Keep Those Baby Pounds and Other News

There are some interesting news stories about babies and mommies today. Here is a round up. Time Magazine is reporting that Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital released a study that suggests that ugly babies are harder to love, especially by their mothers. Men and women who were part of the study were given baby faces to view. Some babies were considered “pretty,” while others had facial irregularities, such as cleft lips or rashes. Study participants pressed one button allowed the faces to stay on the screen longer, while pressing another made them disappear more quickly. The results of the study showed that … Continue reading →

Baby Taken from Church Nursery: What Would You Do?

In Gaines Township, Michigan, an infant was taken from a church nursery. The infant was discovered missing when her mother went to pick her up around noon. Nursery volunteers did a check of the children against the nursery roster and discovered that the baby was gone. The church officials checked the security camera and confirmed that it was a nursery volunteer who took the infant. Fortunately, the 12-month old little girl was was found two hours later, safe at the home of the volunteer who abducted the child. The volunteer was arrested. According to local news reports, the parents were … Continue reading →

Obesity a Problem with Preschoolers, New Study Says

A new study was released that shows that one out of every five four-ear-olds is obese. This information is startling even to the researchers. Furthermore, there was a lot of disparity with obesity and race, even at this early preschool age. Here is what the researchers found. More than half a million four-year-olds are obese Obesity is the most common in American Indian children, who are twice as likely to be obese as are white children. Obesity is also prevalent among four-year-olds who are of Hispanic or black heritage. The study is an important one because obesity in early childhood … Continue reading →

Can the Current Economy Lead to More Baby Girls?

Science has been studying the prevalence of one sex being born over another for many years. There is all sorts of data on the subject that suggest different factors that affect the outcome over whether or not you have a boy or a girl. So far, we have seen studies that tell us that that better fed mothers tend to produce more boys, “beautiful-looking” people tend to produce more girls, parents closer to the equator have more girls, if you tend to suffer from pre-eclampsia then you also tend to have boys, and that the time of the month when … Continue reading →

Parents of Preschoolers Upset About Dora the Explorer

Although we limit television viewing in our household, I have to admit that there are some shows that make all of our lives easier. For example, if I have a sick preschooler or if I need to keep everyone out of the kitchen for 30 minutes they can do the trick (yes, I feel guilty enough already). Some of the shows that meet our approval include Blues Clues, Sesame Street, Cyber Chase, Between the Lions and Dora the Explorer. My kids have learned some things from watching the shows, and they enjoy them as well. I don’t know if you … Continue reading →

Duggar Family Has 18th Baby

By now you may be familiar with the Duggar Family, an Arkansas family with a large number of children. Today it was announced that Michelle Duggar just gave birth to her 18th child, named Jordyn-Grace Makiya Duggar. Little Jordyn weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces and was delivered by Cesarian. This family has a thing not only for having many kids (obviously) but also naming them with names that start with the letter J. In the family, there is Joshua, 20 and now married; Jana, 18; John-David, 18; Jill, 17; Jessa, 16; Jinger, 14; Joseph, 13; Josiah, 12; Joy-Anna, 11; Jeremiah, … Continue reading →

Genetic Test Promises to Tell If Your Baby Will Be a Star Athlete

Have you ever heard of the snake oil salesman? This was a vendor that travelled all around selling special concoctions that were supposedly good for curing anything that ailed you from thinning hair to heart attack. But the sales of these potions relied more on the conning ability of the salesman rather than the veracity of the the substance. Today we use the term to denote someone who is selling something that has no scientific basis or proven fact behind it. Today’s snake oil salesman may just be a company called Atlas Sports Genetics. This company wants to test your … Continue reading →

Name Your Baby After Mussolini and Other Weird Baby News

Struggling about choosing a baby name? If you live in southern Italy, your choice might be profitable. That is because for residents of five villages in the Basilicata region of Italy, naming your baby after Mussolini or his wife will get you 1,500 euros, or the equivalent of about $1900. In case you need a little brushing up on your history, Benito Mussolini was a wartime facist dictator that is much admired by the far-right party. It is that party that wishes to get the names Benito and Rachele, Mussolini’s wife, back into circulation and pay homage to the roots … Continue reading →

Baby Goes Missing Under the Floorboards

Here is a news story from Oregon that is a definite lesson in providing a safe environment for your baby! In Portland, a little girl, aged 1 went missing in her grandparents home. The child’s father had fallen asleep in a room along with his three children, a five-year-old, a three-year-old and a one-year-old. Around 5 a.m. the next morning, the father woke up to find that the baby was missing. After a quick search of the house, the police were called and the family feared the worse. Officers searched the house and grounds for the baby but couldn’t find … Continue reading →

Caffeine Linked to Underweight Babies

Here is one more reason to avoid caffeine, especially if you are pregnant. A new study published in the British Medical Journal found that even a little caffeine during pregnancy can put your baby at risk for being born with a low birth weight. In fact, the study examined the consumption of caffeine from multiple sources, including tea, cola, chocolate and even prescription drugs. Even a little use of caffeine is linked to slower fetal growth. Underweight babies are subject to a number of problems, including some that occur later in life, such as heart conditions, high blood pressure and … Continue reading →