Dear readers,
Emily, myself, and This Week in Babies has moved to Tumblr. You can find us there, with all-new baby-related content and fun.
Sincerely,
JillEmily
22 December 2008
19 October 2008
TWIB Presents: Candidate Babies!
As you may have been able to guess from our last few posts, here at twib, we love us some babies and we love us some politics. We love these two things even more when they're combined. Therefore, we now bring you candidate babies!
(And we are using "babies" in its most loose sense, to mean roughly "children who are cute".)
Volume One: The Democrats
Joe Biden's babies are all grown up, but that won't stop us from posting this sweet pic of Beau Biden, who we love.
But Joe's grandkids are pretty adorable. Here he is with one of his granddaughters. She looks a little pouty, but I'm sure Joe will cheer her up.
In other news, according to a November article in Vogue, the Bidens' granddaughters have had a sleepover with the Obamas' daughters, Sasha and Malia. SWEET.
Speaking of which...Sasha and Malia are freaking adorable.
On the campaign trail in Indiana:
On the beach with their dad:
The whole family:
Coming Soon:
Volume Two: The Republicans
(And we are using "babies" in its most loose sense, to mean roughly "children who are cute".)
Volume One: The Democrats
Joe Biden's babies are all grown up, but that won't stop us from posting this sweet pic of Beau Biden, who we love.
But Joe's grandkids are pretty adorable. Here he is with one of his granddaughters. She looks a little pouty, but I'm sure Joe will cheer her up.
In other news, according to a November article in Vogue, the Bidens' granddaughters have had a sleepover with the Obamas' daughters, Sasha and Malia. SWEET.
Speaking of which...Sasha and Malia are freaking adorable.
On the campaign trail in Indiana:
On the beach with their dad:
The whole family:
Coming Soon:
Volume Two: The Republicans
18 October 2008
This Week in Babies Who Still Love Obama
Emily and I went to an Obama rally last week. Some babies also went. You can now see them here.
These babies have Obama shirts and excitement
Nom baby loves Obama
Recent-nom baby also loves Obama
Getting a closer look
And a video. This baby LOVES clapping.
These babies have Obama shirts and excitement
Nom baby loves Obama
Recent-nom baby also loves Obama
Getting a closer look
And a video. This baby LOVES clapping.
20 August 2008
This Week in Morning Sickness
The New York Times reports that an old wives' tale may be true.
Apparently, an international study found that women who suffered severe morning sickness were the most likely to deliver a baby girl. In fact, the odds of having a girl were 80% higher among women with morning sickness so severe it required hospitalization than among asymptomatic women or women with very mild nausea.
Apparently, an international study found that women who suffered severe morning sickness were the most likely to deliver a baby girl. In fact, the odds of having a girl were 80% higher among women with morning sickness so severe it required hospitalization than among asymptomatic women or women with very mild nausea.
09 July 2008
This Week in Mamma Mia, That's a Lot of Babies
Yesterday in St. Paul, sixteen babies were born in seventeen hours The link has a video of the little ones, in case you're looking for, you know, an addiction.
This Week in Baby Addictions
According to a new study in the journal Pediatrics, babies' smiles make their mothers' brains fill with happy hormones. Specifically, seeing pictures of babies smiling, especially their own babies smiling, released a surge of the hormone dopamine, pretty much the same effect on the body as using drugs or alcohol.
While some of the conclusions drawn from the research reek of New Momism:
it does offer an interesting evolutionary perspective. I have often wondered why I tend to squeal with glee at the sight of a delighted baby.
Babies are, let's face it, kind of obnoxious sometimes. Getting you addicted to them might be their only chance at survival.
While some of the conclusions drawn from the research reek of New Momism:
"This is the mechanism by which you come to be consumed by your baby," Montague says. "All good mothers are addicted to their newborn babies. They will do things above and beyond the call of duty."
it does offer an interesting evolutionary perspective. I have often wondered why I tend to squeal with glee at the sight of a delighted baby.
Babies are, let's face it, kind of obnoxious sometimes. Getting you addicted to them might be their only chance at survival.
01 July 2008
This Week in Illegal Babies
Madeline Holler writes about her illegal home birth.
Home birth, as such, isn't actually illegal anywhere in the United States. No state (or district) prosecutes women who give birth outside the hospital, at home or any other place. Twelve states and the District of Columbia prohibit direct-entry midwifery (the kind of midwives who will deliver babies at home, as opposed to certified nurse midwives, the majority of whom deliver babies in hospitals).
Although the American Medical Association has passed a resolution condemning home birth as a practice. I'll spare you the history lesson, but a lot of maternal death (as well as the politicization of abortion) resulted from 19th century doctors thinking there was no way a WOMAN could know more than they did about birthing babies. So, really, nothing new.
But it still totally blows, to put it eloquently. Particularly because most studies in countries where many (or most, as in Denmark--80%!) women give birth at home show no difference in outcomes for women and their newborns.
Home birth, as such, isn't actually illegal anywhere in the United States. No state (or district) prosecutes women who give birth outside the hospital, at home or any other place. Twelve states and the District of Columbia prohibit direct-entry midwifery (the kind of midwives who will deliver babies at home, as opposed to certified nurse midwives, the majority of whom deliver babies in hospitals).
Although the American Medical Association has passed a resolution condemning home birth as a practice. I'll spare you the history lesson, but a lot of maternal death (as well as the politicization of abortion) resulted from 19th century doctors thinking there was no way a WOMAN could know more than they did about birthing babies. So, really, nothing new.
But it still totally blows, to put it eloquently. Particularly because most studies in countries where many (or most, as in Denmark--80%!) women give birth at home show no difference in outcomes for women and their newborns.
20 June 2008
This Week in Freaking Huge Babies
WXII 12 out of Winston-Salem, NC reports that a woman gave birth to twins weighing a total of 23 pounds:
DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW BIG THAT IS?
Sean William weighed 10 pounds, 14 ounces, and Abigail Rose weighed 12 pounds, 3
ounces – a combined 23 pounds, 1 ounce.
DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW BIG THAT IS?
This Week in Obama Babies
Obama's the democratic nominee. Mostly. Emily and I have made no secret of our love and adoration of the next president of the United States, and neither have these babies:
The middle one is my personal favorite. Because if someone asked me, "Are you voting for Hillary?" I would respond EXACTLY as that baby did. Don't tell my current employer (which endorsed Sen. Clinton, and is oh-so-generously providing the internet I'm using to write this very post).
The middle one is my personal favorite. Because if someone asked me, "Are you voting for Hillary?" I would respond EXACTLY as that baby did. Don't tell my current employer (which endorsed Sen. Clinton, and is oh-so-generously providing the internet I'm using to write this very post).
28 May 2008
Child Prodigies
Personally, I think kids are pretty neat even when they're doing banal things (mostly laughing until they fall over or giving precocious answers to questions about what they would ask the president if they met him). But these kids are especially neat.
Pretty Boy Bam Bam is a 5-year-old boxer. David tells me that his skills will, as the saying goes, pay the bills. Also, the kid raps and is adorable.
Moshe Kai Cavalin is a 10-year-old in college. He wants to study astrophysics. Especially worm holes. "Science" is not a concept I generally attempt to understand, but I have been led to believe that this is quite advanced. I'm glad there was not a ten year old in my physics class.
And Connie:
Possibly not a child prodigy--she's a reasonably good singer for a six year old, but it's no astrophysics--but she's SO cute, and I pretty much cry every time I watch this video.
Let's hear it for the kids.
Pretty Boy Bam Bam is a 5-year-old boxer. David tells me that his skills will, as the saying goes, pay the bills. Also, the kid raps and is adorable.
Moshe Kai Cavalin is a 10-year-old in college. He wants to study astrophysics. Especially worm holes. "Science" is not a concept I generally attempt to understand, but I have been led to believe that this is quite advanced. I'm glad there was not a ten year old in my physics class.
And Connie:
Possibly not a child prodigy--she's a reasonably good singer for a six year old, but it's no astrophysics--but she's SO cute, and I pretty much cry every time I watch this video.
Let's hear it for the kids.
13 May 2008
Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
My Developmental Psych class was visited yesterday by a kindergarten class so we could observe their play. As we began our observation from behind a two-way mirror, the kids' teacher offered some thoughts on child development and the developmental situation of end-of-the-year kindergarteners.
She shared some stories about parents with concerns about their children (well, their boys) taking gender flexible play roles, especially at the play kitchen station, which we all responded to with the proper slightly derisive laughter, chortling at the silly narrow-minded parents.
But then she said this: "The parents shouldn't be worried. The kids at this age don't really see gender anyway; they all just play together."
I looked into the playroom, where there were six little girls among 11 boys. Of those girls, four were wearing pink, one purple, and one a red shirt and a skort. One played by herself with a pirate ship. One played by herself at the make-believe grocery store. The other four alternated between playing princesses at the costumes, and playing with the doll house.
David directed me to comments from Hilzoy at Obsidian Wings an NPR story about kids who are challenging their given gender identity. The whole post is fantastic, so read it, but there's one bit that's just heart-wrenching. Early elementary-schooler Bradley wants to identify as female. His psychiatrist suggests that his parents socialize him as a male. He tries hard, giving up his Barbies and Polly Pockets.
But...
"He really struggles with the color pink. He really struggles with the color pink. He can't even really look at pink," Carol says. "He's like an addict. He's like, 'Mommy, don't take me there! Close my eyes! Cover my eyes! I can't see that stuff; it's all pink!'"
As the kids were playing, two boys sitting next to me were making a Lego house.
"I don't know how to make this," one said.
"Ask her." His playmate pointed at me.
The first boy looked at me, then back to his friend. "She doesn't know."
Kids see gender.
She shared some stories about parents with concerns about their children (well, their boys) taking gender flexible play roles, especially at the play kitchen station, which we all responded to with the proper slightly derisive laughter, chortling at the silly narrow-minded parents.
But then she said this: "The parents shouldn't be worried. The kids at this age don't really see gender anyway; they all just play together."
I looked into the playroom, where there were six little girls among 11 boys. Of those girls, four were wearing pink, one purple, and one a red shirt and a skort. One played by herself with a pirate ship. One played by herself at the make-believe grocery store. The other four alternated between playing princesses at the costumes, and playing with the doll house.
David directed me to comments from Hilzoy at Obsidian Wings an NPR story about kids who are challenging their given gender identity. The whole post is fantastic, so read it, but there's one bit that's just heart-wrenching. Early elementary-schooler Bradley wants to identify as female. His psychiatrist suggests that his parents socialize him as a male. He tries hard, giving up his Barbies and Polly Pockets.
But...
"He really struggles with the color pink. He really struggles with the color pink. He can't even really look at pink," Carol says. "He's like an addict. He's like, 'Mommy, don't take me there! Close my eyes! Cover my eyes! I can't see that stuff; it's all pink!'"
As the kids were playing, two boys sitting next to me were making a Lego house.
"I don't know how to make this," one said.
"Ask her." His playmate pointed at me.
The first boy looked at me, then back to his friend. "She doesn't know."
Kids see gender.
07 May 2008
Baby White Naped Mangabey
Ooooohhhhhh yessssssss.
Enumerating the cuteness:
- 0:19 GIANT EYES
- 0:30 Thumb suck
- 0:40 Flop
- 0:47 Teddy bear cuddle
- 1:05 Thumb suck with teddy bear cuddle (Oh god, can it be!)
Conchita is also the star of the most adorable monkey picture I have ever seen:
EEEEEEEEEEEE.
06 May 2008
Smart babies
Kids hate dumb people. That's the gist of this article by Susan A.J. Birch, et al. I find that mildly surprising, as kids also tend to find stupid things hilarious, but this is science, and I will not doubt it.
Actually, it's not that surprising. Recent studies have shown that young kids and even babies show social intelligence, and are able to assess motives and intentions from a very early age. Debra van Ausdale and Joe R. Feagin wrote The First R: How Children Learn Race and Racism, wherein van Ausdale's fieldwork in a multiracial preschool showed that even 3- and 4-year-olds were competent with racial terminology, including slurs, and that they learned this language not by parroting a bigoted adult, but by observing the social inequalities and public narratives that made that language "make sense".
Birch, et al., write: "[Children] are more likely to learn new words [...] and new object functions [...] from someone who has been accurate in the past than from someone who showed signs of incompetence." "Incompetence" was shown by puppets who tried to tell 3- to 4-year-olds that you tie your shoe with a spoon, for example. Fascinating.
Other smart babies:
Actually, it's not that surprising. Recent studies have shown that young kids and even babies show social intelligence, and are able to assess motives and intentions from a very early age. Debra van Ausdale and Joe R. Feagin wrote The First R: How Children Learn Race and Racism, wherein van Ausdale's fieldwork in a multiracial preschool showed that even 3- and 4-year-olds were competent with racial terminology, including slurs, and that they learned this language not by parroting a bigoted adult, but by observing the social inequalities and public narratives that made that language "make sense".
Birch, et al., write: "[Children] are more likely to learn new words [...] and new object functions [...] from someone who has been accurate in the past than from someone who showed signs of incompetence." "Incompetence" was shown by puppets who tried to tell 3- to 4-year-olds that you tie your shoe with a spoon, for example. Fascinating.
Other smart babies:
01 May 2008
And you thought baby humans were cute.
In the interest of interspecies relations, we now present you with the latest in audio-visual juvenile fauna field study. AKA youtube videos of cute baby animals.
Let's start with sea life. These baby belugas are hungry. And cute.
Apparently baby giraffes= kind of crazy.
This is a video of Imani, a baby hippo born last year in the Antwerp Zoo. It's over 5 minutes long, but TOTALLY worth it. My favorite parts are the trippy music, when Imani chews on the floor, when she goes swimming...pretty much the whole thing.
Inevitably, all ruminations on cute baby animals must come around to pandas. This video, though short, has both baby pandas and a slide. What more could you ask for? That's right: nothing.
Let's start with sea life. These baby belugas are hungry. And cute.
Apparently baby giraffes= kind of crazy.
This is a video of Imani, a baby hippo born last year in the Antwerp Zoo. It's over 5 minutes long, but TOTALLY worth it. My favorite parts are the trippy music, when Imani chews on the floor, when she goes swimming...pretty much the whole thing.
Inevitably, all ruminations on cute baby animals must come around to pandas. This video, though short, has both baby pandas and a slide. What more could you ask for? That's right: nothing.
30 April 2008
How cuddling saves the world
WebMD (the hypochondriac's dream) reports on a study by Celeste Johnston, et. al, that shows that skin-to-skin contact (evocatively called Kangaroo Mother Care) decreases the pain of premature infants. In full-term babies as well, cuddling helps fight infection, facilitate breast feeding, and emphasize parental bonds.Another study by Johnston (PDF) describes immediate post-birth physical contact between mother and baby as one of the primary indicators that the woman will perceive her child's birth positively, no matter the type of birth.
In adults, especially women, affectionate physical contact reduces stress and the NIH reports that skin-to-skin intimate contact generally produces positive feelings and better relationships (between adults and between adults and their children).Why? Oxytocin. Feel the love.
Overheard Everywhere
Why Kids Shouldn't Watch Cinemax After Dark
Six-year-old girl, gyrating hips: Mommy! Mommy! This is how babies are made!
Mother: That's nice.
Gap Store, Stanford Shopping Center
Palo Alto, California
Overheard by: this is why I don't shop at the gap
via Overheard Everywhere, Apr 30, 2008
Six-year-old girl, gyrating hips: Mommy! Mommy! This is how babies are made!
Mother: That's nice.
Gap Store, Stanford Shopping Center
Palo Alto, California
Overheard by: this is why I don't shop at the gap
via Overheard Everywhere, Apr 30, 2008
This Week in Editorial Images of Babies
A joint post by JillEmily.
You know how all articles come with snappy pictures that perfectly illustrate the deep and probing analysis of the author? Well a lot of those come from databases, such as Getty Images. Emily and I enjoy deconstruction; thus, we have done the inverse, deducting article titles from pictures of babies. Enjoy.
Recycling your Baby: What to do When Your Baby Hates the Environment.
Daddy Do's and Daddy Don'ts: The Hairstyling Perils of Stay-At-Home Fatherhood in 21st Century America.
Raising the Post-Modern Child: Socializing Outrage at Cartographic Injustice.
Two important notes:
1. Feature is a work in progress. We anticipate much skill at this in the near future.
2. We're liberal arts students; the idea that a title could take any form other than Pretentious Initial Title: Descriptive Subtitle is completely foreign to us.
You know how all articles come with snappy pictures that perfectly illustrate the deep and probing analysis of the author? Well a lot of those come from databases, such as Getty Images. Emily and I enjoy deconstruction; thus, we have done the inverse, deducting article titles from pictures of babies. Enjoy.
Recycling your Baby: What to do When Your Baby Hates the Environment.
Daddy Do's and Daddy Don'ts: The Hairstyling Perils of Stay-At-Home Fatherhood in 21st Century America.
Raising the Post-Modern Child: Socializing Outrage at Cartographic Injustice.
Two important notes:
1. Feature is a work in progress. We anticipate much skill at this in the near future.
2. We're liberal arts students; the idea that a title could take any form other than Pretentious Initial Title: Descriptive Subtitle is completely foreign to us.
28 April 2008
The vital importance of Cheerios
The latest in pop science: Pregnant women with high-calorie diets are likely to produce baby boys while pregnant women with low-calorie diets produce more female offspring.
Louise at The F Word does a great job of breaking down the methodological weaknesses in the study.
The actual article is available here and actually doesn't seem to say all that much. Fetal sex is only predicted by maternal diet prior to conception and the only food that significantly correlates with producing a baby of a particular sex is breakfast cereal (with males).
So, breakfast cereal for boys, starve yourself for girls. One of the authors of the study, "Mathews says that her findings provide hints of a cheap, 'natural' way to select the sex of a child". Designer babies are, to risk placing an overly normative judgment, creepy, and certainly situated in a scientific-ethical gray area. But the problem is moreover emphasis.
The fount of the study is a minor decrease in male babies born in industrialized nations. Very minor. One tenth of one percent minor. And of course the answer is mothers because the answer is always mothers. Inhospitable maternal environment. Never mind that anyone who's made it through marginally informative sex ed (though I suppose that might be a smaller proportion than we'd like) knows that sperm are far more determinative of fetal sex than cereal.
In other news:
Louise at The F Word does a great job of breaking down the methodological weaknesses in the study.
The actual article is available here and actually doesn't seem to say all that much. Fetal sex is only predicted by maternal diet prior to conception and the only food that significantly correlates with producing a baby of a particular sex is breakfast cereal (with males).
So, breakfast cereal for boys, starve yourself for girls. One of the authors of the study, "Mathews says that her findings provide hints of a cheap, 'natural' way to select the sex of a child". Designer babies are, to risk placing an overly normative judgment, creepy, and certainly situated in a scientific-ethical gray area. But the problem is moreover emphasis.
The fount of the study is a minor decrease in male babies born in industrialized nations. Very minor. One tenth of one percent minor. And of course the answer is mothers because the answer is always mothers. Inhospitable maternal environment. Never mind that anyone who's made it through marginally informative sex ed (though I suppose that might be a smaller proportion than we'd like) knows that sperm are far more determinative of fetal sex than cereal.
In other news:
Lolbabies
Hello friends! In order to set the serious, academic tone of this blog, I have decided to explore the relationship between babies and that most elusive of creatures: the lolcat.
Lesson 1: CATS EAT BABIES:
Lesson 2: BABIES EAT CATS:
Lesson 3: Although babies and lolpigs appear to have a peaceful relationship, we can see that this baby is simply biding its time until the bacon is, in fact, done.
Conclusion: Perhaps babies aren't as cute and helpless as they would have us believe?
Nah, that's not possible. Look at that baby's face! He's so happy!
Lesson 1: CATS EAT BABIES:
Lesson 2: BABIES EAT CATS:
Lesson 3: Although babies and lolpigs appear to have a peaceful relationship, we can see that this baby is simply biding its time until the bacon is, in fact, done.
Conclusion: Perhaps babies aren't as cute and helpless as they would have us believe?
Nah, that's not possible. Look at that baby's face! He's so happy!
This Week in Babies: Introduction
Hello blogosphere. We like babies. You like babies. This will be a mutually beneficial arrangement.
We will write about babies, post videos of babies, and enjoy general baby-related news. We hope you will join us on this journey. Of babies.
We will write about babies, post videos of babies, and enjoy general baby-related news. We hope you will join us on this journey. Of babies.
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