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Jeneba Jalloh Ghatt

Inside Kimora Lee Simmons’ baby shower

Kimora Lee Simmons celebrated the impending arrival of her 4th child this past Saturday, February 7 with her family.
Guests include actress and children’s book author Garcelle Beauvais who Instagram shared the above photo with the caption: “Fun afternoon celebrating @officialkimora and Tim’s#babyshower it’s a new Day exhusband @unclerushand new husband showing love & support #love#congrats @tribalgroove
Simmons and her banker husband Tim Leissner are expecting their fourth child together.
Kimora’s other children include 12-year old Aoki Lee, 14-year old Ming Lee  with Russell and 5-year old son Kenzo from her marriage to Djimon Hounsou
Ming Lee also shared a couple of cute photos from the baby shower:

Baltimore Lawyer turned Doctor, 56, dies after delivering twins

An accomplished doctor who went to law school before becoming an executive medical officer  at Baltimore’s chapter of the American Red Cross died after giving birth to her first children, twin boys, at age 56. 
Even though Lisa Swinton McLaughlin‘s sons Jordan and Dylan were born premature on December 27, 2014 and close to 5 pounds each, they were fairly healthy with McLaughlin left the hospital a few days after, leaving the boys in the neonatal intensive care unit. 
She assumed the pain she was experiencing after discharge were due to her C-section but it was a bowel obstruction which took her life this January 4. 
It’s a sad story for the woman whose late father, Lee Vertis Swinton, was an attorney and a Missouri state senator, and mother Grace was an educator.
She only married at age 40 to her husband Mike McLaughlin, who was about 51 -years old when they tied he knot, and after ten years of fertility struggles and in vitro fertilization, they were finally successful.
Lisa Swinton McLaughlin holds sons Dylan and Jordan before she passed away days later.

“She wanted what every other woman had, and that’s children,” Mike McLaughlin told Omaha.com.
“She was just on cloud nine,” he said. “That’s the happiest I’ve probably seen her in my life.”
He said his wife was able to hold the boys before she left the hospital, and Mike, now age 67,  plans to get a nanny and relocate to Nebraska when the kids get out of the Nicu. 
What a sad story.
I have to add this is the kind of story that gives hope to women who put their career first and manage to find love and eventually conceive a baby. But then this unfortunate end just is an unexpected dagger. *sigh*

h/t Madame Noire

photo: LinkedIn

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2105 Grammy Award Red Carpet Fashion (PHOTOS)

Tonight was the 57th Annual Grammy Awards held at STAPLES Center on February 8, 2015 in Los Angeles.

And as usual, we spotted many of the celebrity mothers we’ve written about on Bellyitch in the past on the red carpet.

Congratulations to Beyonce (Best R&B Performance & Song)  Erica Campbell (Best Gospel), Carrie Underwood (Best Country), Christina Aguilera  (Best Pop Duo/Group) and Toni Braxton (Best R&B album) who all won awards tonight.

Here is what they wore (will update with more specifics later):

Congratulations to Beyonce in a laced with jewel overlay Proenza Schouler dress for winning the award for the best R&B Performance and Best R&B  Song for “Drunk in Love” tonight, and being the most nominated woman in Grammy history.

Kim Kardashian looked stunning in Jean Paul Gaultier Spring 2015 robe dress and Lorraine Schwartz jewels.  I loved her new haircut. Her makeup was flawless. The shape was a bit odd, but I think she pulled it off. Love. Love!
I thought Gwen Stefani in this black Spring 2015 Atelier Versace cropped jumpsuit looked hip and youthful. I was blown away to see her stray away from her signature red lip for once. Wow! .
Jennifer Hudson worked it in a white Tom Ford pencil length strapless dress. I like the trendy purple lip and that she is still rocking that pageboy hair cut. 
Nicole Kidman in pre-fall 2015 Thierry Mugler and Prabal Gurung heels. This look is perfect and she looked healthy and amazing. That blunt bob cut is very current. Nice!

Ciara was going for the wow factor here in this gorgeous couture Alexandre Vauthier Spring 2014 gown with black “Mea Culpa” Christian Louboutin pumps





Toni Braxton looked like a goddess in Marc Bouwer Fall 2015. 







Congrats to Erica Campbell who won the Best Gospel Gospel album for her solo project, “Hero”. She was regal in a royal purple dress by LUM, toting a petite glack Onna Ehrlich clutch with Casadei Offiical pumps. 





This is such a different but very gorgeous look for Giuliana Rancic in Steven Khalil with Gianvito Rossi shoes and Jack Vartanian earrings.



And another stunner Giuliana Rancic later in a Bouchra Jarrar jumpsuit.



Not a mom  but my fave for the night was Rihanna in Giambattista Valli.  Yeah, she was meme-ified a bunch tonight, but I think she owned the moment, stood out and glowed. Her make up was flawless, the strapless halter bodice portion fit perfectly and the billowy layers made me smile. 


Photos: Getty

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10 Ways to raise a child who is Optimistic

Bellyitch Rewind
We live in a hectic, stressful world that makes it easy to be pessimistic and depressed. However, these attitudes aren’t helpful and can actually be harmful. Every parent wants their children to be happy, healthy and optimistic about their future, but sometimes can lose sight of how to accomplish that state of mind. Kids who are often sullen and dejected can eventually end up depressed, so it’s important to do what you can as a parent to help prevent that from happening. Here are 10 ways to make sure you are raising an optimist and not a pessimist.


1. Affection – The first step is to show your children tons of affection. Knowing they are loved and cared for is a big part of helping kids deal with adversity. Failures in life are easier to take when they know they are loved.


2. Praise – Always praise your child’s accomplishments and be specific when you do. Give them feedback that links their achievements to what they did to accomplish it. An example would be to state how all the extra studying paid off with a good grade on a test.



3. Monitor – Pay attention to what your child is watching on television, the games they play and the books they read. You should monitor their activities to make sure they’re not exposed to too many bad influences. Also, make sure they’re not attempting to accomplish too much, as taking on more than they can reasonably handle can set them up for failure.


4. Be an example – Children will often mirror their parent’s attitudes, so be a good example. Kids will only learn to be optimistic if you show them how. Parents who are continually complaining or are pessimistic will pass those traits on to their children.



5. Reinforcement – When your child expresses optimism, be sure to comment on their great attitude. This positive reinforcement will put the emphasis on the desired behavior instead of focusing on the negative.


6. Accentuate the positive – When something bad happens, always try to find the bright side. If bad weather cancels an event, find something fun to do instead. Accentuate the positive by commenting how you wouldn’t have had so much fun if the picnic wasn’t cancelled.



7. Thought catching – Teach children how to do thought catching to prevent negative behavior. When something bad happens ask them what thoughts they had so they’re aware of them and can capture the negativity. Kids often have negative thoughts without ever realizing it.


8. Minimize failures – Losing a championship or failing a test may seem like the end of the world, but it never is. Parents can raise optimists if they are successful at minimizing failures by putting them into perspective. Point out that life goes on and there will be endless opportunities down the road.


9.Promote success – Encourage kids with age appropriate activities they are able to excel at to promote success. Having unrealistic expectations only sets children up for failure, so make sure they’re not trying to do too much.


10.Laugh – The best way to encourage an optimistic attitude is with lots of laughter. Teach children how to laugh at themselves and not take everything so seriously. Laughing is the best way to diffuse a troubling situation.
Godspeed parents!

NAACP Image Awards, Grammy Weekend (PHOTOS)

This is a busy weekend for award shows and events, showcases and parties leading up to the biggest music industry award show for the year, The Grammy Awards. The NAACP Image Awards also took place this weekend as did the Essence Music event. 
We spotted some of our past Bellyitch Bumpwatch moms and moms-to-be at various events:
Kerry Washington looked her best in a red lace, spaghetti strap, A- line skirt dress from the Zuhair Murad Spring 2015  collection while on the red carpet and presenting an award at the 46th NAACP Image Awards presented by TV One at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on February 6, 2015 in Pasadena, California. 
She accented the fun sexy look with Cathy Waterman jewels, red python Christian Louboutin “Pigalle” pumps and a clutch by Salvatore Ferragamo.
Beyonce Knowles Carter and Kim Kardashian West wowed while attending the Roc Nation and Three Six Zero brunch yesterday, Saturday, February 7 along with a bevvy of other celebs including their hubbies Kanye West and Jay Z, Rihanna (above with Kim in a red floral bra and skirt by Altuzarra (retail $825)), Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas, Janelle Monae and more. 
Beyonce disproved pregnancy rumors in this low v-cut black Alexandre Vauthier Haute couture top and pants with strappy Alaia laser cut suede platform sandals ($1760) with Willow Smith and Jay Z.

Kim K did her signature crop top with pencil skirt look (both Balmain) and showed off a drastic hair cut. Cute. I like her Lanvin statement Crystal Eagle necklace ($1990) and Glass Detail Cuff. ($424)
Do you like the weekend fashion so far? Check in here later for Grammy red carpet fashion.

photos: Getty

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Pope says it is okay to spank children, not demean





The Pope has said something else to ignite passions. While speaking with a large audience this past Wednesday, when Pope Francis I told them that it is okay for parents to spank their children so long as they do not demean them.

“I once heard at a wedding a father say, ‘I sometimes have to hit my children a little but never in the face, so as to not demean them.’ How nice, I thought, he has a sense of dignity,” the Pope said. “When he punishes, he does it right and moves on.”
Since then, the Vatican’s commission on sex abuse disagrees with him and has said it will work with changing the pontif’s thinking on this issue.

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Couture kids clothes spending is not just for Celebrity Kids, how Affluent parents spend a killing too

A decade ago, who would have been able to predict that at the tender age of 6 months old celebrity offsprings like Harper Beckham, Mason Disick, Suri Cruise,  North West, Skylar Berman and the like would be fashion trendsetters, but they were.
That’s the spin on a New York Post  piece today highlighting some of the affluent parents who spend loads of money outfitting their children as young as a few months old in super expensive couture and designer kids clothing. 
One Brooklyn mom, Priscilla Monteiro, purchased for her 5-month old daughter Yasmine and 4-year old girl Vera outfits that cost over $1400 total each to wear to a swanky industry party on a yacht during the Cannes Films Festival  later this May. Another Danielle Fornes, a blogger and former educator,  mixes up her high end and affordable pieces but still doesn’t think twice about dressing her daughter Jolie in a $395 Ralph Lauren dress and $75 Nordstrom ballet flats.
But Fornes has figured out how to make a business out of it. The investment banker’s wife is a kid stylist who charges Upper West Side parents $200 per hour and $150 for an additional child to dress their kids for upscale events and parties, and essentially to  “keep up with the Joneses.”


 “These children on the Upper West Side go to a lot of parties, and though the mothers are friends, it’s embarrassing if their son or daughter is wearing the same outfit as someone else,” Fornes told the New York Post. 


It’s a lucrative field and one that many of the top fashion houses aren’t leaving on the table. Roberto Cavalli, Marc Jacobs, Burberry, Chloe and other top designer lines all have children’s lines of clothing launched within the last few years.
Another Brooklyn mom Sharra Dade told the paper she dresses her daughter Alyssa who is a child model and actress in upscale clothing because of all the industry events she attends with celebrities. As the Post noted,  Salma Hayek dresses her daughter, Valentina, in Gucci, and Victoria Beckham, dresses Harper, often in Burberry and Stella McCartney. 
But Dade isn’t foolish. To offset the costs of the premium clothing, Alyssa’s realtor mom Dade later consigns the clothes that Alyssa wears only once or twice.
And business is booming.
Heidi Lieske of the store Be Mini Couture said “many of our customers are affluent 30- and 40-somethings influenced by mommy blogs and actors who appear with their kids in celebrity magazines.” 
Very interesting as Bellyitch Blog has indeed been tracking, and noting the fashionable and posh clothing of celebrity and the Richie Rich’s of the world since it launched in 2007.

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Parents Mag’s 2015 Top 20 Restaurant Dishes for Kids

Kids can be picky eaters and parents struggle to find meals they will eat that are nutritious, healthy and yummy. When eating out, it can be doubly hard to pick a menu item that all kids love. 


Parents magazine has released its Top 20 dishes for children. Its editors looked at hundreds of dishes for nutritional info, where and how to source ingredients and creativity of recipe to cull down the number to just 20. They include meals at major chain restaurants and casual spots. 

They are:

§ Carrabba’s Whole-Grain Spaghetti with Spinach

§  Panera Bread’s Kids Garden Vegetable Soup with Pesto

§ Bonefish Grill’s Grilled Tilapia

§  Hard Rock Café’s Chillin’ with Chicken Salad

§  TGI Friday’s All-Natural Chicken Sandwich

§  Jason’s Deli’s J.D. Nuggetz

§  Cosi’s Kids Flatbread Pizza

§  Uno Pizzeria & Grill’s Pick-a-Pasta

§  Zoë’s Kitchen’s Chicken Salad Sandwich

§  Mimi’s Café’s Turkey Dinner

§  Red Robin’s Chick on a Stick

§  Ruby Tuesday’s Create Your Own Garden Bar

§  Red Lobster’s Snow Crab Legs

§  Lyfe Kitchen’s Tofu Taco

§  Houlihan’s Mini Cheeseburger

§  P.F. Chang’s Sweet & Sour Chicken

§  Rubio’s The Original Fish Taco

§  Chipotle’s Two Taco Kit

§  Moe’s Southwest Grill’s Moo Moo Mr. Cow

§  True Food Kitchen’s Almond Butter, Apple, and Banana Sandwich

See the list HERE!

As daughter Bobbi Kristina fights for life, Bobby Brown’s wife is expecting couple’s 2nd child

R&B singer Bobby Brown is dealing with his 22-year daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown’s medical condition and just discovered his  wife of more than two year Alicia Etheredge, is pregnant with the couple’s second child. This will be Brown’s sixth child. He already shares son Cassius, 5, with Etheredge and had sons Landon, 26, and Bobby Jr., 21, and daughter LaPrincia, 25, between 1986 and 1992 with ex-girlfriend Kim Ward. Brown and the late Whitney Houston welcomed daughter Bobbi Kristina in 1993.Bobbi Kristina was discovered unconscious and facedown in her bathtub on Jan. 31. Bobbi Kristina was placed in a medically induced coma.Our thoughts are with Bobbi and her family. 

My experience with death caused by measles

My story about vaccinations and measles is in today’s Guardian. Here is an excerpt:


If your fear is autism, you know that condition isn’t a death sentence; not immunizing your children from deadly disease possibly is. I have memories to prove it.
One of the few vivid moments I remember from my early childhood is seeing my best friend and cousin, Junior, laying in his tiny coffin motionless but peaceful, with his hands resting together on his chest. He was 6 years old when he died from German measles (now called rubella).
I was just 3 years old myself, but I have other distinct recollections of his funeral, which I spent hand-in-hand with Junior’s 15-year old sister, Nancy. With adults all around me in an entry way to the funeral home, I remember tugging at Nancy’s skirt to get her attention, then asking her in my native Krio, “Why is Junior in that box?”.
“Shhhh shhhh shhhh,” she hushed at me.
Tug. Tug. Tug.
“What? What?” she whispered, bending down again, slightly annoyed.
“Will he play with me tomorrow?” I asked, having no concept of death and its permanence.
I don’t remember ever being given an answer. My memories of that day and of Junior end there; I am left with old photos and stories that my mom and other relatives tell me.
He came in and out of this world by surprise: Junior’s parents waited 11 years after Nancy was born to be blessed again with a baby, and almost gave up. His dad, my mom’s Uncle George Panda, was so happy to have a son that he named Junior, after himself.
Read the REST HERE!

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