Best Baby Book Ever: Dad Does 32 Sec. Time Lapse Video of Daughter and Son from Birth to Teen

Posted on July 26, 2016

And you thought updating your kid’s baby book was cumbersome. Master time lapse photographer Frans Hofmeester captured a few moments of his children’s lives each week from birth to age 16 and 13, respectively, and assembled the finished product in an amazing video that he unveiled to much fan fair.

I mean one edit of the videos was shown in the Spanish National Reina Sofia museum in Madrid, Spain in 2013.

Each day, the Dutch photographer took out his video camera and snapped Lotte, now 16, and Vince, now 13. He first shared the video he did of Lotte capturing her life in a 4 1/2 minute video and then when Vince was born, he continued the tradition. His initial finished capture of his son was 3 1/2 minutes long.

“Sometimes they did not feel like it,” writes Hofmeester of the weekly filming sessions. “Then I said ‘Just one minute. Tell me about your ball game, did you win?’ That way I stalled them so I could complete the shot.”

Then to make it more awesome, he put together a side-by-side of the two in a 32 second video! Wow! Check out the final product here!

0 comments

Study: Iron Deficiency in Pregnancy Linked to Thyroid Dysfunction

Posted on July 24, 2016

Over one-third of pregnant women had iron deficiencies in their first trimester, which were likely to be associated with increased risk of thyroid-related conditions, a small Belgian study found.

In both univariate and multivariable analyses, iron deficiency in pregnancy was linked with a significantly increased risk of thyroid autoimmunity and dysfunction, reported Flora Veltri, MD, of Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium, and colleagues.

The link was also associated with an increased risk of subclinical hypothyroidism in multivariate analyses, the team wrote in the European Journal of Endocrinology.

0 comments

News

Study: Parents Will Move and Pay Higher Rent to Be Near Good Schools

Posted on July 23, 2016

All around the nation, there are certain pubic school districts known for their academics, sports programs, curriculum, and other amenities. Parents are usually willing to pay higher rent or mortgage to live close enough to the best schools so their children can get the best possible education. Look for Guardian Housing near your dream school if you can’t find any affordable properties in the area.

We know from personal experiences that some people even use the address of friends and relatives in order to register their children in those top notch schools. The practice of moving close to quality schools is not new.

RentCafe.com did a study with the local Los Angeles school district which confirmed this ritual. The site wanted to see how much more parents have to pay to live near the best schools in Los Angeles. Here is a summary of what they found:

Rents near top-ranking public schools in L.A. are 38% higher than near low-ranking schools
Home prices near top-ranking public schools are 185% higher than near low-ranking schools
Only 12% of public elementary schools in L.A. perform above average

Curious? Get the full story.

0 comments

News

So…Your Fitbit Can Help You Get Pregnant Now

Posted on July 21, 2016

Getting pregnant can be tricky. One way an aspiring mother can make it easier is to know when she’s most fertile, a period spanning a few days every month when her body undergoes hormonal changes. And certain body-tracking wristbands may be able to detect these subtle shifts in your biometrics, like your heart rate and body temperature. Depending on the device, it could even help you go one step further and actually conceive.

Recently, the women’s health data startup Clue ran an internal test to see if Fitbits could improve the experience of women who track their periods on its popular app and are trying to get pregnant. Scientists put Fitbits on five employees and found that the devices could track their resting heart rate patterns during their menstrual cycles.

The devices also showed that resting heart rate spiked shortly before ovulation began, according to the Berlin company, which presented data from the small, preliminary study at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology’s annual meeting this month.

photo: Getty

0 comments

News

Are these the 4 Best Cities to Raise a Family in America?

Posted on July 20, 2016

Selecting where to raise your kids is one of the most important decisions you will ever make as a parent. In addition to great schools and plenty of cultural and recreational opportunities, the best cities also have lower crime rates and a decent cost of living for your budget.

If you are considering a move either prior to becoming parents, or you already have a couple of little ones and want to relocate to a more family-friendly area, check out the following suggestions. (Please note, while small towns can be great places to raise a family, the focus here is on larger cities that offer more in terms of jobs, housing and other factors.)

Houston, Texas

As the saying goes, everything is bigger in Texas. This is definitely true for Houston in regards to several of the factors that make it an immensely livable place. For example, Houston is one of the nation’s top job creators and it features a medical center that is bigger than the largest one in Dallas. The cost of living is quite reasonable, and Houston is brimming with great restaurants, amazing schools and plenty of cultural attractions.

Houston also boasts a thriving housing market, though you’d be wise to rent for a bit to allow time to get a feel for your favorite areas in this sprawling metropolis.

Raleigh, North Carolina

Parenting.com compiled a list of the top cities for families using statistics like crime data, school ratings and job information to help determine which places made the cut. A thriving economy and safe neighborhoods, combined with great schools and a commitment to renewable energy and clean transportation, helped make the state capitol of North Carolina a shoo-in for the list. If you love being active, Raleigh offers plenty of outdoor recreation options, and the city’s year-round 75-acre State Farmers Market includes fresh produce and other foods that can keep your family healthy.

Chandler, Arizona

The suburb of Phoenix was ranked by Livability as one of the 10 best cities for families. The Chandler Unified School District is a top-performing district with outstanding schools and teachers, and the 330 days of sunshine a year beckon residents to go outside and use the city’s many inviting aquatic centers and parks. Chandler also boasts an impressive 325 miles of paved bike lanes and paths, as well as plenty of fantastic shopping, a large mall, a beautiful performing arts center and outstanding hospitals and medical facilities. Baseball fans will enjoy taking their kids to spring training games that are held in the area and the annual Ostrich Festival is a hoot for families.

Portland, Oregon

There is a good reason why the City of Roses consistently places at or near the top of lists of the best cities in America. The largest city in Oregon has an exceptionally high quality of life that is demonstrated in a variety of ways. In addition to its top school systems, access to exceptional healthcare and charming neighborhoods filled with families, there are also relatively low rent prices and there’s easy access to tons of outdoor activities. Oregon’s lack of sales tax will help paychecks go farther and makes it much more affordable than other west coast cities like Seattle or Los Angeles.

0 comments

News

Of Course Half of the ‘Least Stressful Cities to Live in’ are on the West Coast

Posted on July 19, 2016

Don’t worry. Be happy. With all that is going on in the nation and the world, I sometimes want to escape it all.

Some places are just stressful to live in altogether and Wallet Hub, the personal finance website, crunched some numbers in order to identify where Americans cope with stress better than others. WalletHub’s analysts compared the 150 largest cities across 27 key metrics. Their data set ranges from average work hours to debt load to divorce and suicide rates.

Here are the top 10 most and least stressed cities:

Most Stressed Cities Least Stressed Cities

1 Detroit, MI

2 Mobile, AL

3 Birmingham, AL

4 Memphis, TN

5 Cleveland, OH

6 Shreveport, LA

7 Columbus, GA

8 New Orleans, LA

9 Newark, NJ

10 Montgomery, AL

Least Stressed Cities

141 San Diego, CA

142 Sioux Falls, SD

143 Overland Park, KS

144 Plano, TX

145 San Francisco, CA

146 San Jose, CA

147 Madison, WI

148 Honolulu, HI

149 Irvine, CA

150 Fremont, CA

Best vs. Worst

Greensboro, N.C., has the lowest commuter stress index, 1.11, which is nearly 1.5 times lower than in Los Angeles, the city with the highest, 1.62.
Lincoln, Neb., has the lowest unemployment rate, 2.5 percent, which is about five times lower than in Detroit, the city with the highest, 12.4 percent.
Overland Park, Kan., has the lowest poverty rate, 6.0 percent, which is nearly seven times lower than in Detroit, the city with the highest, 39.8 percent.
Fremont, Calif., has the lowest divorce rate, 12.24 percent, which is about three times lower than in Cleveland, the city with the highest, 41.29 percent.
Seattle has the lowest percentage of single parents, 9.54 percent, which is about four times lower than in Newark, N.J., the city with the highest, 37.79 percent.
Minneapolis has the lowest percentage of adults in fair or poor health, 10.77 percent, which is about two times lower than in Mobile, Ala., the city with the highest, 25.71 percent.
Irvine, Calif., has the lowest number of violent crimes per 1,000 residents, 0.49, which is more than 40 times lower than in Detroit, the city with the highest, 19.89.
Fresno, Calif., has the most psychologists per 100,000 residents, 80.1, which is about 22 times more than in Baton Rouge, La., the city with the fewest, 3.7.

For the full report and to see where your city ranks, please visit Wallet Hub here!

0 comments

Nail-Biting and Thumb Sucking in Childhood May Be Good, Study Finds

Posted on July 17, 2016

Nail biting and thumb-sucking in childhool could be a good thing. As ABC News reports on research touting the benefits of habits thought to be bad ones:

A new study published in the journal Pediatrics shows children who bite their nails and suck their thumbs are about one-third less likely to develop certain allergies.

“Cat, grass, house dust mite, and dog. Those were all reduced, some of them significantly, some borderline,” Professor Malcolm Sears, McMaster University School of Medicine said.

Researchers said the findings are part of a growing body of evidence to support what’s called the hygiene hypothesis — the idea that being too clean may keep a child’s immune system from developing normally.

“The theory goes that in the early environment, if we’re not exposed to enough of these germs and other things that normally we consider bad things, then we won’t be ready when we’re challenged in the future. In this population that they’re studying, often allergic families, they may be more likely to develop those allergic diseases and autoimmune diseases as a result,” Dr. Clifford Basset, Asthma and Allergy Care of New York, said.

Thumb or finger sucking, as well as nail-biting exposes a child to germs and other antigens that might actually help the immune system mature appropriately.

It’s not a habit without downsides. Pediatric dentists caution that kids who continue to suck their fingers risk problems with proper alignment of teeth. The alignment often corrects itself if it hasn’t gone on beyond about age 4. It’s a problem that can also occur with pacifiers.

It concludes:

Parents shouldn’t agonize over it however, as it is often a habit that begins in the womb.

0 comments

News

STUDY: Prenatal Vitamins May Not Matter After All

Posted on July 15, 2016

Pregnancy supplements do not improve the mother’s or the baby’s health, a new study has found. Women who take these prenatal mineral supplements and multivitamins could be wasting both their time and money.

The researchers said that the marketing of these products seems to lack evidence in terms of health improvements for both mother and child. Expecting mothers could be “vulnerable to messages” in their goal to give their child the best possible start in life regardless of the price tag. For instance, people spend about £15 ($19.90) monthly for pregnancy supplements.

“The only supplements recommended for all women during pregnancy are folic acid and vitamin D, which are available at relatively low cost,” the researchers said.

According to the review, the prenatal supplements are popular among expecting mothers because the deficiency in key nutrients during pregnancy has been associated with conditions such as restricted fetal growth, pre-eclampsia, skeletal deformity, neural tube defects and low birth weight.

The prenatal supplements often include over 20 vitamins and minerals such as folic acid, magnesium, iodine, iron, zinc, copper and selenium. These also contain vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, C, D, E and K.

0 comments

News

Back to School: Awesome De-Clutter Tips For the Home

Posted on July 14, 2016

It’s the start of a new school year in my home and I’m determined to make sure we have a smooth, clutter-free and positive school year.

As an avid believer in and the positive impact of having a decluttered and organized home, I believe having an organization system and clutter and junk free home are essential for ensuring positive energy flow and clear thought.

I highly recommend that parents use the beginning of a school year as another excuse to get organized, not just for the school routine, but the family home in general. So even if you did Spring or New Year cleaning, use the late summer/early fall to re-organize your life and priorities as well.

Even if your kids have already gone back, you can still get started. Here are some declutter and home organization tips that I’ve put together that I hope can help get you through the year.

Clean and Declutter the Kids Play, Work Rooms and Nursery. Limit the number of toys and books in the kids room. Get rid of old broken toys. Give away old books and toys to the Salvation Army, Good Will or another family member with children younger than yours. Keep only a few of the favorite story books and the toys your child or children play with regularly. Don’t let them know you’re getting rid of the stuff they don’t even play with. They likely won’t even know it and you don’t need the headache of having them plea for you to keep it.

Infuse Calming Scents in the Home. I’m a also a big believer in aromatheraphy and that scents guide the mood. Buy Glade or some other brand’s plugins to keep the air fresh and clean smelling. You can burn candles when you’re home or if you’re an incense type of person, those work too. Consider using those with essential oils or scents such as chamomile, rose, vanilla and lavender. They are calming scents.

Thoroughly Clean the Room. Wash and Wipe down the walls, baseboards, windows and floors — with natural cleaners. Repair wall

holes, cracks, squeaky windows, peeling paint. A clean home is great for fostering clear thoughts and just clarity, in general.

Set up Calendar and Chore Lists. Even if you’re a stay-at-home mom, you shouldn’t be doing all of the cleaning and upkeep. Set up a chore sheet for the refrigerator for after school chores. Also, start a new family calendar for keeping up with back to school nights, upcoming field trips, sports activities and other events so everyone knows what’s going on. If you’re the family manager as mom, you shouldn’t be the only one aware of what days are soccer practice. Sitters, your spouse and house guests should too. Also, a chore list is great for keeping up the principles of feng shui which are all about clean spaces.

Keep Toys Dedicated to ONE area of the home (or maybe two) Avoid the chaotic mind that comes when you have toys and other things sprinkled in every nook and cranny of the home. Toys should be kept only to the play room, the kids room or one area of the apartment that is quartered off and situated with a toy chest, storage bin or some place where you can quickly toss all the toys hanging out all over the house. The tough part may be to stick to this one simple rule.

When the kids are not playing with a toy, there is really no need for it to be taking up space on the kitchen table or creating a tripping hazard for you or a guest. Either you, your partner or trained kids if they are old enough should make a concerted effort to gather all errant toys and keep them in the designated area.

It seems pretty intuitive, huh?

Over time, it will become a habit or second nature and you will find toys are not strewn about as much anymore. I do this with other areas of my home and life. All papers, books, newspapers, invoices, magazines are usually put away in our home office. All clothes go in a hamper, closet or bedroom. Dishes, cups and silverware discovered anywhere in the house are picked up and taken in the kitchen.

Think of this mantra: “There is a place for Everything and Everything in its place.”

Organize the Paper Trails. Each year, families accumulate reports, information from school, permission slips and the such. It will get mixed in with bills, receipts, warranties and other paper that come into your life.

This Home Organization plan will make it easy for you: Get a binder or two and dividers or one of those mega accordion file folders with tabs and divide them in the following categories:

School Category

Car maintenance schedule/Receipts
School schedules and holiday list
Lunch menus
School information page
School reading lists
Summer Camp and programs information
Medical information sheet for each family member
Emergency directory
House-sitter information sheet
PTA newsletters and rosters

Health Categories

Prescription drug record
Health insurance information

Home Vacation

Travel packing checklist
Before-we-leave checklist
Vacation idea list

Home Renovation

Home renovation contractor lists
Contracts and Bids
Warranty information
Utilities/services directory
Home decorating ideas

Home Business

Business records
Tax Documents for Business
Consultants and Independent Contractor records
Liability Insurance
Business & Office Equipment registry

Financial

Tax Documents for Personal
Big Ticket Items receipts
Life insurance information
Budget/spending record
Bills to pay

Hope these Declutter and Home Organization Tips are helpful to you as you get yourself and your family organized for the season! Good luck!

0 comments

Officials Remove Underweight Baby Fed a Vegan Diet From Parents

Posted on July 12, 2016

A 14-month old baby has been taken away from his parents after he arrived in the hospital severely malnourished from being kept on a vegan diet, the New Zealand Herald reports.

The baby, whose name has not been released, was brought to a hospital in Milan, Italy, on July 2 by his grandparents. Tests revealed that the baby was extremely underweight and had critically low calcium levels. He was also suffering from a congenital heart condition, which required immediate surgery. While the heart condition was caused by a cardiac abnormality, as opposed to the diet directly, doctors said that the low levels of calcium certainly aggravated the serious medical issue.

“It is not a problem to choose different or unusual kinds of nutrition and we certainly do not want to enter into a discussion of the merits of the decision,” Luca Bernardo, the director of Pediatrics at the hospital, said. “But since birth, the baby should have had support in this case with calcium and iron.”

Good Housekeeping Institute Nutrition Director Jaclyn London, MS, RD, CDN, says a vegan diet should never be considered safe for babies. “While veganism can be achieved in a healthful way for adults, children require key nutrients for proper growth and brain development, including essential fatty acids, iron, calcium, and protein — all of which are difficult to meet in adequate amounts on this type of restrictive diet,” she told GoodHousekeeping.com.

The baby, who is now recovering in the hospital, was taken away from the parents after the hospital called social services to report the case. A children’s court will decide whether or not his grandparents should be given full custody. Reports say this is the fourth case of a child being hospitalized in Italy, where veganism is on the rise, due to a vegan diet in the last 18 months.

0 comments