When traveling with little ones, it seems like we have to bring everything we own with us: diapers, wipes, cream, bottles, a change of outfit, toys—you get the idea. And when you need something, the last thing you want to worry about is digging around a diaper bag, inevitably during a meltdown. When my husband and I came across the 14-pocket Bag Nation Diaper Bag Backpack, we knew we had to test it out during an upcoming vacation....

Combine these pressures and stresses with the increasing rates of anxiety and depression among teens, and it is not surprising that improving mental health has become a major concern for both parents and educators. More and more people are turning to mindfulness as a way to help teens to cope with the negative stressors and feelings in their lives. What Is Mindfulness? In the most simplified terms, mindfulness means paying full attention to something and not thinking about anything else in that moment....

Five-year-olds love to learn, so gifts that spark a new interest or develop a new skill are naturally a good idea. Playful gifts that inspire active outdoor play and foster girls’ developing balance and coordination skills are another great option. When reviewing gifts for 5-year-olds, we considered developmental milestones, design, safety, and versatility. We also looked for gifts that foster independence, learning, and playfulness—three of the traits most commonly associated with 5-year-olds....

Labor Contraction Apps Check out some of these popular labor contraction apps. Contraction Master Contraction Master is available as a web-based tool as well as an app for iOS or Android. If you are using the computer version, you do not need to be hooked up to the internet once the program has loaded. It is also able to print your contractions. This site has been live for a long time and has a long history....

Although bicornuate uterus is not that common in the general population occurring only 0.4% of the time, it is slightly more common among people who have had more than one miscarriage. In fact, 2.1% of people with multiple miscarriages have a bicornuate uterus. Of all uterine abnormalities that exist, bicornuate uterus is the most common and represents 26% of those abnormalities. Cervical insufficiency and preterm delivery could potentially cause a second-trimester miscarriage or pregnancy loss at birth if the baby is born too prematurely—before 24 or 25 weeks of pregnancy, the point before which a premature baby can potentially survive....

Before deciding whether your child is ready to move on from a car seat to a booster, it helps to understand the difference between the two. Car seats use a five-point harness to restrain the child. A booster seat adjusts the position of the vehicle’s seat belt to fit safely across the child’s torso and legs as a restraint. Booster Seat Readiness The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that kids use a car seat until they reach the maximum height or weight for that five-point harness, which is often older than many parents assume....

Starting in elementary school and beyond, young people should have their online activity supervised to make sure they’re only accessing age-appropriate content. Still, unfortunately, it’s not that hard for 13-year-olds to figure out how to get around rules or website monitors to find what they’re looking for. So, while the conversation may be awkward, it’s essential for parents to know how to approach boys expressing interest in porn and provide a healthy, honest approach to sex education....

Reasons to Breastfeed From Only One Side There are some situations when you might want to (or have to) feed your baby from only one side per feeding. You have an overabundant breast milk supply. If you have too much breast milk, breastfeeding on one side at each feeding (or even the same side for a few feedings in a row) can help slow down the production of breast milk in the opposite side....

It can be a challenge to find a comfortable position where you can see your baby’s mouth and your nipple, making it harder to get the baby latched on correctly. It can also be awkward and uncomfortable to hold your breasts and your baby, especially if you are in pain from the delivery. Plus, you may be worried that your breasts are so big that they will block your child’s nose....

Buy Neutral Options When you’re nesting, shopping for baby clothes can be one of the most special ways to spend your time and money. However, sticking with as many gender-neutral (and neutral colored) options as possible will help you build a wardrobe you can hand down to future children. Register for Various Sizes When you’re preparing for the baby to arrive, get his or her wardrobe started by registering for infant clothing in sizes up to and through 12 months....

Some risk factors are unavoidable. You can’t change the year you were born or whether you have had miscarriages in the past. You can, however, look at avoidable risk factors, such as alcohol intake, in order to reduce your risk. Odds Ratios of Miscarriage Risk For some risk factors, researchers do not have a flat estimate of the percentage of normal pregnancies that will miscarry. Instead, they have calculated odds ratios to indicate the increased risk compared to women without the risk factor....

No one could blame you, then, for wondering if something like acupuncture—which doesn’t involve putting anything into your body except the end point of a sterile needle—could help relieve your most annoying pregnancy symptoms. But can it really help you, or is the evidence all anecdotal? And if it can help, is it safe? Here’s everything you need to know about using acupuncture to treat your pregnancy symptoms (including which ones might benefit the most from this ancient form of Chinese medicine)....

In fact, Robitussin is probably fine to take while breastfeeding as long as your baby is over 2 months old. “Robitussin has not been studied or measured, but in general we know thatonly about 1% is excreted into breast milk,” explains Kim Langdon, MD, an OB/GYN with over 20 years of experience in the field. “Therefore, a low dose should pose minimal problems.” When deciding whether to take Robitussin, take into account your baby’s age and the severity of your symptoms....

If you are a back sleeper, you may have heard that sleeping on your back is a pregnancy no-no. Naturally, you may be worried, especially if you wake to find that you have spent most of the night on your back. Turns out, sleeping on your back is fine during the first and second trimesters. However, back sleeping needs is not safe during the third trimester. This is because lying on your back increases your risk of reducing blood flow to the uterus, which can cause serious complications, including stillbirth....

Some items your child might enjoy casting are pieces of colored glass, coins, dead insects or other natural specimens, marbles, leaves, pressed or whole flowers, hardware or parts like nuts and bolts, rocks, seeds, beans, grains, shells, old jewelry or watch parts…as I said, just about anything. Even photographs can be encased in plastic, but you’ll need to seal them first to protect them. Coat them with a sealant known generically as a vinyl resin glue/sealer, allow it to dry, and then embed the object in the resin....

What Is a Cephalohematoma? Simply put, a cephalohematoma is an accumulation of blood under the scalp. During the birth process, small blood vessels crossing the thin layer of tissue just above the skull bones are torn, allowing blood to gather on top of the skull bone and under this tissue layer. Because the cephalohematoma is a collection of blood on top of the skull, there is no pressure on or bleeding into or around the baby’s brain since the brain sits under the skull bones....