother inside his stomach.

The doctor says that the condition occurs one in every 500,000 live births. Called fetus in fetu this happens when the zygote is being formed, before the formation of the embryo.

In Isbac’s case he found a partially formed fetus weighing one and a half pounds (700 grams) and nine inches long. Dr. Astocondor says that the fetus does not have any brain, heart, lungs or intestines, but a scalp to the skull, eyes and bones of the hands and feet.

The surgeon along with a team of 12 medics will operate upon Isbac on Monday to surgically remove the tissue.

Isbac’s father says that the boy always had pain but at his village no one really understood that the pain was actually caused by the undeveloped fetus. He also adds that doctors had told him that he was going to have twins, but that never happened.

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SOURCE SOURCE

The couple started off their relaxing day at Bronte beach playing in the rocks and then headed to a nearby park.

It appears the family will be enjoying Australia’s beautiful Summer for a little longer. The Daily Telegraph reports that Naomi is due to begin filming The Grandmothers in Sydney with Forrest Gump’s Robin Wright next month.

The actress recently told the Mirror she and Liev plan everything around their children.

“No matter what, mothers will always punish themselves if they work,” she said. “Liev and I try to take turns (to make films) and it’s worked so far.”We’ve probably only overlapped by a couple of weeks once or twice which is very fortunate because our family is the most important thing,” she said.

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{FAME/FLYNET}

Afterwards Violet bundled up in her mom’s scarf before they headed for some ice cream.

Despite rumors that she’s ‘ready to pop’ Jennifer isn’t due with baby #3 until the Spring.  We personally think she looks awesome and love that she’s often photographed wearing t’s and jeans.  She truely is one of the most down to earth celebs in Hollywood(and one of our favorites)!

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{FAME/FLYNET}