Mamas and Papas Starlight Portable Swing

This bright colourful portable swing is a great item for parents who take their kids out frequently or for those who have limited space for gear.

It folds conveniently for travel or storage and is MP3 compatible to allow parents to play music of their choosing for their little one.

You can soothe and comfort your baby with motion, sound, lights, and soft-touch toys. A comfy three-position seat locks for optional use as a stationary seat. Settings allow you to choose the motion.

Detachable canopy offers two gently twinkling light shows to fascinate your baby, while Charlie Caterpillar, Stanley Snail and Lotty Ladybird beckon from the toy bar.

This swing is currently not shipping until the end of this month at FAO schwartz and is priced at $179

Other Toys That Are MP3 compatible:

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Cruz Beckham ‘lunches’ With His Mom

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Cruz Beckham,2, appears to be his mom’s constant companion. He was seen outside of Mel’s Drive-In yesterday in Los Angeles.

The Beckham boys recently spent some time on the Ugly Betty set.

Ugly Betty actor Michael Urie has revealed he was kicked by the boys while their mum was filming a cameo for an episode of the show. Urie, who plays scheming assistant Marc St. James in the hit US show, occupied the children by teaching Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz Beckham to ‘fake kick’.

But Urie said the boys would hurt him when they would accidentally kick him. He told E! Online: “I showed them how to fake kick someone. Then they proceeded to fake kick me.

“These are soccer spawn, and they could kick – and they didn’t always miss! I spent about a half hour getting kicked by Beckham spawn!”

PHOTOCREDIT:RAMEY via PEOPLE
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Jennifer Lopez is Registered At Petit Tresor

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Jennifer Lopez and husband Marc Anthony have yet to publicly announce their pregnancy, but they have formally registered at Petit Tresor for a double baby jogger.

On the list of upscale items are an Enchanted Forest Cottage Crib ($2640.00), the matching armoire ($3630), Mary Adult Glider & Ottoman, Minimink Snuggle rug and my personal favourite – The Symphony in Motion Mobile.

You can view the whole registry here.

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California Bans The Sale Of Toys Containing Phthalates

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Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has set a precedence by passing legislation to prohibit the manufacturing, sale and distribution of vinyl toys and childcare products that contain phthalates designed for children under three, making California the first state in the country to ban these chemicals used in baby toys.

The phthalate ban was among 80 bills the governor signed Sunday to meet a midnight deadline. The ban will take effect on January 1, 2009. Several other states are expected to follow suit.

“California continues to lead the nation in protecting children from dangerous chemicals and in safeguarding our environment,” said Assemblymember Fiona Ma, the San Francisco Democrat who authored the bill. “AB 1108 sends a clear message to the Consumer Product Safety Commission that if the Bush administration won’t act, states will.”

Phthalates are chemicals added to plastic to make it soft and flexible. Among many other things, they are used in soft plastic toys and other baby products, such as teethers, bath books, and rubber ducks.

Because phthalates are not chemically bonded to the plastic, these toxic chemicals are easily released. When children suck on these products, phthalates can leach out and enter their bodies.

“When a child puts a phthalate-laden teether in her mouth, it�s like sucking on a toxic lollypop,” said Rachel Gibson, staff attorney for Environment California. Phthalates have been shown to interfere with the natural functioning of the hormone system. These toxic chemicals have been linked to reproductive problems, early onset of puberty, liver and thyroid damage, and testicular cancer.

North America is behind the rest of the world. Fourteen countries and the European Union have already banned or are phasing out the chemical.

Related Articles:

Choosing a bottle: Some Biosphenol A Free Choices
Baby 411 Authors Take Aim At Plastic Bottles

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Milla Jovovich Craves Bone Marrow

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I have heard of some crazy pregnancy cravings, but never one this wild.

Pregnant model, Milla Jovovich, who has gained 70lbs since falling pregnant with her first child, was in Paris when she experienced an overwhelming desire for “the leg of a cow.”

She told Britain’s Grazia magazine, “I was craving bone marrow one day, and I scoured the whole of Paris searching for the leg of a cow. When I finally found what I was looking for, I cut it in half, digging out the yellowish substance, slathering it all over bread.”

The Ukrainian model, who is expecting a girl, has developed a new relationship with food since falling pregnant.

She said, “Before I got pregnant, I really didn’t care about food. I saw it as fuel, not something to sit down and enjoy. As an actress and model, I lived on cigarettes and coffee, and jet-lag tended to kill off any appetite I had.

“My diet for most of this year has been – for breakfast, four eggs with bacon, toast and butter, if I was at home. Then if I was at a diner, I’d have a Mexican omelette, a stack of pancakes and strawberry milkshake.

“I’d stuff myself with cookies all morning – whatever was in the cupboard really – then I’d have a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts for dessert. And I once ate two whole packs of coffee cake in one sitting.”

I love hearing about these models, who have limited their food intake for years, getting pregnant and opening the flood gates.

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Lucky 4 Year Old Boy Gets To Ride Beluga Whale

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While at Marineland this summer, we were thrilled when our son got to feed the Beluga Whales for just a few minutes.

They are such gentle, amazing creatures, which is probably why the staff at Qingdao Polar Ocean World in China’s eastern Shandong Province is letting a four year old boy swim with one in between sailing events at the 2008 Olympic Games.

Yang Yang, the lucky little boy, has been swimming since he was one. The pair first appeared in public together during the country’s National Children’s Day in the summer. It proved such a success that it was decided to make them an Olympic attraction.

There are fewer than 80,000 beluga whales left in Arctic waters, with St Lawrence, Cook Inlet, and Alaskan belugas classified as endangered.

The recently completed Qingdao Polar Ocean World is home to more than 10,000 ornamental fish, as well as white whales and polar bears – and is one of the largest polar marine animal parks in the world.

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Super Ear Infection Resists Approved Drugs

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A new super bug that causes acute ear infections in children has emerged that is immune to all antibiotics currently approved for children.

The strain of highly drug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae requires aggressive therapy, either surgery or an antibiotic not approved for children that has caused joint damage in young animals.

So far, the bug appears to be occurring in only a very small proportion of children. But there is concern the multi-drug resistant organism could spread and cause other, more serious problems, including pneumonia, blood stream infections or meningitis.

One girl in Rochester was left with permanent hearing loss in both ears.

If an ear infection doesn’t improve after two back-to-back courses of antibiotics, “a light bulb should go off that maybe it’s a super bug and maybe we need to have our child get an ear tap (where fluid is drained from the middle ear) and the sample sent to evaluate whether it’s a super bug requiring special treatment,” Pichichero says.

Most ear infections start with a cold or other viral infection that triggers swelling on the mucus membranes lining the middle ear, as well as the Eustachian tube, the short tube that drains fluid from the ear to the back of the throat. Bacteria that are normally present in nose multiply and migrate to the middle ear.

About half are caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, the leading cause of meningitis and blood stream infections in children. The approval in 2000 of Prevnar, a vaccine that protects against seven strains of the bacteria, has overall slashed ear infections by about 25 per cent.

Tests of a new pneumococcal vaccine that includes the new super bug strain are underway in the U.S.

The issue here is that other strains have begun to flourish with overuse of antibiotics. The new super germ, a strain called 19A, has adapted and learned how to resist all 18 approved antibiotics for childhood ear infections.

Tips to help prevent ear infections:

• second-hand smoke can weaken a person’s immune system, so keep your child away from cigarette smoke as much as possible.
• breastfeeding or bottle feed your baby propped up, this prevents fluid from accumulating around the ear area.
• washing your hands frequently, as well as your toddler’s toys, can help reduce the number of germs he will come into contact with thereby minimizing the chances of an ear infection.
• avoiding getting water in their ears. Encourage them to use ear plugs in the pool and bath.
• eliminate dust and pet dander, which are possible allergens.

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