Post Baby Workout Extremes?

It's almost impossible to ignore the obsession with pregnant celebrities and celeb moms with young children- but has it pushed them too far? Not only are baby's first pictures being sold for millions but it certain that the paparazzi wants a picture of these ladies post-baby bods. It seems that the pressure to loose the baby weight instantly is sky-rocketing.

Jennifer Lopez, who just had twins, is apparently training for a triathlon.

Katie Holmes reportedly lost two dress sizes in less than two months by working with Sue Fleming, creator of the Buff Brides Fitness program. She then ran a marathon when baby Suri was just 18 months old.

Kate Hudson gained 60 pounds when she was pregnant with son Ryder, she was back to her normal size in under three months. With trainer Joe Horrigan she worked out two to three hours a day, six to seven days a week- while eating a mere 1,500 calorie daily diet.

Heidi Klum was under contract to lose her post-pregnancy weight in just one month! Victoria Secret wanted her back on the runway or she would loose her $25 million deal. Talk about pressure! Klum turned to trainer David Kirsch, and 90 minutes of exercise every day while eating only "Lean, clean, and green. No dairy, lots of greens, grains, egg whites, and protein shakes,".

Another Voice for Postpartum Depression

In May’s Vogue, Gwyneth Paltrow speaks about having postpartum depression after the birth of her son Moses. I applaud her and Brook Shields, who also spoke and wrote about her postpartum depression experience. It is a very common ailment and something that is not to be ashamed of.

From Vogue:
“I didn’t know I had it until after it was over,” the actress, 35, says. “I just didn’t know what was wrong with me.” She suspects her depression stemmed from scaling back on her usual pre-baby treatments like acupuncture. “I felt really out of my body,” Paltrow says after giving birth. “I felt really disconnected. I felt really down … I felt pessimistic.”



For more information on PPD, check out BabyCenter's page, Health and Human Services' Women's Health page, and NIH's MedLinePlus page.

Celebabies

Keri Russell has got to be one of the cutest Hollywood moms. Here she walking from the farmer's market with her reusable bag and her son River in a sling.





Style note: favorite sling found here, favorite reusable bag found here.

Isla Fisher's Baby Style

Isla Fisher is all over the place with her new movies, Definitely, Maybe and Confessions of a Shopaholic. When I saw this picture of her today with her little Olive, I had to find out where she got that adorable bunting.



After much searching I am pretty sure I found it at Bloomies from Ugg Australia- at $280 it's not cheap!


However, for a cute cheaper alternative, you can get this similar one for $57 Canadian

Year of Celebabies!

It's only the 3rd week of January and we have a ton of celebrities announcing their pregnancies. Seems the old Wait-Until-they-Spot-the-Bump is out of style and telling the press early is in!

So far we have:

Nicole Kidman with her husband
Jessica Alba and boyfriend
Matthew McConaughey's girlfriend Camila Alves
Lily Allen and boyfriend
Singer/songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk is pregnant with her 3rd



Rumors are also swirling that:

Gwyneth Paltrow Pregnant With Third Child

Fergie is pregnant with Josh Duhamel's baby

David Spade's ex-girlfriend is pregnant with his baby

Celeb Baby Shower for Charity

From US Magazine we learn that Nicole Richie and Joel Madden are planning a baby shower- but don't want gifts for themselves. Instead they are asking for cribs, strollers and stuffed animals to the new Richie Madden Children’s Foundation. The foundation will support mothers in need. Next month, the charity will donate 100 Mom-to-Be kits to the Los Angeles Free Clinic in addition to the gifts collected at the shower.

My question is this: If celebs aren't concerned with their fame and fortune and really do want to do something good for others- why do they always insist on making a new organization in their own name? Why not have people bring gifts to the shower for established and already running charities? I'll tell you why, because in the end it still is just a little bit about them. But well wishes to them for making a great effort. If you are looking for great children's foundations to donate to this holiday season, try one of these:

March of Dimes
Big Brothers Big Sisters
Toys For Tots
Save the Children

Halle Berry's Green Baby Plans

Halle Berry is planning on being an environmentally conscious mom. She told People magazine that, "I'm working on the nursery, but it's all going to be organic and eco-friendly... There are so many things out now that you can use. I'm going to really try hard to make it all organic!". She added that, "They even have organic disposable diapers now that you can use".

What diapers is she talking about? Well, there are a couple options in the "organic disposables" area.

Seventh Generation Disposable Diapers: They are made in the US- which is good for both the US economy and for reducing use of gas and oil for the product to get to store shelves. They are free of latex, prefumes, dyes, and TBT (tributyl tin). They are made of chlorine-free materials and hypo-allergenic.

Tushies: "The Gel-Free Alternative Diaper" claims to be free of gel, latex, prefumes, dyes, TBT, and GMO. The diapers use chlorine-free woodpulp instead. But I'm not convinced. They say right on the website, "Because Tushies Diapers do not contain a superabsorbent, parents will change diapers more frequently". So you are creating more waste then? If you are throwing out more diapers than regular disposables, I don't really see the environmental advantage here.

In the end, while I am glad that people are using more Earth-friendly materials, it still seems like the Prius answer to things. It sounds great and perhaps feels like you are helping the cause, but there isn't much there. The Prius isn't all that environmentally friendly- the batteries and lifespan of the car make it not as friendly as say a TDI Jetta which gets 40 to 50 mpg. In the same way, while organic diapers sound great, they aren't really helping- after all they still are disposable. Energy is going into something that is shipped, bought and worn for a very short period of time and then thrown out. It's like someone saying they use Earth-friendly paper cups. It doesn't make sense. Use something that you can wash and reuse!

This is why I am a huge advocate for cloth diapering. A few quick points from OrganicAuthority.com

"disposable diapers continue to fill landfills around the world... by contrast, washing organic cotton diapers at home uses surprisingly little water: 6% of a household's total water usage for top-loading washers and 3% for front-loading washers... In the summer, we use more water to keep our lawn green than we do to wash our diapers"

Not only that, but they are cheaper!

Diaper Type Total Cost	Based on 6,750 diaper changes	Price Per Change
Cloth diapers (washed at home)	$778.05	12¢
Cloth diapers (diaper service)	$2,133.00	31¢
Disposable diapers	$2,530.00	37¢

Kate Winslet: Smart Mama

I read a quote from Kate Winselt today, not sure how old/new it is but I found in refreshing either way. In reference to teaching her daughter positive body image:

"I’ve just started subtly telling Mia, ‘I love my belly. You and Joe came out of there. I’m proud of my belly and I’m proud of my hips. I love my body.’ “I want to give something to her that is empowering so when she comes into her teenage years she feels confident in herself."

Isn't Keri Russell Cute?

Last time we saw Keri Russell with her little guy, she looked a tad uneasy slinging him around. Now, she's a pro! As you can probably tell, I am a huge fan of slings. They are just so easy to use, so comfortable and have tons of benefits.

Making Adoption Look Gooooooood

Some people may not like Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt together for many a reason, but I think that it is great that they are so open to and happy with adoption. There are a lot of kids both abroad and in the US that could really use a home. Plus they show it is ok to have kids of your own and still adopt... and they do it while being so cute.

National Adoption Center www.adopt.org

American Adoptions www.americanadoptions.com
US Dept of State on International Adoptions

Stars Can Be Reasonable

While it seems like everyone in Hollywood has decided to release their own perfume, hand bag line or clothing line, at least some are doing a decent job at it. Mary-Kate and Ashley may dress a little out there in their daily lives, but their original fashion line for girls aged 4 to 13 is rather reasonable and cute. Nothing too flashy and nothing to short or adult- and since you can find it at Walmart- it is also reasonably priced.

Celebrities Who Sling

Liev Schreiber slinging his new son Alexander.


Michelle Williams and Heath Ledger


Kate Hudson with son Ryder, proving that slings aren't only for infants.

Congratulations to Bridget Moynahan

Bridget Moynahan welcomed a baby boy yesterday in Los Angeles. Proud Papa Tom Brady is trying to get time off from practicing with the New England Patriots to see the new baby. It her first child.

Please, Please, Don't Look Up to Paris

This poor little girl. She is already imitating Paris with her hip sticking out and her hand placed on it. Do you see the logo for Hilton's denim and sports brand? It is a P that has devil horns, a horned tail and a halo. Talk about mixed signals! This girl is awful.

Celebabies!

Congratulations to Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber! They were seen out today with their new baby, Alexander. The healthy little guy was born July 26th in Los Angeles.

Let Them Wear Wings

I love this picture of Heidi Klum and her son, Henry. I know a lot of parents who don't want their boys to play with dolls, but I don't see what the big deal is. I used to have a neighbor who's son liked to paint his fingernails. His two younger sisters were painting their fingernails, so he wanted to too. No one got hurt. Let kids be kids, sometimes they ask for things we don't really understand but trust them to like it for 5 minutes and move on, as they do with most things.

Dave Mathews is a Green Dad

Not only did Dave Mathews have trees planted to offset the carbon emissions of their tour bus but at Live Earth yesterday he talked up cloth diapers:

"We use cloth diapers for our new baby because I think diapers might be the No. 3 piece of garbage [in terms of environmental damage],"

Yep. Dave was referring the fact that behind paper products and food containers, disposables are the 3rd most common item in our landfills. In one year more than 18 billion disposables are thrown into United States landfills. Yuck. That's a whole lot of untreated waste.

From Comedies to Autism

Jenny McCarthy cracked us up when she wrote Belly Laughs and Baby Laughs, but now she's coming out with a new book this fall about autism. Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism comes out September 6th. Pictured here with Evan in Disneyland yesterday, looks like both are doing well.

Celebabies

Of People magazine's top 5 most read articles today, 3 are about celebs and their expanding families. One caught my eye; Keri Russell who was carrying her new little boy in a sling baby carrier. She appears to be still adjusting to using it. The reason the sling carriers are so great is that you can go hands free, but she still is supporting the little guy.