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Please note this article was written prior to COVID-19. Life’s big and little moments deserve to be celebrated even during a pandemic, but please keep the CDC’s safety guidlelines in mind as you plan your celebrations. There’s a good chance your kiddos will be fast asleep when the clock strikes midnight this New Year’s Eve, but that doesn’t mean they can’t help usher in the new year! There are lots of fun ways to include your kids in your celebrations or help them make some of their own memories....

As eager as you are for baby to arrive, there are certain things you’ll want to tackle free from the distraction of a crying newborn. And if you’re reading this, the clock is probably ticking! From car seat installation to interviewing a pediatrician, here’s what’s most important to check off the list before that first contraction. 1Image: ShutterstockTake a childbirth classYou can brush up on labor basics in advance, but it’s worth it to practice breathing and relaxation techniques with someone who knows what they’re talking about....

And the Winner Is: Optimist Botanicals Bright The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists (ACOG) strongly recommends that all pregnant women, as well as those trying to conceive, refrain from drinking alcohol. Skipping a celebratory glass of something—anything—for 40 or so weeks can leave you with FOMO. But thanks to an uptick in sober-curiosity, there’s never been a better time to be avoiding alcohol. Today’s booze-free beverage offerings are diverse and surprisingly tasty (these are not your run-of-the-mill, sugary mocktails)....

A recent, rare diagnosis is emphasizing the importance of properly feeding your infant. An 11 month old in Spain was diagnosed with scurvy after months of an almond-milk only diet. Scurvy, typically associated with pirates and not much else, involves a severe vitamin C deficiency. This can result in symptoms like weakness, fragile bones, bruising, fatigue, irritability and rashes. According to this particular baby’s diagnosis, made public in the journal Pediatrics, “the patient was referred for pathologic fractures of the femur, irritability, and failure to thrive....

The holidays are almost here—which means moms and dads across the land are having visions of happy babies with Santa dancing in their head. But here’s the deal: If it wasn’t Christmas and the old man at the mall wasn’t Santa, it would be beyond weird to expect your child to be jazzed about waiting in a long line to sit on a stranger’s lap. With that in mind, it’s best to do a little prep work ahead of the visit so baby is ready and willing....

What is celiac disease during pregnancy? Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease, which means that your body thinks it’s doing good but is actually harming you. In celiac disease, eating gluten, a protein found in a lot of grains, triggers an immune response that causes the body to damage the small intestine. What are the signs of celiac disease during pregnancy? Symptoms include abdominal pain, swelling and bloating; diarrhea; weight loss; and fatigue....

They may make you groan, but you must admit that even corny dad jokes require a certain level of finesse. After all, dad jokes combine a level of wordplay and pun mastery that few people can pull off. And yes, part of the artistry of dad jokes is that they’re just really bad jokes, but that doesn’t mean dad jokes aren’t a rite of passage for dudes transitioning into dadhood. In fact, a man knows he’s become a welcome member of the father society when funny dad jokes (or more honestly, cheesy dad jokes) roll off the tongue with little effort....

What if you knew that you carried a gene that could harm your baby or make getting pregnant nearly impossible? Or what if you were told that your chances of getting pregnant on your own were nearly zero? What lengths would you be willing to go? Advances in fertility medicine are helping couples who thought they could never have children of their own experience the joy of pregnancy, childbirth and parenthood....

Unfortunately, some wombs can be a little wacky. About 5 percent of all women are born with some kind of uterine congenital abnormality, meaning they’re born with a certain condition or problem in their uterus, and the way that may affect fertility depends on each woman’s own specific problem. Many others develop a problem like fibroids or polyps along the way, which can affect their ability to get pregnant. Most of these acquired issues can be treated with minor surgery....

Think fertility treatments are only for fantastically wealthy celebs like Sarah Jessica Parker and Nicole Kidman? Think again. While some types of babymaking assistance can cost up to $100,000, there are others that can cost as little as $5 per month. So how much will they cost you? Well, we can’t tell you that exactly. “The actual costs vary depending on where you live,” says Natalie Burger, MD, a fertility specialist at Texas Fertility Center....

We’ve been hitting up moms who are entrepreneurs and businesswomen and finding out what it’s like for them to start and run a company. Now that we’re gearing up for Father’s Day, we thought why not get the behind-the-scenes scoop from a dad who’s similarly juggling career and family? And what better person to talk to than Neil Grimmer, whose company, Plum Organics was — and still is — inspired by his two daughters....

There’s a lot of new terminology to absorb when you’re pregnant. You may have heard some of the language in passing or you’re hearing it for the first time after that positive pregnancy test. The term “mucus plug” is probably one of them. Spoiler: You’ll hear that term again as you get close to your due date—your OB may even ask if you’ve lost yours in the final weeks before delivery....

The nonstress test (NST) measures how babies’ hearts respond to movement. (Just like yours, your babies’ heart rates should speed up when they wiggle.) While women carrying one child are rarely administered this test, moms-to-be of multiples are very likely to undergo an NST, since all multiple pregnancies are considered high risk. You’ll take the test during the third trimester (as early as week 28), and depending on how many babies you’re carrying and other clinical factors, you may go back into your doctor’s office to do it a few more times before you deliver....

It may feel like just yesterday that you were changing baby’s first diaper, and in the blink of an eye you’ve reached the mother of all milestones: potty training! It may be difficult at times, but you can find comfort in the fact that all parents go through this. While the end goal is always the same—ditching those diapers, and ushering in the era of underpants—it’s not a one-size-fits-all process. Stressing over how to potty train your tot?...

Pregnancy is an exciting, life-changing journey, but it often comes with its own set of challenges. When it’s all getting to be a bit much and you’re feeling overwhelmed, try turning to pregnancy affirmations for help. Affirmations have quickly become popular in recent years—and for good reason. These short mantras that you can recite to yourself help boost confidence, positively affect mental health and improve your ability to find gratitude in day-to-day life....

Identical twins develop from the same fertilized egg and are essentially genetic copies of each other. Fraternal twins, on the other hand, develop from two separate fertilized eggs, and are no more genetically similar than any other set of siblings. Making this determination before the babies are born is not always easy. A couple of findings on ultrasound can help. If a first trimester ultrasound between weeks 8 and 13 shows that the fetuses share one placenta(or are “monochorionic”), the fetuses are identical more than 99% of the time....

April 26, 2010: This morning, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a major recall on all Simplicity cribs and all Graco drop-side cribs. With Simplicity, the recall affects all cribs with a tubular metal support frame (found in both fixed-side and drop-side cribs), which safety officials found in many cases to have the tendency to bend or detach. In these cases, the mattress was caused to collapse and fold inward, creating a space where baby could become trapped and suffocate or even fall out of the crib....

What to Look for in a Nursery Glider or Rocking Chair Comfort: You want your nursery glider or rocking chair to be soft but supportive, with ample height so that you can rest your head. If possible, sit in it to get a feel of the seat pan depth, and put your arms on the armrests. The back, butt and arm support really do have to work in harmony. Customer reviews: Fellow parents and their experiences can prove extremely valuable—especially if you don’t have the chance to see and test out a baby glider or rocker chair in person....

Most toddlers get their last baby teeth (the four “second molars”) some time between 20 and 33 months. Unfortunately, cutting these teeth can be painful, since they’re some of the largest, and it can mess with your child’s sleep, keeping him up at night. Luckily the pain won’t last that long, usually just a couple of days or so. You can give him a pain-reliever like acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Motrin) to help reduce some of the pain....

When you got pregnant, you knew you were about to experience an expanded waistline—but did you know you were also going to expand your vocabulary? You’re likely hearing a host of unfamiliar terms as you consider your labor and delivery options, including the word “doula.” No matter where you are in your pregnancy journey, it’s never too early to consider whether you’d want a doula to help you and your partner through childbirth and postpartum recovery....