LilSugar

Let Them Eat Cake...And Candy Canes!

LilSugar — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 06:00:23 -0800

I've never bought into the whole concept that candy makes kids hyperactive so I've never denied my children sweets when it came to holiday festivities. But, now there's reason for the moms who do attribute their tykes' energetic behavior to treats to relax. This Christmas, let your lil one have a candy cane. Guess what myth topped the list of holiday myths? To find out, read more.

On the subject of sugar making kids hyperactive, one report said:

The researchers cite 12 controlled studies that couldn’t detect any differences in behavior between children who had sugar and those who did not. Even when kids had a diagnosis of hyperactivity problems or were said to be more sensitive to sugar, they did not behave differently whether they ate sugar-laden or sugar-free diets. In fact, the biggest effect of sugar may be on parents. Parents rate their children as being more hyperactive if they are told the child has consumed sugar - even when the child hasn’t really had any sweets.

Slice of the Yule log, sweetie?

Source

The Top Five Gender Myths

babysugar — Wed, 28 May 2008 06:00:00 -0700

The second you start showing, random people offer their unsolicited opinions on what the baby's sex will be. I couldn't put the kibosh on the predictions, since I didn't know the sex until I delivered. Sometimes it was fun to hear people take a gander, but often it was bizarre and unwelcome.

Let's see if you know these common myths for gender guessing.
Source

Take the quiz

Pregnancy Myths Uncovered

LilSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:00:04 -0800

Navigating through all the things moms-to-be can and can't do while expecting is one of the toughest parts of being pregnant. Since facts often get mixed with fiction, we're clearing the air on a few of the myths that may be keeping mama up at night.

View Slideshow ›

Pregnancy Myths Versus Reality

LilSugar — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 07:00:00 -0700

Pregnancy is filled with old wives' tales about everything from how an expectant mother is carrying to foods that will bring on labor. Last week we separated the myths from reality when it comes to fertility, now it's time to do the same for pregnancy. Let's see if you can determine fact from fiction.

Take the quiz

babysugar Diaries: Gender Difference

babysugar — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 12:00:43 -0700

Random people always want to take a guess at a baby-to-be's gender based on the expecting mother's girth, fullness of face, morning sickness, or other factors. There may be some truth to those pregnancy myths, but I decided to be surprised in the delivery room. Now that I'm on the other side, I can look back and see differences between my pregnancies.

My daughter gave me a tinge of morning sickness with bouts of nausea and waves of tiredness. My son, on the other hand, left me feeling completely normal. I was hungrier with him but had serious cravings with her. I swelled with edema during her pregnancy while maintaining skinny ankles throughout his nine months. And not too surprising, he started using his athletic legs early in the womb with karate chop jabs to my abdomen, while I think she may have been studying ayurvedic yoga in utero.

Did you have dissimilar pregnancies with opposite sex babies?
Source

Want to Pick Your Babe's Gender? Try These Tricks

babysugar — Fri, 01 May 2009 07:00:43 -0700

A mother of two boys may decide to give it her all with one last pregnancy in hopes of fulfilling her life long dream of having a daughter to keep her company on shopping trips and spa days. Parents desperate to determine the gender of their baby often turn to old wives tales hoping to see the family jewels during an ultrasound. Some of these ideas sound ridiculous while others have an ounce of logical reasoning behind them. To see what some of the myths are, just read more.

Girls:

Timing: Plan ahead. The female sperm are said to live longer and swim slower so having sex a few days before ovulation may be beneficial as only the strong, I mean girls, survive.
Positioning: Since lady sperm can last longer, the goal is to get the goods to the egg without deep penetration as the boys will try to beat her out.
Diet: Consume foods and drinks rich in acid to raise the mama's Ph as boy sperm cannot tolerate the high levels.

Boys:

Timing: Since the male sperm are faster, parents aiming for a boy should try to have sex on the day of or day after ovulation occurs. These guys are straight and to the point and want to swim as fast as they can to get to that egg.
Positioning: Give the lil boy swimmers a head start by placing them as close to their destination as possible. Positions that offer deep release are preferable for boys.
Drinks: It has been said that drinking coffee will get those lil boys amped up for a swim to the promised land.
Diet: Some believe a high Ph level in the mother can kill off the boy sperm. Families trying to have a son sometimes monitor their diets and use douche solutions to lower the acidic level in the breeding ground.

Does any of this make sense? The girl sperm like to lollygag and take their time, perhaps primping and gossiping along the way. The boys want to get the job done as quickly as possible. In the end, there is no full proof way of picking a child's gender, but it can certainly be fun trying!
Source

Fertility Myths Versus Reality

LilSugar — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 07:00:02 -0700

It's time to separate the myths from reality. Couples trying to conceive a child are often willing to believe anything they are told to increase their chances of becoming pregnant. Let’s see how well you can sort the facts out from much of the fiction that is floating around the Internet.

Take the quiz

Lil Links: How to Pick the Best Cereals

babysugar — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:00:32 -0700

Best cereals for kids - Cookie
Matthew Settle takes a stroll with his Gossip Girl - Celebrity Baby Scoop
Lil Wayne becomes a father while he awaits the birth of another - Celebrity Baby Blog
The nipple changing magic - CafeMom
School to make a bloody mess with a sheep - ParentDish
6 funniest television moments about birth control - Momversation
Catching a cold and other outdated parenting myths - The Poop
Prenatal yoga pays off - Fit Pregnancy
Play date burn out - MOMformation

How Long Does the Myth of Santa Live On?

babysugar — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 08:00:00 -0800

I vividly remember the moment I was told Santa Claus wasn't real. I'd heard the rumors, but was still convinced that he existed. Then my best friend told me who Santa really was and how the lie was perpetrated. I was just 7 when I realized my parents were the naughty ones.

How old are kids when they find out that Santa Claus lives down the hall?

Source

Nursery University: Parents Lose Their Minds Over Preschool

LilSugar — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 10:00:59 -0700

The preschool application process in many major metropolitan cities is comparable to getting into college. Sometimes dubbed the brat race, it doesn’t get more competitive than what goes on in New York City, where some believe that getting into the right nursery school will put their tots on the Ivy League path.

In his new documentary, Nursery University, which hit screens last week, Marc Simon and Matt Makar take an in-depth, satirical and oftentimes sympathetic look at a process that lead to the downfall of one Wall Street’s biggest titans and has parents competing to spend more than $15,000 a year on their two-year-old’s education. The film follows five families as they take the journey – from identifying the right schools, obtaining applications, the child’s interviews and finally their receipt of acceptance letters. Along the way, we meet two preschool directors who scoff at the myths about the process, as well as a “preschool consultant” who charges $4,000 to help families navigate the system.

To see why the film had me both laughing and feeling sorry for the families, and see a trailer, read more.

While some of the profiled families perfectly mirror the caricatures they are modeled after – the family that spends time practicing greetings with their daughter, the clan that claims even a celebrity like Kate Winslet can’t get their daughter into a school and a couple that debates whether saying Spanish is their first language will give their child an advantage – others go through the process in an attempt to truly give their lil ones a better start than they had.

A friend who went through the Manhattan preschool process said the film accurately portrays the frantic pace at which NYC families approach wee education. If you want an inside look at the craziness some parents go through for their offspring, seek out this film, and then go home and thank your lucky stars that you don't have to participate.