Babyosphere

Recalled Simplicity Crib Deaths Climb to 11

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 15:00:00 EST

The number of crib deaths from a Simplicity cribs defect has risen to 11. NBC4i says the CPSC is also aware of 25 other incidents with the cribs.

CPSC has recently been made aware of an additional death which occurred in September 2009 involving a 7-month-old child from Princeton, Kentucky who became entrapped in the crib when a part of it broke. On July 2, 2009, CPSC issued a recall describing the death of an 8-month-old child from Houston, Texas who became entrapped and suffocated between the drop side and the crib mattress when a plastic connector on the drop side broke. CPSC also is aware of an additional 25 incidents involving the drop side detaching from the crib.

There was a major recall issued by the CPSC in July. There have also been several other recalls of Simplicity cribs as noted here by Consumer Reports.

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Babies Cries Match Melody of Mother's Native Tongue

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST

Here is more proof that babies start learning language very, very early. The L.A. Times reports on research that found babies cry in their native tongue. During the study babies as young as 2 to 5 days old cried in pitched and patterns related to their mother's native tongue.

The researchers recorded the cries uttered by 30 French and 30 German newborns when they were hungry, having their diapers changed or generally out of sorts. Though the babies were only 2 to 5 days old, they cried in distinct patterns.

The wails of the French babies started out low and rose to a higher pitch, whereas those of their German counterparts started out high and fell to a lower pitch. The German babies also cried with more intensity than the French babies, the researchers found. These patterns matched the intonation patterns of spoken French (in which the pitch tends to rise over the course of several words) and German (in which the opposite occurs).

The L.A. Times says the scientists believe babies pick up on the "melody of ambient language" while they are still in the womb during the third trimester.

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Disney Refunds Baby Einstein DVDs

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:00:00 EST

Disney is offering refunds on its popular Baby Einstein DVDs. Consumers can submit for a refund or credit toward another product by filling out the online form located here. The refund follows a class-action lawsuit filed in 2008. The lawsuit cited research that found television viewing is harmful not educational for babies.

As the Boston Herald reports many parents used it as a digital babysitter and felt good about because it had "Einstein" in the title.

And the soft music and sort-of-acidy-trip videos of wind-up toys and shapes were way better on our nerves than screechy Elmo and that whiny Caillou. Our children were mesmerized and we could fold onesies, shower or just join in on the catatonic state before another round of tummy time.

Baby Einstein was the video-induced tranquilizer every mother dreamed of - and, thanks to the title, didn't have to feel guilty about.

Unfortunately, the videos are not helpful and may even be harmful according to some studies. This could be a big recall because as many as one third of babies owned at least on of the DVDs according to a 2003 study reported in the New York Times. That's a lot of baby Einsteins.

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Report: 1 Million Babies Die Prematurely Each Year

Fri, 9 Oct 2009 18:00:00 EST

USA Today reports that a study released by the March of Dimes found that more than 1 million babies die each year because they are born too soon. The study also found 13 million babies are born prematurely each year, which is about 10% of all newborns.

The preterm birth rate in the USA is especially high: 12.7% of all babies are born early, according to the March of Dimes. That rate has increased 36% in the past 25 years, partly because of an increase in elective cesarean section, an increase in older mothers and the growing use of assisted reproduction, which increases the risk of twins, triples and higher-order multiple births, the report says.

Most of the increase in the USA is in "late preterm" babies, born at 34 to 36 weeks of pregnancy, the report says.

Some babies are at higher risk than others, the report says. In the USA, black babies are 1.5 times as likely as whites to be premature - a major reason that black infant mortality is so much higher than that of whites, says Christopher Howson, vice president for global programs at the March of Dimes.

You can see the complete report from the March of Dimes here (PDF file).

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Great Baby Shower Party Ideas

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:00:00 EST

Carley Roney from Thebump.com showed Maggie Rodriguez some great party ideas for your next baby shower. You can read an article with Carley's invitation, food, favors, games and gift ideas here. Some of the idea including serving milkshakes in baby bottles and a ridiculous but fun baby face game. Take a look:

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Oddity: Baby Tossing in India

Mon, 3 Aug 2009 21:00:00 EST

Wow. This does not look like a good idea. Hundreds of babies are tossed one at a time off the roof of a mosque in western India where they are caught in a bed sheet. The baby tossers think the fall ensures health and prosperity the baby's family. It goes without saying that many of the babies look sad, confused and unhappy. Take a look:

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Roller Babies in Evian Water Commercial

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EST

Are animated babies cute or weird? If you like them then you will like Evian commercials. It's a little weird but not as weird as the commercial with the baby trading stocks. ShoppingBlog.com says the soundtrack in the commercial is "Rapper's Delight" by Dan The Automator.

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New York City Wall Decal

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 08:00:00 EST

This urban New York City wall decal found by ohdeedoh is interesting but it looks too grim and dark for kids. They need something brighter and more fun. You can find the decal here.

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Lithuanian Babies Compete in Crawling Race

Mon, 1 Jun 2009 14:00:00 EST

Lithuanian babies compete in this annual race for the fastest crawling baby. The trick for parents is how to lure their babies across the finish line. Computers and tech gadgets lured babies more than plush toys.

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Bristol Palin Covers People With Baby

Sun, 24 May 2009 08:00:00 EST

Bristol Palin covers People magazine in a red graduation gown holding her baby, Tripp. On the cover, Bristol Palin is quoted as saying that if "girls realized the consquences of having sex, nobody would be having sex." You can see the interview here. Bristol and Bristol's mother Sarah Palin have been fueding with Tripps' father Levi lately. Perhaps, the fued can fuel a series of magazine covers. Anything with Sarah Palin is likely to stay in the news as long as she is considered a possible 2012 presidential candidate.

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Family Webby Award Nominees

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:00:00 EST

These sites were nominated for a Webby award in the family/parenting category.

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Apple Removes Baby Shaker App

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:00:00 EST

Apple Inc. has pulled "Baby Shaker" from the iPhone App store afte widespread outrage. The 99-cent iPhone game has people quiet a crying baby by shaking the iPhone vigorously. That's a huge no no in the real world because shaking a baby can lead to shaken baby syndrome.

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Woman in Arizona Deliver Quintuplets

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 15:00:00 EST

A spokesman at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center announced that Lorena Puig gave birth Wednesday to quintuplets. There were three girls and two boys. It's not as many babies as the eight babies Nadya Denise Suleman delivered but five is still a lot of babies to have at one time. The couple will be moving into a new home in Touscon when the babies are all released in about ten weeks.

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LeapFrog's New Kid Toys Resembles Blackberry

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 15:00:00 EST

LeapFrog has a new device coming out called a "Text and Learn" that's targeted at young kids. The device is larger than a Blackberry and is being dubbed the Blackberry for Babies. The device does not really let kids connect with each other or to the Internet but it is meant to help them to learn spelling and computer skills. (via Shoppingblog.com)

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More Men Relying on Surrogacy Arrangements

Fri, 9 Jan 2009 15:00:00 EST

A CNN article says the number of men turning to surrogates for children is on the increase. Exact numbers are hard to come by but one source cited by CNN says the number of gestational surrogate births quadrupeled between 1996 and 2006.

Surrogacy experts say because the practice is not regulated, many surrogacy arrangements are handled privately by individuals. Precise figures are hard to come by, but experts say there's no doubt the United States is experiencing a surrogacy baby boom.

Celebrities like Ricky Martin and Clay Aiken announced this year they had had babies with the help of surrogates and the the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, representing scores of reproductive clinics, reports that the number of gestational surrogate births in the country quadrupled between 1996 and 2006.

Surrogacy experts say gestational surrogacy has increased steadily since the advent of in vitro fertilization in the early 1980s, because it provides an extra layer of emotional and legal protection for the client. The egg donor usually does not even know the client, and unlike the legally contentious "Baby M" case from the 1980s, the surrogate is not giving birth to her genetic child.

The article lists a couple surrogacy agencies that have had big increases in clients lately. It also says men are willing to spend as much $100,000 to have a baby through surrogacy.

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Recessions Has Families Cutting Back on Daycare

Sun, 28 Dec 2008 21:00:00 EST

The Washington Post has an article that says some parents are removing children from daycare because of the recession. They says daycare costs can approach $1,000 a month. The downside is that parents will take kids to work or let them stay at home or with friends where they may not be watched as closely and the environment may be less safe.

For families with young children, day-care costs can rival a rent or mortgage payment, with an average that can approach almost $1,000 a month for one infant at a child-care center. But as hard times hit home, advocates and parents worry about what children stand to lose in the scaling back, both in early education and, even more, in safety.

"Our fear is that these children are being put in places where there are literally no safety requirements and no background screens, and we just don't know what they are being exposed to," said Linda K. Smith, executive director of the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies.

Smith said she does not blame parents for what is "mostly a choice between bad and worse." But she says, "It is terrible in America that there are national policies and state policies that force families into these decisions."

The Washington Post is not the only paper to notice the daycare trend - see also here, here and here.

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Celebs Selected Some Unique Baby Names in 2008

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:00:00 EST

The AP has a video that points out some of the celebrity baby names from 2008. Some of the unusual name choices the AP points out include:

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's baby Sunday
Ashley Simpson and Pete Wentz baby boy Bronx
Gwen Stefani's adorable Zuma Nesta Rock Rossdale.
Johnny Lee Miller's son Buster

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CodeGoo's iPhone App Monitors Baby

Fri, 5 Dec 2008 18:00:00 EST

A company called CodeGoo has created an iPhone app that acts like a baby monitor. The listing on CodeGoo's website for the app can be found here.

Monitor your sleeping baby with this iPhone app. Simply place the iPhone near your sleeping baby, if it detects noise, it places a phone call to the number of your choice, you can then listen in for activity from your baby. Great for when you are on the go or traveling, no need to pack your regular baby monitor. One feature that makes this application exceptional is that the monitor has unlimited range!

Even use it to monitor when older kids arrive home from school, etc. The applications are unlimited. It also will detect if your baby picks up the phone. Great for curious toddlers that wake up from their nap without making noise. A fantastic value at only $4.99 cents.

Listening is not the same as seeing but it is still a neat idea. The cost is $4.99. More discussion of this iPhone app can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

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Baby Names Chosen by Celebrities are Influential

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:00:00 EST

Can the names celebrities select for their babies influence other parents? It sure looks that way. A recent study of New York baby names found Jayden at #2. Jayden is the name of Britney Spears second child.

As they search for the perfect name, many New Yorkers look to the stars. Pop singer Rhianna (#70), British actresses Sienna (#60) and Keira (#61) and American screen stars Scarlett (#68), Charlize (#84) and Reese (#142) all made the list. Suri (#83) and Jayden (#2), names chosen by celebrity parents Will Smith and Katie Holmes, also left an impression on New Yorkers.

Here's the top list of baby names out of New York City.

MOST POPULAR BABY NAMES NEW YORK CITY, 2007
Rank	Girls	Boys
1	Isabella/Sophia(Tied)	Daniel
2	Emily	Jayden
3	Ashley	Michael
4	Sarah	Matthew
5	Kayla	Justin
6	Mia	Joshua
7	Olivia	David
8	Samantha	Anthony
9	Rachel	Christopher
10	Madison	Joseph
Total	63,081	65,880

Gothamist has an informative article on the New York baby name report. You can find the official report here on the nyc.gov website.

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Babies Being Named After Barack Obama In Kenya, U.S.

Thu, 6 Nov 2008 18:00:00 EST

Tuesday night's victory for Barack Obama is proving to be very inspirational in Kenya. The CNN video below talkes about Kenyan mothers naming their newborns Barack, Obama or Michelle. Barack Obama is also inspiring baby names in the U.S.

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CPSC Recalls 1.5 Million Delta Drop Side Cribs

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:00:00 EST

The Washington Post reports that the recent recall of Delta cribs has the Consumer Product Safety Commission planning to issue new regulations dealing with crib hardware problems.

After two infant deaths triggered the recall of 1.6 million cribs Monday, federal safety regulators are moving to address a longstanding gap in crib safety regulations: durability standards.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission plans to issue new regulations that deal with the hardware problems that have been at the center of five recent crib recalls and contributed to the deaths of at least two other children.

Details of the Delta crib recall can be found here. The CSPC also has a page that provides safety tips for all cribs. Here's an AP video that talks about the recalled cribs. It explains how with these cribs the drop-side can disengage and a hazardous gap can be created where a baby can become entrapped and possibly suffocate.

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Minnie Driver Posts Baby Photo on MySpace

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:00:00 EST

Minnie Driver avoided the celebrity baby photo shoots and put a picture of her son Henry on her MySpace account instead of on the cover of a magazine. You can see the photograph here. There are hundreds of comments underneath it. It sure is a great picture. The BBC says Minnie so far has not named the baby's father.

The 38-year-old posted a photograph of one-month-old son Henry Story Driver on her page on the social networking site.

The picture shows the Good Will Hunting and The Riches star holding her sleeping child against her chest.

The Oscar-nominated actress, who revealed her pregnancy in March, has so far declined to name the baby's father.

Some other sites discussing Minnie and her son Henry can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

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Blog Focuses Solely on Barack Obama Holding Babies

Mon, 6 Oct 2008 21:00:00 EST

The adorable pictures of presidential candidates holding babies always make the newspapers. Now there is a blog called Yes We Can (Hold Babies) which is dedicated to showing pictures of Barack Obama holding babies. It's a clever idea and a blog for John McCain holding babies can not be too far behind.

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Nanny Cams Get Better and Stealthier

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 21:00:00 EST

The interesting CBS video report below talks about the improvements that have been made in nanny cams. There are some very stealthy nanny cams available. Some can even be disquised as a book, clock, pencil sharpener or an iPod docking station. The sharpener and docking station are also functioning so if the babysitter or nanny came and sharpened a pencil they wouldn't know it was a camera. Some of the more expensive nanny cams let you see video over the Internet. The CBS report also mentions a website called HowsMyNanny.com where parents can purchase a purchase a license plate for their stroller.

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China Recalls Baby Food Tainted With Melamine

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 20:15:00 EST

The New York Times reports that a China firm named the Sanlu Group is recalling 700 tons of baby forumla that was contaminated with melamine. The baby formula has been linked to at least one death already.

The producer of the suspect formula, the Sanlu Group, recalled 700 tons of it after determining Thursday that it had been contaminated with melamine, an industrial chemical.

The official Xinhua news agency cited Zhao Xinchao, the vice mayor of Shijiazhuang, in Hebei Province, where Sanlu is based, as saying that the police had questioned 78 people, including dairy farmers and milk dealers. The police suspect that some may have diluted milk with water to increase the volume for sale to Sanlu, and then added melamine to disguise the dilution, Mr. Zhao told the news agency.

A common industrial test for the protein content of dairy products or animal feed gives an inaccurately high reading if melamine is present.

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration said that no infant formula from China had been approved for import. But the F.D.A. advised consumers to be cautious since limited quantities might have found their way into some ethnic groceries.

This is exactly the kind of news parents do not want to hear. It wasn't too long ago that many people's pets died and/or suffered because of pet food tainted with melamine. It is good to know that after serious problems like the pet food scandal the U.S. would not be giving baby formula imported from China easy passage into our stores. However, it is disconcerting to learn that ethnic groceries may have obtained some of the melamine tainted formula. (via ParentDish)

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Cute Hairclips for Girls at Giddy Giddy

Mon, 8 Sep 2008 22:00:00 EST

Giddy Giddy is an online store that carries some cute hair clips for little girls. The clips and store was created by creative investment analyst turned crafter mom Teri Dimalanta.

giddygiddy was created by Teri Dimalanta, investment analyst turned craftaholic mom. She is most giddy when sewing, painting, designing and making stuff. It was as if turning into a mom 4 years ago ignited the inner artist and crafter.

What inspired these handmade felt creations for little girls' pretty little melons? The desperate need to tame her new daughter's unwieldy mohawk with something cool, quirky, and fun.

Equally important to creating adorable designs is making the clips functional and safe. These clips are intricately handcrafted with a snap clip sewn securely inside. They are designed to stay on, even on baby fine hair.

The animal clips are our favorite. Giddy Giddy carries some adorable pouches as well. (via lilsugar.com)

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Sarah Palin's Daughter Bristol is Pregnant

Tue, 2 Sep 2008 15:00:00 EST

Everyone was surprised to hear that the 17-year-old daughter of John McCain's running mate Sarah Palin was pregnant (or storked as Glamour refers to it). Everyone was surprised that is except Senator John McCain. He claims he knew because Sarah Palin was fully vetted.

The aide said all facts about Palin's record and background that have caused controversy as they were revealed in the past few days -- including the ongoing "troopergate" investigation and the fact that Palin's 17-year-old daughter is pregnant -- were known to the McCain campaign. Washington lawyer Arthur B. Culvahouse Jr. led the search team.

"Nothing that has come out did not come out in the vet. She was fully vetted," the senior aide said.

Until last week, Palin was relatively unknown outside Alaska, and as facts have dribbled out about her, the McCain campaign has insisted that its examination of her background was thorough and that nothing that has come out about her was a surprise. "John had access to all that information and made the decision," campaign manager Rick Davis said last week in describing the vetting process.

Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol will be having the baby and marrying the father of the baby, Levi. Sarah Palin is said to favor abstinence-only education in public schools.

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Doctors Concerned About Pregorexia

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 18:00:00 EST

Anorexia is scary enough but doctors are also concerned about women who try to diet during pregnancy. The phenomenon has been dubbed pregorexia. Fox News has a story about pregorexia. Doctors are very concerned about it because gaining too little weight during pregnancy has been linked to lower birth weights in babies and premature births.

"It's vital women know that pregnancy is no time to be starving yourself," Pat O'Brien, a consultant obstetrician at University College Hospital and the Portland Hospital in London, told the Daily Mail. "During the nine months it is in the womb, the baby is growing faster than it ever will in later life."

Gaining too little weight during pregnancy is associated with poor fetal growth, lower birth weight and the chance of a baby's being born prematurely, according to a study released in May from RTI International-University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Evidence-based Practice Center.

Alvarez said expectant mothers need to consume certain vitamins such as folic acid and vitamin B, as well as calcium to ensure the health of their unborn babies.

"What we expect is that, whenever possible, women should have a physical before they get pregnant ? that way they can be evaluated for risk factors such as being overweight or underweight," he said. "Being overweight can lead to complications such as diabetes and being underweight can lead to problems such as low birth weight."

Here's a video from CBS that describes the warning signs of pregorexia. Women need more calories and nutrition during pregnancy not less. Exercise can also be overdone so pregnant women need to be carefull not to overdue it.

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Doctors Disagree on How to Manage Pain in Infants

Fri, 8 Aug 2008 17:40:00 EST

Baby pain is very difficult to discern and Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports that many of them may be suffering as doctors look toward saving lives over relieving baby pain. A lot of time babies are not given any pain medication. Gupta says there is confusion in the medical industry about how to handle a baby's pain. There is the possibility that if a baby suffers from too much pain it could influence their long-term behavior.

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Baby's First Internet

Tue, 5 Aug 2008 15:00:00 EST

Illustrator Kean Soo and writer Kevin Fanning have created a hilarious book about the Internet for babies called Baby's First Internet.

Do not stop to think or edit:
You must be the first who said it.

You heard a brand-new band? What luck!
You'll be the first to say they suck.

In order to increase renown,
add "bacon" to most any noun.

It's not your job to right a wrong,
just mark it FAIL and move along.

Babies won't really understand the book (it's not really for them) which points out some of the many absurdities of web culture but they might enjoy the rhyming text. However, parents will enjoy the light-hearted humor. (via kottke.org)

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Study: Diabetes Triples Birth Defect Risk

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:00:00 EST

Reuters reports that a new study has linked a large number of birth defects to mothers who have type 1 or type 2 diabetes. The research found that diabetic women are three times as likely to have a baby with a birth defect than non-diabetic women.

A variety of different birth defects are associated with mothers who have type 1 diabetes, also called juvenile diabetes, or type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease that is linked to obesity, the researchers said.

These included defects of the heart, brain, spine, limbs, kidneys and gastrointestinal tract, penile and ear abnormalities and cleft palate, the researchers wrote in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

"This study documents the fact that diabetes is associated with a wider range of defects than we had been aware of in the past," Dr. Adolfo Correa of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who led the study, said in a telephone interview.

The study was pretty large comprising of 13,030 babies born with birth defects around the United States and 4,895 babies without birth defects. Other articles about the study can be found on WebMD, U.S. News and ABC2News.

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Pregnancy Resoruce Called Aha Baby Debuts

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 18:00:00 EST

A new website called Aha Baby has launched. The site bills itself as a pregnancy search engine.

Pregnancy is an exciting journey filled with hopes, questions and new experiences. When trying to conceive and during pregnancy, expectant parents want information about the changes they are undergoing. Often, they conduct their own searches using the Internet since no single pregnancy site has all the answers they need. These searches become complex and time consuming as they weed through irrelevant data to find the right information for them.

Now, users can turn to ahababy.com to get the absolute best quality information in one trusted resource. Unlike a typical web publisher, it doesn't limit you to their content only. Aha! Baby has found the best sites pulled from all over the web to provide expectant parents everything they need to know based on their situation and those people most like them.

"I'm pregnant with twins and need answers to many different topics like specific medical symptoms, preparing our nursery and buying baby gear," said Nancy Luft, an Ahababy.com user who is 32 weeks pregnant. "I go to AhaBaby.com because it has the best quality information out there pulled from multiple, reliable sources on the web. AhaBaby.com is easy to use so now I have all this knowledge at my fingertips."

AhaBaby.com also lets users personalize their experience by entering their due date.

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The Toilet Monster: Not For Potty Training!

Tue, 8 Jul 2008 18:00:00 EST

ParentDish has an entry in their "bad ideas" category for a horrible product called the Toilet Monster.

I stumbled across a toy/prank/bizarre idea and was struck by what a colossally bad idea it would be around little kids. Not only is the Toilet Monster a pointless germfest, it also has the power to unpotty train kids and make them terrified of all toilets, perhaps for the rest of their lives.

Have to agree emphatically with ParentDish that this Toilet Monster is just a terrible idea. Any child that you are training to have a positive potty experience would instead learn to fear the toilet. It's defintely more of a college prank type of things, which is probably what the awful thing is meant for. But really the world would be a much better place without the Toilet Monster.

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Top Artists Celebrate Motherhood With Stork Tunes

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 18:00:00 EST

Stork Tunes is a new compilation CD consisting of soothing music by top artists that celebrates motherhood. It was released in support of the March of Dimes. Proceeds from the sale of the CD will fund March of Dimes efforts to give every baby a healthy start in life.

"Stork Tunes helps us achieve two critical goals of our organization, namely providing useful resources for moms and pregnant women, and raising money for research and other programs to help more babies be born healthy," said Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, president of the March of Dimes. "We are honored and grateful that these high-level artists were willing to donate their music to our cause."

The artists who contributed to Stork Tunes, and their songs, are:

Celine Dion - "A Mother's Prayer"
Dixie Chicks - "Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)"
Jessica Andrews - "I Wish for You"
The Boys Choir of Harlem - "Children of the World"
Katrina Carlson - "Mother"
Norah Jones - "Sunrise"
Dean Backholm - "Mother & Child"
Kenny Loggins - "Rainbow Connection"
Billy Joel - "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)"
Sinead O'Connor - "All Babies"
Wynonna Judd - "Always Will"
Raffi - "May There Always be Sunshine"

According to the March of Dimes, studies show that music can ease the pain of labor -- and pregnant women and medical professionals across the country are increasingly embracing this notion. The March of Dimes also says some hospitals even supply CD players in their maternity and birthing centers. A lot of pregnant women like to play classical music as well.

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People Tried to Mail Children When Post Office First Launched

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 18:00:00 EST

This photo posted to Flickr by the Smithsonian Institute shows that when the post service was first launched in 1913 people tried to deliver two children with stamps on their clothes. The Postmaster General quickly issued a regulation forbidden the mailing of children.

This city letter carrier posed for a humorous photograph with a young boy in his mailbag. After parcel post service was introduced in 1913, at least two children were sent by the service. With stamps attached to their clothing, the children rode with railway and city carriers to their destination. The Postmaster General quickly issued a regulation forbidding the sending of children in the mail after hearing of those examples.

It must have been quite a shock to the Postmaster General when he heard people actually tried to mail their kids. You can see the Flickr entry here.

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Over 4,000 Chinese Children Named Olympic Games

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 13:00:00 EST

The BBC reports that there has been an Olympic baby naming frenzy in China over the past decade or so. Over 4,000 children in China have been given the name Aoyun, - which means Olympic Games. It is mostly boys who are being given the name.

The rise in popularity of the name is seen as a sign of support for the Games being staged in August in Beijing.

Officials in charge of identity cards say that more than 92% of the 4,104 registered Aoyuns are boys.

It is not uncommon for Chinese children to be given names of common events and popular slogans - such as Defend China, Build the Nation and Space Travel.

There are 290,798 registered Civilisations.

There has also been a surge in the Aoyun name recently. The BBC says another naming has emerged following the recent earthquake tragedy and that name is "Hope for Sichuan."

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Aquatic Survival Classes For Infants

Wed, 14 May 2008 08:00:00 EST

Can infants swim? No, but they can be trained to turn over and float on their backs according Infant Swimming Resource. Infant Swimming Resource offers aquatic survival classes that train infants so they might be able to survive something like an accidental plunge into a pool. The courses were developed by Dr. Harvey Barnett, a behavioral psychologist and former lifeguard. Of course, the training is no substitute for fences, gates and keeping a very close eye on infants that are anywhere near a pool or a body of a water. The American Academy of Pediatrics says that babies are generally not ready to learn how to swim until age four. They also say that "parents should be reminded that swimming lessons will not provide 'drown proofing' for children of any age."

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Study Finds Women's Voice More Attractive When Most Fertile

Thu, 1 May 2008 08:00:00 EST

New Scientist is reporting on study that says women's voices are the most attractive when they are the most fertile. They replayed recording of women counting from 1 to 10 to both men and women and found both sexes found the voices most attractive when the women were at a peak fertility cycle.

The results are in line with evidence that the female voice box, or larynx, is under the influence of sex hormones, says Gallup. He says the changes in the female voice during peak fertility support the view that women are "different" at that point in the menstrual cycle - in other words, that they experience oestrus.

The theory of human oestrus remains controversial because its effects are subtle; human females show none of the distinct genital swellings seen in other female mammals "in heat". But there is increasing evidence of more subtle changes. "Other differences include changes in sexual receptivity and odour sensitivity," Gallup says.

Martie Haselton and Greg Bryant at the University of California, Los Angeles, say that vocal pitch plays an important role in judging fertility. "We have found that voices are higher in pitch on high-fertility days of the cycle," says Haselton.

It is an interesting study but it seems unlikely to be of much help at all to couples trying to get pregnant.

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Concerns Grow Over Plastic Bottles Leaching BPA

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 21:00:00 EST

There are concerns about baby bottles and plastic bottles in general. Some tests have shown that a chemical in plastic called chemical bisphenol A (BPA) can be leached from baby bottles when they are used repeatedly - especially if the plastic bottles is used over and over or the bottle is heated. US News reports that environmental health organizations are calling for a BPA ban.

"This is quite concerning. All 19 polycarbonate bottles [investigated in the study] leached BPA when heated. This is clearly showing that BPA is certainly leaching from popular and common consumer products," Judith Robinson, special projects director with the Environmental Health Fund, said at a Thursday teleconference. "We're calling for an immediate moratorium on the use of BPA in all baby bottles, as well as all food and beverage containers. It's not necessary, and we're calling for an end to it immediately."

The call for a ban coincides with publication of a new study, Baby's Toxic Bottle: Bisphenol A Leaching from Popular Brands of Baby Bottles, commissioned by the same group of organizations, showing that BPA leaches from popular brands of plastic baby bottles when the bottles are heated.

This study comes just days after another study found that exposing plastic bottles in general to boiling water can release BPA 55 times faster than normal.

There is concern in many quarters that BPA, an environmental estrogen, may pose some risk to development and reproduction, although it's unclear at what level that harm begins to occur.

Animal studies have shown the leached chemicals can even alter development. Matt Lauer talks with Dr. Leo Trasande of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in this video below (via Parent Dish). Some bottles are worse than others and Dr. Trasande says you need to avoid bottles with the numbers 3,6 and 7 on the bottom.

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Study: 1 in 50 U.S. Infants Abused

Sat, 5 Apr 2008 18:00:00 EST

A shocking national study has found that 1 in 50 U.S. infants have been the victims of abuse and neglect. In 30,000 of the 91,000 the infants were aged just one week or younger. MSNBC reports the news in this article.

The researchers counted more than 91,000 infant victims of abuse and neglect in the period Oct. 1, 2005 to Sept. 30, 2006.

The information came from a national data base of cases verified by protective services agencies in 45 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Other studies have looked at national child abuse and neglect cases, but this is believed to be the first to focus on infants, said Leeb, a CDC epidemiologist.

The 91,000 infants were age 1 year or younger. About 30,000 of those cases were infants aged one week or younger. About 68 percent of those cases were attributed to neglect.

The article says federal officials define neglect as "a failure to meet a child's basic needs including housing, clothing, feeding and access to medical care." So the study did not include mistakes made by new parents as they are trying to learn the process of raising and taking care of a newborn.

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Laughing Baby Video Wins YouTube's Adorable Category

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 21:00:00 EST

Ethan was nine-months old when he was filmed falling down from laughing too hard in the video clip below. It is the simple act of tearing paper that gives Ethan the giggles. The clip has won YouTube's 2007 Video Awards in the Adorable category. The clip was also used in an AIG commercial.

Ethan's video beat 3-year-old Kassie's video where she threatens to kick a monster's ass. There were also several cute animal videos nominated in the Adorable category. Way to go Ethan!

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Leap Year Baby Promotions

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 18:00:00 EST

Brooklyn Elizabeth Threinen, born on February 29 in Scottsdale, AZ, was the winner of Domino's Pizza's BRKLYN Leap Year contest. The Threinen family was the first to contact Domino's regarding the birth of their Leap Year newborn, Brooklyn and won $1,000 in Domino's pizza gift certificates.

"In honor of Domino's BRKLYN (Brooklyn-style pizza), we've been celebrating everything "Brooklyn," including Leap Day newborn, Brooklyn Elizabeth Threinen," said Jenny Fouracre, Domino's Pizza spokesperson. "We created this promotion to honor Leap Year babies and their families whose love of the old neighborhood inspired them to name their children after it."

The Courier Life has more on the contest and apparently Domino's was going to give $1,000 of pizza money to the first Leap Year baby named Brooklyn. That's ok because the name is growing in popularity - even Posh Spice is using it.

Brooklyn may seem like a kooky name for a baby but it's gaining in popularity.

Even international soccer phenom David Beckham and his wife Victoria Beckham, aka Posh Spice, named one of their boys after the borough - reportedly because Victoria was in town when she learned she was expecting.

Brooklyn sure is a cute baby. It sounds like Brooklyn's parents will be eating plenty of pizza during the first year or two of her life.

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Nirvana Baby Now Seventeen

Fri, 7 Mar 2008 15:00:00 EST

That's a photography of the Nirvana baby made famous by Nirvana's Nevermind album cover on the left. On the right is the young adult the Nirvana baby has grown up to become.

An artist named Jason Lazarus found Spencer Elden and took his photograph. Spencer Elden is now 17-years-old and attends high school in Los Angeles, California. On the blog someone asked Lazarus if he talked to Elden and whether or not the album cover impacts Elden's life today. Lazarus replied, "not really any impact i think...except for the occassional nut like me trying to find him."

(via because im addicted)

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Exhausted Parents Hiring Baby Sleep Consultants

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 18:00:00 EST

In the video below Reuters says some sleep-deprived parents are hiring sleep consultants to help get their babies to sleep. Janeen Hayward is a sleep consultant working in New York. She makes house calls and gives seminars. Reuters says Hayward charges $350 for a visit to a family's home with follow-up emails. Hayward is the Principal at Swell Being, which also offers a blog with advice for new parents. Alpha Mom has listed a few of Hayward's baby sleeping tips in this blog post.

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Celebrity Baby Boom Continues

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 13:00:00 EST

The celebrity baby boom has continued into February. iVillage even has a celebrity baby tracker to keep up with all the upcoming births. The latest news is the large figures magazines are paying celebrities to have the new baby featured exclusively on magazine covers. AdAge has reported that Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony will receive "between $4 million and $6" from People magazine for exclusive cover rights to photos of the new baby. AdAge says sometimes the celebrity baby cover doesn't provide a jump in sales but Vanity Fair had a sales jump when Suri Cruise was on the cover. People also saw a jump in sales when they had baby Shiloh on the cover. Celebrity Baby Blog, Hot Momma Gossip, Dotspotter, State of the Art and Gawker are also discussing some of the high sums being paid to celebrities. Even not as huge stars get baby-related deals. For example, Elisabeth Hasselback from The View cut a deal with Procter & Gamble to blog about her new baby.

For some of the previous baby pictures this post on Yahoo Buzz gives you a good roundup of some of the celebrity babies that are the most searched for. That was from a few weeks ago so they might be a baby or two behind.

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Babies at Work Programs a Growing Trend

Sun, 3 Feb 2008 21:00:00 EST

A number of U.S. workplaces do allow mothers to bring their babies to work. Savannah Guthrie from NBC's Nightly News says this is a growing trend. NBC says about 70 U.S. firms have formal babies at work programs. Advocates of the program say it improves moral which leads to increased productivity. The obvious downside is some workplaces may not be safe environments for babies.

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Kids' Pajama Safety

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 08:00:00 EST

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says kids pajamas have to be made out of a flame resistant material. However, this is not always the case. There have been recalls of children's pajamas such as this recall from April. On this MSNBC video Rosemary Ellis from Good Housekeeping magazine says some manufacturers are circumventing this rule by misnaming the garments. They are not calling the products kids pajamas in order to avoid the rule. They might even have a label that says the item is not intended as sleepwear. However, these same garments are still being marketing for kids. Good Housekeeping also tested a number of kids pajamas to see if they are flame resistant.

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Ricki Lake Creates Controversial Documentary on Birthing Industry

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 19:15:00 EST

Actress and talk show host Ricki Lake is targeting the birthing industry in a new documentary called The Business of Being Born. Lake is concerned that other countries have lower infant mortality rates than the United States. She recently appeared on the Today Show to talk about birthing experience and about her documentary.

It's already stirring controversy as well as criticism from the medical community, which feels maligned by Lake's advocacy of giving birth at home, a course chosen by just 1 percent of American women.

"This movie is not about hospitals versus home," Lake told TODAY's Ann Curry in New York. "I'm raising some really major questions about the medical system and whether it's really servicing mothers and babies as well as it could."

The United States, she said, has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the developed world.

According to "The CIA World Factbook," Singapore led the world with an infant mortality rate of 2.30 per 1,000 live births, followed by Sweden with a rate of 2.76 and Japan at 2.80. The United States' rate of 6.37 ranked just 37th, behind South Korea and Cuba and just ahead of Croatia. The highest mortality rate was in Angola, where the rate is 184.44 deaths for every 1,000 births.

"The fact that we have the second-worst infant mortality rate in the developed world is a statistic that I think people need to know about," she said. "We are the richest country in the world and the technology that we have is amazing today. Women in their 40s and even in their 50s can get pregnant today and carry children and deliver, babies are living at 23 weeks gestation. It's amazing the strides we?ve made. But in that process, we've lost normal birth."

Abby Epstein is the director of the film. You can see more details about it here on the film's website.

Photo: From the The Business of Being Born documentary - certified Nurse-midwife Cara Muhlhahn attends the homebirth of Mayra and David Radzinski.

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Women's Pregnant Stance Comes From Evolution

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 15:00:00 EST

Reuters is reporting that the leaning stance women make when they are pregnant is something that evolved in human beings. Without evolution women's vertebrae would be damaged in this position.

Pregnant pre-humans appeared to have stood the same way. And it may save women from even more back pain than they already have, the researchers report in this week's issue of the journal Nature.

The bodies of women do two things when they are pregnant -- they adjust their stance to move the center of gravity to accommodate the growing fetus, and the lower vertebrae have evolved a distinct shape to allow this shifting to take place without damaging the spine, Katherine Whitcome of Harvard University and colleagues found.

"It was one of these things like, 'Oh my god, no one's ever thought of this,' and it looks so obvious," Liza Shapiro of the University of Texas at Austin, who helped supervise the work, said in a telephone interview.

Whitcome and Shapiro followed 19 women through their pregnancy, using digital cameras and motional analysis equipment to map the changes in stance and movement as the months passed.

"What women do when their pregnancy reaches about half of the expected mass ... they shift backwards," Shapiro said.

Men do not have this capability and so they are less able to carry extra tummy weight such as a beer belly.

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Google and Babies

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 21:00:00 EST

Silicon Valley Sleuth reports on a couple baby-related incidents at Google.

Firstly a Google software engineer in Seattle, heavily gravid but officially not yet ready to pop, missed a day in the office. Concerned a colleague called her home, and was told that she was having contractions but that everything was fine and not to worry.

Fifteen minutes later however and everything was not fine. The friend got a call to get over thee fast as everything was happening in a rush. He headed straight for her house and got her in his car but before he could get out the driveway the baby popped into the world. Mother and new son are going fine.

In the second case one of Google's Mountain View office technical writers was driving into work when she was flagged over by a panic stricken dad to be. His wife was giving birth in the front seat of his SUV (think of the upholstery!) with "a grandmotherly sort had a panic-stricken look on her face and her hands out to catch the baby." She stayed and calmed down the dad and within ten minutes Google has witnessed its second premature birth.

Maybe something is going on at Google or it is just that Google stories tend to show up in blogs and news more frequently because the company is so popular and powerful these days. There's also at least one baby named Google. Little Google Kai probably won't be the last.

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Canon U.S.A. New Baby Photo Contest

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 14:00:00 EST

Canon U.S.A. is running a new baby photo contest. You can at www.canonestore.com/babyphoto between December 1st, 2007 and May 30, 2008.

"When a newborn is welcomed into the family, parents want to make sure every precious memory is captured and preserved," said Yuichi Ishizuka, senior vice president and general manager, Consumer Imaging Group, Canon U.S.A. "By entering this photo contest, parents will be able to share these joyous and once-in-a-lifetime moments with others, while also having the opportunity to win prizes that can allow them to capture more milestone events."

To kick-off the contest, Canon is teaming with renowned baby products brand, Enfamil, to include brochures and a photo book with Enfamil's diaper bag, given for free to new mothers at participating hospitals. The brochure will have more information about the contest, and even a special offer for moms who receive the diaper bag. Approximately one million of these diaper bags are expected to be distributed by April 2008.

New mothers who did not receive an Enfamil diaper bag can also enter the Canon "New Baby Photo Contest" from December 1, 2007 until May 30, 2008 by visiting www.canonestore.com/babyphoto with the ability to upload up to six eligible photos. The finalists will be announced on July 1, 2008 and the public will be able to vote for their favorite photos from among the finalists. The winner will be awarded a grand prize of $10,000, which would be applied toward the winning child's future education.

The grand prize is $10,000. Other prizes include Canon cameras and photo printers as well as Babies R' Us Gift Certificates.

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Britney's Mother Writing Parenting Book

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 18:00:00 EST

The Associated Press reports that Lynne Spears - the mother of Britney Spears - is writing a parenting book called Pop Culture Mom: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World. The book will be published by Thomas Nelson, a major publisher of Christian books.

"Pop Culture Mom: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World" is set for release May 11, which is Mother's Day, said Curt Harding, a spokesman for Thomas Nelson Inc., a Christian book publisher.

"That is all we're releasing at this time," Harding told The Associated Press on Friday. "I have not seen a manuscript so I cannot comment on the content."

Spears, 25, continued to make headlines Friday when she arrived in a white Mercedes convertible for a court hearing in Los Angeles to work out custody arrangements of her sons, Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1, with ex-husband Kevin Federline.

Lynne Spears doesn't sound like the ideal person to write a parenting book. Britney has had tons of problems. She's been in rehab. She shaved her head. She's a terrible pet owner and she has a foul mouth. Most people probably don't blame Britney's mother for Britney's antics but they also probably wouldn't seek her out for parenting advice. The book will probably sell well anyway out of curiousity.

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Drugmakers Pull Cold Medications for Infants Off Shelves

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 16:00:00 EST

Drugmakers have pulled a number of cold and cough medications targeted at children under 2 years old off store shelves. The drugs were pulled after the FDA issued a public health warning about nonprescription cough and cold medicine use. The FDA statement included this warning.

Do not use cough and cold products in children under 2 years of age UNLESS given specific directions to do so by a healthcare provider.

An MSNBC article explains the drugs that were pulled off the shelves.

The Consumer Healthcare Products Association announced Thursday that manufacturers were voluntarily ending sales of over-the-counter oral cough and cold products aimed at infants. The list includes infant drops sold under the leading brand names Dimetapp, Pediacare, Robitussin, Triaminic, Little Colds, and versions of Tylenol that contain cough and cold ingredients.

CVS Caremark Corp. added that it would also end sales of CVS-brand equivalents.

"It's important to point out that these medicines are safe and effective when used as directed, and most parents are using them appropriately," said Linda Suydam, president of the industry trade group.

The article says pediatric and public health groups recommend the following actions for dealing with a child with a cold or cough.

Plenty of fluids and rest.
Suction bulbs to gently clear infants' clogged noses. Saline nose drops loosen thick secretions so noses drain more easily.
A cool-mist humidifier in the child's bedroom.
Acetaminophen or ibuprofen, as recommended by your doctor, to alleviate pain or discomfort - but check that they don't contain extra ingredients.
Some chest creams can ease stuffiness with menthol or other fragrances, but check labels for age restrictions.

The latest news is that an FDA Panel has advised against the use of OTC cold medications in kids aged 2 to 5. The FDA Panel also recommends drugs for this age group to be pulled as well.

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