Throughout your pregnancy your growing baby is often compared to fruit to illustrate it’s size. When the world’s smallest baby was born in a San Diego hospital it was the size of an apple.
The Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns has announced the birth of a baby girl who was just 8.6 ounces when she was born in December. She was born just 23 weeks and three days into her mom’s pregnancy and is beloved to be the world’s smallest surviving micro-preemie.
Doctors didn’t have much hope for the baby after she was born, telling her parents that she likely wouldn’t survive more than an hour. That hour turned into more than five months and the healthy baby has just made her way home weighing five pounds.
The baby, which the nurses nicknamed “Saybie” was delivered early after her mom was diagnosed with preeclampsia. She spent the next several months in the neonatal intensive unit steadily growing. A sign on her crib read “Tiny but Mighty.” As a micro-preemie the baby still has a long road ahead as she continues to grow, but clearly she’s a fighter. “She’s a miracle, that’s for sure,” said nurse Kim Norby.
During those nine months of pregnancy, expectant moms can expectant to spend a lot of time at their doctor’s office being weighed, measured and checked. A new study examines a prenatal care app that could replace some of those in-person visits and it’s working.
A study conducted by researchers at George Washington University and published in the journal JMIR mHealth and uHealth has found that Babyscripts, a virtual care app for managing obstetrics was successful in reducing the amount of in-person prenatal care visits needed during pregnancy while maintaining patient satisfaction.
photo: Jacob Sippel via U.S. Navy
The study included pregnant women between the ages of 18 and 40 who were diagnosed with a low-risk pregnancy, meaning that they had no patient history of hypertension, diabetes, renal disease or other condition that could negatively affect the outcome of the pregnancy. According to the results of the study Babyscripts users visited their obstetrician an average of 7.8 times while those who did not use the app visited theirs an average of 10.2 times.
“The positive results of this study are a huge validation of our belief in the power of technology to support mothers and providers without compromising quality,” Anish Sebastian, CEO and co-founder of Babyscripts, said in a press release. “This research shows that mobile health has the potential to deliver precision care to mothers while allowing providers to allocate time to the most vulnerable of their patients, and ultimately save lives.”
No matter how moms choose to feed their babies, fed is best. Hilary Duff’s Instagram post about her decision to stop feeding her six-month-old is an important reminder of that.
Duff, who welcomed her daughter Banks last October, took to Instagram to share her decision to stop breastfeeding and pumping. “My goal was to get my little girl to six months and then decide if I (and her of course) wanted to keep going,” Duff wrote. “Let me tell you. Pumping at work sucks. I had zero down time and am usually pumping in a hair and make up trailer while four hands work to get me ready for the next scene with lots of other people around. Even if I had the luxury to be in my own room, it’s not even considered a ‘break’ because you have to sit upright for the milk to flow into the bottles!”
Duff is certainly not alone in feeling pressure to maintain it all as a working mom. Trying to balance pumping and working, even when you’re a celebrity can be challenging. She explained, “Felt so lucky to be so close to her and give her that start. I know many women are not able to and for that I am sympathetic and very grateful that I could. For six wonderful months. But I needed a break. I was going to break. With the stress of a dropping milk supply and a baby that was getting bored or not caring about nursing when I was available to. I was sad and frustrated and feeling like a failure all of the time. When really I’m a bad ass rock star.”
Deciding how to feed your baby whether it’s breast or bottle or a mixture of both is ultimately a personal decision for every mom, but it can be easy to feel guilty over you’re choices or like you’re not measuring up to certain expectations, which is why Duff felt it was important to share her journey publicly.
“I wanted to share this because deciding to stop BFing was so emotional and hard. I thought about it ALL day everyday. It was a constant loop in my head. Weighing the pros and cons. And half of the time I wasn’t making any sense. It was about me, and not Banks at that point. I cried many times and felt so depressed while weening. I wasn’t myself at all,” she wrote. “I feel fine and happy and relieved and silly that I even stressed on it so hard. Banks is thriving and I get even more time with her and daddy gets to do more feeds! And mommy gets a tiny bit more sleep! Love you all and hope this helps anyone struggling!”
Their Royal Highnesses, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are parents! The Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcomed their first child, a baby boy on May 6, 2019. The royal baby was born at 5:56 a.m., weighing 7lbs. 3oz.
The Duke spoke to the media to confirm the arrival of his first child, saying:
“I’m very excited to announce that Meghan and myself had a baby boy earlier this morning, a very healthy boy. Mother and baby are doing incredibly well. It’s been the most amazing experience I could ever have possibly imagined. How any woman does what they do is beyond comprehension, but we’re both absolutely thrilled and so grateful for all the love and support from everybody out there. It’s been amazing, so I just wanted to share this with everybody.”
You’ll already notice the new royal is quite different from his cousins: no trademark birth at the Lindo Wing and no subsequent photo opp as the new parents head home. The world has been watching all along, but none more so then when the Royals officially announced Meghan had gone into labor on May 6.
BREAKING: Buckingham Palace says Prince Harry's wife Meghan has gone into labor with their first child. https://t.co/RY6pOOxnxV
Early Wednesday, right after presenting the new royal to the public, the proud parents also released his name: Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. In a stunning photo, the moment the Queen met her eighth grandchild was caught on film. The black and white image shows the new parents, Markle’s mother, Doria, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen in all smiles.
The Duchess was quite adamant about bringing her son into the world differently, announcing that the couple wanted to keep the birth private. New residents of Windsor, the family plans to make Frogmore Cottage their family home for the foreseeable future.
We’ve been waiting with bated breath since the third week in April when The Duchess’ mother, Doria Ragland arrived in Britain to be there for the birth. Countless estimates have been made as to when the newest Royal would make his/her entrance, but we have to wait no more.
Beyond “sleep when the baby sleeps” there is no shortage of advice on how to handle motherhood. Whether you’re diving into mommyhood for the first time or wrangling teenagers like a boss, we can all use a little advice now and then. We asked our devoted readers, fellow moms and our very own editors to share the best advice they’ve received on motherhood and they weighed in. Keep scrolling to catch your daily dose!
"Be the woman you want your daughter to be when she’s an adult." –Mary S.
"Prep your children for the road, don't prepare the road for your children." –Holly E.
"Babies cry. It is ok" –Cicely Kunsman
On having a third baby: "Don’t over think it honey, just throw another potato in the pot and carry on!”–Kendra S.
"The 'smell the soup, cool the soup' method- when emotions are high from mom and/or kids, just remember to breathe. Tell them and yourself to smell the soup (breathe in) and cool the soup (breathe out). It’s such a random thing that has saved the day so many times." –Ayren J.
"The more you do for your kids, the less they will do for themselves." –Sue E.
"When you come home from a hard day, and touch the doorknob of your door, smile and know that the face your kids see is one that shows that’s you’re happy to see them." –Edie G.
"Don't sweat the small stuff. And believe me, the older they get, you'll wish you knew how small that stuff really was when they were younger." –Beth S.
"Do what you need to do to get through the day." & "Get in the photos!" –Eva I.
"If the kids are alive at the end of the day, it was a good day." –Sonnet G.
"If you have the sense of mind to worry if you are a good mom, you are probably doing just fine." –Whitney R.
To all of you work-outside-the-home and work-inside-the-home and trying-to-do-both mamas out there: I see you and see how hard you are working at *everything* and I admire you. I’m in your corner. I’ve always talked with my own mom about how grateful I am for a flexible job that allows me to both pursue my professional degree as well as pursue parenting in its entirety.
Fully emersing in both feels like an impossibility, right? It’s always ebbing and flowing; taking care of self as well as taking care of family and our roles within both. Here’s what rubs salt into the wound: when society convinces us that parenthood isn’t a “valid enough” career. I recently found a suicide note, written by my mom at age 70, lamenting the fact she didn’t have “a real career”, that she never felt educated enough or competent enough. She completed a Master’s Degree in Home Economics and then raised my sister and me. She was a kind and gentle mother. She was also a talented paper-arts artist in her later years. Her career was us, first and foremost! Raising small humans, being there to pack lunches and kiss owies and get us to piano practice each week. She taught lessons and shared wisdom and devoted herself to us in our childhoods. She then pursued her artistic talents by creating cards, art projects, and more, including teaching art classes at a local fine arts store. Her classes sold-out. Her friends were in awe of her creations. Her legacy of art and kindness is vivid and alive in her community despite her recent death. Her daughters are resilient enough to handle this time of grief and loss, in part thanks to her devotion to our childhood and raising us with a variety of skills. She had a career — she actually had two! — but acknowledged it not. It weighed her down, the feelings of inadequacy.
So my plea to you, hard-working mamas: own your power. claim your worth. do any and all of the work you are drawn to do in this life, whether it inside or outside the home. be kind to yourself. be kind to your children and friends who already love you exactly as you are. Live a good life. Know in your bones that you are valid enough, every day.
Kris is a busy mama to three kids (fraternal twins and a spunky preschooler) and a full-time speech-language pathologist at a local early intervention agency. She stays passionate about pursuing both her professional goals and her parenting commitment, which leaves her grateful for both opportunities. Kris uses humor, coffee, and writing to augment her life.
After nine long months of swelling, illness after illness and plenty of pregnancy drama, Jessica Simpson gave birth to daughter Birdie Mae! Congrats to the now-mama of three.
Simpson’s pregnancy wasn’t the easiest three trimesters. Fans who followed the celeb on Instagram saw Simpson’s pregnancy progress from a barely-there bump to feet so swollen the singer asked her social media followers for help—pronto.
Judging by her recent birth announcement IG post, everything Simpson endured has finally paid off and in the best way possible. Daughter Birdie Mae Johnson made her grand debut on Mar. 19, weighing in at 10 pounds, 13 ounces. (Whoa.)
Congrats to Simpson on her daughter’s birth and for delivering an almost 11-pound baby like a champ! We can’t wait for all those baby snuggle photos we know will be all over her IG feed—and we hope this mama bear gets some much-deserved rest first!
Study after study has weighed in on the effects related to babies and screen time, but an eye-opening new report examines just how much our youngest viewers are actually watching.
A new study published by JAMA Pediatrics has revealed that screen time among babies has doubled in the last two decades. Mobile devices, like smartphones and tablets, have changed how the world accesses digital content and the study looks at the differences in viewing habits among babies before and after mobile devices became widely available.
According to the study, in 1997, kids ages zero to two spent 1.32 hours each day staring at screens. By 2014, that amount shot up to an average of 3.05 hours. Despite the focus of the study being the impact of mobile devices, the study found that 86 percent of that recorded screen time by 2014 still came from television.
This shouldn’t be very surprising, however, considering that tablet use was still rising in popularity in 2014, when the study concludes. Further research is needed to see what screen habits have evolved into over the last five years; chances are, they might be radically different with traditional television rapidly giving way to digital streaming.
Parenthood can make you reassess your career path for many reasons, like finding a more flexible job, weighing your employment options after taking time off or figuring out how to reintegrate at work after maternity leave. If you’re on the hunt for a new job, you might want to check out some of the newest rapidly growing industries.
Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and projections from the Projections Managing Partnership (PMP), Yahoo! Finance mapped out the fastest growing jobs in the U.S. Construction, maintenance, repair services, mathematical and technology-based jobs are among the careers leading the pack.
The jobs on the rise vary by state, however, there are a few that are consistently gaining steam across the country. A solar panel installer, for example, is the fastest growing job in eight states including California, Florida, Hawaii, New Mexico, North Carolina, Missouri, Minnesota and New Jersey. Wind turbine technicians are also growing quickly in several states including Colorado, Texas, Nebraska and Iowa.
In other states, however, you’ll find some more eclectic careers trending, like animal trainers in Oregon and exhibit designers in Idaho. You can check out the full chart of jobs by state here.
So when exactly is the best time to go thrift shopping? Apparently, right now! With the popularity of Tidying Up with Marie Kondo on Netflix, an influx of donations have flooded thrift stores around the country. And that means—in the words of Macklemore—it’s time to “pop some tags.”
The “Marie Kondo effect” has made a legit mark on thrift store shopping. As people across the country have joined in on the craze to pare down only to what sparks joy, the number of donation items is dramatically increasing. Kondo’s “KonMari” method of minimalism makes pruning your hoarder-esque stash easy.
Instead of weighing the benefits that keeping the bag of toddler clothes your now-teenager will never need again, hold the items in your hands. Do they “spark joy?” If so, keep ’em.
But if the spark just doesn’t happen, they’re gone.
And where do all those non-joy-sparking items go? According to Amy Lyons, a spokesperson for Goodwill Industries of Monocacy Valley, they’re going to the thrift store. Lyons told TODAY, “Out of our eight stores that we do have, our nine donations centers, all but two of them currently have seen quite an increase from last year around this time, year to date.” Lyons isn’t completely sure that Kondo and her Netflix show have caused this upswing, but it’s a very real possibility.
While heading to the thrift shop to cash in on others’ purged possessions might seem to fly in the face of the KonMari method, there’s something to be said for scoring big deals on gently-used kids’ items and more.
