LilSugar

You Know You're a Mother When: Birthday

LilSugar — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 04:00:20 PST

You know you're a mother when you stare at your newborn and wonder what she will be like at five....

To see what happens,

read more. And, then it happens! Kids are the most incredible measure of time. Happy Birthday to my Leap Year Baby!
Photos Copyright Laurie O'Brien

My Leap Year Baby

LilSugar — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 09:00:39 PST

My due date was January 26 before the doctors changed it to February 13. So while we entertained the idea of a Valentine's baby, I never considered that my child would be born at the end of the month. But, life is full of surprises and my daughter made her much anticipated debut on February 29.

We decided that we would celebrate her birthday both days - February 28 and March 1. And, commemorate the occasion with a special trip on Leap Years. So today we are in Disneyland, a preschooler's paradise. And, entertaining options for her eight birthday. But one thing is certain, we will throw her a Sweet Sixteen when she turns 64.

Lil Links: Could the Term "Baby Bump" Be Banned For Good?

Rebecca M Gruber — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 05:34:14 PST

Don't you dare call your pregnant belly a baby bump! - The Stir
A very pregnant Beyoncé rocked high heels on New Year's Eve - Celebrity Baby Scoop
A doctor's advice for preparing kids for a visit to the doctor - Celebrity Baby Blog
Favorite workouts for new moms - FitPregnancy
Signs that your baby really loves you even if he can't say so - Parenting
How to conceive a smarter baby - The Bump
How did I miss pneumonia? - Momformation
8 ways gaming is good for your kids - Tecca.com
Disneyland and Disney World will mark leap year in a spectacular way! - Child Mode

8 Small Ways to Lose Big Pounds in 2012

Prevention — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 04:06:22 PST

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar!

Quadruple your weight loss by making one easy tweak to your routine per week
By Alyssa Shaffer

If your goal is to lose weight and exercise more, forget the deprivation diet and marathon workouts. New research shows that taking baby steps - not giant leaps -is the best way to get lasting results. A study published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine found that participants who made one small, potentially permanent change in their food choices and/or physical activity each week (such as drinking one fewer can of soda or walking five more minutes each day) lost more than twice as much belly fat, two and half more inches off their waistlines, and about four times more weight during a four-month program, compared with those who followed traditional calorie-restriction and physical-activity guidelines.

"When you focus on just a couple of small changes at a time, you begin to ingrain some healthy habits that last for a lifetime, rather than trying an all-or-nothing approach that more often than not fails because it's too hard to follow," says Lesley Lutes, PhD, an assistant professor in the department of psychology at East Carolina University. We've uncovered these simple steps (with proven results) to help you move more, eat less, and look and feel better than ever. Add just one or two a week to your regular routine and you can lose nearly three inches off your waistline and be about 10 pounds lighter come in a few months. Even better: Once these healthy habits become second nature, they'll benefit you for a lifetime.

1. Pick Up a Pen After Every Meal
Mindlessly munching on a bag of chips could result in easily polishing off the whole thing; write down how much you've eaten and you're more likely to practice portion control. Keeping a food log helps control extra calories in two ways: the combination of plain old reality check (I just ate 30 minutes ago!) and awareness that what you're putting in your mouth will soon be recorded for posterity. In a recent study, people who kept a food journal lost twice as much weight as those who didn't. When they combined it with a moderate diet and exercise plan, they lost an average of 13 pounds in 6 months. Journaling also gives you insight on your eating habits, says Lutes. Do you skip meals? Eat the same during the week as on the weekend? Binge when you're feeling stressed? "Knowing your routine helps you figure out what changes are right for you," she adds.

Avoid these 14 "health food" diet disasters.

2. Limit High-Fat Foods to One Per Week
Tag the high-fat/high-calorie foods that are typically your favorites (our top five: cookies, candy, ice cream, potato chips, and fries) and gradually downshift. "If you're eating six of these foods a week, try to go down to five," says Lutes. Each week, drop another until you're at no more than one or two; at the same time, add in a good-for-you choice like baby carrots, sautéed broccoli, oranges, and other fresh fruits and veggies.

Keep reading for more simple tip to help you lose big.

The Biggest Baby Naming Trends of the Year

BabyCenter — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 08:33:23 PST

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 Lindsay Weiss about the most popular baby names of 2011.

Drum roll please…Babycenter just released the results of its highly anticipated annual Top 100 Baby Names of 2011.

(Note: am I the only one whose heart starts pounding when I read this list? Don’t get me wrong, I love the names but my palms are sweating because I do not want to see my kids names on this list! Sadly, they are. Darn Kate Middleton…it’s all her fault.)

As Carolyn noted, there’s no surprise on the most popular names - Aiden tops the boys’ list for the seventh consecutive year while Sophia holds tight to the lead for girls for the second year in a row. But never fear, 2011 definitely yielded some interesting trends in naming:

The Anderson Cooper Effect
He’s got a new talk show and, apparently, a lot of ‘mini-Coopers’ too. While Cooper rose 3 percent to number 58 on the list, the name Anderson made a meteoric ascent, up more than 100 spots!

Fist Pump…Jersey Style
In addition, this year’s list reflects America’s obsession with the Garden State, as names like Nicole (Jersey Shore) make their way up four spots while Briella (Jerseylicious), Jacqueline and Caroline (The Real Housewives of New Jersey), and Kimberly (Jersey Couture) all experienced hair-raising leaps. And if that’s not enough, the name Jersey itself is up 16 percent!

Keeping Up With…Mason?
Another reality baby name star to take note of is Mason, Kourtney Kardashian’s son, who toddled up eight spots to claim the number three spot for boys. Not to be outdone, the first names of power couple Victoria and David Beckham are both on the rise as well as that of their newborn daughter, Harper, whose name is up an impressive 34 spots.

The Royal and the Political
Keeping the reality show stars in check is the royal duo William and Kate, whose names are both on the rise along with Harry and Pippa, whose name is up a whopping 45 percent. Moms also looked to politics, as evidenced by the rise of inspirational congresswoman Gabby Giffords’ name, as well as the names of the Palin, Obama, and Clinton daughters.

Superheroes…Real and Fictional
Additional inspiration for this year’s crop of top baby names came from superheroes, with names like May (Spider-Girl) swooping up 98 spots and Peter (Spiderman) climbing 22 spots. NASCAR and nature also left their mark on this year’s list, with names like Matt (Kenseth) and Kyle (Busch) on the rise along with Summer and Storm.

Do any of these trends resonate with you?

P.S. full disclosure: I may need to get pregnant (with a girl, please) in 2012 so I can name her Pippa. Who wouldn’t love to squeeze the cheeks on a little Pippa?

More great stories from BabyCenter.com:
6 ways to stretch your holiday dollars
Homeless by choice family: cool or lame?
Don't tell me about your sleeping baby
9 Hanukkah craft ideas for kids
5 reasons my baby won't start solids - ever

Is the HCG Diet Safe?

Leta Shy — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:37:42 PST

Have you been convinced by the constant barrage of HCG diet testimonials? The diet has recently become the talk of the Internet, even though it was developed over 60 years ago.

The HCG diet claims this: HCG (or human chorionic gonadotropin), a hormone found in pregnant women, is supposedly responsible for releasing stored fat to feed the baby in utero. By restricting your caloric intake while injecting the hormone or taking HCG drops daily (typically for 23 days, but many people stay on the diet until they reach their desired weight), the hormone encourages your body to release its fat stores to keep you nourished - leading to weight loss that can be as high as a pound a day. Sounds good, but is it safe? We spoke with Adam Bornstein, editorial director of LIVESTRONG.com, to learn more about the diet and its safety.

Does It Work?
Judging by the amount of success stories seen on TV or on the Internet, the answer is yes. Many users have said that the HCG diet is not only effective, but sustainable. Guests on a recent Dr. Oz show, for example, said that they lost as much as 50 pounds on the HCG diet. Dr. Oz's guests also explained that the diet was only difficult for the first few days, after which the pounds melted away without the users ever feeling hungry.

Experts, however, aren't so ready to give the diet a stamp of approval. For one, there are no studies addressing whether there are long-term side effects in using the pregnancy hormone, and there are no studies that illustrate if the hormone actually helps your body burn stored fat. "There's no research that can actually back up these claims. It's all hypothetical," Bornstein said. The fact that dieters lose weight quickly can most likely be attributed only the dieter's ability to stick to a strict 500-calorie diet and not the HCG hormone itself.

Read on to learn if going on the HCG diet is safe.

Gwyneth Goes Tight, Katy Shares Wedding Footage, and Kate Hudson Gets a Kiss at the Grammys!

Allie Merriam — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 22:27:20 PST

Tonight's Grammys in LA was a star-studded production from start to finish! The celebs went from posing on the red carpet into the Staples Center, where Jennifer Hudson, Christina Aguilera, and Florence Welch participated in an all-female tribute to Aretha Franklin. Aretha herself said thank you via satellite, then Christina and her gang presented an early award for best pop duo or group award to Train. Lady Gaga emerged from her attention-getting egg to take the stage with a troupe of latex-clad dancers to sing her brand-new single "Born This Way" - what do you think of her rendition? Muse was next up to perform "Uprising" with a gang of vandals, and Justin Bieber nearly brought the house down doing a medley with Jaden Smith and Usher. Jaden's parents Will and Jada were the most enthusiastic fans in the crowd, leaping to their feet in order to give a standing ovation.

The best rock album of the year award went to Muse for The Resistance, and after giving a baby bump-revealing Kate Hudson a kiss, Matt Bellamy bounded to the stage to say, "a special thanks to my beautiful pregnant girlfriend over there!" Lady Antebellum took home top honors for their country record, and then a rather colorfully dressed Cee Lo Green appeared in feathers and with puppets to sing "Forget You" alongside a Tracy Anderson-toned Gwyneth Paltrow. Gwyneth went with the feather theme with a pair of pink earrings, but the real head-turner was her skin tight catsuit. Katy Perry sweetly incorporated images from her wedding in India with husband Russell Brand before segueing into dance mode with a snippet of "Teenage Dream," which had even Nicole Kidman bopping her head in the audience! John Mayer, Norah Jones, and Nicole's husband Keith Urban were next up to do a rendition of Dolly Parton's "Jolene," and the collaborations kept coming from Rihanna with both Eminem and Drake. Esperanza Spalding pulled off an upset in the best new artist category defeating big names like Florence and the Machine and Justin Bieber, while Lady Antebellum accomplished a similar feat taking home best record of the year for "Need You Now." Arcade Fire was the big winner with a best album nod for The Suburbs - check out all honorees over on Buzz!

To see LOTS of pictures from the show read more.

View 95 Photos ›