Day 13

Day 12

Classic Commentary on Childbirth...

...compliments of Monty Python.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arCITMfxvEc

Day 11

My husband, Tim, usually takes the photos for this very reason...I am too short to get a good view from the top. This is what I see. :)

Day 10

One-Third of All United States Births are by Cesarean Section

According to a survey recently released by the US Health and Human Services (HHS) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), one-third of births in the United States were by cesarean section in the year 2005. That’s 1.3 million c-section births in 2005, up from the 800,000 c-section births nationwide in 1995. The report finds that vaginal deliveries among women who gave birth in hospitals declined by 3 percent between 1995 and 2005, and that vaginal births after cesareans (VBACs) dropped by 60 percent over the same decade. The report is based on data from AHRQ’S Healthcare Costs and Utilization Project. AHRQ analyst Anne Elixhauser has been quoted by Congressional Quarterly as saying that the cesarean increase is due, at least in part, to growing risk-aversion among obstetricians. To download the complete report as a PDF, go to http://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports/annualreport/HAR_2005.pdf

Day 9

Day 7

Day 6

The ruler is blurry, but when I measured Humphrey, he was just about 1 inch long today. I know that we can't pet him, and we won't, but he looks so sweet and soft!

Day 5

He is HUGE! Okay, that is relative...he is really just about 1/3 - 1/2 the length of your pinkie finger, but he seems to have doubled in size overnight. "Humphrey" is lying with his head at 8 o'clock, his tail at 2, and a leg pointed to 3. His feathers are really starting to come in today!

Day 4

Today, Kelsey wanted to be the photographer. We watched out the window until we saw the mama fly away and we went out to the vine. Kels got on the chair and went to take the photo, but realized the memory card was still in the computer. I ran in the house to get it, when I heard the mama bird get noisy and Kelsey started screaming - she got "dive bombed." Needless to say, Tim took the photo several hours later when the mama left the nest again. The head is at 5 o'clock, the tail is towards 10.

Coalition Responds to Findings on Baby Product Toxins

A coalition of public health and environmental NGOs is calling for a moratorium on Bisphenol A (BPA) in baby bottles, food and beverage containers, based on the results of a new study’s findings that the toxic chemical leaches from plastics when heated. The study, commissioned by Environmental Defense of Canada and researched in the lab of University of Missouri faculty, found that when new bottles are heated, those manufactured by Avent, Evenflo, Dr. Brown’s and Disney/First Years leached significant amounts of BPA. And recent animal research suggests that even BPA levels lower than these may disrupt normal child development. The synthetic sex hormone, which mimics estrogen and is used to make hard polycarbonate plastic, is used in the making of approximately 95 percent of all baby bottles on the US market. To date, nine states are considering legislation to restrict the use of BPA in children’s products: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania. To learn more and download the study, go to http://www.chej.org/BPA_Website.htm.

Baby face

Here is Baby A (the kids are working on a name) from the back today. You are seeing only the head looking up...beak on top.

We have a baby!

Here is a photo of mama on the nest. We learned last night, while doing some research, that the white fluff is spider web silk.



And here is the first hatchling. It is pointing towards "7 o'clock" and you can't see the head from this angle. That is its neck, back and tail. If you click on the photo, you can see the little stripes of feathers. It is hard to get a reference for size, but the nest is the size of a plastic easter egg, and the egg is the size of a jelly belly jelly bean. So cute!!!!

Breastmilk Contains Stem Cells

http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20081102-16879.html

Phthalates in Infant Skin Care Products

A new study published in the journal Pediatrics finds evidence that infants are absorbing phthalates, chemicals widely used in baby products, through the skin. Phthalates have been found in recent studies to have toxic effects on the developing endocrine and reproductive system. The research team in this study tested urinary concentrations of 163 infants, finding that all of the samples contained at least one phthalate at measurable levels, and 80 percent contained measurable amounts of at least seven types of phthalates. The associations between the use of phthalate-containing baby products – such as shampoos, lotions and powders – and urine concentrations were strongest in infants younger than eight months old, whose immature metabolic systems may make them most vulnerable to toxicity. Currently, manufacturers in the US are not required to label the phthalate content of products. The authors suggest that parents limit the amount of infant care products they use, and apply lotions or powders only if medically necessary. Parents can also look for baby products whose labels specifically state that they are “phthalate-free.” For the abstract, go to http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/121/2/e260

Tic-tacs? Jelly beans?

No, they are two teeny tiny eggs! The nest survived the storm of the century and now we have eggs! Apparently, they take two weeks or so to hatch, so now we watch and wait.

NHTSA Unveils New Car Seat Rating System

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced a new five-star government rating system for child safety seats, evaluating car seats on how easy they are to properly install. Under the new ratings, expanded criteria are used to evaluate the seats, which are awarded an overall star rating, as well as individual ratings in four categories: securing the child, vehicle installation features, labeling and instructions. The new system does not measure how effectively a seat protects a child in the event of a crash, but rather compares how easy one seat is to use over another. NHTSA data suggests that seven out of 10 car seats are either the wrong size for the child or seriously misused, ultimately reducing their effectiveness in a crash. NHTSA says it will add and rate new models as they become available on the market. The complete list of rankings is available at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov

DHA & ARA in Infant Formulas May Be Linked to GI Problems

The National Alliance for Breastfeeding Advocacy (NABA) recently contributed to a report published by The Cornucopia Institute on DHA and ARA in infant formula. “Replacing Mother: Imitating Human Breast Milk in the Laboratory” details research on adding novel oils omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, produced in labs and extracted from algae and fungus, into infant formula products. The report presents findings indicating that these additives may endanger the health of some formula-fed newborns and toddlers by causing diarrhea or other gastrointestinal problems, despite aggressive marketing campaigns suggesting the products are close replications of breast milk. To download the free report, go to http://cornucopia.org/index.php/replacing-mother-infant-formula-report. The webpage also links to an Action Alert, stemming from a petition filed with the FDA by NABA and The Cornucopia Institute, recommending a warning label on infant formula containing these novel oils.

Bird watching

This isn't business related, but because it technically has to do with birth and parenthood (and because I think it is so exciting!), I thought I would share it here:

My daughter was in the backyard today and discovered a very cool thing...a hummingbird has made a nest in the vine on our fence! We are so excited and hope she lays eggs. It is supposed to storm all weekend and both Kelsey and I wanted to move the market umbrella over against the wall to protect it. Tim keeps giving us some Mutual-of-Omaha-Wild-Kingdom-let-Nature-take-its-course line. We are keeping our fingers crossed for sunny skies...Here are a few photos of the mama and the nest. You can click on them to see the full-size images.

Welcome!

In this blog, I will be posting about upcoming Babies in Bloom events and specials, current studies or information about pregnancy, breastfeeding & babies, photos and more. This will not replace our monthly e-newsletter, The Latest Buzz, but will add to the information we share. From time to time, we might also offer special store coupons for blog-readers only! Type to you soon...

Warmly,
Rochelle