BumpNews

Pregnant meteorologist addresses bullies who shamed her bump

Posted on April 3, 2015

Those of us who celebrate women in the pregnant form quickly forget that society is full of meanies who prefer women with child stay covered and tucked away for nine months as was done in the dark ages.

Kristi Gordon, a pregnant British Columbia meteorologist at news Global BC, said when she first got pregnant she plead with viewers to “please be nice to me about my clothing.” How sad is it that she had to even make such a disclaimer to audiences. Are we such a judgmental culture that we aren’t capable of seeing pregnant women in daily newscasts and deal with it for a few months? Ugh!

But no such luck! Gordon recently started received a very mean letter from a group of viewers criticizing her bump-hugging wardrobe.

Gordon, emotionally, read some parts of the letter.

“Nowhere on North America TV have we seen a weather reader so gross as you (sic),’ Kristi read from one of the messages. ‘Your front end looks like the Hindenburg and rear end a brick – fill in the blank – house.”

“‘Buy some decent clothes and have more respect for your unborn child. You’re not the first pregnant woman OMG.”

“‘Looser tops would look much more professional.”

During the segment, Gordon and her co-hosts Robin Stickley and Squire Barnes laughed off the misspellings in the letter, also pointing out that the author were too cowardly to include their names and a return address.

“First of all, if you are going to diss us, please learn how to spell,” Squire noted, explaining Global is spelled with an ‘a’ – not an ‘e’ like the group had written.

The hurtful words got to Gordon and she said although she considered Squire’s opinion to not even address the “haters” she felt compelled to share how upset she got by the words and they affected her self esteem.

“I feel like I am pretty confident person… I wouldn’t be in this industry if I wasn’t. I don’t feel that this is really affecting me or has affected me.”

She also responded:

It’s amazing when you say something mean about someone, it still affects them Even if you are joking, it sinks in at some level….I was not impressed with myself when I got into bed yesterday and thought about what I had done through the evening hours. It obviously had affected me….

For those of you emailing to say I look great and to keep my head up — THANK YOU! Please also share a kind comment to the person next to you…

No matter how rational or confident you are, the mean things people say can have an impact…The negative thoughts seep in when you don’t even realize it. Even a little joking comment could do some damage. Hopefully this can help us all be more aware of our impact on others.

Good response but still upsetting that women on TV and in the media must be subject to such garbage opinions!

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Tonight: Light It Up Blue for Autism Awareness

Posted on April 3, 2015

Today is World Autism Awareness Day.

In 2007, the United Nations General Assembly declared April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD) with the goal of bringing the world’s attention to autism, a pervasive disorder that affects tens of millions globally.

WAAD shines a bright light on autism as a growing global health concern. WAAD activities help to increase and develop world knowledge of autism and impart information regarding the importance of early diagnosis and early intervention.

Light It Up Blue (LIUB) is a unique global initiative to help raise awareness about the growing public health concern that is autism.

Light it Up Blue was launched by Autism Speaks in 2010 in support of WAAD, which also takes place on April 2.

Iconic landmarks around the world Light It Up Blue in celebration of WAAD to show their support!

Nearly 3000 structures in over 600 cities, 45 countries and on 6 continents illuminated in blue to shine a bright light on autism.

Support continues throughout the month of April in much of the world as it is also considered Autism Awareness Month.

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Innovative Easter Egg Hunt Ideas

Posted on April 2, 2015

Ready for Easter? Check out these innovative and different Easter Egg Hunt ideas from PaperTrail:

Checklist Easter Egg Hunt – For large Easter Egg Hunts, you could make checklists for each child. Give each child a basket with a checklist and pencil in it, and instruct the kids to find ONLY what is on their checklist and no more (otherwise someone else would not get enough). Make the checklists the same for each child and make sure you have enough eggs hidden so that everyone can complete theirs. You can have a grand prize too, for whichever child completes his checklist first! The checklists could read something like this.
___Find 2 blue eggs
___Find 3 pink eggs
___Find 1 yellow egg
___Find 2 orange eggs
___Find 4 purple eggs
___Find 3 green eggs
Obstacle Hunt This is a good choice if you are having the Easter egg hunt outdoors in a big backyard or at a park. Just like in an obstacle course race, you could have various activities interspersed with egg collecting. For example, at the starting buzzer the kids race to the next spot where they have to thread a needle and only when they complete it can they run ahead to the next spot (collecting all the eggs along the way of course). Some other Easter party activities could be jumping over a cardboard box , going around a chair five times, blowing up a balloon, drinking a glass of water, eating a boiled egg and so on. The first child to reach the finish line wins a prize.
Printable Egg Hunt, Don’t have any plastic easter eggs?, Or looking for a different and easy way to have an, Easter egg hunt? Print out an egg game online game, cut out the eggs and hide them around your house., The kids will even have a great time helping to cut out the eggs.
Puzzle Treasure Easter Egg Hunt For this hunt you would need a puzzle (not more than 25 pieces , with each individual piece small enough to fit inside an egg). Here are the steps: First put the puzzle together. Then flip it over and write a clue across the back pointing to the treasure. Take the puzzle apart and put one or two pieces in each egg. Then hide the eggs for the hunt. The children will have to find all of the eggs and put the puzzle together in order to figure out where the “treasure” is. For more details on this and other Easter Egg hunt ideas visit creativekidsathome.com.
Pirate Hunt –Create a map that represents the floor plan of the house (if it’s indoors). You can even modify it to look like an island. Then mark the positions of eggs on the map. Stairs can be represented by a cliff, etc. Inside of the eggs, write clues that when put together will lead the kids to a “pirate treasure”.

Hunt in the Dark – You could also combine the Pirate Hunt above with a hunt in the dark for added effect, which the older kids are bound to enjoy. Give the kids each a flashlight and have them hunt for eggs in the dark. To make it even more fun, you can paint the eggs with glow-in-the-dark paint and search for them with no light at all.
Easter Egg Hunt with a message – Have a regular egg hunt, but in 12 plastic eggs put a number and a scripture telling a part of the Easter Story. Then when the kids find the eggs and are sitting all together, call out the numbers one by one and have each person read their scripture. You can have the kids tell the story of Easter.

Here are more ideas.

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Spring and Easter Break: 25 Sites with Vacation Ideas

Posted on April 2, 2015

From our friends at SuperNanny come this awesome list of 25 blogs that have great ideas for where to take the kids during Easter and Spring break. Hopefully, if there is still time to plan, you can make one of these excursions.

Camping

Getting away for a while and hanging out in nature can be very

relaxing for kids and parents alike. You don’t even have to go very far

from home to enjoy this experience. Getting the kids outside to play,

get some exercise and spend time away from the television and other

electronics can be great for some family bonding. Here are five blog

posts with family-friendly camping ideas.

Spring Break Camping Deals at Park
Spring Break Camping
Spring Break Camping Trip to Lake Cachuma, Santa Barbara!
Spring Break 2012: Camping
Camping Trends for 2013 and Beyond

Cruises

Cruise lines have opened up a world of opportunities for vacationing

with your kids. What was once considered a more adult-only vacation has

branched off and now includes many kid-friendly activities, making it

the perfect family-friendly vacation. There are also some cruises, like

the Disney cruises, that are geared almost entirely at the kids in the

family. Check out these five blog articles about cruising options for

the family.

Taking a Disney Family Cruise?
Why Mediterranean Cruises Make an Ideal Family Holiday
Learn About the All Inclusive Spring Break Cruises
Spring Break Family Idea? Take a Cruise!
Guide to Cruise Deals: 10 Easy Ways to Save Money When You Cruise Vacation

Warm Destinations

If you are living in a region where there is a lot of snow and

temperatures fall below zero, you might be thinking that enjoying Spring

Break on the beach sounds pretty good. Which beach do you choose?

Beaches and other warm destinations to enjoy during Spring Break are

included in these next five blog entries.

The Sunniest Destinations on Earth
Top Destinations for a Spring Break Trip
5 Warmer Places to Take a Winter Vacation
Why Spend Spring Break in Florida?
Whale Watching with Kids

Cold Destinations

Spring Break is often the last chance to get some skiing in if you

want to head north or travel into the mountains. If you aren’t a skier,

there are plenty of cold destinations that offer fun activities for

families during Spring Break as well, such as taking in a play on

Broadway or checking out historic locations in New England. These five

blog posts will point out some Spring Break destinations that will allow

you to take advantage of cooler temperatures before summer hits.

Kids with Working Parents

If you can’t take time off this year to go on a family trip and you

are looking for something interesting for the kids to do all week, here

are some ideas that might inspire your youngsters to have a blast on

their break at home. If you don’t live near any of these places, but

still want to take advantage of these ideas, keep in mind that your

child might be able to stay with family in another city and attend some

of the day camps. Other ideas to keep kids from getting bored over

Spring Break are also noted. For ideas check out these five blog

articles.

Spring Break Day Camp – The Cleveland Museum of Natural History
5 Spring Break Ideas for Children of Working Parents/ Stepparents
Spring Break Science Camp
20 Spring Break Activities for the Kids

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Bump Watch: Celeb Moms-to-Be Social Media Updates

Posted on April 2, 2015

Some celebrity moms use social media to share updates and pics of their belly and bump progression to their fans and followers. Here is a roundup of some recent social shares:

Kimora Lee Simmons and her hubby looked suave as they headed to the Goldman Sachs’ Partner Ball last week (Twitter)

Hilaria Baldwin was chilling poolside with her baby (Instagram)

Tamera Mowry-Housley did “pregnant lady fierce” in a recent outfit she wore on her hit FOX panel talk show, The Real (Instagram)

Eudoxiee Bridges showed off her “one ab refusing to let the bump win.” Funny. (Instagram)

Leah Jenner showed off her pregnant silhouette (Instagram)

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10 Best of Bellyitch ‘Bump Day’ PHOTOS

Posted on April 1, 2015

From 2009 to 2011, Wednesdays on Bellyitch Blog was dedicated to the “Bump Day” feature where we highlight the pregnant form, as celebrated, epitomized or showcased in different formats and forms. We also had readers turn in their fave professional images of themselves and featured them as well.

Our new social media coordinator, Chelsea F, reminded me that we should consider relaunching it! Great idea! In case you weren’t an active reader back then, here are my favorite images from those posts.

The Mystery 3D

Professional

Black and White

Sexy

Art

BumpNews

Bellyitch Blog is GOING OUT OF BUSINESS and CLOSING shop

Posted on April 1, 2015

After nearly 10 years bringing you creative articles on neat new parent inventions, parenting tips and advice, fashion and celebrity pregnancy coverage, we’re calling it quits and closing up shop! We thank you for your loyalty in readership and hope you enjoyed this daily, multiple-times updated blog.

We invite you to continue to read past posts you’ve missed and to share all of the old posts that have inspired you or guided your parenting or pregnancy decisions. And if you are sad to see us go, don’t worry because….

We’re not going anywhere!! IN fact, we hope to grow bigger in coming months and to expand our reach for years to come and look forward to bringing you more inventive and innovative stories and services!

Stay tuned!!!

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Explaining Holy Week to Children

Posted on April 1, 2015

This week is Holy Week for Catholics and Christians that are preparing for Easter.

EHow assembled an excellent summary of the week that can be used for helping parents explain the holiday to their children. It is instructional also for non-Catholics as well who may want to understand or explain the holiday for themselves or their children too.

Palm Sunday

When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem on his donkey, there were many followers who wanted to see him. People crowded around him and called his name. Many called out “King” or “Savior.” Worshipers knelt down and waved palm fronds as Jesus passed by. Children and grownups wanted to hear him speak to them. They wanted to touch him. Sick people wanted their Savior to make them well. Another name for this day is Fig Sunday.

Holy Monday and Tuesday

Some people believe that on the Monday of Holy Week, Jesus freed the animals being sold and killed. The freeing of the many sheep and oxen has been compared to the slaves being set free. Tuesday is the day that the Pharisees got together and made a plan to gang up on Jesus and kill him. Holy Monday and Tuesday are not major days for celebration, but the events did lead up to Jesus’ death.

Spy Wednesday

Judas had been Jesus’ good friend, but he got jealous that so many people loved Jesus. Judas got together with the Pharisees and said he would play a trick on Jesus and kill him. Today, many people go to church on Ash Wednesday to remember this day. A priest will put ashes from burned palm fronds on a person’s forehead in the shape of a cross and say a prayer.

Holy Thursday

The Last Supper was on this day. Jesus sat down to eat with 12 other people. Those people were the disciples. His friend Judas was there that night. Jesus shared his bread and wine with everyone. He told the disciples that it was more important to serve someone else than to be served. He lovingly washed the feet of his disciples. After the meal was over, Jesus wanted to be alone to pray. Guards appeared a short time later and he was arrested.

Good Friday

Jesus was forced to make a huge cross and drag it up a hill all by himself. He had a crown on his head made of a branch of thorns. He was nailed to the cross by his hands and feet. One of the ways Good Friday is celebrated is by fasting, which means not eating at all. It is a day to mourn the death of Jesus, but also to celebrate that he gave his life for everyone.

Holy Saturday or Black Sabbath

After Jesus died, he was put in a tomb. The tomb was like a cave. The guards rolled a big rock in front of the opening to make sure that no one could get in or out. They knew that Jesus was dead, but they still wanted to close off the opening just to make sure he didn’t get out. Some of the ways to commemorate this day are meditating, praying, and lighting candles in church.

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7 ways to prepare children for Passover

Posted on April 1, 2015

Passover can be a difficult holiday for children to understand. The Seder (traditional Passover meal) can be long, and children don’t often understand why certain foods (leavened foods) are prohibited during the holiday. Here are a few activities to keep your children as involved as possible during Passover and the Seder.

Create a Haggadah – Have your child draw pictures of the different aspects of Passover. They can draw themselves reading the 4 Questions, create a picture of the Seder plate and illustrate looking for the Afikomen. Put them in order together and bind with rings or string. Kids can use their own Haggadah at the Seder to help them be involved on a level that they understand.
Create a Seder plate together – Have your children help arrange the Seder plate with you, explaining what each item represents. You can also print off a child-friendly Seder plate here. Kids can color in the Seder plate while the family is sitting around the table.
Talk about the Seder – Talk with your kids about the Seder, which is typically held on the first night of Passover. Discuss how the Israelites were redeemed from slavery and given the gift of the Torah and explain why the symbolic foods are out on the Seder plate.
Read the 4 Questions together – It’s tradition that the youngest child reads the 4 Questions at the Seder, starting with the first, “Why is this night different from all other nights?” Reading them together, in English and in Hebrew, will familiarize your children with the questions and the answers that will be asked at the Seder. Helping your child understand before the Seder will prepare them to be active in the Seder.
Read or tell the Passover story to your children – Reading or telling the story will help familiarize your children with the reasons that Passover is celebrated. The Israelites left Egypt quickly and there was no time for bread to rise, which is why eating matzah (unleavened bread) represents the time when people were forced quickly out of their homes. Passover also reflects a time for cleaning to rid houses of hametz (anything leavened).
Discuss the plagues – The 10 plagues are an important part of the Passover story and you should discuss them with your children, taking time to explain their importance. You can have your children act out the story or draw pictures of the plagues to add to their Haggadah.
Afikomen – The afikomen (or half of a piece of matzah) is hidden by the head of the household, and when it’s time for dessert it’s tradition that the children hunt for the afikomen and return it in exchange for money or a small prize. The afikomen helps children stay involved (and awake!) during the meal, knowing that their part in finding the afikomen is coming soon and that there is a reward for it once found – a prize and dessert!

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8 Questions with BravoTV’s TTC ‘NewlyWeds’ Kirk and Laura Knight

Posted on April 1, 2015

Trying to conceive your first child as a newlywed can be exciting and anxious-filled, but imagine doing that under the ever-present eye of reality TV cameras?

That’s exactly what newly married business owners Kirk and Laura Knight are going through right now as one of the couples in BravoTV‘s reality experiment show, Newyleds: The First Year. The show follows and chronicles the entire first year of marriage four couples. This is the second time the show has aired and like last time, in 2013, we also have a couple that is preparing to conceive a baby within that first year.

We sat down with Laura, a stylish and very fit Pilates instructor, business savvy insurance brokerage company owner and her very witty and snarky hubby, Kirk, a StartUp founder, top investment and commercial real estate owner and a former ultimate bachelor (he collects expensive exotic fish for goodness sake!) –to check in on their trying to conceive (TTC) efforts and the ups and downs of doing it all on TV!

1. How has it been trying to get pregnant under the watchful eye of reality TV cameras and now audiences watching the show?

LK: It is exciting to share our journey with the audience. Our hope is that other couples will be able to relate to our new TTC (trying to conceive) status.

KK – I really don’t mind the cameras and feel very excited to share this part of our story with the public. It is a very exciting time.

2. What has been the response from family? Co-Workers? Clients? Etc.

LK – I don’t know who is more excited – our families or us?! Having a baby would finally make my parents grandparents for the first time. They are already planning Disney vacations with their imaginary grandchildren. Kirk’s family has been very encouraging & supportive – they would like to see Kirk enter fatherhood again. As far as work is concerned, we don’t really talk in great detail about our personal lives with clients – I guess they will have to watch the show if they want to know more.

3. How have the cameras made the TTC (trying to conceive) road easier or harder, if at all?

LK: It can be a bit stressful when you share your vulnerabilities with the world. We made the decision to have the baby and we want it to all happen right away, seamlessly. We are planners and are forced to let go of that control when TTC. I have to remind myself that this isn’t a race to the finish line. Luckily, our relationship is filled with a lot of love, intimacy & playfulness – this peels away the pressure and allows us to enjoy our time together.

4. Are you prepared for fertility challenges and Kirk, do you realize how the pressures will be different for you, who already have children (he has two teenage sons from a previous relationship), compared to Laura who is looking to have her first?

LK – Most people don’t try to have a baby immediately after marriage, but Kirk and I have been together over 4.5 years and we are not spring chickens. I feel there is no better time than the present. When planning for a baby @ 34 years old (Kirk being 40), I try to be realistic. It may take some time, there may be complications – we are pushing into the “higher risk” category. Above all, we should enjoy the process – we are making a baby!

KK – I do not anticipate any fertility issues as I have super-sperm (top shelf).

5. Are you open to other alternative means for getting pregnant if you cannot the natural way? If so, will you consider IVF, surrogate pregnancy or adoption?

LK – I am certainly open to IVF, surrogacy & adoption. Kirk has more of the “we will cross that bridge when we get there” mentality.

KK – I understand there may be problems but I believe things have a strange way of working out.

6. If not, will you be cool to just be a stepmom, Laura or do you think you will always ache for kids of your own and will continue to strive to have them?

LK – I know that I was meant to be a mother, it is very important to me.

KK – We will do what is necessary to have a child.

7. How has family planning impacted your career, Laura and/or your startup Kirk?

LK: Family planning hasn’t really impacted our careers. Of course, as business owners, there are no “maternity leave” perks. Scheduling will be paramount.

KK – Planning for a family hasn’t had any impact on my career. The challenges will come when you have to balance your time between the family, baby, career, start-up, teenage sons… I need a drink.

8. What advice would you give any couple who is thinking of putting their first year of marriage or their TTC moments on TV?

LK: Think before you speak – JK. You have to be able to go into the realty tv world with open eyes – there are always going to be ups and downs, but what matters most is that you and your partner are there for one another through it all.

KK: You open up your entire life and expose the good, bad, and ugly. Making the decision to share the first year & TTC moments on TV is not for everyone. You really need to have a strong relationship and confidence in each other to show it all to the world.

Very fun interview and from watching these two each week, we’re thinking they’ll be married for a very very long time! They did not confirm whether their efforts have been successful or not so for now, we all just have to keep up by watching them each week on Bravo Tuesdays at 10pm ET.

If you’re reading this on the east coast, it’s time to watch! Check your local listings!

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Jeneba Jalloh Ghatt