I am 4 months pregnant with an 18 month old. My son will be 2 when the new baby comes. I am a little nervous about this. One of my main concerns is strollers. First of all, I have a hybrid car with a tiny trunk. I went to Lone Star Baby and tested some strollers out, including putting them in my trunk. Only one stroller fit. It is the Combi Twin Sport. I currently have a single Combi stroller and it is lightweight but does not turn well. The new Twin Sport does seem to turn much better. I am excited to try it out, and I found it on Amazon for only $190 compared to the suggested retail of $229.

China Daily is reporting that infant formula and formula powder produced by Wyeth is being blamed for causing kidney stones in infants.

Parents in China have been on edge since last years problem with Chinese made formula that was contaminated with melamine ,a chemical used in fertilizers and plastics. Twenty Chinese families have recently claimed their children fell ill after consuming Wyeth formula, however, no contaminants have been found in the Wyeth milk formula. According to Chinese health authorities, there have been no positive results for melamine. Wyeth gets it’s base milk product from other countries including Europe, New Zealand and Australia, not from China where the 2008 melamine was found to have come from.

A collaboration between some of the nations largest health insurance providers and leading medical groups is hoping to help fight obesity in children. In the United States, more than 30% of our children are overweight and could culminate into the first generation in many to have shorter lifespan than their parents.

Blue Cross, Aetna and WellPoint have agreed to the initiative that would begin to pay for some visits to doctors and dieticians to help manage childhood obesity. The project, which will be monitored by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Dietetic Association, is expected to benefit more than 6 million children in the first three years. Large companies, including Owens Corning, Paychex and PepsiCo will be offering this benefit to the children of their employees.

Source: washingtonpost.com

A test done on embryos to determine if they are disease free is now going to be used to determine other factors.

Currently, in addition to finding if your embryo has a genetic disorder, you can also determine the sex of your baby, so if you want a boy, you can implant only male embryos. However, if that’s not enough options for you, how about picking out your child’s eye color. How about the color of his hair and complexion?

The Fertility Institutes, based out of Los Angeles, has decided to do just this. Controversy has erupted over the fact that this technology, previous used to help high-risk families manage their families potentially genetic traits, will now be used to create designer babies.

Although the policies of the Bush administration has stagnated stem cell research here in the United States for the last 8 years, this selection of sex for your in vitro fertilization has had little press coverage.

Source: LATimes.com

Actress Salma Hayek, on a recent goodwill trip to Sierra Leone, was videotaped breastfeeding another woman’s baby boy. Hayek, who has a one year old daughter who is still breastfeeding, fed the very hungry little boy, hoping to lessen the stigma place on women for breastfeeding.

In Sierra Leone, which has the highest infant mortality rate in the world, tradition dictates that it is not acceptable to have sexual relations with women who are breastfeeding. Bowing to pressure from their husbands, these women stop breastfeeding within the first couple of months, while malnutrition helps fuel the death rate among infants.

Ms. Hayek told Nightline co-anchor Cynthia McFadden “Am I being disloyal to my child by giving her milk away?” Hayek said. “I actually think my baby would be very proud to share her milk. And when she grows up I’m going to make sure she continues to be a generous, caring person.” She also told of her grandmother, in Mexico years ago, saving the life of a starving infant by breastfeeding him.

Source: abcnews.com

At 5 months old, Enzo decided he no longer liked car rides. He got mad every time I tried to buckle him up. Then I realized the car seat was tiny even though it was supposed to last through the first year. Enzo is in the 80th percentile for weight and 90th for height. His legs dangle off of his infant car seat and his shoulders could barely be smashed in. After talking to several friends, searching the web, and checking consumer reports, I decided the Britax Roundabout was the car seat I wanted.

Once I knew what I wanted, I began the search for the cheapest one. I found a range of prices from $250 to $189. Being quiet thrifty since having a baby, I was determined to find one cheaper. Then, I found BabyAge. For $149 and free shipping with a coupon code, I got my Britax Roundabout. The only catch was they all came with a college logo. There was about 8 to choice from and I had not ties to any of them. So I picked Arizona because the car seat was a pretty blue and only an “A” and said Wildcats.

I just heard about the Bumbo seat recall due to babies falling off tables or other high surfaces. How about we recall the parents that left their baby sitting on a table instead of recalling the Bumbo seat?

No, really, I do…

I have the best baby in the world. He rarely cries, and when he does, he needs something. So, when he started to get fussy every night about 6 or 7 pm, I was thinking maybe it was a growth spurt. I read online ways to sooth fussy babies and found a list of 11 things to do. I started to go down the list one by one. I held him, bounced, danced, sang, and rocked. Then, it said to entertain him. What entertains a 6 week old? A Tiny Love Symphony-in-Motion Mobile. Enzo has been sleeping in the room with us and never gets to play in his crib. So, when I laid him down and turned on the mobile, he was amazed. He stopped crying and began to make his adorable happy sounds.

Ok, it has been a few months since I have posted anything. Although I was mainly sitting around my house, I did not have the brain cells to write. From what I have read, most of the blood in a pregnant woman’s boby is being used by the uterus. This causes the brain starved for blood. For me, my ability to think quickly, or even think at all, was gone. My mother warned me that part of my intelligence will go with each baby I have, but since baby arrived, I have gained most of it back.

Enzo arrived on November 13, 2007 after 29 hours of labor. I was have contractions every 2 minutes for a whole day, and even though I was completely dilated, he would not drop. Enzo was born at 9:51 weighing 7 lbs. 8 oz. and 20.5 inches. He came out perfect, and I don’t think this just because I am his mother. He was really pretty right out of the womb. Click here to see for yourself.

The first month has been exhausting but amazing. Enzo is a great baby who rarely gets fussy, but it is still difficult to wake up so often to feed him for an hour. My husband and I are working on a schedule that allows me to get a little extra sleep, and we are having a blast taking pictures and showing him off. Just 4 days old, we took Enzo for breakfast at The Original Pancake House, and about 2 weeks later, we all went to the mall.

Here are a few important things we have learned over the past few weeks. Dr. Brown’s bottles are the best. Unless your pediatrician says to, don’t change the nipple level. Level 1 is fine as long as it does not get clogged. Nestle Good Start Supreme gives babies dark green extra stinky poop. Cats are afraid of babies. Pampers Swaddlers made Enzo’s diaper rash worse by sticking to his butt. Huggies don’t stick. We have not tried Luv’s, but they are cheaper if you don’t have coupons. Hiccups either cause spit-up or spitting up triggers hiccups. Swaddling does work, and most receiving blankets are too small to do it right. Use larger square blankets or Kiddopotamus Swaddle Me. A&D ointment works better than Desitin. Moms worry much more than dads. Dads can sleep through almost anything. You really should sleep when the baby sleeps. A diaper bag can never be too big, and babies get cuter everyday!