Charities For Kids

Hilary Duff's been one busy mama since welcoming son Luca Cruz to the world 5 weeks ago. The new mama's been sharing family photos with her fans, trying to return to her prepregnancy workouts, and getting back into her daily routine. Now Hilary's about to become even busier as she joins Johnson's Baby and Save the Children for the launch of Johnson's Baby CARES, a new initiative to support the basic needs of families during natural disasters. The actress and recording star took some time to answer our questions about the campaign, as well as her initial thoughts on new motherhood.

LilSugar: What's been the most surprising thing about motherhood so far?
Hilary Duff: How much I fell in love with Luca from the moment I saw him; it's so cool to see your child changing every day.

LilSugar: And the most challenging?
HD: Getting Luca on a schedule that works for both of us, it was tough at first, but he is getting better every day.

LilSugar: Who does lil Luca look like?
HD: A lot like me when I was a baby, but he has his daddy's nose!

LilSugar: How did you come up with Luca's name?
HD: Mike [Comrie, Hilary's husband of a year and a half] and I were just bouncing names off each other and Luca just stuck. We both knew when we heard it — it was unique, but not crazy.

LilSugar: Have you and Mike gone out on a postbaby date yet?
HD: Yes, we've had a few dates since Luca's arrival. At first it was nerve-racking, but the second date went a lot better. It's important for Mom and Dad to have time together.

Keep reading for Hilary's thoughts on postpartum exercise and her decision to partner with Johnson's and Save the Children.

Fans of TOMS shoes, mark your calendars for April 1, when the brand will launch its new collaboration with Lauren Bush's FEED Projects. The FEED 12 TOMS Classics feature the FEED stamp logo in silvery gray and black on burlap material, and will be available for women ($58) and tots ($34), exclusively through Toms.com. Best of all, with every pair of shoes that you purchase, 12 school meals and a new pair of shoes will be donated to a child in need. Shop early, as the limited-edition line will only be available until it sells out!

Window shopping has never been so charitable! If you happen to be doing some holiday shopping in New York City or San Francisco, take a look at the store windows you pass — some may be filled with a high-tech way for mama to do some charitable giving without ever opening her wallet. Ebay just unveiled Give-a-Toy Store interactive storefronts that allow shoppers to use their smartphones to scan QR-coded price tags to make an immediate donation to Toys For Tots.

Debra Messing, mom of 7-year-old Roman, and the upcoming star of Smash was on hand to kick off the new endeavor and spoke with me about her favorite holiday traditions.

LilSugar: With the holiday season upon us, how did you come to work with eBay on this project?
Debra Messing: The holiday season is a time when people are more inclined to give, and I just thought that eBay's initiative was so brilliant. They have this window with virtual gift tags with toys, and there are different donation amounts — there's $5, $10, $20 — you just scan your [smartphone] over the window, you're on the sidewalk, and instantly you're donating to Toys For Tots and 100 percent of the money goes to Toys For Tots. Being able to make things really quick and easy and meaningful is important.

LS: What family holiday traditions are you most looking forward to this year?
DM: We just moved back to New York, but have always had family here. We love to go skating at Wolman rink, and go see plays — musicals specifically. Waiting for the snow to come. Looking forward to putting on the snowsuit and stomping through Central Park.

LS: So much of the holiday focus is on kids. What's on your wish list this year?
DM: For me, there is no better present than a massage. Flowers are beautiful, but they die. Champagne is fun, but it's gone — very quickly. As a mom we're on 24/7, and if we're working moms, which most of us are, we're exhausted, and sleep deprived, and we don't take care of ourselves. We feel guilty if we take too much time for ourselves. It feels like an extravagance, but it really is a necessity for moms to take an hour to shut down, rejuvenate, and have someone to rub out the kinks from carrying the baby on your hip too much or whatever you're doing. My son's now at a place where he likes to jump on my body to wake me up at 6 in the morning, so I've literally got bruises all over my body.

Keep reading to see how Debra Messing our famous Four Lil Questions about motherhood!

We're excited to share this post from our partners at BabyCenter! Every week, we will be bringing you the best parenting and lifestyle stories from the experts at BabyCenter, including this post from Amy Graff about how moms can combat the famine in Africa.

A debate recently erupted on the BabyCenter Facebook page over whether the United States government should provide education, food, clean water, vaccinations, and other health services to those living in poverty-stricken Africa. Many Facebook fans sympathized with moms and children suffering in under-resourced areas while others felt that we should turn our back to the famine in Africa and focus on those who are struggling in our own country.

And then the discussion spiraled into a heated political discussion.

Honestly, I don’t think this should be about politics. Yes, it’s about government, but it’s not about left and right. It’s about right and wrong. It’s about whether you value a child’s life or not.

Related: Did I Overreact?

This discussion was sparked by a Facebook post about my visit to the White House. On Tuesday I stepped inside the West Wing with a group of 10 other moms to meet with Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden, USAID Administrator Raj Shah, and National Security Council Senior Director Gayle Smith.

We were invited to the White House because over the Summer we traveled to Kenya on a trip organized by ONE, a nonpartisan advocacy group dedicated to fighting poverty and preventable disease in Africa (join ONE Moms). You might remember some of my Momformation blog posts about visiting a hospital where doctors treat kids with malaria and watching a health-care worker test a family for HIV. We observed US investments savings lives, and now we were bringing our experience back to Washington DC to let lawmakers know that these programs are effective and working.

Dr. Biden chimed in with stories about her recent visit to a Somalia refugee camps in eastern Africa, a part of the continent that’s experiencing the worst drought in 60 years, the worst famine in 20 years, and ongoing violence. She consoled women and children trying to survive in the largest camp in the world. It was originally built to accommodate 90,000 people and is now overflowing with nearly a half-million impoverished people. In Somalia, a child is dying every six minutes.

“It’s so bad,” Dr. Biden said. “It’s worse than you can ever imagine.”

Keep reading to learn what we can do to help save a child in Africa.

The biggest shopping night of the year saw thousands of eager fashionistas parading in and out of stores taking advantage of the ultimate shopping extravaganza.

Laila Ali, new mom and champion of health and beauty, was a gracious host to mamas-to-be in attendance at the 2011 Fashion's Night Out celebration held at Destination Maternity's flagship store on Madison Avenue in NYC. She talked candidly about motherhood, shared health and beauty tips, and posed for pictures and signed autographs for fans.

To celebrate FNO, Destination Maternity teamed up with fashionable Hollywood moms — including Heidi Klum, Naomi Watts, Jewel, Busy Philipps, and Ali — to create one-of-a-kind embellished maternity jeans for "Celebrities 4 Maternity Denim," an online auction from Aug. 25 to Sept. 22 to benefit the March of Dimes.

Nicole Sullivan, who also partnered with Destination Maternity to create a unique pair of decorated maternity jeans, made a surprise appearance at the event — with her eldest son, Dashel Pierce, by her side.

Dolly Parton is mostly known for her big hair and her big hits, but the country music star also has a big heart! In 1996, she founded a non-profit organization in her home county in east Tennessee to foster a love of reading among her county’s preschool children and their families. She also wanted to ensure that every child would have books, regardless of their family’s income.

Fifteen years later, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library — with the help and support of individual communities — is providing books to hundreds of thousands of children in hundreds of communities in the US, Canada, and the United Kingdom. A brand-new, age appropriate book is mailed to every registered child each month until their 5th birthday! Registering for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is free and it helps tots get excited about the magic that books can create!