Hugh Jackman is no stranger to parenthood. The X-Men star is dad to two children and remembers what it was like to be a new parent. One thing he didn't care for was all the advice lopped at him. As a result, Jackman has endeavored to decline from offering parenting advice to other new parents. He is refusing to offer advice to new mom Nicole Kidman (and new dad Keith Urban). Nicole and Keith recently welcomed daughter Sunday Rose into the world. No word on whether or not they actually sought advice from Jackman, but if they did or do, they ain't gonna get any.
Jackman did go on to say that he received one bit of useful advice from the man who helped deliver his son--never to rock the baby. According to Jackman, if one does this one will spend one's life doing it. He declined to offer this information to his Australian compatriots.
What do you think? Did you appreciate advice when you were a new parent or did it annoy you like it did Hugh Jackman? New parents, regardless of whether or not they're celebrities, have a lot to learn about raising a baby. Ultimately, there's only one way to do it, and that is to go through it and learn from experience.
Many of us will face the multitude of pregnancy ups and downs. During our first trimester we may be nauseous day and night, leading us to wonder why they call it morning sickness. We may swell in places we never dreamed could get any bigger. Our boobs--well, let's not even get into those. As for diet, there may be some things we can't be near and some things we can't live without. And then there's the heartburn.
My mother had heartburn the entire time she was pregnant with me. I got it--bad--in the third trimester of my first pregnancy. This go around, I've had it nearly the entire time. What causes it? Well, there's a baby in there vying for space with everything else. That could be it. It could also be hormones. Progesterone, a hormone that pumps up during pregnancy, relaxes the muscles in the uterus and allows gastric acid to seep up. According to one pal--who turned out to be right, at least in one instance with the birth of my son--heartburn means the unborn baby has a full head of hair.
How to treat heartburn while pregnant? That, luckily, is not so tough. Some of us had better be prepared to buy stock in Tums, which are recommended by OBGYNs. The modern version comes in a variety of fruit flavors and tastes less chalky than its predecessor and even offers a bit of calcium, which is extremely important for pregnant women to get. Another pal suggested apple cider vinegar as perhaps a healthier alternative to the Tums. While this method could work fine for non-preggies, pregnant women are advised against consuming cider. It has also been recommended to drink plenty of water and to imbibe milk when heartburn strikes. The other remedy? Have the baby!
People all over the world are opening wide their refrigerator doors and sharing their contents with the public on a site called Fridgewatcher. According to Fridgewatcher, "every fridge tells a story." And you know what? After being sucked into this site for more minutes than I care to admit, they're right. Refrigerators really are a window into a person's lifestyle, for better or for worse.
Right now my fridge contains milk, yogurt, juice, cheese, plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, and condiments, even a little leftover homemade pesto from dinner. My fridge would say about me, "Here's a mom who has little time to clean (note the spill on the bottom shelf), but who works hard to feed her family nutritious meals and snacks." Yep, that sounds about right. Go ahead and talk to my fridge.
But whatever you do, don't take a peek on that top shelf in the pantry, because there, well, that's where my shame lives. (Chocolate covered peanuts.) If you looked up there, you'd get a completely different story. (Doritos.) One that says, when this mom's kids aren't looking, she brings out the good stuff. (Ghirardelli goodness, to be exact.) On second thought, maybe we should change the subject (please don't look in the freezer).
For someone who had little to say about her pregnancy, Minnie Driver is certainly opening up these days. She won't reveal the name of the baby's father and she has no plans on finding out the baby's sex before the big day, but she has a lot to say about the rest of parenting.
The actress recently revealed she has no real plans to stay with the baby's father and is seriously considering single motherhood. Now she admits she is prepared to be a "chubby" mother as well. As opposed to other Hollywood starlets who look like they were never pregnant to begin with (Keri Russell, I'm talking to YOU) or those who hit the gym moments after they shed the placenta and worked out frantically to reduce their size, Minnie has no plans to do anything other than be a mommy! Take that, Kate Hudson! (Hudson gained seventy pounds with son Ryder.)
Driver says to plan on seeing her around Malibu, and to plan on seeing her fat. As most of us realistic gals know, it takes a year to put it on, and heaven knows it can take at least a year to take it back off--if we ever do. Nice to hear someone from tinsel town taking a breath of reality! I doubt Minnie will stay 'chubby' as she likes to call it, given that she gained a ton of weight for her breakout role in Circle of Friends and lost all of it, but only time will tell. I just wish someone would advise Minnie she doesn't look fat now that she's pregnant--she looks fantastic!
According to new research, they just might. A recent study suggests that pregnant mothers who eat nuts may impact their child's health later on. Women who consume nuts or "nut-products" like the beloved peanutbutter may increase the risk of asthma in their children by as much as 50%.
Before we go any further, I would like to point out for the record that peanuts are NOT nuts, they're legumes. It's true. Anyway, the Dutch researchers in charge of the study are leary of advising pregnant women to forego peanuts as they provide protein and nutrients. Although seafood also causes similar allergic reactions in children, the researchers were only able to make a connection to peanuts.
Four thousand women were surveyed for what they ate while pregnant along with their children's eating habits over eight years. The research indicated that women who ate nut products daily were more likely to have children with asthma. The link persisted despite factoring for the children's diet. Although there is no conclusive evidence at this time, the researchers think the toxin from the peanuts could pass through the placenta and sensitize the unborn baby. Needless to say, more studies are needed before anyone throws out her peanut butter jar!
Every generation thinks they have it tougher than the one before. And, you know what? They probably do. Like the new iphone, every generation is expected to be smarter, faster, better, and thinner than the last. So it is with teenagers, teenage girls to be exact. It's no newsflash to anyone who's ever been a teenager that being one is full of pressure. I remember an ad I saw in a women's magazine when I was a teen that resonates with me to this day: You can never be too rich or too thin (bonus points to any of you who remember what product that ad was selling).
Current research shows that not only such magazines but now too the wonderful world wide web are contributing to making girls feel miserable with regard to being, well, as rich and as thin as possible. In the Generation Under Stress Report, two out of five teenage girls felt more poorly about themselves after looking at pictures of models, music stars and actresses in magazines. And the pressure doesn't end there. Girls also reported feeling pressure to act and dress more like adults, to be sexually active before they were ready and to invest in expensive material items like Ipods, cell phones and brand-name clothing and accessories (what teenager NEEDS a Prada bag?). Add that to the eating disorders and bullying and you have a recipe for disaster.
So what do we do? Send our teenage girls off to the convent? If you have the answer, please let me know--I am about to have a daughter and am feeling the pressure before she's even been born. Not too long ago I saw a onesie that said, "Does this outfit make my butt look big?" HELP!
For women undergoing IVF, it may be wise to cut out the coffee to increase the chance of getting pregnant. A study suggests that drinking upwards of four cups of coffee leads to being 26% less likely to conceive. The study followed 9,000 women who underwent IVF to see if they subsequently got pregnant naturally. The heavy coffee drinkers were significantly less likely to get pregnant than those who abstained from coffee.
It's not just coffee either. Alcohol, as few as three times a week, had the same effect as coffee. Smoking, even just one cigarette a day, and being overweight reduced the chances of getting pregnant even further. This doesn't necessarily mean, however, that if you want to get pregnant, you need to cut out everything in order to do so. "Whilst the results of this study are interesting," said Fiona Ford, of the Centre for Pregnancy Nutrition, "there are evidently limitations to these findings as post IVF patients are a selective group who have already experienced problems with conception."
Personally, if I were trying to get pregnant, I think I'd do everything I could to maximize my chances. Giving up coffee, alcohol, and cigarettes seems like a good place to start.
Well, if HPV, which is linked to cervical cancer, wasn't scary enough, now there is new evidence it can be detected in breastmilk and possibly passed on to a nursing infant. HPV-16, full name Human papillomavirus type 16, can be traced back to a woman in the early stages after she's given birth.
the testing involved the scrapings from 223 mothers' cervixes as well as their mouths prior to delivery along with scrapings from 87 of the fathers. Scrapings were also tested at 2, 6 and 12 months postpartum and breastmilk was tested on the third day after delivery.
The team who conducted the research also tested fathers and found a link between HPV 16 in milk where it was detected in the oral scrapings from the father. The transmission causing the link remains unclear--it could be from mouth to breast to nipple or from the new mom's hands.
Breastfeeding women face plenty of hurdles when trying to feed their babies in public. There are negative attitudes, of course, which shouldn't exist but do. But there are also issues of privacy and comfort. Some women breastfeed with ease. Others (like me) manage to make it look even harder than it already is.
But even with all those hurdles, babies need to be fed. And women have the right to feed them, without hiding away in closet-sized rooms, or worse, restroom stalls. One design student thinks she has the answer, the breastfeeding chair. With its high back, winged sides, and accompanying table and footrest, it's meant to put a nursing mother at ease while feeding her baby.
Nicola Hart designed the chair in anticipation of the Equality Bill, which will allow UK women to breastfeed in public legally. Before the Equality Bill, nursing moms could be charged with indecency. You know what I think? Breastfeeding chair's are an innovative solution. Laws that charge nursing moms with a crime? Stupid.
Dr. Stephen Daniels, of the academy's nutrition committee, says the new advice is based on mounting evidence showing that damage leading to heart disease begins early in life, as well as research showing cholesterol-fighting drugs are safe for children.
"If we are more aggressive about this in childhood, I think we can have an impact on what happens later in life ... and avoid some of these heart attacks and strokes in adulthood," Daniels said.
According to the results of what is being called the largest test of its kind, kids in Texas aren't doing so well in the whole fitness and health area. More than two and a half million students were tested and the study found that the majority of kids were out of shape. Two-thirds of the third graders were failed to reach healthy performance levels in the six areas that were tested, including strength, stamina, and body composition. Nine out of ten twelfth graders failed to measure up.
"Our children's health is in jeopardy," worries state Senator Jane Nelson. "We cannot allow an entire generation of Texans to grow up and live a shorter life than previous generations." More than four-fifths of all Texas third- through twelfth-graders were tested this year, with results getting progressively worse as the students got older.
One mom tried to put the blame on the schools, saying "You have our children nine hours a day, and you have them during peak hours. When exactly am I supposed to give my kid a workout? At 9pm?" I guess schools go longer in Texas than they do here, and prepare all the kids' meals as well. Good thing kids never sit around and play video games at home!
Sadly, I suspect this problem is not limited to Texas -- I think we all have to keep an eye on our kids' -- and our own -- lifestyles. As jobs and pastimes become less physical and more sedentary, it seems to me that we need to make more of an effort to get out from behind the computer screens and out on the hiking and biking trails.
I admit that I am not all that familiar with Angelina Jolie's body of work. I know plenty about her body, her humanitarian work and her personal life, but I don't see many movies that aren't rated "G". I do know that Jolie gets a lot of positive press and that the only real criticism I've heard concerning her film work is that maybe she shouldn't be doing any with all those kids at home.
But someone has found something to complain about regarding Jolie in her new film, Wanted. Dr. Carole Lieberman, a psychiatrist in Los Angeles, thinks Jolie is too thin to be an action hero and worries that she presents an unrealistic image of what a strong woman looks like. "A super-thin, super-cool female action hero undoubtedly influences female moviegoers to emulate her," she said. "The underlying message is that being thin gives you power over men: physical and psychological."
Dr. George Pratt, another psychologist, prefers his action figures a little bulkier, like Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2 and Carrie-Ann Moss in the Matrix films. "There women were represented in a way that displays strength, balance and a healthier body," he says.
Jolie is thin and not exactly what we are used to seeing when it comes to tough chicks in the movies. But it seems to me that there is another way to look at it. Like maybe skinny girls can kick butt, too? Or, it's just a movie and we all know Angelina Jolie isn't really an assassin?
If you spent your life shunning fruits and vegetables, you might want to seriously reassess that stance on healthy foods before becoming pregnant. According to British researchers, a mother's diet during pregnancy and breastfeeding directly affects the child's risk of obesity, elevated cholesterol, and blood sugar levels for the rest of their life.
In the study, researchers fed one group of rats a diet of donuts, muffins, cookies, chips and sweets while they were pregnant and nursing their young. Another group was fed a regular, healthy diet. When comparing the two groups, researchers found the babies from the junk food momma rats had higher levels of cholesterol, triglycerides,glucose, and insulin and were fatter through adolescence and adulthood that the rats born of mothers who ate healthily.
And while it's true that rats aren't human (although some humans can be rats!) according to Neil Stickland, the study's co-author, "Humans share a number of fundamental biological systems with rats, so there is good reason to assume the effects we see in rats may be repeated in humans. Our research certainly tallies with epidemiological studies linking children's weight to that of their parents."
Does this mean pregnant woman stress over a couple chocolate chip cookies and an occasional hamburger? Of course not! But knowing the constant craving for deep fried Snickers bars isn't exactly doing the wee one any favors might be the push needed to choose a juicy orange or calcium-building serving of yogurt instead.
Looking for an, er, interesting way to celebrate the 4th of July holiday this year? How about with food! Sure food will play a crucial role in your celebration--it generally does--but why not toss things up a bit this time around, and even make it fun for the kids?
We're considering doing a menu of all red, white and blue foods. Yes, blue foods. Now we all know there are no naturally occurring blue foods--unless you count blueberries amongst your tally--but it's a fun treasure hunt to think of and then collect foods that are blue (if not naturally so) along with their easier to uncover red and white versions, all in the name of patriotism.
Red foods include strawberries, tomatoes--if you're feeling adventurous, and I'm decidedly not this holiday weekend--as well as cherries and various other kinds of fruit. One could twist on that and include red meat in the menu along with ketchup. White foods, while not that healthy, are in abundance. You have white bread, potatoes (and therefore potato salad?) as well as eggs (sans the yolk), milk, yogurt and various kinds of cheese. You could also go the white meat route with this one. And the blue foods? Well, other than the blueberry and some types of edible flowers, the only blue foods I can think of are Popsicles and Icees. You could dye pasta blue, as I did once, for blue pasta salad, but I don't think anyone would eat it. There are also blue potatoes and blue Terra Chips as well as blue corn tortilla chips. Dessert could always be blue--no one seems to fear blue icing.
Can you think of any 'blue' foods to include at a picnic or celebration this Fourth of July?
People all over the world are opening wide their refrigerator doors and sharing their contents with the public on a site called 
For women undergoing IVF, it may be wise to cut out the coffee to increase the chance of getting pregnant. A study suggests that 
The American Academy of Pediatrics has recognized that super-sized kids are battling the same health issues as overweight adults and are 
According to the results of what is being called the largest test of its kind, kids in Texas aren't doing so well in the whole fitness and health area. More than two and a half million students were tested and the study found that the 
I admit that I am not all that familiar with Angelina Jolie's body of work. I know plenty about her body, her humanitarian work and her personal life, but I don't see many movies that aren't rated "G". I do know that Jolie gets a lot of positive press and that the only real criticism I've heard concerning her film work is that maybe she shouldn't be doing any with all those kids at home.
If you spent your life shunning fruits and vegetables, you might want to seriously reassess that stance on healthy foods before becoming pregnant. According to British researchers, a mother's 
