5 Things You Should Do After Having a BabyCongratulations! Your little one is finally here! It's thrilling and exhausting and emotionally overwhelming and it is everything all rolled up into one. You probably have a thousand Facebook notifications waiting for you and tons of people asking to visit. What do you do first? Here's my list of top 5 (not-at-all-scientific-or-medical) things you should do when you have your baby, based on my own experience!
5. Take some moments to yourself! I know you're probably bursting to Instagram a photo of your most beautiful baby in the world, and your friends and family are nervously waiting for the news. But this is a HUGE moment in your life that deserves to be honored. Take some time to cuddle as a family and just enjoy and soak in the precious first moments together. Okay, now take a picture.
4. Don't exclude your partner. It is natural to feel extremely protective and want to be in control of every millisecond but don't exclude your partner during this precious time. This is a HUGE
Top 5 (Not-at-All-Scientific-or-Medical) Things to Do After Having a Baby
By Disney Baby | Parenting – Wed, Apr 17, 2013 2:58 PM EDTThe Pampered Life of a “Toddlers and Tiaras” Star
By Elise Solé, Shine Staff | Parenting – Wed, Apr 17, 2013 2:38 PM EDTAt age six, Isabella Barrett has launched a $1 million children’s makeup and jewelry line, appeared on countless talk shows, and holds an impressive beauty pageant record.
More on Yahoo! Shine: Should Elementary Schools Hold Beauty Pageants?The former Toddlers and Tiaras star has been making a name for herself in the media as a mini-mogul and drama queen in the running.
More on Yahoo! Instagram Beauty Pageants Draw Parents' Scrutiny“What’s not to like about being a millionaire?” Isabella told the UK’s Daily Mirror. "I’m a superstar, I have my own jewelry line and I just love being the boss. I never lose at anything and almost every pageant I enter, I win. But what I love more than anything is shoes. I have over 60 pairs.”
Read More »from The Pampered Life of a “Toddlers and Tiaras” Star
Isabella and her mom, Susanna, 39, co-own the company Glitzy Girl which features lip glosses, velour hoodies, and charm bracelets—a business idea they hatched in 2010 based on a tradition they started during Isabella’s pageant days. Each time the tot won a beautyA Crying Shame: The 7 Most Useless Baby Products — Ever
By Babble.com | Parenting – Wed, Apr 17, 2013 2:11 PM EDTIt's hard to pass up such novelties as the Baby Keeper (a contraption that hooks your baby to the door while you're in the loo) and Baby Mop Onesie. Heck, I'd love to go to sleep and know my baby was safe in the arms of a…pillow?! That's where the line is drawn. There's a whole lot of needs when a baby comes, and I'm pretty sure these questionable baby products do not make the cut…- By Jaime Morrison Curtis
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Read More »from A Crying Shame: The 7 Most Useless Baby Products — Ever8 Things No One Will Ever Tell You About Motherhood
By TheBump.com | Parenting – Wed, Apr 17, 2013 10:56 AM EDTBy Paula Miranda for TheBump.com
Read More »from 8 Things No One Will Ever Tell You About Motherhood
Photo: Getty / The BumpMotherhood is something most women aspire to. It is a rite of passage - almost what I imagine being in a sorority is like. Everyone always has amazing stories of how becoming a mommy changes them. These conversations are romanticized most of the time when overheard at baby showers. If you have ever eavesdropped a one on one confessional in the corner table at a crowded restaurant you can appreciate what I am about to share.
Since I became a mom, my life has changed for the better and for worse. It just depends on the subject matter. Here are the top eight things no one warned me about before becoming a mom.
1. You'll feel lonely - but not in the way you think. I actually feel lonely when I sit on the toilet without anyone tugging at my legs or calling my name.
The craziest things tired moms did
2. Say farewell to grooming yourself! Seriously. I used to get a weekly manicure, pedicure and even a wax. Now I get one monthly - if I can findStop the Agony! 5 Apps to Help You Choose the Perfect Baby Name
By Disney Baby | Parenting – Tue, Apr 16, 2013 3:56 PM EDT
Read More »from Stop the Agony! 5 Apps to Help You Choose the Perfect Baby Name
Kick to PickSure, there's a lot about having a baby that takes researching. But pregnancy? That only lasts nine months (or ten, depending on how you do the math). Diapers? A couple years, if you're lucky. A baby's name? Well, that lasts a lifetime. And you want it to be just right. My husband and I agonized over our three kids' names, but with these apps, the process is a lot more fun. Happy baby naming!
Baby Names!
This free app is packed with 30,000 names. When you pull up a name you like, you can turn your phone sideways to see a popularity graph. You can search by origin, popularity, gender, meaning, "starts with", and - my favorite - all of them combined. To check it out, click here.
Nametrix: Doctor or Dancer?
I can't get over the coolness of this $.99 app. It's the proof that there's far more than popularity and meaning to a name. Their software has analyzed millions of real people to paint a sociological picture for each name. For instance, it turns out Julias lean toward filmmaking,
Sasha Emmons By Sasha Emmons
Dear Chloe,
Not long ago you asked me if I love work more than I love you and your brother.
The question breaks my heart, and as you are almost 8, I'm pretty sure it was designed to. Don't worry; I don't hold it against you. Daughters are meant to know and agitate their mother's vulnerable spots-it's part of the special intimacy we share. I did the same thing to my mom, giving her the business for going back to work part-time when I was even older than you, after she'd spent years at home raising me, my brother and sister. I'll be sure bring our conversation up over and over again when you're an adult and facing the same kinds of comments from your own daughter, like my mom does to me. (P.S. Mom, really sorry-again!)
Plus: Single Working Mom? Read This
You've never really known a time when I stayed home. I went back to work when you were three months old, and save for eights months I was at home when your brother was born, it's always been
Read More »from Dear Daughter, Here’s Why I WorkBy Laura Anastasia
Cook on, mama! Keeping your little bun in the oven until at least 39 weeks gestation is healthier for you and baby- and new results from a yearlong five-state trial program show that more and more women are going that route.Twenty-five hospitals in California, New York, Florida, Illinois and Texas took part in the March of Dimes' Big 5 State Prematurity Initiative to reduce the amount of elective deliveries before 39 weeks in hospitals in the five most populous U.S. states.
Plus: U.S. C-Section Rate Reaches All-Time High
Using a specially devised toolkit, participating hospitals sought to bring down the rate of elective deliveries of babies before 39 weeks of gestation unless medically necessary. For years, medical groups have advised that expectant mothers wait for delivery to start on its own, and 38 percent of births in the United States occur in these five states.
The program was a success: In one year, the number of early term
Read More »from Early Elective Birth Rates DropJust Add Water! 7 Outdoor Games to Beat the Heat This Spring
By Disney Spoonful | Parenting – Tue, Apr 16, 2013 12:33 PM EDTBattle springtime boredom with wet-and-wild activities that keep kids active. These ideas are also great for playdates, block parties or camp - anywhere kids are free to have fun. By Stephanie Dulgarian
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11 adorable mini cupcakes perfect for snack timeMoving Past the Fear from the Boston Marathon
By Brett Blumenthal - Sheer Balance | Parenting – Tue, Apr 16, 2013 11:25 AM EDT
Today's Boston Marathon was scarred by two explosions and a mysterious fireThe bombings from the Boston Marathon have me reeling. Living and working in Boston makes it feel like déjà vu: it was nearly 12 years ago when I lived and worked in New York City during the Twin Tower attacks on September 11th, 2001. Although these events are scary for anyone, they seem even more so when they happen in your backyard.
The bombings caused a whole host of memories to come flooding back: the confusion, the concern, the sadness, and of course, the fear. Yet, this time they took on a whole new level of meaning and significance: I'm 37 weeks pregnant.
12 years ago, as a single woman in her late 20s, my mind jumped to my parents', my friends', and of course, my own safety. But today, only three weeks away from my due date, it is difficult not to ask: What will this mean for my child? What will this mean for the future of my family? Is it irresponsible to bring an innocent life into the chaos and craziness of the world today? What if my child, one day, has the
Read More »from Moving Past the Fear from the Boston Marathon
Read More »from Talking to My Kids About Boston
boston shoesDisconnected for 3 1/2 hours.
We walked out of MD Anderson and I checked my phone - scrolled through FB and Twitter and gasped, the breath ripped from my body at the horror, the disbelief.
My mind flew back to 2001, a newlywed huddled on the couch watching in horror, as a nightmare leapt to life in full color, complete with sound effects and no alarm to pull us out.
Today, I watched, read, followed and grieved with a different heart and eyes.
Today, I messaged friends that were supposed to be there.. I prayed for the unknown, but I held my breath for friends living in Boston, and friends who traveled to Boston to run the marathon.
Again - a nightmare from which I cannot wake.
I am a runner, well… I'm more jogger than runner, but I try. I get up every day and lace up my shoes, and I hit the pavement.. I lose myself in the rhythm and pace, the beating of my heart, the pulsing of the music, the slap of my feet against the pavement.
A marathon is a
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