Most Commented On Baby Blogs of 2007

As a means of reviewing the year, I always love to look at the blogs that had the most comments! Sometimes controversial blogs get noticed. Other times it has more to do with a topic of interest. Sometimes a commenter sparks a discussion. Regardless of the reason, these are the blogs that got the most comments in the baby blog in 2007! Is My Baby Gifted? How to Tell Merry Poison Free Christmas Dad’s Weird Things You Should Be Giving Your Baby Soda!! Why Breast Pumping Isn’t a Good Substitute for Breastfeeding Is Swaddling Overrated? Watching T.V. While Breastfeeding Unwanted … Continue reading

Baby Blog Week in Review: July 31

We had an excellent and busy week here in the baby blog. In fact, it was so busy that I had to divide the ‘week in review’ into two pieces. We kicked off world breastfeeding week and actually, I had so many suggestions for topics that we’re going to spill into next week with breastfeeding topics. We also had some special guest blogs which are always appreciated. With that said, here’s your ’catch up’ list for the week: July 31 RSV, Bronchiolitis and the Summer Months A special thanks to Miriam Caldwell, who guest blogged this past week in the … Continue reading

The Perks of Having Higher Order Multiples?

In June the world saw it’s first double sextuplet birth. Two mothers, in two separate states, gave birth to sextuplets on June 11th. The Morrisons, a couple in Minnesota gave birth at 20 weeks via c-section. The Masche’s gave birth at 30 weeks and 4 days (this is a very long pregnancy for sextuplets) also via c-section. (On a side note, can you imagine pushing out 6 babies? Really no one can. . .sextuplets are always delivered via c-section.) Sadly for the Morrisons, five of their six sextuplets died. The remaining sextuplet remains in the hospital in critical condition. To … Continue reading

That Twin Thing: Social Development

Twins are the fascinating subject of numerous studies. There are studies that attempt to lay to rest the great nature vs. nurture debate. There are studies to support or debunk the idea that twins, especially identical twins have some sort of mysterious connection unknown to the non-multiple world. There are studies that attempt to explain how they develop and how being a twin (or multiple) affects life. And for all the studies that have been done, there are just as many conclusions. However, one aspect that I’ve noticed to be very different in their development is their social development. In … Continue reading

Why the US Infant Mortality Rate is So High

In case you hadn’t heard, the US has the second highest infant mortality rate among the developed nations. If you’re thinking our health care system stinks and that’s why so many babies are dying. . .think again. While certainly universal access to health care (or lack thereof) does have an influence on whether or not mothers get adequate prenatal care, the reality is that the United States pushes the boundaries on what can be done in both fertility and neonatal medicine. Just to be clear: infant mortality means that a baby was outside of the womb, took at least one … Continue reading

Are Classes for Your Baby Worth It?

Awhile ago I wrote an article in education about how competitive preschools and kindergartens were in New York City. I researched the phenomenon because my husband had to write a recommendation letter for a child in his class (and he teaches three year olds) to get into kindergarten for the ‘08-’09 year! It boggles my mind, and frankly makes me glad that I homeschool. But if preschool is highly competitive and it’s important to get into the right preschool, then you have to figure that a baby must be in training to have the right skills to go to the … Continue reading

Babies in the News: Identical Triplets Are Born

A British woman gave birth to identical triplets in Austria. The triplets were conceived naturally and the chances of identical triplets forming are about one in two hundred million! What is especially rare in this situation is that all three are identical. In the world of natural conception, triplets generally form when just one egg out of two fertilized eggs, splits into two forming one set of identical twins and then a third fraternal sibling. Not that triplets naturally conceived in and of themselves are common at all. Although the babies were born at 32 weeks, they each weighed a … Continue reading

Breastfeeding Reaches the Poor and Huddled Masses

So my title is a little bit melodramatic but I am happy to say that the New York City Department of Health and other various agencies in NYC (including the ones that administrates publicly funded hospitals and WIC) are actively promoting breastfeeding. In honor of World Breastfeeding week, New York City is abuzz with activity. It all started yesterday when I was reading about a nurse-in that was going to take place on the New York City subway system. I had written previously how I wouldn’t participate in a nurse in because I think they are a largely ineffective way … Continue reading