It’s been a busy Summer so now is no better time than to recap which celeb mama-to-be is expecting to welcome a new arrival to their family next:
R&B Singer Keyshia Cole and her boyfriend, aspiring rapper Niko Hale, are expecting their first child together. She is mom to 10-year old son Daniel Gibson, Jr. who she shares with ex husband Daniel Gibson.
Torn singer Natalie Imbruglia is expecting her first child after opting to start a family via a sperm donor and IVG.
“City Girls” Rapper Yung Mami is expecting her second child, a daughter, with boyfriend, producer Southside who is part of the production team 808 Mafia. She has a son Jai Wiggins, Jr from a previous relationship.
Model and Singer Cassie and her personal trainer boyfriend, bull rider Alex Fine are expecting their first child. Cassie dated rap and biz mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs for over a decade before their split last October.
Tiger Woods’ Ex Elin Nordgren is expecting her third child. No details as to who the dad is but she shares two children with her ex.
Model Miranda Kerr and her husband SnapChat founder CEO Evan Spiegel have a one-year-old son named Hart together and are expecting their second child together. She shares an 8-year old son Flynn with ex husband Orlando Bloom.
Actress and Model Amber Rose is expecting her second child, a son, with her her Def Jam Records exec boyfriend Alexander Edwards. Rose is already a mom to 6-year-old son Sebastian, whom she shares with an ex fiance, rapper Wiz Khalifa.
Singer Alannis Morissette is expecting her third child after fertility struggles. She and hubby, Mario “Souleye” Treadway, are parents to 8-year old son, Ever Imre Morissette-Treadway, and almost 3-year old daughter, Onyx Solace Morissette-Treadway
‘Pretty Little Liars” Actress Shay Mitchell is expecting her first child with her boyfriend Matt months after sharing that she had a miscarriage.
Orange is the New Black’s Danielle Brooks is also expecting her first child with her boyfriend who she has never divulged publicly but who she has featured on her social media and calls “D.””
To determine the most family-friendly places in America, WalletHub compared more than 180 cities across 47 key metrics.
The data set ranges from housing affordability to school-system quality to share of families with young kids.
Best vs. Worst
New York has the most playgrounds (per square root of the population), 0.6607, which is 18.9 times more than in Hialeah, Florida, the city with the fewest at 0.0349.
Irvine, California, has the fewest violent crimes (per 1,000 residents), 0.61, which is 34.1 times fewer than in St. Louis, the city with the most at 20.82.
Scottsdale, Arizona, has the highest median family annual income (adjusted for cost of living), $109,565, which is 3.5 times higher than in Hialeah, Florida, the city with the lowest at $30,889.
Overland Park, Kansas, has the lowest share of families receiving food stamps, 3.09 percent, which is 15.2 times lower than in Detroit, the city with the highest at 46.91 percent.
South Burlington, Vermont, has the lowest share of families living in poverty, 2.50 percent, which is 13.1 times lower than in Detroit, the city with the highest at 32.70 percent.
Singer Natalie Imbruglia, most famous for her 2000s hit “Torn“, announced recently that she is expecting her first child at age 44, thanks to modern science and use of a sperm donor and IVF.
The star shared the news on her Instagrampage and then shared it via Twitter.
“As you can see from the pic . . . there is another announcement . . . (no I haven’t swallowed a watermelon),” she wrote of the first photo in the Instagram gallery. “I’m expecting my first child this Autumn. For those of you that know me, this has been something I have wanted for a very long time and I’m blessed that this is possible with the help of IVF and a sperm donor – I won’t be saying anything more on that publicly. I’m so excited about this next adventure . . . a new album and I’m going to be a mum!”
She also used the occasion to announce she is newly signed with BMG music group and is working on a new project.
While many celebrity women like Sandra Bullock, Kristin Davis, and Charlize Theron, Sharon Stone and Denise Richards, who were not in a committed relationship have adopted children, few have gone the route (publicly) of getting artificially inseminated by a donor.
Model Monica Cruz, who is also the sister of actress Penelope Cruz, did so in 2013 and welcomed daughter Antonella Cruz shortly after.
Monica too stayed away from prying questions.
Monica said she stayed away from the limelight and “isolated” herself to avoid answering tough questions about the circumstances of her pregnancy.
“I wanted to avoid, above all, that they spoke about possible fathers, or the possible candidates to be it,” she told a Spanish magazine El Pais in January. She decided later to not perpetuate an already taboo subject and to come out in public with the news. “So I have decided to tell all. To become pregnant, I turned to artificial insemination… I want to tell also so I can have the opportunity to show my thanks to all those anonymous men that give many women like me, the dream of their lives.”
An 8-months pregnant Minnesota mom who was at the beach teaching her tots how to swim paused her lessons to save another child who was drowning nearby.
According to Fox 9, Stephanie Swedberg, a former lifeguard was at Crystal Beach Park in Burnsville, Minnesota Sunday morning, teaching her 3-year-old twins to swim when about 20 feet away she noticed a group of boys horsing around in pretty deep water.
“I didn’t realize anything was off until I saw one of the moms fully dressed, sprinting into the water and screaming for somebody to help her son,” Swedberg told the news station. “Then I looked over and I saw one of the boys unable to keep his head above the water. He wasn’t screaming… he was just thrashing around, bobbing a little bit.”
She then handed off her son and sprung into action bringing the boy back to safety. Swedberg told the boy to keep up with his own swimming lessons and encouraged him to “maybe become a lifeguard” someday in the future.
Believe it or not, though she worked as a lifeguard for five Summers in her youth, Sunday was her first rescue!
Impressive!
Do not try this at home but yeah, pregnant women are pretty amazing!
Despite the fact that she had been a lifeguard for five summers when she was younger, Swedberg said this was her first rescue.
The underwater photography session with photographer Kristina Sherkwas captured during filming of the hit Bravo TV series.
Samuels blogged about the experience in her blog, Not For Lazy Moms, in a post titled, “I tackled my fear of water with a fierce underwater maternity photo shoot.”
She wrote: “For as long as I can remember, I’ve had the biggest fear of water, which is quite funny since my husband and children absolutely love it! They always encourage me to step out of my box when it comes to water and this time I decided to take it a step further!”
She continued:
I wanted to do something that speaks about life and rebirth
As I was preparing to have my third child, I wanted to do something super special for my third maternity photo shoot! Twice before I took photos to document our amazing moment of cooking a WHOLE human, but this time, being that I suffered a miscarriage previously, I wanted to do something that speaks about life and rebirth. What better way to represent this than water!
She concludes that the shoot was a risk and had her step out of her “comfort zone” but laments that the fact the photographer was willing to home made it the experience less intimidating.
It looks like she later got the entire family involved though this might have been the magic of editing I’m not sure.
Samuels, who is married to retired NFL great Chris Samuels, gave birth to son Chase Omari last November 2018. The couple are parents 5-year old Christopher and 3-year old daughter Milani.
by Mary Jane Minkin, MD, Clinical Professor of OB/GYN at Yale University
Every couple
mired in infertility, every woman who has ever spent hours scouring the
Internet for new breakthroughs and conception tips has had the same wish: For a
clear-cut, easy-to-follow program that would guarantee a healthy pregnancy.
Unfortunately, a simple do-it-yourself plan doesn’t exist, but fertility specialists and women’s health experts agree that certain measures can create the best possible chances for fertilization to occur. So, without ironclad guarantees, here are 7 things to give up to help you get pregnant this year:
1. Alcohol. Studies focusing on alcohol’s effect on conception have produced mixed results, with some indicating that pregnancy is more likely if women give up drinking entirely and others suggesting that those who drink moderately might increase their chances of conception – perhaps because an occasional glass of wine makes them more relaxed. But experts agree that women who give up alcohol will increase their chances of a healthy baby once conception does happen, and that alone is reason enough for most women to quit.
2. Tobacco. Unlike alcohol, the data smoking’s correlation to pregnancy is undisputed. Both primary and secondhand smoke are detrimental to a woman’s chance of conceiving and to a developing fetus as well. Quitting is never easy, but resources and support to help you find a plan and stick to it.
3. Caffeine. As the daily substance of choice for most Americans, dependency on those morning cups of coffee is difficult to break. Try cutting back on your intake if you drink multiple cups a day- a recent study confirms ACOG guidelines that one standard 12 oz. cup of regular coffee (200 mg of caffeine) is safe for pregnancy.
4. Your Spot on the Couch. In other words, get up and move around! Couch potatoes aren’t helping any aspect of their health, but women who are trying to conceive have an extra-compelling reason to kick it into high gear. Experts agree that women who stay within their ideal weight have a better chance of becoming pregnant, and a study published in Obstetrics and Gynecology reported that women who exercise 30 minutes or more a day had a reduced risk of ovulation disorders, which often lead to infertility.
5. Junk food. Generally speaking, any change that moves you toward a healthier lifestyle will promote fertility. But when it comes to diet, advice seems to fall all over the map. Specific fertility diets advocate for eating foods like oysters, garlic and yams, but an extensive 2009 study advised women to follow simpler guidelines – healthy fats, selective proteins, whole grains and plenty of iron and other vitamins. It’s important to start taking supplemental folic acid to help prevent birth defects. The sooner you can start taking a prenatal vitamin with sufficient folic acid like vitafusion, the better! You should begin taking prenatals even before you begin trying to conceive. And, obviously, putting down the potato chips and the candy bars is an excellent first step to take to help you get pregnant this year.
6. Excessive Stress. Granted, this step is easier said than done, especially when the chief cause of the stress is the infertility itself. But if external factors are causing undue anxiety, a woman’s chance at conception can decrease, and the stress of waiting for that positive pregnancy test month after month could be the last straw for her emotional health. Give up extra responsibilities whenever possible, talk to your boss about reducing your job stress and work in regular “mental health” days to be refreshed by activities and people you enjoy.
7. Lubricants Containing Glycerin. According to the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM)’s “Guidelines for Optimizing Natural Fertility”, several leading vaginal lubricants (e.g. K-Y) may decrease fertility based on their observed effects on sperm survival. Another study showed that lubricants containing glycerin had an adverse effect on sperm motility. Fertility experts recommend using a fertility friendly lubricant like Pre-Seed that is specially formulated without glycerin that will not harm sperm and allows sperm to swim freely.
Like we said, there is no checklist you can complete that guarantees a healthy pregnancy, but giving up these 7 things can help you get pregnant. It’s all about creating the ideal environment for the pregnancy to happen; a healthy, happy and active lifestyle is a solid base and giving up the aforementioned things will get you there.
Mary Jane Minkin,
MD is a clinical professor of obstetrics & gynecology at Yale University’s
school of medicine. She is also the founder of MadameOvary.com, an educational resource for women’s
midlife health.
WithKeyshia Cole expecting to deliver her second child in two weeks, BET may be there to capture the final pregnancy moments for a Baby Special, the R&B singer recently shared she is filming for the cable network.
“Had an awesome time FIRST WEEK OF FILMING. KEYSHIA COLE IS COMING BACK TO BET!!!!!,” the singer captioned a recent series of Instagram photos of herself, including a couple with her 10-year old son Daniel Gibson Jr inside a baby store with cameras in tow. “But this time she’s bringing Something SPECIAL! A BABY SPECIAL.”
The former reality TV star was dressed in a bump bursting yellow top with distressed denim maternity jeans in the pics. She is expecting with boyfriend and aspiring rapper Niko Hale.
This would be Cole’s fourth foray into reality TV.
Her first was a hit for BET, Keyshia Cole:The Way It Is, which originally aired in 2006 and was one of the most watched shows and focused on her strained relationship with her biological mom, Frankie.
A woman who was expecting a baby the same time as a neighbor wants helps deciding how to respond to the neighbor’s demand for her breastmilk.
The new mom sought out the advice of Slate’s online’s “Dear Prudence” advice column, penned by Daniel Mallory Ortberg, and explained :
“My neighbor feels entitled to my breast milk: I have lived in the same apartment building as ‘Tara’ for two years, but we have never been more than acquaintances. We started talking more when we both got pregnant, although still casually.”
She went on to say that she saw Tara a few days after she gave birth, and asked her how it was going.
Tara “burst into tears and told me that she didn’t think she would be able to breastfeed. She sounded so heartbroken about not nursing (with comments like ‘my baby is unlucky to have me for a mother’) that I offered to give her a few of my stored bags of breast milk to at least ease her mind,” the reader explained.
Tara accepted the offer “enthusiastically,” and the reader gave her four bags of milk that day. It was only a matter of hours before Tara’s behavior took a turn for the aggressive. “The next morning I had more than a dozen texts from Tara, wanting to set up a schedule for me to drop off more milk,” she wrote. “The texts made it clear that she expected me to provide her with enough breast milk to feed her daughter exclusively.”
She peppered the neighbor with excuses but was met with a response to each one.
“I tried offering excuses, none of which she would accept,” she shared. “If I said I didn’t think I could produce enough milk for two babies, she replied that mothers of twins do it all the time. If I said I didn’t want to spend any more time pumping or nursing, she said I could pump on one breast while feeding my son on the other.”
She said that Tara soon resorted to guilting tactics, sending “pictures of her crying daughter with captions like ‘Faye is so sad that her bottle has yucky formula! She misses her yummy breast milk!'” The reader lamented, “I don’t know what to do. Tara won’t stop texting me, and I’m worried that if I block her number she will start coming to my apartment to confront me in person. My wife and I do not have the ability or desire to move, but I can’t live with this.”
She hoped that the advice columnist, , could offer some words of wisdom.
Fascinating request! Read what the advice column and readers had to offer here.
Congrats to Former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton and her husband Mark Mezvinsky on the birth of their third child, a baby boy!
“This morning we welcomed our son, Jasper Clinton Mezvinsky,” the philanthropist and children’s book author tweeted. “We are overflowing with love and gratitude and can’t wait to introduce him to his big sister and brother.”
The family’s new addition joins two older siblings: big brother Aidan, 3, and sister Charlotte, 4½.
This morning we welcomed our son, Jasper Clinton Mezvinsky. We are overflowing with love and gratitude and can’t wait to introduce him to his big sister and brother.
Her mom, former US Secretary of State and former First Lady, Hillary Clinton, shared the news on Twitter, tweeting, ” “Sharing some happy news this morning! Bill and I are so thrilled.”
“[My kids] love being read to and talking about what they’re reading in books. Particularly for young readers, books are not only a way to help break down and communicate ideas [but] stories of real empowerment,” she told PEOPLE this past October.
Her latest children’s release, “Don’t Let Them Disappear“ is about endangered animals and “provides helpful tips on what we all can do to help prevent these animals from disappearing from our world entirely,” according to the book’s description.
The neon trend can be hard for anyone to pull off. Women who are expecting usually stick to solids and darker colors to divert attention away from their expanding bellies and girth and therefore fashionistas who are expecting are more likely to avoid this particular Spring trend.
However, I’m here to tell you it can be done by incorporating accessories in your wardrobe.
1 BANGLES
Go bold and expressive by layering multi colored bangles with any outfit to brighten the room and your mood. I like Berry Jewelry Neon Bangle Bracelets which come in a set of 4 and you can pick up at a heavily discounted price of just $30 at Nordstrom while supplies last.
2. NAILS
If you work at a place that permits expressive nail color, you could get away with wearing neon yellow nail polish.
Bags can be conversation starters. From totes to clutches to colorful backpacks, you can show off your chic and trendy side of your style aesthetic through colorful bags in the season’s hottest shades!
