BumpNews

Yeah,You Can have An Adult-Friendly Baby Shower following These 6 Tips

Posted on March 25, 2016

Baby shower etiquette is serious business, but this doesn’t mean you need to throw a stuffy, ladies-only afternoon affair. Welcome male friends, husbands and other relatives to the event and turn the shower into a good time with loved ones.

With a little planning, you can redefine the concept of a traditional baby shower. It’s possible to throw an adult-friendly baby shower that delivers on the baby goods the new mom needs while an amazing time was had by all. Here are some tips to get started.

1. Set the stage

There’s no rule that says a baby shower needs to be at a restaurant with white linen tablecloths or in a tranquil garden. Think about a party instead of a formal affair. Make a playlist of favorite music and throw a backyard barbecue instead.

Tell guests to dress casually and light up the Tiki torches for an evening event. The more the baby shower feels like a party, the more guests will respond with an inspired attitude.

2. Mix up some drinks

Just because the mom-to-be can’t partake in a tasty cocktail doesn’t mean that everyone should have to go without. In fact, the more guests loosen up and have a good time, the happier the mom of honor will be.

Mix up a decadent, non-alcoholic drink for Mom with fresh cucumber slices, sprigs of mint and a twist of lemon or lime. For all other guests, create a signature cocktail with a signature drink with your favorite liquor like Ketel One vodka. Add a floating ice cube with a tiny plastic baby inside and see whose ice cube melts the fastest to win a “my water broke” prize.

3. Play a fun game

Guests lament the dated baby shower games and awkward moments of guessing if a diaper is soiled with chocolate or coffee. Instead, play something people will actually have a fun time doing. The Huffington Post suggests a clothesline game where guests hold their smartphone in one hand and a piece of baby clothing in the other. Whoever can pin up the most clothes on the line with their hands full wins. It’s also good practice for parents who will spend the next 18 years with their hands full.

4. Give away cool stuff

One upside to even the most boring of baby showers is winning prizes. Make the prizes memorable, and give away iTunes gift cards, a six-pack of craft beer, a gift certificate for a pedicure or a fun gadget like a wine aerator. Think of gifts you would actually want for yourself and treat your guests in kind.

5. Celebrity Mom trivia

If you need an icebreaker, start up a round of Celebrity Mom trivia. Ask questions about who has adopted the most children, who had a scandalous fall-out with her own mother or who is the best dressed. Turn it into a competition with small teams ganging up on each other. The winners get a subscription to their favorite celebrity trash magazine and title of “Celebrity Mom Guru.”

6. Make it meaningful

Take a moment to talk about some hysterical, touching or interesting things the guests have done with the mom-to-be, who can use the time to honor her beloved friends and family while others get to know each other. Your guests will get better insight to how they’ve impacted the mother’s life and carry on their influence into the baby’s life.

0 comments

BumpNews

This is the Science of The Easter Egg

Posted on March 25, 2016

If you celebrate Easter, you’ll likely be embarking on the questionable quest to hide a bunch of hard-boiled eggs around your house and hope—oh, hope beyond hope—that all of them get found. Before the hunt, though, you’ll have to dye those eggs in a stinking bath of food dye, water, and vinegar. The vinegar part has always bugged me. Hard boiled eggs have a pungent enough aroma on their own; why do we need to add another acrid smell to the dying process?

It’s not just to keep the kids dunking instead of drinking, it turns out. Most food dyes are acid dyes, so called because they only work in acidic conditions. The vinegar—a solution of 5 percent acetic acid in water—is there to bring the pH low enough that the dye will actually bind. But is there an ideal pH for perfect egg-dying saturation? A normal box of food dye says to add 1 teaspoon of vinegar for every half-cup of water—but would tweaking that acidity by adding more or less vinegar get you better results? WIRED decided to find out.

First, some explanation: Why does acid make the dyes dye better? The colored molecules themselves are sodium salts of a phenolic acid. Once those dyes get thrown into water, the sodium ions fall off, leaving behind the negatively-charged part of the molecule. Add vinegar, and you’re adding lots of free protons—positively charged hydrogen ions—which fly in to take the place of those missing sodiums. The hydrogens, now associated with the dye molecules, are important because they allow hydrogen bonding. Their slightly positive charge acts like a magnet, attracting it (and the dye, in tow) to slightly negative atoms in the protein molecules and calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in the eggshell.

The color you see on the egg—red, yellow, blue, green–depends on how each particular dye molecule absorbs and reflects different wavelengths of light. But the saturation of that color depends on how strong a bond you can get between the egg’s calcium-filled surface and the dye molecules. So you gotta add vinegar. But how much?

Continue reading at WIRED

0 comments

News

Durex Just donated close to a Quarter Million Condoms to CDC’s Zika Prevention Kits

Posted on March 24, 2016

Hygiene company RB, makers of Durex condoms, is donating close to a quarter million condoms to the CDC Foundation for inclusion in CDC’s Zika Prevention kits to be distributed in the US Territories, Puerto Rico, American Somoa and the US Virgin Islands.

The mosquito-borne disease which causes birth defects has spread to the US Territories in tropical locations, with continental US cases only being related to people who have recently traveled where the Zika virus is active.

Not too much is known about the Zika virus, but it is known that it can also be spread by infected men to their sex partners. Therefore, until more information is known about the virus, CDC is recommending that people (who live in or have sex with people) who have visited at-risk areas use a condom when having sex.

Here is where a huge condom donation comes in handy.

“RB is committed to helping people live healthier lives, and I’m proud that RB can help the CDC Foundation and private individuals take action to prevent the spread of the Zikavirus in the United States and abroad,” said Alexander Lacik, president of North America at RB. “We hope that this donation of Durex condoms and our continued partnership with organizations such as the CDC Foundation will help combat the spread of the Zika virus.”

This donation follows RB’s creation of a $1 million Zika relief package.

The CDC Foundation connects CDC with private-sector organizations and individuals to build public health programs to make the world a healthier and safer. The World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared Zika virus disease and its association with severe birth defects a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on February 1, 2016. The CDC Foundation activated its Global Disaster Response Fund and the U.S. Emergency Response Fund in early February to help control the outbreak.

Zika virus is primarily spread through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito and, according to the CDC, usually causes few to no symptoms in people.

However, when a pregnant woman is infected, the virus can spread to her fetus, potentially causing birth defects such as microcephaly, a condition that causes babies to be born with underdeveloped brains.

“We are extremely grateful for RB’s generous contribution,” said Dr. Judith Monroe, president and CEO of the CDC Foundation. “Their donation of condoms for the Zika prevention kits will help in protecting people and saving lives.”

“For more than 80 years, Durex has played a leading role in sexual health and bringing people together safely,” said Karen Chisholm of Durex at RB. “Each of our condoms goes through a rigorous process to ensure only the highest quality of product reaches our consumers, ensuring that we meet the best international standards as well as our own.”

0 comments

NBC, ABC reject Ashley Graham Lane Bryant Ad featuring Breastfeeding, Plus Sized Models

Posted on March 19, 2016

Yup! You may have seen Victoria Secret ads plenty air on any given broadcast network, but if an advertiser includes too much flesh of plus-sized women in an ad like how Lane Bryant recently did, then you won’t see it because it will be banned.

According to Lane Bryant, because of the nudity of the models in its ad, ABC and NBC rejected the retailer’s “This Body” advertisement, which includes plus-size modeling ‘it girl’ Ashley Graham, and celebrates body acceptance.

The ad also featured a woman breastfeeding her baby. Yay! Bravo! Breastfeeding acceptance too…only too bad it may never see the light of day.

And if you watch closely (see ad below), you’ll notice that there are no nipples or other personal intimate body parts shown. Consider also that the love scene of an average soap opera that airs in the middle of the day on both networks could reveal the same amount of flesh. And when it is shown on a soap, it’s usually of a couple in bed after or before having sex.

A rep from NBC on Thursday denied the network had outright “rejected” the ad, NY Daily News reported.

“As part of the normal advertising standards process, we reviewed a rough cut of the ad and asked for minor edits to comply with broadcast indecency guidelines,” NBC told the site. “The ad was not rejected and we welcome the updated creative.”

Indecent? Hmmm

A rep for Lane Bryant told NY Daily News that “as is” the ad is banned but it is currently deciding whether to re-submit it for consideration.

“I don’t think these models are any more nude than any other models we’ve seen on TV,” the rep said. “This was not a hard-hitting conversation about body positivity. This was a playful way to engage our women and all women.”

ABC declined to comment. That network has aired the Victoria’s Secret fashion show even though CBS has too and owns the rights to the show, Refinery29 adds. All of the networks have approved spots for Vicky Sec like this one, the fashion site pointed out.

Yet in 2010, ABC and FOX banned a Lane Bryant ad featuring curvy plus-size women in lingerie. You have to admit, it smells a bit like hypocrisy or a double standard.

“Victoria’s Secret commercials are airing all throughout the day, but when it comes to a Lane Bryant commercial, we have a little bit of extra, you know, overflowing, and then everybody freaks out,”Graham told CBS News at the time.

h/t I am Not the Babysitter

0 comments

Celebrity

9 of the Celeb Women We’ve Profiled had Kids with Self-Professed Sex Addicts

Posted on March 13, 2016

The American Association for Family and Marriage estimate that between 12 and 14 million Americans have a sex addiction.

Some of our Bellyitch Bumpwatch and adoptive moms have been on the other end of the addiction, married to men who claimed an insatiable appetite or obsession with sex ruined their relationships.

Most recently, Tori Spelling’s dilemma with her sex addicted husband Dean McDermott has been playing itself out on a Lifetime television reality series. Others like Tea Leoni who was married to addict David Duchovny; Katherine Zeta Jones, married to former sex-addict Michael Douglass and Angelina Jolie, whose ex Billy Bob Thornton, admitted to be an addict, have kept it out of the limelight.

Some, like Sandra Bullock, couldn’t help it but the media made her hubby Jessie James’ sex-addicted cheating ways very public and tabloid fodder. Halle Berry‘s ex husband Eric Benet was widely reported to be an addict too. Benet later retracted the claim. Similarly, Tiger Woods also claimed an addiction for the reason he cheated on his wife Elin Woods and even went to rehab for it.

Charlie Sheen is infamously linked to admittedly cheating on his exes including Denise Richards, partially because of a sex addiction.

Kanye West has admitted to being a sex addict and says it is was fuels his success. Wonder how Kim Kardashian, the mom of his daughter Nori and son Saint, is coping.

While the condition is a legitimate ailment, it is often questioned and presumed to be an excuse for a guy who cannot or will not stay faithful.

0 comments

Parenting

Your Ultimate Spring Cleaning Guide: Over 150 Tips & Links for You and the Kids to Get your Home In Shape

Posted on March 13, 2016

We are clothes to Spring Cleaning time in my house and I have already ascertained a timeline for getting tons of clean up, sorting and re-arranging done. I’m going to pull out my copy of Cherly Mendelson‘s book Home Comforts: The Art & Science of Keeping House which I reviewed HERE. I am going to try my hardest to get a bunch of these things from this Spring Cleaning checklist complete and will review once again my De-Clutter and Home Organizations Tips and these 30 Blog Posts to Help Parents Organize the Home Routine BLOG POSTS TO HELP PARENTS ORGANIZE THE HOME ROUTINE

And of course, I won’t forget to include the kids in this joy. You can too. Check out my past post about “9 Age-Appropriate Tasks for Little Hands and “10 Things Kids Can Learn from Doing Chores” and “10 Chores Your Pre-Schooler Can Do”

Finally, check out Montessori Schools’ famous chores chart for children of all ages for ideas on what you can assign your toddler thru High School -age kid to do.

0 comments

Celebrity

Life Mimics Art: Gotham Co-Stars Welcome Baby in Real Life

Posted on March 11, 2016

After a surprising super blockbuster hit starring in Deadpool, actress Morena Baccarin has something new to celebrate.

The Homeland alum and her Gotham co-star beau Ben McKenzie welcomed their first child together this week, a baby girl. The couple are love interests on their show together and their characters are also expecting a baby, written into the plot after Baccarin become pregnant. When Baccarin’s character Lee gives birth it will be Life imitating Art imitating Life.

This is McKenzie’s first child. Baccarin has a 2-year-old son, Julian, with her estranged husband, Austin Chick.

While doing the press tour to promote Deadpool, Bacarrin was a trooper and called herself “a million months” pregnant while visiting Access Hollywood. “No sudden moves, anybody,” she joked.

Congrats!

h/t USA Today

0 comments

Celebrity

International Bump Watch: Expecting Celebs in South Africa, Nollywood & Bollywood

Posted on March 5, 2016

The Western World isn’t the only part of the globe with a mild obsession with its expecting celebrity parents.

Other areas too with a healthy film, television and entertainment industry in Africa and the East do also.

For example, in Nollywood, Nigeria; Bollywood, India and South Africa, several female actresses and public figures are expecting and getting mucho coverage in the press in their respective areas.

In India, Mira Kapoor, the wife of actor Shahid Kapoor snapped a photo of herself at an event while her husband was shooting a film and several Indian and Pakistani outlets reported it. (source)

Also, the paparazzi have been stalking another Bollywood actress Genelia D’Souza Deshmukh and her actor husband Riteish Deshmukh who are expecting their first child together (source)

In Nigeria, there was buzz over an Instagram maternity pic that fashion stylist Aijay Ukonu shared online. She is expecting her first child with her husband famed photographer, Paul Ukonu (source)

Finally, in South Africa, there is buzz over South African film industry actress Carmel Fisher who is awaiting the May delivery of her first child with her property developer boyfriend of 5 years. (source)

Bump watching is a world wide phenomenon. Like it or not! Ha!

0 comments

Pi Day is Coming! Here are 100 Pie Recipes to Celebrate!

Posted on March 2, 2016

Bellyitch Rewind

March 14 is Pi Day and for the first time it is actually the first 5 numbers that represent the numerical value of pi, the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter: 3.14.15.

(if you use the American way of writing dates).

Pi day is also an annual opportunity for math geeks, including nerdy parents all around, to make and eat pie with their family and friends!

We found from recipe curators over at our partners at Foodie over 100 pie recipes – from sweet, to pizza to fruit – for every taste and palette to consider making this Saturday!

Good luck!

0 comments

Preginistas: Here is Your Spring/Easter Inspiration Look Book

Posted on February 26, 2016

Preginistas (“Fashionable & Stylish Pregnant Women), as you prep to clean out your closet for Spring and make room for more pieces to complement your growing belly and your lifestyle, I’ve curated a selection of looks from past posts to inspire you.

I recommend colorful maxi dresses that are comfortable and stylish and can be dressed up with a pair of wedges and costume jewelry or down paired with canvas shoes, ballet flats and a denim jacket.

You cannot go wrong with A-line dresses that are belted above the belly with a colorful blazer or cardigan over top. Carry a large vibrant colored tote or clutch to add a pop of color element that is functional because it can also carry all your stuff in it is as well. For the transition weather, you can still get away with some knee high boots with a baby doll or sweater dress.

A cool new pair of aviator or Jackie-O shades will set off any Spring look. As usual, boho or slouch hats, scarves and chunky jewelry like rings, statement necklaces, charm bracelets and big pearl stud earrings are a safe bet for adding style and sophistication to any basic look.

Hit the discount and outlet stores for quality pieces from a previous season to save money or mix and match pieces already in your closet for a stylish look.

Stay fab!

Jimmy Choo Dory Caged Leather Sandal, Kew • Jimmy Choo • $347

Jetsetter Convertible Backpack • Henri Bendel • $195–278

Sophia Webster Melissa Polka-Dot Wedge Sandal, Rosa/Spearmint • Sophia Webster • $247

Loeffler Randall Luz Tassel Lace-Up Leather Sandal, Wheat • Loeffler Randall • $395

TOM FORD Large Calfskin Zip Clutch Bag, White • Tom Ford • $690

Mamalicious 3/4 Sleeved Jersey Body-Conscious Dress With Wrap Front • Mama Licious • $24

Long Caftan Dress Print • Rachel Pally • $242

Rachel Pally Long Sleeve Caftan Dress • Rachel Pally • $78.40

Isabella Oliver Wrap Front Midi Dress • Isabella Oliver • $180

Mamalicious Nursing Short Sleeve Belted Shift Dress • Mama Licious • $62

Anya Dress • Rachel Pally • $153