SOURCE:YOUNG BLACK AND FABULOUS

Rebecca and Jeff Bates decided on adoption, Ms. Bates said, when she and her husband were unable to conceive.

They adopted their first child Mary 2 years ago.

When Mary began to become a toddler, the Bates decided it was time to enlarge the family. They called their attorney and told him they wanted to adopt a baby boy — one, that is. They made the call in April. By November, their attorney had found a mother in California who was pregnant and knew she could not raise a child. She was looking for a caring, Christian couple.

That’s when they found out that the expectant mom was expecting a rare set of identical triplets. The chances of having identical triplets is one in 200 million.

Within an hour the couple had made their decision. One month after that they had transformed their office-and-gym combo room into a full nursery.

Knowing that they babies would probably be arriving early, Rebecca headed to California in January.

Just 2 weeks later at 32 weeks gestation, the three identical boys Chris, Daniel and Nathan arrived weighing roughly three pounds each.

The babies, who are now home, each wear different color bracelets so that the couple can tell them apart.

“We can’t tell them apart,” said Rebecca “We have to look for their birthmarks or use their anklets.”

Their church, University Baptist Church, and their family have helped ease the transition, the Bates said. Church members took care of Mary when Ms. Bate first flew to California and brought the family dinners each day when the Bates returned to South Carolina.

“So far it’s not been as bad as I thought it would be,” Mr. Bate said. “The first several weeks, they wouldn’t fuss or cry, they just slept.”

That’s changing slowly though as the boys continue to grow.

Related Articles:

• Triplets Born To Surrogate Mom Makes 12 Babies
• Rare New Brunswick Quads Going Home One at A Time
• Bed Shortage Sends Triplets To 3 Hospitals
• Canadian Couple Welcomes Identical Triplets on Leap Day

SOURCE

PHOTOCREDIT:Nathan Gray

Toys “R” Us has received 12 reports of small parts detaching from activity centers. No injuries have been reported.

This recall involves the Imaginarium Multi-Sided and Jungle activity centers. The multi-sided activity center has moveable block letters, clock face, sliding shapes and gears. The jungle activity centers have peg jumping monkeys, sliding fish, abacus beads, bead mazes and other animal-themed activities. “Imaginarium” and the name of the activity center are printed on the packaging. Item numbers 69042 (multi-sided) and 69083 (jungle) are printed on the back of the box, near the bar code.

Parents should immediately take the activity centers from children and return the toys to the nearest Toys “R” Us for a refund or store credit. Consumers can go to http://www.toysrus.com/safety/safetyFAQ.cfm for more information.

You can also contact Toys “R” Us at (800) 869-7787 (9am - 9pm M-S).

The recalled children’s sunglasses have Main Street Drag characters on the bottom of one lens. The sunglass frames have dark metallic blue or dark metallic red fronts and gray checkered sides. “Main Street Drag” is printed in orange at the temples. Style number DI25K7116 is printed on the left temple. No other styles are included in this recall.

Parents are being asked to immediately take the recalled sunglasses away from children and contact StyleMark toll-free at (866) 928-1913 (8am-5pm M-F)or visit the firm’s Web site at www.stylemark.net for instructions on returning the sunglasses for a free replacement pair.

Jessica Denay, debuted her new book “The Hot Mom To Be Handbook: Womb With A View”.

In attendance were many expectant moms including Elisabeth Röhm, Jodie Sweetin and Busy Philips.

Trista and Ryan brought Max and Brooke Burke arrived with her 2 oldest girls Neriah, 8 and birthday girl, Sierra, who was 6 yesterday.

The Biggest Loser host Allison Sweeney brought her son Benjamin, 2, and Melissa Joan Hart showed of new baby Braydon.

PHOTOCREDIT:LACROIX/WIREIMAGE.COM

Barbara Groomes, the little girl’s great grandmother, was overwhelmed by the fumes of the toxic mixture, started gasping for air while holding her throat.

The toddler, who found her great grandmother struggling to breathe, grabbed her by the hand and pulled her out of the bathroom, saying, `Open the door. Nanny, open the door.

Once Barbara was outside, Jaiyden called 911.

“When I woke up, the doctor was telling me that if it wouldn’t have been for the baby that took me outside, if I didn’t get air, I would have died right then,” Groomes said.

As Great Grandmother recovers, there’s one little girl getting a hero’s treatment.

“I’m just amazed by her,” Jaiyden’s mom said. “I don’t know how a three-year-old would know just to take her outside.”

Other Amazing Toddler Stories:

• Pioneering Surgery Cures The Boy Whose Blood Flowed The Wrong Way
• Amazing 17 Month Old Toddler Knows How To Read!!
• Amazing Baby Born With Heart Outside Body

SOURCE
PHOTOCREDIT: Graham Cullen

A new study by researchers at the University of Michigan found good reason for moms to stop fretting and strap themselves in: about 200 fetuses each year would not be lost if pregnant women properly buckled their seat belts every time they were in an automobile, no matter which seat they’re in.

The researchers concluded that at a crash speed of 20 mph (a standard high-severity crash) the risk for fetal death or major complications was approximately 12 percent when the mother was wearing a seat belt properly, compared with 70 percent when she was not properly restrained. Further, they found that across all crash severities, from 1 mph to 40 mph, wearing seat belts would likely save about 84 percent of babies.

Well there it is ladies - proof that the safety of your growing baby trumps an uncomfortable ride in the car.

Related Articles:

• Study: Pregnancy ‘a Brain Booster’
• Cruising and Pregnancy

SOURCE

Even though I know there is a bit more work involved in using cloth diapers, I think it is worth it. With all that being said, I am the only mom I know that uses cloth diapers. I often wonder what could be done to increase awareness about cloth diapers and the great reasons for using them.

Two New Zealand groups have come with a great idea that is designed to create awareness and reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills.

Waitakere City Council and the West Auckland Health Services Foundation have each given $10,000 to a program that will provide all babies born at Waitakere Hospital with cloth diapers to wear during their stay. New moms will also be given 2 cloth diapers in their take home pack so that they continue the eco friendly practice at home.

This program, which is set to run for 3 months, could help reduce the amount of diapers that end up in landfill by 18,000.

The hospital will use new generation cloth diapers that come with velcro tabs, biodegradable inners and funky colours. They have liners that can be safely flushed down the toilet.

I would be interested to hear if the plan has a follow up program to see if any of these moms continued to use cloth.

Would you use cloth diapers if they you received a few for free?

Related Articles:

• Would You Use A Cloth Menstrual Pad?
• What are G Diapers?
• How Do You Feel About Your Infant being Diaper Free?

SOURCE