LilSugar

Home Birth: Should Having Baby This Way Be Illegal?

LilSugar — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 05:00:58 PDT

It's a woman's body, but should she be able to have her baby at home? In a day of modern technology, many moms-to-be choose to give birth in a hospital. Having a trained medical staff and NICU nearby can make the process of labor and delivery less daunting for parents. There are no guarantees when it comes to a newborn making their way into the world - mishaps and fatalities can occur anywhere. A new report suggests that while the age-old method of home birth has recently garnered more advocates in America, little attention has been given to the parents who lose a child in the process. One mom said:

“When most families plan for a home birth, they don’t also plan for a funeral. I certainly didn’t. But that is how my home-birth story ended.”

What's your opinion on home birth?

Mourning Mother Kelly Preston Won't Speak About Jett Yet

LilSugar — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 09:20:00 PDT

To be predeceased by a child is a parent's nightmare that became the sad reality for John Travolta and Kelly Preston when their son died last January. The Hollywood couple has remained out of the public eye as they lament the loss of their late 16-year-old, Jett. In July, it was announced that Kelly would break her silence and speak out about her devastation on a grief and resilience panel at the California Governor's Conference for Women in October. The mourning mother has since (and understandably) pulled out. She said:

"It is with my sincere apologies that I must pull out from speaking at [the] conference. I am sorry, but I truly believed that I could do it. Otherwise I never would have said that I could. But I am still deeply in the process of healing, and it's just too soon."

If you know parents who have lost a child, here are tips for offering your support.

How to Help Parents Grieving the Loss of a Child

LilSugar — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 06:00:36 PST

Actor John Travolta and his wife, Kelly Preston suffered a devastating loss on Friday when their 16-year-old son, Jett, died. Being predeceased by a child is a parent's worst nightmare. The mere thought of losing one's offspring is enough to bring a mother or father to tears. The reality is difficult to fathom so finding the words to appropriately comfort someone who is grieving such a loss can be hard. Here are some tips to use in coping with the sensitive task of supporting a parent whose child has died.

Behave naturally
Show genuine concern
Offer love patiently and unconditionally

To see the rest of the suggestions,

Jessica Simpson Shows Her Bump During a Weekend Outing With Eric Johnson

Lauren Turner — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 20:02:01 PST

Jessica Simpson and Eric Johnson stopped by the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills yesterday. The afternoon wasn't all fun, though, since Jessica was one of the many celebrities that reacted to Whitney Houston's death. She wrote on Twitter, "I found my voice singing Whitney Houston's music. Today I lost my idol." Jessica and Eric have been hanging in LA lately, but they took a trip to Indianapolis for the Super Bowl last weekend. They're prepping for the birth of their first child together, and Jessica also has her new reality series debuting soon in March. Fashion Star begins on the 13th and will feature Jessica's fellow judge Nicole Richie.

Lil Links: Target's Newest Ad Star Is a Child With Down Syndrome

Rebecca M Gruber — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 05:32:30 PST

What happens when a child with Down Syndrome models for Target - Jezebel
Keri Russell welcomes a baby girl! - Celebrity Baby Blog
Who's to blame for a student's death from a peanut allergy at school? - The Stir
Rosie Pope is having a baby girl! - Celebrity Baby Scoop
New hope for autism prevention - FitPregnancy
6 simple ways to curb the mess - Parenting
Why dads-to-be go a little crazy - The Bump
Do mom battles lead to postpartum depression? - Momformation
How to blend computer time with family time – Tecca.com

We Bought a Zoo: Damon Puts on the Hard Sell

Becky Kirsch — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 03:05:00 PST

The simple premise of We Bought a Zoo is laid out right there in the title, and with no hint of irony. The "we" is Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon) and his two children, who are looking to make a fresh start when the death of Benjamin's wife still has them reeling six months later. When Benjamin finds his dream home, he accepts the caveat that the house is built on an old zoo territory, and that he must renovate it to save the animals. It's a story that's hard to swallow at first, but the underlying layers and an impressive performance from Damon make it go down easy.

Damon shows his range as an actor yet again, in a role that's a lot more complex than it seems initially. Though Benjamin is renovating a zoo, the story is really about a man struggling to accept his wife's death and his role as a single father. With another actor in the leading role, the film could be relegated to a tale that's both mawkish and emotionally manipulative, but thanks to Damon, you can't help but love and root for Benjamin. Sure, you care a little about the fate of the animals, but more than anything else, you just want this guy to catch a break.

To see what else I liked about We Bought a Zoo, just

read more. There's a hint of romance between Benjamin and head zookeeper Kelly (Scarlett Johansson), but Cameron Crowe is wise to focus more closely on Benjamin's relationships with his kids than his employee. In fact, the movie may have benefited if the romantic subplot was left behind altogether. Johansson seems out of place in Kelly's dowdy duds, and as charming as Benjamin is, it seems unlikely that a 28-year-old would want to jump into a relationship with an older man who makes no attempt to hide the fact that he's not over his recently deceased wife. Child actors are hit or miss in Hollywood, but We Bought a Zoo features an impressive cast of rising stars. I defy you not to fall in love with Maggie Elizabeth Jones as Benjamin's precocious and utterly adorable 7-year-old daughter Rosie, who will make your heart melt as she slaps together PBJ sandwiches and chases the zoo animals. Colin Ford has a heavier burden to carry as Rosie's troubled teenage brother Dylan, who is coping with his mother's death and his fractured relationship toward his father. Though Dylan is obnoxious and frustrating at times, Ford brings a depth to the character that's only annoying in the sense that it's a realistic portrayal of an adolescent. Thomas Haden Church and Elle Fanning are also assets to the cast, as Benjamin's disapproving older brother and Kelly's spacey cousin, respectively. And, of course, there's the menagerie of animals, who shape the story without stealing the show away from the humans that care for them. It's an important feat, as you never question that the heart of this film is in the personal connections, not in the cute creatures that affect their lives. We Bought a Zoo perfectly fits the movie mold for holiday time; there's something for kids, something for adults, and a little bit of magic for everyone.

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Grey's Anatomy Rundown, "Dark Was the Night"

Diana Nguyen — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 23:50:22 PST

It's a critical time for our favorite doctors this week on Grey's Anatomy, as more than one cast member faces a life-threatening situation. In the last episode we left Henry coughing up blood, and this week his fate is in the hands of Seattle Grace's finest, but you may be surprised to find out who performs Henry's surgery. Meanwhile, Callie and Jackson's careers are on the line, as Teddy tries to save their patient after post-surgery complications.

After several weeks of waiting, Meredith and Derek finally get word about Zola, and sadly, it looks like the results are not in their favor. However, this story line is completely overshadowed by all the heartbreaking events that lead to more than one surprising death. It's a tear-jerking, emotional roller coaster of an episode that left me at the edge of my seat. Were you along for the ride? Let's break it down!

Tori Spelling Shares Time Management Tips For Moms

Tori Spelling — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 11:31:05 PST

We're excited to bring you a new post from mother and actress Tori Spelling! Every other week we're bringing you the best parenting and lifestyle advice from ediTORIal by Tori Spelling, which is Tori's daily blog about everything from food and fashion to parenting and relationships. Having just given birth to her third child, Tori recently shared her tips for trying to make the most of the hours in the day.

Time, there's always too little of it! As moms, we are especially time-strapped. And if we're working, time is at even more of a premium. Given all the demands placed on us, it can be easy to feel like we're just going through the motions, fulfilling our responsibilities without truly enjoying them. But it doesn't have to be that way. Here are a few tips for balancing your needs with those of your family and your job:

Batch tasks – This is a great tip for increasing productivity in your work life as well as your personal life. For example, if you find that checking email distracts you while you're working, spend an hour each morning cleaning out your inbox, then turn off your email notifications for a few hours and concentrate on the task at hand. If you have a bunch of errands to run, do them all at once. Spend a Sunday afternoon cooking a bunch of dishes to eat throughout the week.
Overestimate – When planning a complicated day with multiple drop-offs, pick-ups, and to-do items, it's best to overestimate how long each item will take. Take everything into account, from traffic to how long it takes your little tyke to pick out socks.

Delegate – Guys hate asking for directions; we hate asking for help. But you can't be in two places at once, so when your calendar gets insane, make sure to get help from your husband or your close family or friends. Remind yourself that it's okay to give control to someone else you trust.
Quality Time All the Time – Even the most mundane tasks can become "quality time." Try to make your daily tasks fun for your kids by allowing them to participate. For example, when you go grocery shopping, let them take an active role in picking out groceries. Cook dinner together and catch up in the car on the way to school. These little moments are the things your kids will remember when they get older. What are your most cherished childhood memories? Chances are they're simple, everyday activities.
Take Care of Yourself – You don't have to book an expensive massage to take care of yourself, although that's a nice treat every now and then. Taking care of yourself is more about allocating time to do things that make you feel good: putting on your makeup in the morning, going for a jog in the evening (bonus points if you're also pushing a stroller), or painting your toenails before the polish completely chips away.
It's also about making healthy choices that are best for you. For example, going to bed early instead of staying up to answer emails will make you a much more productive person the next day. As they get older, your children will admire that their mother is someone who takes care of herself – after all, you are modeling behavior that you want them to emulate someday!
Remember to Breathe – As busy, multitasking women and moms, sometimes we overlook the simplest way to get through our day: taking a moment to breathe. Pausing to focus on your breath can help you to quell nerves and stress or simply clear your mind. Simple, but effective!

How do you balance it all? Share your time management tips in the comments below.

More great stories from ToriSpelling.com:
'Til Death Do Us Part: Elderly couple dies holding hands
Happy Halloween!
Ask me anything!

Princess Margaret: The Original Celebrity Princess

Annie Scudder — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 14:21:08 PST

Prince William and Kate Middleton are officially moving into Kensington Palace's 20-room apartment 1A, after it undergoes about $1.6 million in renovations. The apartment has a garden, a nursery, and lots of space, and it was the home of the queen's younger sister Princess Margaret until her death in 2002. The big move is putting the late princess back in the headlines. Before there was Kate Middleton or Princes Diana, Margaret mixed royalty with celebrity. The press followed every detail of her personal life, including her marriage to Lord Snowdon, the first royal wedding to be televised. The couple was given a retreat on a private island in the Caribbean as a wedding present. Their glamorous jet-set life grabbed headlines and those in her circle were dubbed "the Margaret set."

But the original "It" princess's legacy wouldn't be complete without some scandals. Near the time of her sister Elizabeth's coronation, Margaret fell in love with a divorced man, Peter Townsend, who was 16 years older than her. She was forced to choose between a royal life and love, and ultimately decided not to marry. Instead in 1960, she married photographer Anthony Armstrong-Jones, who became Lord Snowdon. Soon after there were rumors of affairs, drugs, and drinking, as well as questions about his sexuality. When pictures of Margaret with a young lover surfaced, her husband moved for a divorce. It later came out that Lord Snowdon may have fathered a child months before their marriage. Take a look back at Margaret's glamorous and controversial life now.

Yes, You Can and Should Help Save a Child in Africa

BabyCenter — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 08:31:01 PDT

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.