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In general, emergency c-sections are called for if anything happens to put you or baby in danger, like a prolapsed cord (umbilical cord coming out ahead of baby), placental abruption (the placenta starts coming loose, causing you and baby to loose blood), a breech presentation (baby isn’t head-down for delivery), or fetal distress. You might also wind up with an emergency c-section if your labor stops progressing or takes way too long, especially if it has been several hours since your membranes ruptured (once he isn’t surrounded by the amniotic sac, baby is susceptible to infection)....

Don’t stress too much, Mama. Even though it’s got school in its name, preschool isn’t meant to be a vigorous academic environment. In fact, most kids aren’t expected to know their ABCs from their 1, 2, 3s when they get there. It’s really about giving your child a place to develop independence while interacting with other kids. So don’t worry about drilling those alphabet flash cards. What’s more important is getting your child comfortable with a few simple things....

Water safety is high-priority for parents. You know your kids should take swimming lessons, and chances are you’ve heard of all sorts of baby-and-me swim classes that help acclimate your infant to the water. But that means you have to go in the water… With Infant Self-Rescue courses, you are not only exempt from jumping in the pool, you’re not allowed to. And guess what else? Baby will be totally submerged in the water....

What do I need for logging into The Bump Pregnancy App or The Bump Baby App? You need to register with one of the following sites from XO Group: TheKnot.com, TheBump.com or TheNest.com. You can log into The Bump app with a registered account.You can also create an account by tapping on the Join button on the log in page within either of The Bump apps.You won’t have to log in again unless you manually log out first....

When in comes to in utero activity, there’s a wide range of normal. As long as baby’s overall level of movement is consistent, there’s no need to worry. If you’re in your second trimester or the early part of your third, your baby may be more active than you think. On some days, you simply may not feel all of his kicks and jabs. If you’re worried, try counting kicks over the course of a few days; ideally, you should feel at least 10 within 2 hours....

Depending on how you normally snooze through the night, you might have to rethink your favorite position while expecting. As you may already know, some pregnancy sleeping positions are better for baby than others. Plus, as your bump grows, you may find some of your go-tos increasingly uncomfortable. The good news? You likely won’t have to switch things up until you hit the second trimester and really start showing. Keep reading to learn more, straight from the experts, on what you need to know about each common pregnancy sleeping position and how to find ones that are comfortable and safe throughout those nine+ months....

Crawling may be the cutest milestone ever, and almost from birth, parents begin wondering, at what age do babies crawl? A belly lurch forward, a backward scramble—crawling is baby’s first attempt at moving around independently and a natural next step after rolling over and sitting upright. In our baby crawling guide below, we’ll answer all your top questions. In this article: What age do babies crawl? Signs baby is ready to crawl Types of baby crawls How do babies learn to crawl?...

As 2015 winds down and we start to relax this holiday season, it’s the perfect time to look back and reflect on the past year’s accomplishments. If you’re a new mom, this might be the year you got your greatest gift yet—a baby! Imagine if your baby could marvel at all that he or she’s accomplished so far, and in just a few short months. Bumpies in our community are doing just that, stepping into their babies’ tiny shoes to share their latest tricks and discoveries—all from baby’s point of view....

Pregnancy comes with its fair share of aches and pains (hello, swollen feet and throbbing back), but it also often involves something more festive—a baby shower! Along with those adorable decorations and fun games, most baby showers feature a mouth-watering array of food and desserts. So what kind of baby shower food is best to serve? One of our favorite baby shower food ideas is to serve a variety of finger foods....

Boy, this is such a hard question to answer. I feel for you! I don’t think waiting times should be the first consideration when choosing an agency. I encourage families to choose an agency that is well established in the country from which they are adopting and provides good adoption educationand post-adoption services. In short, I’m looking for an agency that is more focused on child welfare than child finding. However, it is possible to find a great deal of fluctuation in waiting times even among these type of agencies, and realistically waiting times should be a factor, if not the factor....

It’s no secret that your body will go through some major changes during pregnancy in order to ready itself for labor and delivery. Your vaginal discharge may increase and get thicker, and your bump may drop as baby settles deeper into your pelvis. But one transition that isn’t obvious on the outside is cervix dilation. A few weeks before baby’s anticipated arrival, your doctor or midwife will start checking to see if your cervix has started opening at all (how did you think baby’s head was going to fit through the birth canal?...

New research published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood worry that as swaddling sees a resurgence in popularity, so could the risk of developmental hip problems for baby. Professor Nicholas Clarke, of Southampton University hospital found that swaddling technique, which involves binding (or bundling) baby tightly in a blanket to keep arms and legs from stretching out, though on the rise due to its calming effects and the fact that evidence shows it helps induce sleep and soothes baby is actually linked to evidence that swaddling baby puts him at a heightened risk for developmental hip abnormalities....

Pregnancy is never easy. But after baby number 4, Jenny had a literal falling out with her abdominal wall. In other words, she had diastasis recti, a condition in which the belly becomes so overstretched that its muscles separate. There was “just an overall feeling of collapse,” says Rachel Welch, Jenny’s postnatal fitness instructor and founder of Revolution Motherhood in Brooklyn, New York. Diastasis recti is a legitimate concern during and after pregnancy—after all, your uterus stretches to accommodate baby as they grow from the size of an avocado to an entire watermelon....

The following story, “How To Get Yourself Back” by Lyz Lenz, was originally published on Boomdash. If you had asked me who I was the day I turned 28, I could have told you with clarity—book reader, cheese eater, runner, writer, the loudest person in every room, and a good pizza crust-maker. Four months after my 28th birthday, I became a mother, giving birth to the chubbiest, happiest little baby girl I’d ever seen....

Rules work best if they’re short, simply stated and consistently followed. First, think about what’s important in your home and family, and be sure to keep in mind what’s developmentally appropriate for toddlers. You might not be a big fan of food throwing, but establishing a “no throwing food” rule in a household with a toddler is simply setting yourself up for failure. Toddlers are bound to toss food now and then!...

With a flagship boutique on Chicago’s famed Michigan Avenue and her designs gracing the cover of Vogue, fashion designer Azeeza Khan’s star has been on the rise since she launched her namesake clothing line in 2012. But this year promises to be her best one yet with her fall collection debut at Barney’s New York and her first baby, a little girl, nearly ready to make her own arrival. Not surprising, the marketer turned designer wanted her baby shower to be a totally stylish affair....

When you hear the term “nesting,” you might think of songbirds gathering twigs, grasses and soft leaves to make a cozy home for their hatchlings. But the impulse to create a safe, comfortable space to house and protect your expanding family is experienced across the animal kingdom—humans included. At some point or another, many moms-to-be feel the overwhelming desire to redesign, reorganize and obsessively clean their living space—and this, friends, is what’s known as nesting during pregnancy....

When it comes to preregistering with the hospital where you’ll deliver, why not go ahead and do it? Basically, preregistering just gets most of your hospital paperwork out of the way before you come in to deliver. This way, the doctors and nurses have your info (employment info, insurance documents and the like), and your file will be all ready to go when baby decides it’s time to make an appearance....

If you suspect that your baby is tongue-tied (has a tight frenulum, or attachment, under their tongue), it is best to have them evaluated as soon as possible by someone familiar with various types of tongue-tie and how it affects feeding efficiency for baby and comfort for mother. Many babies can breastfeed even while tongue-tied, but it may take them much longer, and they may have difficulty getting the milk they need to grow well....

A Christmas Carol (1951) It’s A SpongeBob Christmas! (2012) A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) A Miracle on 34th Street (1947) Alvin and the Chipmunks: Christmas with the Chipmunks (2005) Elf (2003) A Christmas Story (1983) The Santa Clause (1994) Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) Home Alone (1990) National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) It’s A Wonderful Life (1946) Frosty the Snowman (1969) A Muppet Family Christmas (1987) White Christmas (1954) How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) Casper’s Haunted Christmas (2000) Mickey’s Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mickey Mouse (2001) You can never have enough Mickey Mouse family Christmas movies....