Oh, Sure. I Had an Orgasm Too When I Was Giving Birth.

Well it wasn't really an orgasm, per se...but you probably couldn't tell it by listening to me. There were a lot of, "Oh, God"s and "Ahh ahh"s.

I gave birth naturally and was seduced by the notion of an orgasmic birth, which I read about in our childbirth bible, Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way.

Such bliss. Ending ones pregnancy in the same way it began. If only 'twer twu.

While I was not so lucky as to experience this Heavenly gift, there are plenty of women who have brought their babies into this world while cheering "O". (I know, sounds a lot like cheerio, but there are only so many ways to say "orgasm" so bear with me).

A new documentary, Orgasmic Birth, is set to premier on May 16 in Prague China. For a little preview, visit the film's webpage or check out ABC's 20/20. According to Midwifery Today, 20/20 will air its piece on May 16 as well, but I haven't seen confirmation of that on ABC's site. Just keep a look out.

And, if you have any tales of wild, passionate, birthing, by all means, share them here! On second thought, maybe just a nice comment saying that you too are intrigued by this notion and will happily visit the filmmaker's website would suffice.

Boiling Your Baby's Bottles? Think Again! (new BPA research)

BPA is making headlines again as a new study is released in the scientific journal, Toxicology Letters. The findings of a recent study suggest that BPA is released from plastic bottles up to 55% faster when exposed to boiling water.

Researcher Scott Belcher (University of Cincinnati) examined the effect of a bottle's age, under normal use conditions, on the amount of released BPA. He found that age was not a factor, however bottles that had been exposed briefly to boiling water released the chemical up to 55% faster than before exposure. Other researchers confirm that Belcher's findings are intuitive. (US News and World Reports article)

You can avoid the potentially harmful effects of BPA by using glass bottles or BPA-free bottles and sippy cups (reviews here).

Toy Recall

About 15,000 toy blocks and train sets are being recalled due to excessive lead levels found in the surface paint.

The toys were sold at Christmas Tree Shops stores throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions between October 2006 and November 2007, and were manufactured by First Learning Company, Ltd. (Hong Kong)

Best Cities to Have a Baby: Where Does Yours Rank?

Fit Pregnancy Magazine has ranked the best cities to have a baby from the 50 largest cities in America. Portland is at the top of the list with San Francisco, Denver, and Boston also making the top 10.

From Fit Pregnancy:

1. Portland, OR
2. Minneapolis
3. San Francisco
4. Seattle
5. Denver
6. Boston
7. Omaha, NB
8. Virginia Beach, VA
9. Austin, TX
10. Albuquerque, NM

Want a more personalized list? They've also generated a tool that allows you to specify criteria most important to you, then recompiles the list accordingly.

The magazine took into account information from numerous organizations and assessed each respective city's affordability, birthing options, child care resources, safety, and many other factors.

What Happened to Carrying Baby Eggs?

A long, long, time ago, when I was in school, we were assigned baby-simulation projects that involved naming an egg, drawing a face on it, and carting it around for a few days without breaking it.

Nowadays...the babies are about as life-like as you can get without having an actual infant in your care.

The bgdailynews.com interviewed a class who will be using dolls made by a company called RealityWorks in a project to help them realize why they are nowhere near ready to have real babies.

These babies are smart. With a computer inside each of them, they record any neglect, improper head support, shaking, rough handling, diaper changes and feeding.

Said one of the male students:

“He’s been crying since I got him. He’s cried like four times.”

Welcome to parenthood...

(article)

New Designer Baby Items at Target

Target announced today that it will be partnering with DwellStudio to offer an exclusive line of linens and furniture for babies in their stores and online. (article)

Here's a sampling of designs from DwellStudio's website:

These sets run in the upper $300s to over $500. Right now the highest priced bedding collection at Target is the Cotton Tale Derby Plaid 4-pc crib set at $299.

I would expect the DwellStudio line to be priced in the $200-$300 range at Target. The new baby collection is set to appear this month, so keep an eye out!

How to Eat Fried Worms (in Baby Food)

According to a Mercury News report, parents of an 8 month old in Pittsburg, California found maggot-like worms in a jar of Gerber's "Sweet Potato and Turkey" baby food. (article)

Yuck! That grosses me out just thinking about it. I am so sorry for anyone who has to see that when they are preparing to feed their precious baby.

Obviously these things happen every so often, even for a company as trusted as Gerber. All the more reason to make your own baby food at home. It's easy to do, and really not that time-consuming. In fact, with a good grinder and/or food processor, you can simply mash up portions of whatever is on the menu for the rest of the family.

By making your baby's food yourself, you'll have the peace of mind from knowing exactly what your child is eating, you'll save money, and you'll likely incur less waste since you'll be able have more control over serving sizes.

If you're interested in making your own baby food, check out the folks over at wholesomebabyfood.com. They've got recipes, instructions on how to prepare baby food, and recommendations on which foods to introduce when!

Top Baby Names of 2007

Well, BabyCenter has once again listed the most popular baby names born to parents registered on their site. I always loved looking at baby name lists when I was pregnant, primarily to rule out any contenders that were too popular for our liking.

Top 10 Girl Names	Top 10 Boy Names
Sophia	Aiden
Isabella	Ethan
Emma	Jacob
Madison	Jayden
Ava	Caden
Addison	Noah
Hailey	Jackson
Emily	Jack
Kaitlyn	Logan
Olivia	Matthew

New to the list this year were Kaelyn, Reagan, Maria, Sadie, Callie, Adrianna, Sienna, Lila, Alana, Adrian, Colton, Nolan, Cody, Preston, Jeremiah, and Oliver.

The Social Security Administration also compiles a list of the most popular names each year.

Bye Bye Plastic!

According to a recent Newsweek article, more and more parents are opting for "greener" bottling alternatives, such as glass, rather than the popular plastic ones used most often today. A major concern is that Bisphenol A (BPA), which is found in many plastics, may have long-term health consequences in young children.

Manufacturers and retailers are responding to this new demand by including more bottling options in their product lines and on their shelves. Evenflo and Dr. Brown's are both currently offering glass bottles. Or, if you can't get passed the idea of using something as old-fashioned as glass, BornFree bottles are plastic bottles made without BPA. Not surprisingly, these alternatives come with a higher price tag (not that you can really put a price tag on the safety of our little ones).

So far, the jury is still out on whether or not the levels of BPA exposure from using plastic bottles are high enough to do any harm, but the CDC has found that children incur the greatest amount of exposure to the chemical, followed by adolescents and then adults.

I'm not usually one to run out and follow the latest trends, but suddenly glass bottles don't seem like such a bad idea.