We’ve all heard of the strange names that celebrities give their children. Whether its to be trendy or unique, or maybe just to be mean - who knows? But sometimes the names you hear for these children really make you think what the thought process was when it came down to picking the child’s name.

And with that, we’ve created a list of what we think are 20 of the most bizarre celebrity baby names, and starting off our list is:

20. Kal-El

Parent(s): Nicolas Cage

19. Pilot Inspektor

Parent(s): Jason Lee

18. Fifi Trixibelle

Parent(s): Bob Geldof and Paula Yates

17. Apple

Parent(s): Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin

16. Coco

Parent(s): Courteney Cox and David Arquette

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I think every parent knows that you don’t give cold and/or cough medicine to your baby if they’re under 2, and if you’re not sure - It usually says it right on the package. But with all the recent press about babies and toddlers getting sick from being over medicated by OTC medicine, the FDA has changed its guidelines and will be adding new warning labels stating that children under 4 should not get OTC cold or cough medicine. (You can read more here)

Now don’t get me wrong - added warnings and safety measures are never a bad thing! But if we’re talking about parents not reading labels, than that’s an entirely different story.

But how much of this has been proven? Has it been shown that kids under 4 are at risk due to the actual medications or is it more because of parents, too anxious to medicate their children at the first sign of a runny nose or a cough aren’t paying attention to the labels and warning and putting their own children at risk?

Like any medicine, there are always potential side effects I suppose. But if there’s a question regarding any medication, or if I gave my child some OTC medicine for a cough or cold and noticed even the slightest adverse reaction or change in his behavior, I would be on the phone with his pediatrician in a heart beat!

In all, the simple guideline are:

Parents should never:

• Give adult medicines to a child.
• Give two or more medicines with the same ingredients at the same time.
• Give antihistamines to make a child sleepy.

Parents should:

• Give the exact recommended dose, using the measuring device that comes with the medicine.
• Keep OTC medicines out of sight and out of reach.
• Consult their doctor if they have any questions.

I found an interesting video on YouTube yesterday while searching for baby related videos. It’s a trailer for a new video game on Nintendo DS titled My Little Baby that allows you to raise a virtual baby. From the trailer it seems there are a variety of real world activities you can take part in, when it comes to raising a baby.

“My Little Baby is a family-friendly game for the Nintendo DS that gives players the opportunity to raise a baby – all without the real-world messes, sleepless nights, or “terrible two’s.” Players start by creating virtual parents, whose unique characteristics – eye color, hair color, skin tone, etc.

Anyway, I thought this was interesting. Not sure what to make of it and I’m also not sure what audience this would appeal to. Since its on the DS, one would assume it would be for a failry younger audience.

I never could have imagined how much work was required when shopping for the right stroller. It was almost as tedious as buying a new car - researching brands and models, reading product reviews, checking prices online and haggling with salesman for free floor mats (OK, well maybe not the last one.)

Anyway, there’s a [pretty] accurate article from MSNBC on tips to consider when buying a new stroller. You can read the article and get more detail on the tips here: 10 Tips: How to buy the right stroller

But here’s a sneak peak:

1. Be Decisive: If you strongly suspect that a family member or close friend wants to buy a baby stroller for you as a gift, register for the one you really want.

2. Kick the Tires: Visit stores in person and try opening, folding and carrying different models with one hand. Make sure the stroller feels sturdy, not flimsy.

3. Remember the small details: If more than one person will be pushing the stroller, adjustable handles are an important feature to have.

4. Newborns have special needs: A newborn baby needs a stroller that lets him or her lie down or that works in concert with a car seat.

5. Just detach the car seat and go: Consider a full travel system that fits a car seat into a stroller.
Read more…

With the kids going back to school, it made me realize that my little boy was due for his next round of immunizations. (Download the Immunization schedule here (PDF) | right click and save as)

The chart above (and available for download) shows the latest vaccine recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical groups, along with the ages (or age ranges) for when each shot or series of shots is to be given. For example, according to the chart the polio vaccine is to be given four times — at 2 months, 4 months, 6 to 18 months and 4 to 6 years. Yellow indicates that children in certain high-risk groups may benefit from additional vaccinations.

Its important to keep your kids up to date with their immunizations, and although its difficult for me to find time during the week to take my son to the pediatrician (unless its an emergency,) they’re pretty good at playing “catch-up” with his shots so that he’s not missing anything vital. If your child has missed any shots, check with your doctor about getting them back on track. Depending on what they’ve missed, they probably have a “catch-up” schedule that they can follow.

AAP - Catch Up Schedule (download PDF | right click and save as)

Immunization Schedule: 7-18 years old (download PDF | right click and save as)

Has anyone realized that there were more babies born in the United States last year (2007) than ever before?

About 4,315,000 children were born in 2007, which is about 15,000 more births than at the peak of the baby boom in 1957. Although during that time, the “baby boom” was influenced by a fewer number of woman having more than one baby. So why the drastic increase? Well, as far as I’m concerned, there are two reasons:

The first being the overall increase in population. Each year the U.S. population grows, and in turn its only natural that the number of newborns increase as well. You gotta love science!

But secondly, and in my (humble) opinion, the REAL root of this growth: plain, good old fashioned boredom. I’ll explain – the rapid (and disappointing) increase in the number of reality shows, the writer strike in Hollywood, the mindless movie plots being released every week has left us nothing to do with our spare time. (Although there are a handful of exceptions, such as Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog. If you haven’t seen it, watch it!)

Not to mention the economic factors that come into play. With everyone trying to save money, fewer people are going out for entertainment (movies, dinner, etc.) so we stay in and get comfortable, and with that leads to, eh hem, other “entertaining” things.

So if we really want to point the finger, lets aim it towards Hollywood…or the economy…or Deal or No Deal – that Howie Mandel has got to answer to someone!

Given my work schedule and the obvious benefits of interaction with other children, I felt it was time to put my son in daycare. But I had no idea that it would be so painful…for me!

Now I’ve gone round and round in discussions with friends and family members who tell me that putting your [first] child in the care of someone else is always hard, and that the first few weeks will be hard on both me and my child, but mostly on me. And I think their right – just bringing him into the building starts the water works and I can still hear him crying as I leave. I know that he is just getting used to me not being there with him and adjusting to being around new people and other children in a new environment, but it doesn’t change the fact that I’m having a hard time adjusting to leaving him there crying because I know he’s upset.

All of this gets me thinking of at-home nannies or services like Nannies for Hire. I’ve heard good things about these services, and a friend of mine recently used Nannies for Hire to find someone to come to her house and watch her two little girls three days a week and says it was a great find. But I don’t want my child to miss out the interacting with other children his own age and in turn develop the social skills needed in the future.

So I suppose right now it’s just a waiting game – will my son be the one to adjust and start making a swarm of baby friends or will mommy be the one to break first? Well since I’ve decided that I will give this whole “daycare thing” 6 weeks to work itself out, I guess we’ll all find out in the new couple of weeks…

I found an interesting article today with tips that are sure to create a lot of fun for your kids as well extra noise and headaches for you. MSN, Family & Parenting has an article about household objects that can be great toys (noise makers) for your little one. This makes a lot sense, as I’ve noticed babies usually ignore their bright and colorful toys and go after things we parents wouldn’t consider toys at all.

Baby bottle caps & straws seem to keep our baby occupied for several minutes. The straws aren’t so bad but the noisy bottle cap hitting and spinning on the floor can get to you. I sometimes ask myself, “why do I keep buying toys”? If my kid can be entertained by empty shoe boxes, cardboard boxes, wooden spoons, and other regular everyday items then Fisher-Price is going to start losing some business.

A few of the household items featured can also provide some fun educational benefits. With the different sounds, shapes, textures, etc. your child is sure to pickup a thing or two.

“Providing a variety of shapes and sizes will encourage your child to invent new ways to balance and build that a set of traditional square blocks might not. Plus, it gives him a chance to understand size relationships.“

Read the full article here: Terrific Toys from Around the House

These books have been “TOP 5’s” for as long as I can remember. I think we should just categorize these books as “classics” for the baby genre and make them a staple for any household with a newborn baby and/or toddler:

1. The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

The Rainbow Fish is a beautiful book, in terms of story and illustrations. Babies will enjoy the lovely drawings in calming colors and the fish’s sparkling scales. Parents will love the message this book teaches about sharing. The Rainbow Fish is an excellent bed-time story book, too, thanks to the restful colors and soothing text. The sparkling scales also look great by night-light.

2. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

5. Ten Little Ladybugs by Melanie Gerth

Touchable, three-dimensional ladybugs and bright, bold illustrations make this a wonderful book for infants, who will enjoy the rhyming story of ten ladybugs who disappear one by one. Toddlers can practice their numbers and colors, as well as identify familiar creatures in the illustrations. Ten Little Ladybugs provides hands-on learning and fun for babies of all ages.

List published by About.com

Any woman who’s had gestational diabetes can tell you all the ways it can affect your pregnancy. From small things like changes in your diet to the more “annoying” aspects such as checking your blood sugar every few hours - not to mention the potential affects the disease can have on your baby.

Being as there is no history of diabetes in my family, I can pretty much blame myself and my sweet tooth. And although I tried to change my eating habits (as in not eating as much “sweet” stuff) to more fruits and veggies, the natural sugars in fruit just added to the problem I already had.

Luckily I didn’t have a sever case, and it did not carry over after my son was born. Although the increase in sugar did speed up his growth and in turn I ended up with a 10lb baby!

Read more…