There has been a lot in the news lately about whether all those educational videos are worth it for babies. Here are a few links to articles that explore the topic.
:: Babies and the Boob Tube (New York Times)
:: TV for Babies: Does It Help Or Hurt (Time)
:: TV Before Age Two Won't Boost Baby's Brain (WebMD)
:: TV Won't Improve Baby's IQ (San Francisco Chronicle)
> Related: the original study we posted on Monday.
For years, reproductive specialists have been helping people become parents, even enabling them to choose the sex of their baby. One fertility doctor is taking things a step further, offering what some are calling "designer babies."
If you could design your baby's features, would you? According to L.A.'s Fertility Institute, prospective parents can select eye color, hair color and more.
A new study suggests that watching television won't improve a baby's language or cognitive skills, even if they watch several hours a day.
An article from the November 1949 edition of Mechanix Illustrated offers a step-by-step process to transform baby's first pair of shoes into a permanent keepsake. It is long and complicated, so be prepared to spend a while on this if you tackle the challenge.
I know I'm not the only one who did "photo shoots" with my son when he was a baby, because I see it on blogs all the time. We are all trying to get the perfect pictures of our babies. In fact, one of my favorite photos of our son was captured in one of my "photo shoots" that my mom and I set up at home. Jack was seven days old here and this photo became our birth announcement.
Since most of us aren't professional photographers, Nikon is offering a webisode series called Look Good In Pictures, which features Carson Kressley, the star of Lifetime’s How to Look Good Naked. Carson is in studio with Carrie Sandoval, an internationally recognized photographer (you'll see just how amazing she is!), to show us how to make everyone look their best in infant, pregnancy and family photos.
Carrie looks so at ease during the photo shoots and the babies do too. Watch the videos, take some notes and try to use the tips for the next photo shoot you have with your baby...because I'm sure you will have another shoot soon.
Below is their latest video on photographing newborns. This one stars a tiny 10-day-old baby.
This next webisode shows how to capture perfect pictures of tiny tots.
The final video below shows the increasingly popular trend of taking portraits during the final days of pregnancy.
What are you waiting for? Put these tips to use during your next photo shoot, so you can have the perfect picture for your blog header, birth announcement or first birthday party invitation.
Doctors at an Orange County, California hospital made a very heavy delivery over the holidays.
Richard Walker Sault weighed 14-pounds and two-ounces when he born two days before Christmas.
Doctors in St. Louis say they have successfully transplanted a full ovary from a volunteer, allowing her infertile twin sister to give birth to a healthy baby girl. According to the reseachers, it is the first time an entire ovary has been transplanted and resulted in a live birth.
The New York City Port Authority says a pregnant woman went into labor during an afternoon flight from Casablanca to JFK Airport. The baby was delivered on board before the plane landed. [ Video ]
There are some products that you come across and think, "Why didn't I think of that?" because they are so unique yet so practical. Stroller Suspenders would fall into that category for me.
Stroller Suspenders is a unique patent pending strap and clip which secures your own baby's blanket to a stroller. No more blankets getting caught on wheels or bending down to pick up dropped blankets! Another great use is to give your baby shade or privacy when the stroller suspenders are clipped near the handles. This would have been perfect when we took our son on walks, since he hated the sun in his eyes.
Stroller Suspenders come in six different patterns and are packaged perfectly to give as a gift at a baby shower or to new parents.
We're giving away the pink dots Stroller Suspenders here on BabyBlogAddict.com. You can enter the giveaway by scrolling up to the post above or clicking here.
My husband and I were pretty clueless about pregnancy and parenting when I found out I was pregnant. I knew we needed to learn as much as we could before the baby arrived, so we wouldn't be more overwhelmed than we needed to be facing parenthood. We read books, took classes at the hospital (childbirth, newborn care and breastfeeding) and checked out some videos from the library. This all helped, but was very time consuming.
I was recently introduced to the Laugh and Learn DVD Series (Childbirth, Breastfeeding & Newborn Baby Care). Wow! I watched the DVDs and all I can think is that I wish I had known about this series three years ago.
Sheri Bayles is the nurse with the personality behind the successful DVD series. She is an award winning childbirth educator and lactation consultant. Plus she is the mother of twin boys, so she knows what she is talking about.
The great thing is that you can watch the videos in the comfort of your own home, on your own time frame (you can press pause every time you get a little overwhelmed about the childbirth explanation or if you feel the need to pee every 10 minutes) and even go back to certain parts as a refresher when you are reaching milestones like giving your baby it's first sponge bath or deciding what pump to buy for breastfeeding.
The About Childbirth DVD was great. I don't think I was the only one who still felt a little clueless about the whole childbirth thing, even after the classes I took. These two dvds about childbirth are very thorough. In them, Sheri gives some great pros and cons of using drugs like demerol, pitocin and epidurals. She also talks about the window of opportunity and how it works. I found the part about a c-section to be especially interesting since I really didn't pay attention to it in our hospital childbirth class only to find myself having a c-section for my son. It's best to just pay attention to it all just in case.
I would suggest watching the dvds then passing them on to your pregnant friends when you are done. You might just want to write your name on the dvds, so you can get them back as a refresher for baby #2!
Nine days after being born in a bathtub, Sinjin Scozzaro visited a Police Department near Boston to personally thank the dispatcher who calmly talked his parents through the delivery.
A dramatic audio recording released by the Belmont police documents the birth.
$10.00 per block ~ 5 blocks or more, $8.00 per block 
Design your own cards and postcards for birthday party invitations, baby announcements, baby shower invitations and thank you notes using Eric Carle's designs on Kodakgallery.com.
Choose from Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Very Lonely Firefly, The Very Busy Spider and Brown Bear.
Kodak.com offers a few different print options including pictures - folded cards, accordian style and 5x7 post cards.
How cute and colorful, just like Eric Carle's books, which happen to be some of my son's favorites!
I remember a time when our son Jack was younger and put his grimy hands in his hair while eating. We were left with a dilemma - give him a bath, even if it was mid-day, or let him spend the rest of the day with sticky hair.
Now there's an alternative. We were lucky enough to be asked to review a rinse-free shampoo from oopsy daisy! It was developed by a mom who appropriately called it their High Chair Hair Care Rinse Free Shampoo.
Our son Jack is out of the stage of putting food in his hair, so trying this out required a fun experiment. I actually put peanut butter in his hair. As directed, I wiped away the excess food (it was a blob) and then started with their three easy steps: apply foam, lather and wipe away! Just make sure you are generous with the shampoo. You can check out the how-to video on their website to see how it works.
The result...It worked and I have to say that peanut butter is a good test, since it's very sticky. The Orange, Vanilla, Lavendar scent made his hair smell great too, much better than going the rest of the day with sticky, peanut butter smelling hair.
Giving back: oopsy daisy! will be donating a portion of their proceeds to the Susan G. Komen Foundation and will add a pink ribbon to their bottles during the month of October.
Some tips via the Washington Post:
When it's time for your baby to get important vaccines, you should stay calm and keep the baby distracted and as comfortable as possible.
Here are suggestions to help you and baby get through it, courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine: Talk to your child softly and calmly, and don't let yourself get visibly upset. Facing you, hold your baby on your lap in a firm hug during the shot. Try to distract your baby by blowing some bubbles or shaking a toy. For a very young baby, try putting a bit of sugar on the tongue or on the pacifier. Before your baby gets the shot, apply pressure to the area.
By Jennifer
BabyBlogAddict.com
"Who Knew?" is a new Baby Blog Addict column that will mostly be based on my own crazy experiences and discoveries during pregnancy and motherhood. It'll touch on the things you don't always find in the books, but you probably should. I've often thought, "How am I supposed to just know that?" That's how this column,"Who Knew?" came to be.
Along with my own experiences, I'll also share stories that I hear from my mommy friends or that I find while blog hopping. You can participate too. Feel free to submit your own "Who Knew?" experiences to share with the Baby Blog Addict community.
My first experience was with different size bottle nipples. Who knew there were different size nipples for baby bottles?
I don't even remember how old my son was when I was walking through Babies 'R Us and came across different Dr. Brown's nipple sizes. I got this nervous feeling in my stomach, because I had no clue that there were different levels. Who Knew?
For all of you who are preggo and doing your baby registry or a new mom using Dr. Browns bottles, here's what's available:
Level 1 Nipple - for feeding newborns; comes with the bottle
Level 2 - three months +
Level 3 - six months +
Level 4 - also six months +
Y-cut - Faster flow for thicker liquids
Preemie Nipple - for feeding preemies
So, now you know.
Check out these 15 beautiful baby rooms on HGTV.com for ideas and inspiration when designing your own baby's nursery. They have a good mix of boys, girls and gender-neutral designs (which are often hard to find), including this Gender-Neutral: Organic and Stylish design below.
Modern Me sells hip clothes for baby, but they have a very unique twist.
Just take a look at their "me tees." Most of the designs have the graphic printed both right side up and upside down. The concept came about when the creator, Melissa, had a conversation with a two year old. She realized that one of the first questions she asks a tot is, "What's that on your shirt?" And so, the 'me tee' was born. When you ask a child about the graphic on his or her shirt, the child can see the graphic right side up from their perspective, when gazing down.
Modern Me's newest creation is the "me sleeves." Melissa says that a very important 
developmental milestone for baby--noticing his hands and beginning to grasp objects and clasp hands together--happens around three months of age. "Me sleeves" draw baby's attention to his hands with graphics on the wrist, in eye catching colors.
The majority of Modern Me's designs are unisex and are perfect for the couple who is waiting for the birth to reveal the sex of their baby. She even says, "if your heart is set on pink elephants or blue owls, simply give me a call or drop me an email, and I would be happy to meet your request." How's that for customer service?!
Don't miss Modern Me's SALE going on right now where lots of their "me tees" are almost half price. And enter to win your own "me tee" in our giveaway above.
We just received the most adorable shoes in the mail. The Pink Ballet shooshoos are ballerina style slip on baby shoes. They came tucked into a cute little clear baggie, perfect for gift giving. These shoes retail for about $19.95, but some are on sale for $12.95. That's less expensive than similar shoes with a different name.
These leather shoes are so cute, practical and well made. This slip-on soft style is great for the baby who isn't walking yet, but still needs his or her little toesies covered.
Shooshoos began in Cape Town, South Africa in 1996 to uplift disadvantaged communities. It is now a worldwide brand with sales in over 20 countries, including the USA.
We are giving away two pairs of shooshoos. Two lucky winners will each receive a pair of their choice. Enter the giveaway above.
Restoration Hardware has introduced its "newest arrival," Restoration Hardware's Baby and Child, and it's beautiful. Most of the bedding collections come in pink, blue and green with chocolate brown accents. The baby apparel is available in the same colors plus the neutral and organic bisque. It all looks so soft and cuddly. And of course, the furniture is classic and looks like it can grow with the child.
If Restoration Hardware is not in your budget, do what I do. Take inspiration from them and find similar things at other stores like Target and Babies R Us.
