Twins Born On Same Day Conceived 3 Weeks Apart

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Could you imagine being on the pill and still getting pregnant…twice…in 3 weeks?That’s what happened to Amelia Spence earlier this year.

Doctors realized that something was up during an ultrasound when they looked at the screen and noticed that one fetus still looked like a blob, whereas the other had four visible limbs. It was such a marked difference.

“It was really strange to see. The doctor said that he had never seen it before, but had only read about it in textbooks.

“One foetus was 12 weeks old, whilst they said the other was three weeks behind, at nine weeks old. I had become pregnant twice on two separate occasions.

“The doctors couldn’t believe it, either. They told us there was a million-to-one chance of it happening.

“There were concerns for the smaller baby but at the next scan she was still alive.

Miss Spence said: “It was very emotional when the doctors said that the smaller baby was still growing. She was such a little fighter.”

The mother had to be scanned every week to check that both babies were still growing.

She said: “It was nerve-racking going to the hospital each week and I just kept praying they would both be all right. My stomach got so big that towards the end of my pregnancy, I could hardly move.”

Doctors had to carry out an emergency caesarean to deliver the babies because they were both lying awkwardly in the womb.

Ame, the younger baby, arrived first weighing 4lb 13oz. Her sister Lia was much bigger at 6lb 11oz.

This may not be too uncommon because there are statistics on twins that are born to two fathers, which is kind of the same thing because the female would release an egg at 2 different times.

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Celebrities Support EB Medical Research Foundation

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Many celebrities and their families attended CelEBration on the Pier to Benefit the EB Medical Research Foundation.

EBMRF is a volunteer nonprofit foundation dedicated to the support of medical research of Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), its causes, the development of successful treatments, and ultimately, its cure. EB is a group of diseases characterized by blister formation after minor trauma to the skin. This family of disorders, most of which are inherited, range in severity from mild to the severely disabling and life-threatening diseases of the skin. This rare genetic disorder affects all ethnic and racial groups. Estimates indicate that as many as 100,000 Americans suffer from some form of EB.

This unbelievable disease is debilitating for your children because they can never ride a bike, skate, or participate in sports because the normal play of children causes chronic sores. Wounds may cover up to 75 percent of the child’s body. Imagine a diet of only liquids or soft foods because blistering and scarring occur in the mouth and esophagus. Scarring also causes the fingers and toes to fuse, leaving deformities which severely limit function. Imagine a life tied to hospitals for wound treatment, blood transfusions, biopsies and surgeries To learn more please visit their website ebkids.org

Joley Fisher and husband Christopher Duddy with children True and Skyler

Camryn Manheim and son Milo

Noah Wylie and wife Tracy with kids Owen, 5 and Auden (almost 2)

Adam Sandler with Wife Jackie and Daughter Sadie, 1

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PHOTOCREDIT:Lacroix/WIREIMAGE

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Would You Pay $6,000 For A Crib?

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When we were expecting our son, my husband and I picked out a crib that was $500. It had a nice solid wood frame and a stylish look.

At that time we thought that we were splurging, so you can imagine my surprise when I came across this crib by Duc Duc that retails for $6,000.

The ‘Dylan crib system’ includes a crib, change table and bonding bench. With additional extensions the crib converts first to a toddler bed and then to a modernist daybed.

While I am not disputing that this crib has some top notch features and a not seen before style, I wonder if parents are able to spend that kind of money on a piece of furniture that they may only use for a few years.

This seems to be one of those items that well to do families would purchase just to say they had one. The Hermes bag of the baby world.

At the end of the day a crib is a crib. One doesn’t hug your child better or create a more serene environment.

They all have bars that hold the baby in and mattress to keep them comfortable.They will still wake up three times in the night in a $200 crib and a $6,000 crib.

Knowing all of this would you pay $6,000 for a crib…system?

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Waterbirths Increasing In Popularity

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I have written a few times about water births and the benefits of having a baby in a tub. The whole thing intrigues me, it’s just not an option in North American hospitals.

They will allow you to relax in the pool before the birth, but the baby has to be born outside the water.

It is however, an option in the UK and they are seeing a urge in women who are requesting to deliver this way.

UK hospital’s are delivering hundreds of water babies as new NHS guidelines offer mothers greater control over how they give birth.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) this week issued guidance including a recommendation that women should have the opportunity for water births.This method is proving increasingly popular with expectant mothers as 10% of all births dealt with by the hospital’s staff are water births or home births, compared with a national average of 2%.

Midwife and delivery suite co-ordinator Bronwen Boddy said the guidelines signal a new era for mums-to-be who wish to have minimal intervention.

“It is fantastic that these guidelines are supporting the ‘normality’ as this is what midwives all across the country want to do.

“We have usually implemented change in advance of the guidelines. We have had lots of initiatives here ahead of the Government announcement.”

Water therapy has featured in the guidance as it encourages relaxation and less intervention under midwife-led care.

Hospitals are urged to make sure they have pools – at least three pools for 1,000 births a year is seen as adequate provision.

Demand is increasing at the South Tyneside trust. It completed a £1.1m upgrade of its delivery suite in 2003 which included a birthing pool. The trust also enables women to have a water birth at home.

With a water birth, only half need pain relief as the warm water has a relaxing and soothing effect.

It has also been widely reported that Charlotte Church purchased a birthing pool to deliver her baby Ruby in. No details were given about the baby’s birth except that it occurred in her farmhouse.

I think that expectant moms are more open to different birthing options now more than ever.

If are interested in learning more about water births, you should contact a midwife in your area.

SOURCE
PHOTOCREDIT:THEGOODBIRTH.CO.UK

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A Bit of Perspective…

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This Youtube commercial is a bit intense, but it gives you a bit of perspective. Live every day like you may not have a tomorrow. Don’t take anything for granted…

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Infants and Toddlers at Risk of Drowning in Bathtubs, Spas and Buckets

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When pool season ends, many parents believe the risk of drowning also ends, but data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) released today indicates 311 reported non-pool drownings from 2002 through 2004 of children younger than five years of age. More than 80 percent of these deaths involved children younger than two years old. The pattern is much different than that observed in pool-related incidents where children younger than two accounted for 38 percent of deaths (involving children younger than five).

Bathtubs were involved in most (71 percent) of the non-pool drowning deaths from 2002-2004. Many of these incidents involved caregivers leaving the room to answer the phone/door or to retrieve an item. In some incidents, an older sibling was left to watch a younger sibling.

“Infants and toddlers need particularly close supervision,” said CPSC Acting Chairman Nancy Nord. “Drowning can occur within seconds in only inches of water, so parents need think of, not just the pool, but any water anywhere as dangerous.”

CPSC recommends parents and caregivers follow these safety tips when children are around bathtubs, spas, buckets, or decorative ponds or fountains:

• Never leave young children alone near any water. Young children can drown in even small amounts of water.
• Always keep a young child within arm’s reach in a bathtub. Never leave to answer the phone, answer the door, get a towel or for any other reason. If you must leave, take the child with you.
• Don’t leave a baby or toddler in a bathtub under the care of another young child.
• Never leave a bucket containing even a small amount of liquid unattended. Toddlers can fall headfirst into buckets and drown. After using a bucket, always empty and store it where young children cannot reach it. Buckets left outside can collect rainwater and are a hazard.
• Prevent children from gaining access to spas or hot tubs when not in use; always secure with safety covers and barriers.
• Learn CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). It can be a lifesaver when seconds count.

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Introducing: The iCandy Pear

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Last year I came across a sleek looking stroller called the iCandy Apple. It has a beautiful design and sleek look that gives some of the big name stroller a run for their money.

As usual, it is not sold in North America and I was completely frustrated because the UK always gets the coolest gear, but it usually takes years for them migrate their way across the ‘pond’.

While in Vegas, a few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting iCandy’s representatives and previewed some of their new products.

Since I wrote about the Apple, the company has decided to take that stroller a step further and incorporate a ‘pip frame’ that allows the stroller to accommodate 2 children.

The Pear is available two ways. If you already have an Apple, you can purchase the ‘pip conversion frame’ and extra cot for the second child.

or

You can also just purchase the Pear in it’s entirety stroller frame, pip and 2 toddler seats.

It can be configured 8 different ways for your child’s comfort. The stroller does not come with infant car seats and it currently only fits the Maxi-Cosi Cabrio infant carrier (UK car seat). I like the idea of this stroller for a few reasons.

1. With the two toddler seats in, the stroller is still no bigger than a regular stroller that holds one child, which is unusual for a tandem stroller.
2. It accommodates families of all ages. Once your older child has outgrown a stroller, you can remove the ‘pip’ and turn the pear into single stroller again.
3. The whole things folds up conveniently for easy storage.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE: ICANDYUK.com

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Micro-preemie defied odds of 1000 to 1

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When Kimberly Mueller arrived 15 weeks early weighing just 10oz’s doctors gave her a one in a thousand chance of survival.

After the delivery, the baby was wrapped in plastic and whisked away for the team of doctors to work on.

She spent 6 months in the hospital and has now been given the okay to go home with her parents.

“Babies as small as this usually have no chance,” said Dr Oliver Moeller, a heart specialist who treated her.

“We are incredibly lucky that she lived. Such a case I have never experienced. We had a lot of luck … a lot.”

Kimberly is the smallest baby ever born in Germany and the youngest to survive.

She was just 10.2 inches long and weighed little more than a packet of butter when she arrived in the 25th week of her mother’s pregnancy.

Petra Mueller, 38, who remained at her daughter’s bedside in intensive care at the University Clinic in Goettingen, was allowed only to stroke her with her finger.

“It was the nicest thing when she would grip my finger in her tiny hands,” she recalled.

“She was like a little bear gripping a tree trunk, just hanging on for life as if she was saying ‘Don’t leave me, mummy’.”

Kimberly was placed in an incubator for warmth, given a respirator to help her breathe and fed through a drip. She was also given a cocktail of drugs to boost an immune system that was barely formed.

At three months, she faced a major setback, when doctors feared she could be blind. But laser treatment corrected the problem.

Kimberly’s progress was underlined when she arrived home this week weighing five and a half pounds and measuring 17 inches.

During the coming weeks she will continue to be fed artificially and will need to have oxygen as her lungs keep developing.

The world’s smallest known surviving baby was Rumaisa Rahman who weighed just 8.6 ounces when she was born in Chicago in 2004.

Last year Amillia Taylor survived birth at 22 weeks weighing 10ozs. Today she is a healthy plump baby that is doing well and thriving.

I believe that the support that their parents give them and the time they spend at the hospital makes a world of difference.

Related Articles:

25 Week Baby Born on Airplane: Still Thriving
Miracle 24 Weeker Goes Home

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Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon At Premiere

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Expectant mom Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon looked fabulous in green on Tuesday night at the premiere of “Feast of Love”.

The star is expecting her 2nd and 3rd baby this fall with husband Mike.

Let’s hope that her son Oliver, 16, is up the challenge of helping his mom look after twins.

PHOTOCREDIT: JSTRAUSS/WIREIMAGE

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17lb Baby Has Health Issues

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A doctor that is looking after the baby that was born earlier this week weighing 17lb has stated that the babies has health issues.

The baby is currently in the special care nursery.

Her mother, Tatiana Khalina, 42, said she wasn’t surprised at her daughter’s birth weight because the first of 11 children weighed more than 11 pounds at birth, and the others “beat the records set by their brothers and sisters.”

I wonder if this mom is diabetic? Diabetic babies are known to be much larger than regular babies and can sometimes have issues with lung growth in utero.

Related Articles:

Russian Mom Has 17lb Baby
UK Mom Delivers 14lb 7 oz Baby
Newborn Weighs In At 14lbs 5oz

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PHOTOCREDIT:REUTERS

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