One Tough Mother

Beautiful hat trick

MrsEvilGenius — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 15:17:00 +0000

Rare identical triplets born! All three boys were 4lbs or over, all healthy and just adorable. IVF and ART just freakin' rock.

Good bit: the mom saying with just a teensy hint of bewilderment:"We had one embryo transferred ..."

BEST bit: check out dad getting choked up saying: "I'm so proud of my wife." Jeez *I* even teared up a bit. What a good man.

Identical triplets via IVF.

Autism cases continue to grow

MrsEvilGenius — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 09:50:00 +0000

The number of autism cases continues to rise, making it pretty clear that Thimerosal - a preservative used in vaccines prior to 2001 - is not to blame for the disorder.

"LOS ANGELES - Autism cases in California continued to climb even after a mercury-based vaccine preservative that some people blame for the neurological disorder was removed from routine childhood shots, a new study found.

Researchers from the state Department of Public Health found the autism rate in children rose continuously during the 12-year study period from 1995 to 2007. The preservative thimerosal hasn't been used in childhood vaccines since 2001, but is used in some flu shots.

Doctors say the latest study adds to existing evidence refuting a link between thimerosal exposure and autism risk and should reassure parents that the disorder is not caused by vaccinations. If there was a risk, they said, autism rates should have dropped between 2004 and 2007.

...

Some advocacy groups blame thimerosal for the impaired social interaction typical of autism. Nearly 5,000 claims alleging a vaccine-autism link have been lodged with the federal government, which is deciding whether victims should receive compensation from a government fund.

Dr. Daniel Geschwind, a neurologist at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, said the focus now should be on exploring the causes of autism such as possible genetic links."

...

PS: check out the video in the sidebar of triplets with autism.

New news on childhood allergies

MrsEvilGenius — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 14:32:00 +0000

AAP revamps it's advice on allergies in kids.

"CHICAGO - Breast-feeding helps prevent babies' allergies, but there's no good evidence for avoiding certain foods during pregnancy, using soy formula or delaying introduction of solid foods beyond six months. That's the word from the American Academy of Pediatrics, which is updating earlier suggestions that may have made some parents feel like they weren't doing enough to prevent food allergies, asthma and allergic rashes.

In August 2000, the doctors group advised mothers of infants with a family history of allergies to avoid cow's milk, eggs, fish, peanuts and tree nuts while breast-feeding.
That advice, along with a recommended schedule for introducing certain risky foods, left some moms and dads blaming themselves if their children went on to develop allergies.

"They say, 'I shouldn't have had milk in my coffee,'" said Dr. Scott Sicherer of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine's Jaffe Food Allergy Institute in New York. "I've been saying, 'We don't really have evidence that it causes a problem. Don't be on a guilt trip about it.'"

Sicherer helped write the new guidance report for pediatricians, published in the January issue of the journal Pediatrics. Earlier advice about restricting certain foods from moms' and babies' diets has been tossed out and the only surefire advice remaining is to breast-feed.

The report says:
_There is no convincing evidence that women who avoid peanuts or other foods during pregnancy or breast-feeding lower their child's risk of allergies.
_For infants with a family history of allergies, exclusive breast-feeding for at least four months can lessen the risk of rashes and allergy to cow's milk.
_Exclusive breast-feeding for at least three months protects against wheezing in babies, but whether it prevents asthma in older children is unclear.
_There is modest evidence for feeding hypoallergenic formulas to susceptible babies if they are not solely breast-fed.
_There is no good evidence that soy-based formulas prevent allergies.
_There is no convincing evidence that delaying the introduction of foods such as eggs, fish or peanut butter to children prevents allergies. Babies should not get solid food before 4 to 6 months of age, however."

How stimulating

MrsEvilGenius — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 16:16:00 +0000

The chemical form of orlando Bloom buck naked?

A Viagra for women.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - A drug that could do for women what Viagra has done for men is being tested at the University of Virginia. The drug is a testosterone-laden ointment called LibiGel and it's intended to boost the libido of women who have lost interest in sex. It will be prescribed at UVa in coming months to women who are suffering from hypoactive sexual desire disorder.
...

LibiGel comes in a pump bottle. The woman rubs the small dot of gel into the skin of her upper arm. Over the next 24 hours, the gel's testosterone seeps into her bloodstream, boosting her energy and libido.

(Dr. Anita) Clayton, who is running the clinical trial at UVa, said the drug is better than previous testosterone treatments because it keeps levels of the chemical constant, much like naturally occurring testosterone.

"I expect this will work," she said.
...

"A lot of women have this problem, but unfortunately they've been largely ignored by pharmaceutical companies," said BioSante's chief executive, Stephen M. Simes. "It's not fair that women have no drugs, while men have many."

Mommy needs sleep!

MrsEvilGenius — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 11:59:00 +0000

Now for more reasons ...

Turns out that less sleep may not only make you groggy and cranky, but be adversly affecting your health.

"Skipping sleep fuels appetite, particularly for the kind of comfort food that is high in calories. Small wonder, then, that sleep deprivation is emerging as a key risk factor for obesity and Type 2 diabetes."

Technorati Tags:
women's diet, dieting for women, newborn, sleep, lack of sleep, diabetes in women, obesity in women, need sleep t-shirts, funny sleep t-shirts
Add to: Technorati Digg del.icio.us Yahoo BlinkList Spurl reddit Furl

Christmas cheer-you-up

MrsEvilGenius — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 14:32:00 +0000

Something to cheer you Tough Mothers up this hectic holiday season!

Funny singing stuffed reindeer.

Top education cities

MrsEvilGenius — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 21:32:00 +0000

Looking to move? Want to know the top rated cities for K-12 education? Check this out.

One tough grandmother

MrsEvilGenius — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 12:45:00 +0000

How cool is this?

Rosinete Palmeira Serrao, a government health worker, gave birth to twin boys by Caesarean section on Thursday at the Santa Joana Hospital in the city of Recife, the hospital said in a statement on its Web site.

Serrao decided to serve as a surrogate mother after four years of failed attempts at pregnancy by her 27-year-old daughter, Claudia Michelle de Brito.

Brazilian law stipulates that only close relatives can serve as surrogate mothers. De Brito is an only child and none of her cousins volunteered, so Serrao agreed to receive four embryos from her daughter.

Technorati Tags:
motherhood, grandmother, grandmother gives birth to own grandchildren, birth
Add to: Technorati Digg del.icio.us Yahoo BlinkList Spurl reddit Furl

Well done, Cap'n!

MrsEvilGenius — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 16:42:00 +0000

How cool is this?

Sounds like the captain did an admirable job dealing with what can be a dangerous birth:

Head entrapment is caused the failure of the fetal head to negotiate the maternal pelvis. At full term ... the size of the hips are the same as the size of the head. The relatively larger buttocks dilate the cervix as effectively as the head does in the typical head-down presentation. The relative head size of a premature fetus is significantly greater that the fetal buttocks. If the baby is premature, it may be possible for the baby’s body to emerge while the cervix has not dilated enough for the head to emerge.

Scary! I'm so glad this women delivered safely, as baby wasn't due till mid-September.

Division of labor

MrsEvilGenius — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 12:01:00 +0000

Apparently, getting married changes everything ... chore-wise, anyway.

So, men get married, they do less housework, women get married, they do more.

Is this a matter of marriage traditionalizing roles? Or is it that women take more pride and responsibility in a household? ('This is my family's home', as opposed to 'this is where my boyfriend and I live')?

Did you catch the interesting side note of how men who make more money do fewer chores?

Hmmmm.

Technorati Tags:
marriage, men and women, chores, housework, roles
Add to: Technorati Digg del.icio.us Yahoo BlinkList Spurl reddit Furl

Hello and a funny to start with!

MrsEvilGenius — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 16:20:00 +0000

Hello and welcome to the new One Tough Mother Blog!

In case you haven't seen this, check out this eBay auction.

Even if you only have ONE kid, you can identify.

Dawn, the author/seller also has a hilarious blog. She's a dab hand at writing about mommying and is keeping us updated right now with reports of some jerk who copied her advert. Fortunately eBay took it down (the copycat advert).

Note to self: idiots can be amusing.