My Geek Baby

Great strides have been made by the low- and mid-price range fashion gurus in the creation of maternity clothes that do not make me look like I could stuff a toaster oven in my blouse and make my way out of Macy’s without security noticing. The material is fitted and comfortable without hiding the fact that I am expanding into the millennium.

Recently I have begun searching for such fashionable items, I have noticed that non-maternity wear now looks confusingly, well, maternal. I recently spent an hour in Old Navy, on word that they have the cutest maternity clothes, and found lots of roomy shirts and dresses, that even as a preggo, wouldn’t be caught dead in. Too much fabric. Too dippy. Too much like I’m trying to hide a toaster oven. And these weren’t in the maternity section. What gives? Keeping in mind that I’m well aware that much of Old Navy’s clothes are to be reserved for high-schoolers–do they really want to look knocked up?! Are the Nicole Richies and the twice-baked Brittanys of the world, the ever-present “baby bump watch” of Perez Hilton and the like actually having an effect on this season’s clothes?

Lucky for me, I’m having an easier time than expected finding things that do not make me look like a VW bus and I am grateful for that. But geez, I hope this fad passes by next summer…

Pregnant

Not Pregnant?

We’re down to the nine-week mark, getting closets cleaned out and putting tiny clothes on tiny hangers. If baby girl arrives today, we are ready to feed, burp, bathe, swaddle and diaper her. That makes me feel pretty good. And if I can bear to put her down for one second, we have a pack-n-play/bassinet for her to hang out in.

But the nursery, is well, still an office. And truthfully, she doesn’t need her own room with crib and child-size dresser quite yet. But I am ready to decorate. I’m well beyond the point of wanting to paint, so we’re leaving the neutral color I can’t quite describe, on the walls. It’s almost cappuccino with the tiniest hint of pumpkin. I need your decorating help and suggestions readers.

Warning: Avoid suggestions of clowns, princess-related themes, princess clowns, insane clown posse, or Victorian dolls.

Here’s a few ideas I’m batting around.

The Meadow. This print is not really a design concept but I love it.

For Linux and penguin lovers alike, I give you The Family of Three.

Dots. Not too much thought went into this other than, “Mmm olives.”

SPACE INVADERS! Ok, I know. Baby girl won’t appreciate.

Also, ladybugs, dragonflies and butterflies are good.

So, help. This is just the wall art. Maybe if I can tackle one part of the room per week…

I recently praised the fabulousity of Google Analytics and I’m still having fun tracking readership.

Top five countries reading MBG:
1. United States
2. Canada
3. United Kingdom
4. Australia
5. France

Because I’m located minutes outside of Washington, DC, in Virginia, it is no surprise that most of the domestic readers also hale from this state too.

Top five states reading MGB
1. Virginia
2. California
3. New York
4. Texas
5. Florida

How are people finding us? Keyword searches on
1. baby geek
2. geek baby names
3. geek baby
4. geek babies
5. geek baby toys

Funniest/strangest keyword searches
1. hello my ragtime gal frog wav
2. magnolia sukey love (a name search?)
3. preggo panties
4. roller derby

A recent study shows that babies who are breast-fed have fewer cardiovascular disease later in life. Measures of body mass index (BMI) and a higher average HDL (high-density lipoprotein or “good” cholesterol) were measured in adulthood. Although I have to wonder how the scientists attribute this specifically to nursing, when there are a whole host of factors that go into BMI and HDL levels. So, I kept reading and learned that adjustments were made for influencing factors such as the use of blood pressure-lowering medication, maternal education, maternal smoking, and maternal BMI. Huh. Interesting.

Another unrelated study shows that babies who are breast-fed tend of have higher IQs than their bottle-fed counterparts (darn, I was a formula baby!), according to Yale researcher and collaborators who reported results in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.The caveat? The IQ benefits are only for kiddos with the genetic variant in FADS2, a gene involved in the control of fatty acid pathways. According to the press release, “The study included 1,037 children in New Zealand and 1,116 families with same sex twins in England and Wales. Those who were breastfed and had the genetic variant FADS2 had IQs that were 5.6 to 6.3 points higher than children who were breastfed but did not have the variant.”

So where does that leave the breast vs. bottle fence-sitters? Do what you feel is best. There’s no magic bullet for ensuring your kids are smart and healthy! Also you can’t base life decisions on one or two studies. But it is interesting to learn how complex the human body is.

Under the guise of surprising my mom for her birthday this weekend, the party was for me and baby! And Dad too, but the men went straight to the nearest place to grab lunch while we oohed and aahed over teeny tiny baby items.

It was a lovely afternoon and midway through opening presents, I had one of those waves of reality and said, “Wow, this is really happening!” to much laughter by the veteran moms in the room. And look! Baby’s got her first pair of jeans. I can’t wait. I simply cannot wait.

Le Bump with Le Sign
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Early pregnancy is like being hungover and having a tapeworm. One minute I was feeling lousy and only ginger ale and plain toast appealed to me but other times I felt so hungry I could eat a sandwich the size of my head. I don’t know what the proper phrase is for that kind of hunger, but like an unquenchable thirst, I needed more and more.

Exhibit A: Sandwich I ate during the first trimester. The regular-size (not miniature!) pen should give you a frame of reference.

by Kim Evoy Bryant

One of the great things about parenting is watching your kids learn. Both of my daughters are good readers, and when they began really reading and comprehending the stories, they came to me and said that reading was like “watching a movie in your head”. Wow!! And how exciting it was for me to be there as they got excited about learning.

My son is now 2 ½ and learning about ‘1-2-3’. At this age, ‘1-2-3’ can mean many things. For example, ‘1-2-3’ can mean that we are learning about counting. With all of my children, for some reason, I have always counted the steps when holding their little hands. Sometimes we count blocks, animals, fingers and so on. My son now says ‘seben, eight, ten’, so he does understand, albeit in a very elementary form, that we are counting, and he is indeed learning. I try to take opportunities to use everyday tasks and turn them into learning opportunities.

‘1-2-3’ can also mean that you are in trouble. This has been one of the most effective parenting techniques for me. I ask the child to do something, they choose not to obey, and I start counting. Before I can get to ‘3’, usually the behavior takes a different turn, because the child knows that after ‘3’ comes something worse than counting. My oldest daughter would say “no counting” when she realized that she was in trouble. But the point being that the child learned that there were consequences to actions, and ‘1-2-3’ gives them an opportunity to redeem themselves.

It’s exciting to watch a child experience learning, when they finally “get it”, whatever that may be. ‘1-2-3’ is a great way to start them on this path.