Who knew the term "diaper rash" could mean so many different things? All rashes do have one thing in common: they make your baby miserable, and understandably so! Here's a look at the most common diaper rashes and the best ways to treat them, as shared by Circle of Moms members.
Here's a post from our partners at BabyCenter! Every week, we bring you the best parenting and lifestyle stories from the experts at BabyCenter, including this post about drowning. 
I took my eyes away for seconds to check on my 4-year-old swimmer. "Great job!" I shouted out, so proud that he had reached the other side of the pool without any help. He was coming along quite well as a swimmer! I wasn't surprised; we've practically lived at the pool since he was 2 years old! Related: If hospitals don't teach new moms how to breastfeed, who will? I turned my head back to my 3-year-old whose quiet desperation was begging for me to grab him. He was bobbing for a breath. His hands weren't splashing. Without a word, his wide panicked eyes were imploring mommy to HELP! Seconds ago, he was playing on the steps. Seconds ago, while my head was turned, he had decided to swim to mommy. Seconds ago, I didn't realize I may only have seconds left. I pulled him up and rushed him to the side of the pool. He gasped and coughed. I had been right there with him the whole time, but with one moment it could've been bad. So bad. It all could've happened so fast. We were lucky. This week, the BabyCenter community has been abuzz with an article about what to look for in drowning—the first paragraph alone should shock anyone into reading and memorizing the whole article to learn more about what to look for when it comes to drowning. None of this is new though, BabyCenter blogger Kristina Sauerwein wrote about her experience a couple of years ago in the post "In a blink, my son began to drown." "Drowning is not the violent, splashing call for help that most people expect," writes Mario Vittone, author of "Drowning Doesn't Look Like Drowning." Drowning is quick and silent. Have you ever had a close call while swimming with your kids?
More great reads from BabyCenter:
Unhelpful parenting tips from Game of Thrones
10 tips for going green in your laundry
B Kids launches line of wooden toys
6 questions that will free you from clutter
"Caroline," a mom from St. Petersburg, FL, wasn't keen on her 11-year-old getting on Facebook, so she was furious when she discovered her daughter corresponding with a 23-year-old man through the social network. She wrote back to the older "friend" as though she were her daughter, and when his requests became explicit, she used her wits — and a Target mailer — to put him behind bars.
Watch the USA Today video below to find out how her one-woman sting operation got this predator off the streets.
"I just yelled at my daughter . . . I yelled at her the way I never should yell at anyone, and she is shocked that I yelled at her that way . . . I feel terrible." — Katherine H.
"I'm furious, I explode, I lash out, I'm not in control of myself and I don't think." — Renee C.
"I really don't want to take out my depression and my anger on my little kids, but I always do." — Maria
Motherhood, as the moms above reveal, is not always a picnic. Every parent has moments she regrets later, moments where rage overcomes logic. As a Circle of Moms member named Maria offers, "Parenting is hard! There's so much to do and think about that we put ourselves last on the list of a million things to attend to. There is only so much neglect that we can put ourselves through before we snap."
If you let your own needs go unmet over time, an outburst at the people you're with most, including your children, is inevitable. But most of us know instinctively that it's important not to vent our frustrations on a child and that it will just make everyone feel worse.
So how do you avoid these moments? How do you know when you really need professional help to do so? Keep reading for moms' tips on gaining control over anger.
Does your infant cry excessively or inconsolably? The culprit may be colic. Colic affects up to 20 percent of newborns, usually during the 3- to 12-week age range. And while doctors haven't agreed upon a cause or cure, that hasn't stopped moms from discovering a slew of strategies to relieve the discomfort a colicky baby experiences. Keep reading for 12 of the most common techniques shared by Circle of Moms members.
Here's a post from our partners at BabyCenter! Every week, we bring you the best parenting and lifestyle stories from the experts at BabyCenter, including this post about preventing preeclampsia.
When Anita Padilla of the FOX Chicago Morning News Team was pregnant, she didn’t feel well. But because she had always heard about the ugly symptoms of pregnancy, it didn’t occur to her that something may be wrong. She just chalked it up to regular pregnancy pain and did her best to deal with it.
Turns out, she was suffering from Preeclampsia, a sometimes fatal disorder that is found in one out of 12 pregnant women today. She went on to deliver a happy, healthy baby, but only because it was caught in time.
Related: How to teach your children to mind their manners
Last week, my mom and I participated in the Chicago Promise Walk with Anita, who emceed the event as a way to help spread the word. The Promise Walk is an annual nationwide fundraiser hosted by The Preeclampsia Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing maternal and infant illness and death due to Preeclampsia.
We walked alongside survivors as well as families who have lost wives, sisters, sons, daughters and mothers to Preeclampsia.
Being in the midst of this made this so much more real to me. I can’t imagine how heartbreaking it must be when one of the best days of your life turns into a living nightmare.
It was heart-wrenching to see children planting pinwheel flowers in the ground to honor the living survivors and remember those lost. One of the flowers had the name Shelly Warner Bridgewater written on it. I learned later that Shelly passed away in 2005, one week after delivering her daughter Hailey seven weeks early.
Keep reading to see the three promises moms-to-be must make.
Could a simple cardboard box be all a baby needs to get a healthy start to life? For 75 years, Finland has provided all expectant moms — regardless of their economic status — with a maternity box filled with a selection of clothes, bedding, and products used in the first few months of a baby's life. The only catch is that the moms-to-be must attend a prenatal appointment prior to their fourth month of pregnancy to receive the box. The result: in the 1930s, Finland saw 65 out of 1,000 babies die each year; today, the welfare state's infant mortality rate is 3.4 deaths per 1,000 births — half of the rate in the United States.
The maternity box, which started out as a government handout to low-income families, became universal in 1949 and is now a source of pride for the country — the box is a guarantee that all Finnish babies have a healthy start at life and a safe place to sleep (the box is credited with a decrease in cosleeping). The contents of the box have evolved over the years — it was originally packed with cloth diapers, switched to disposable in the late 1960s, but returned to cloth a dozen years ago, while formula and pacifiers were recently removed to help promote breastfeeding — but much remains the same.
Pregnant moms have the choice of accepting the box or opting for a cash grant of 140 euros (approximately $183), but with the box filled with gender-neutral bodysuits, a sleeping bag, outdoor gear, baby bathing products, diapers, bedding, and a small mattress, an overwhelming majority opt for the traditional box.
It's quite an interesting concept if you think about it: a government providing families with the necessities to give tots a healthy start.
As a Circle of Moms member named Yolanda shares, the scariest thing in the world is seeing your child run straight into potential danger: "My son bolted from the store and started to run into the parking lot!"
Even so, it's no fun to walk with your child when you're spending the entire time correcting her for running ahead. You know she's too young to perceive real danger so you warn her constantly, but she feels like she's being controlled and acts like a horse chomping at the bit to get away.
Two Ways to Teach Safe Walking
Teaching your child the two walks described below not only helps her learn to be safe around cars or out in nature, but also helps her develop self-control and responsibility. Both walks require an explanation and several rounds of practice before using. A great place to practice is in an empty parking lot or an unused road.
I'd made it through months of morning sickness, quirky food cravings, and days filled with constant treks to the potty. But in the last trimester of my pregnancy with my first child, it dawned on me that my biggest pregnancy challenge was still ahead: labor.
Like many women who are pregnant for the first time, I wanted to know what to expect during labor and whether an epidural was advisable for me. A relative of mine shared an audiotape of herself screaming during her labor, which set me on edge. Was that what pushing would feel like? How long might my labor last? Would it necessarily be horrible for me, too?
Here, Circle of Moms members share answers and advice on what to expect during labor.
We all expect our kids to eventually assume responsibility for keeping themselves clean, but the question is, when?
Like many Circle of Moms members, April K. and Victoria H. are both seeing their grade-school-aged children insist on bathing and washing their hair on their own. But neither mom is sure her child is actually ready. "Is 6 too young to teach [my daughter] to shower by herself or is that too old?" asks Victoria, who still washes and rinses her daughter's hair even though "she has gotten the body-scrubbing part down." And April frets, a little more directly, whether a child of this age is capable of "cleaning themselves well enough?"
Many Circle of Moms members find that while the transition to independent bathing can start quite early, it usually — and by necessity — unfolds in stages. Here moms trade wisdom on when a child can typically shower or bathe dependably and safely — and on when to stop helping.
