And I will be honest, in the pictures it looks a little weird.  I know my baby bumps didn’t move AT ALL, no matter what I did.

I will be suspending judgement for the time being, but I did a little research and came up with this:

Beyonce on August 29, 2011 at the MTV awards.

Compare to this picture on September 7, 2011:

Now listen, I am certainly no pregnancy expert but does her bump actually look smaller in the picture taken a week after?

Maybe it was the extra fabric on the dress giving it some extra shape or something, but I will admit that it has me scratching my head a bit.  Supposedly there is a rumor floating around that she is having a surrogate carry her child.  If that is the case, which I’m not saying it is, I feel badly for her that she would feel she has to put on a charade.  Enough people use surrogates these days that I don’t see why there would be an issue.

What say you?

Last week I asked what you thought about the attempt to make circumcising infant males illegal, and a fairly overwhelming majority of 86% felt that it was an issue that should not be legislated.  Only 10% felt that it should be made illegal, and I have to admit that I side with the majority on this.  I know there is the argument that it is an unnecessary surgical procedure performed on an infant without their consent (which is sort of par for the course for infants) but it is also a religious/cultural thing for many, and I personally don’t feel comfortable stepping over that line and suddenly making an important religious ritual illegal.  Just my two cents.

Today I RSVP’d for a baby shower for someone I don’t know that well.  Her mother is a good friend of my MIL’s and she is a sweet person, I just feel a teensy bit awkward because the last time I saw them was my wedding, almost ten years ago.  However, obligations are obligations.

According to this article in the Washington Post, researchers

… found that a lack of sleep led not just to poor performance on tasks that require “innovative thinking, risk analysis, and strategic planning”—though studies have shown all those to be true—but also to increased deviant and unethical behavior in both groups. Examples included rudeness, inappropriate responses and attempts to take more money than they’d earned.

And that is why my friends who are also mothers of young children and I have decided to go ahead and form a posse.  We’re toying with the name “Bad Muthas” but someone else suggested “Bad Mamma Jammas” and I’m sure we’ll have an argument about it before the final decision.

We will go around town with our strollers, terrorizing the locals with our rude behavior.  Why, when we order something at the local Starbucks, we WILL not tip.  

Then when someone asks us about how our day is going, we will point to our “special snowflakes” and ask them how they think it is going when we have to deal with twenty pound dictators all day long.  We will then rough them up and take their wallet.

Membership in the posse will be terminated once your child starts sleeping through the night, no exceptions.

We can’t afford the chance that one of our number might act ethically due to getting enough sleep.

When you see the stroller brigade coming your way, be very afraid.

Introducing Breastmilk Baby!

I’m putting the video after the jump because there are some pictures of actual breastfeeding in the ad, so NSFW…

You know, my dislike of this doll has absolutely nothing to do with approving or disapproving of breastfeeding (which I happen to support, but I also support women who bottlefeed as well) but rather thinking it is just unnecessary. 

Proponents of the doll say that other dolls on the market which have bottles are “confusing” for children. 

I’m sorry, but when the girl who plays with the doll becomes an adult, she is not going to shun breastfeeding because that is what she did with her dolls when she was five.  Then that would mean no one in my generation would be breastfeeding, and that ain’t the case.

No, my daughter isn’t into heavy metal.

At least, not yet.

But what she is into is banging her head on whatever convenient hard surface is nearest her when she gets angry or frustrated.

Here’s how the scenario plays out:

1) The Munchkinette doesn’t get something that she wants, whether it be a toy or to remain in my lap or a gazillion other things that upset her.

2) She proceeds to cry very loudly.

3) I don’t really pay any attention to her.

4) That of course, makes her even more angry.

6) She will then bend over from the waist and begin hitting her head on the hardest, most painful surface that is nearest her.  This ranges anywhere from concrete to tile to marble to drywall.

7) She then hurts her head.

8 ) She then starts crying even louder because her head also hurts, not to mention that thing she is still angry about although she’s probably sort of forgotten what it was at this point.  But she’s STILL MAD.

9) Looks to me for sympathy.

10) Sees me shake my head and tell her that if she didn’t hit her head, it wouldn’t hurt.

11) STILL MAD.

12) Continues crying until distracted by something else.

This occurs almost every day, sometimes multiple times a day.

Her brother never pulled anything remotely like this.  Usually if I told him to stop doing something or that he couldn’t have something, he would whine and move on.  No throwing himself to the ground, no screaming.  He really only had a few tantrums, and those were over relatively quickly.

My daughter, though, is an entirely different story.

I’m beginning to think that my daughter, as much as I love her, isn’t very bright.

Awww, look at that cute little guy!  I think I seriously need to nom on those toes.  However, Louis seems as if he has already learned to hate the paparazzi.

But, a new store that I’d never heard about had popped up in my absence, and I have to say I was really, really impressed with the quality and design of the clothing. I know y’all like to see the goods before buying, but there aren’t a whole lot of these stores in brick-and-mortar form, so online is the way most of you will be able to access their stuff. 

And what wonderful stuff it was!  I liked many, many things, but here are a few of my favorites:

Little Peanut Dress

The fabric is soft and lovely, the garment itself well-constructed.  I adored all of their “little peanut” line.

Stinson Polo

The ultimate in surfer cool, I liked a lot of their shirts for boys.

Frida Skirt

The picture does not do this skirt any justice.  The embroidery is absolutely beautiful, and again, the skirt is well-made.

Junglie Elephant

Their whole line of Junglie and Bunglie animals were some of the softest, cuddliest I’ve ever felt.

Oh, and I always award bonus points to stores who emphasize books, and they had a large and impressive book display in the very front of the store.

*I am not affiliated with Peek…, nor am I receiving any sort of compensation for this review.  Good clothes are hard to find, and I wanted to pass the info along.

My five-month old daughter is one of the few.

One of the proud.

One of the infants born with a full head of hair.

I’m not talking about some sort of wimpy fuzz.  No, this chick had hair.  The nurses actually couldn’t get over the fact that it even had golden highlights in it from day one and joked that they themselves paid serious money for those kinds of highlights.

It’s pretty much the first thing people remark upon when seeing her for the first time.  Not her beautiful blue eyes, or long eyelashes, or her lovely smile which radiates joy.

Yet all around me, I see discrimination against her.

If you look at ads for baby items, from diapers to soap, pretty much all of the babies are bald. Oh, maybe one or two have a patch of wannabe hair on the tippy-top, but for the most part display lots of pink skin.

So is my daughter is going to grow up with a complex about her abundant locks ? Will she look at all of her baby friends and realize she is the only one able to utilize a headband for the actual purpose for which it was made, not just to match her outfit?  Will the toddlers down the block snicker behind their hands and say, “Looks like somebody could use a visit to the salon!” Or parents who see her full mane and whisper, “Shouldn’t that kid be walking yet?” not realizing she’s only six months old.

Do follicularly blessed babies not cry when pricked, or laugh when tickled?

They may resemble all the rest in that, they just do it with better hair.

And all he got was some sore boobs.

Yeah, been there, done that, dude.

It seems Ragnar Bengtsson flew completely beneath my radar when it was announced that the 26 year old student was attempting to produce enough milk to breastfeed his child.  He was pumping at 3-hour intervals every day, hoping  to stimulate lactation.

I had no idea that it was even possible for men to lactate, although it is normally something that occurs when undergoing specific types of hormone therapy.  And even then, at most they produce only a drop or two, not nearly enough to feed a hungry infant.

Mr. Bengtsson began his quest for milk in order to promote a better “bonding” experience with his child and future children.  I sort of applaud his intent, if not perhaps agreeing with his method. He is quoted as saying, “Anything that doesn’t do any harm is worth trying out.”

We won’t count the sore boobs as harm, right Mr. Bengtsson?