Want to know the instant your baby pees? There’s an app for that. No, really. There is an app for that — in Brazil.
Huggies Brazil recently announced Huggies TweetPee, a small humidity-detecting sensor that looks like an owl and clips onto Baby’s diaper. Once your baby pees, the sensor will send you a tweet telling you it’s time to change your little guy’s diaper.
The accompanying TweetPee iPhone app uses the sensor to help you keep track of how quickly your babe goes through diapers and lets you order Huggies diapers when your supply runs low.
Check out the Huggies TweetPee video (in Portugese):
Huggies is only testing the product with four parents and will expand that number to 10 in July, ABCNews says. The company hasn’t announced plans to release this product in North America, but if it were available here, would you use it? Tell us in the comments below.
If you’re an expectant or a new mom looking to save money in the New Year, look no further than your insurer to save a few hundred dollars. A provision in the Affordable Care Act mandates that insurance companies cover breastfeeding support, supplies, and consulting–in conjunction with each birth–when health care plans began resetting on January 1.
Insurance companies, not the government, will cover the costs of the breast pumps but each company has a different plan for its members. Since the provision is rather new, and has no specification whether insurers should cover certain brands or types of supplies, many are still unsure as to how they’ll implement these benefits.
Visit your insurer’s website to find out how you can obtain breastfeeding supplies (and determine which ones are covered on your plan) and lactation consulting for no out-of-pocket expenses.
For more information about the ACA and how it affects your family, read our interview with Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
If your family eats peanuts, peanut butter, or other peanut products, you’re most likely concerned by the recent slew of recalls of some of these foods because of possible salmonella contamination. Thus far, an estimated 240 peanut products have been recalled, including popular brands such as Trader Joe’s and Hines Nut Company.
Last month, Trader Joe’s recalled its Creamy Salted Valencia Peanut Butter and eight other products. Sunland, Inc. followed suit and announced a voluntary limited recall of almond butter, peanut butter (including the one made at Trader Joe’s) and cashew butters, tahini, and their roasted blanched products. Most recently, Hines Nut Company, Inc. voluntarily recalled its salted jumbo Virginia in-shell peanuts, distributed under Hines or Dollar General Clover Valley labels. The Hines products are sold at Wal-Mart and Dollar General.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 35 people from 19 states have reportedly been infected with a strain of salmonella, likely resulting from the consumption of Trader Joe’s Valencia Creamy Salted Peanut Butter made with sea salt, manufactured by Sunland, Inc. Of those people contaminated, eight have been hospitalized, and almost two thirds of those reportedly sickened by the recalled products are children under age 10. At this time, no one appears to have gotten sick from any of the other recalled products and no deaths have been reported.
What is Salmonella?
Salmonella is a bacterium that can cause serious and sometimes deadly infections in young children and in other vulnerable populations (including frail or elderly people, and those with weakened immune systems). Symptoms include fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting, and infection, and typically last between four and seven days. Although most healthy people can recover without treatment, in rare cases conditions such as arterial infections, endocarditis, and arthritis can develop.
CDC urges those who think they may have become sickened from eating peanuts or peanut butter (or any foods, for that matter) to speak with a physician, and to contact their state health department.
What Should Parents Do About Food Recalls?
Even if no one in your family has become sick, your natural instinct as a parent may be to scour your pantry and throw out all possible offenders. And, of course, it makes sense to not eat recalled items.
Sarah Krieger, MPH, RD, LDN, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, urges parents to visit the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website to stay up to date on specific product recalls. For those who find a recalled product in their homes, CDC suggests you put the product in a closed plastic bag and throw it out in a sealed garbage can, or return it to the manufacturer for a refund.
But what other steps can parents take to play it safe—without going to extremes?
Krieger, a mother of three, suggest that you pay attention to the expiration dates used to determine which shipments of food have been recalled. If a product is released with an expiration date that is after the date on the recalled product, you should be safe.
Another option is to heat peanuts and any peanut products in question (you can make peanut sauce for noodles or a dip for vegetables). “Heating to 160 degrees or higher for at least 10 minutes will kill any salmonella the product may contain,” Krieger says.
But for those who aren’t comfortable with either scenario, and who are nervous as Halloween approaches, Krieger suggests being mindful of kids’ peanut and chocolate candy consumption. “Those who rather wait for the recall to be over before consuming peanuts or peanut products can opt instead to buy candy and other treats that don’t contain, or aren’t processed alongside, nuts or seeds.”
The bottom line? Don’t panic, get the facts, and make the decisions you’re most comfortable with when it comes to feeding your family.
Elisa Zied, MS, RD, CDN, is a Parents advisor. You can follow her on Twitter at @elisazied.
All content on this Web site, including medical opinion and any other health-related information, is for informational purposes only and should not be considered to be a specific diagnosis or treatment plan for any individual situation. Use of this site and the information contained herein does not create a doctor-patient relationship. Always seek the direct advice of your own doctor in connection with any questions or issues you may have regarding your own health or the health of others.
All parents would like to think they”re using a car seat correctly, but would you recognize if you’ve made a mistake? In honor of National Baby Safety Month, we’re sharing the top three car seat mistakes parents make, and how to fix them.
Adam Cohen, a certified passenger safety technician and editor of DaDaRocks.com, says the top three car seat safety mistakes are as follows:
1. The seats are installed incorrectly.
2. The straps are coming from the wrong place.
3. The child is in the wrong type of car seat: Either he’s in the infant car seat too long, or the seat is facing forward too soon.
Watch this video for the safe solutions to these problems:
Move over young Hollywood — these mini fashionistas are taking over as the new trendsetters in Tinseltown!
With fashion designers as moms, it’s no wonder that celeb kids such as Kingston Rossdale, Skyler Berman, Suri Cruise and Harper Beckham are seen in today’s top fashions.
“It is too much fun. It is like dressing a live doll,” Rachel Zoesaid of dressing her 1-year-old son Skyler with husband Rodger Berman. “He has no opinion. Every minute I have to buy things for my son,” she confessed.
And not to mention Suri Cruise‘s fashion statements!
Her mom Katie Holmes came clean about Suri’s lack of weather-appropriate attire, admitting it can be “embarrassing.”
“Recently, Suri and I were taking a walk and a fight got started because it was cold outside and she didn’t want to wear her coat,” Katie said. “My philosophy is, well, fine, because after a block of walking you’re going to ask me for your coat. So the pictures of her [without a coat in cold weather] are sort of embarrassing.”
Suri’s Top Gun papa, Tom Cruise, has also weighed in on Suri’s much-talked-about fashion choices — such as her heels and lipstick.
“Listen, I believe that she (should wear) whatever she wants to wear,” Tom said. “She dresses herself. I want to encourage her creativity and her own self-expression. I think that’s important for the child’s own identity.”
The doting daddy went on to say that Suri is “so sweet” that it’s hard to say “no” to her.
With Harper Beckham‘s mom making a name for herself in the fashion industry, it’s no stretch to hear that her wardrobe is full of fancy duds!
“She has so many little dresses!” dad David Beckham said of his 11-month-old daughter with Victoria Beckham. “I didn’t realize how excited I would get over buying hair bows.”
Harper looked cute as a button when we spotted the mini-fashionista with her posh mama at LAX, sporting a Little Marc Jacobs Isis Even Stripe Dress ($119) and a pair of Chloe tights ($50).
The always stylish Gwen Stefani said she lets her stylish 6-year-old son Kingston pick out his own clothes.
“At that age they like to be in control of everything, so I let him choose,” the L.A.M.B. designer said. “Luckily, everything in his closet is cute so no matter what he picks, he’s gonna look good. For a while he was into costumes. Now he doesn’t even want to wear shoes.”
With the warm months upon us, CelebrityBabyScoop asked some of our favorite celebrity moms to share their childhood summertime memories.
From Tori Spelling‘s family vacations in Las Vegas, to Jewel‘s horse riding adventures in Alaska, to Denise Richards’ family fun with their furry friends, read through our list of unforgettable family memories.
Soulful singer Jewel welcomed her first child, son Kase, in July 2011 with rodeo star hubby Ty Murray. The new mom opened up about her carefree childhood summertime memories in the great outdoors up in Alaska.
“They’re all outdoors,” she said. “I grew up in Alaska and the outdoors are so beautiful. I don’t think I spent any time inside except to sleep. My memories were horse riding and getting outside.”
Tori Spelling:
Actress-author Tori Spelling and her husband Dean McDermott are parents to three children – son Liam, 5, and daughters Stella, 4, and Hattie, 8 months – with baby No. 4 on the way this September. The “Beverly Hills, 90210″ star opened up about her childhood summer vacations with her family, including her late father, acclaimed TV producer Aaron Spelling, mother Candy Spelling and brother Randy.
“Everyone always asks me if I flew all over the world as a child,” Tori said. “But the truth is, my dad was afraid to fly. So we drove to Vegas for a month every summer! And this was before Vegas was kid-friendly. I really have to hand it to my mom for always finding fun things for us to do in Vegas.”
Sarah Wayne Callies:
Actress Sarah Wayne Callies, spokesperson for the International Rescue Committee‘s Wake Up Campaign, is mom to 5-year-old daughter Keala. The “The Walking Dead” star opened up about her idyllic childhood growing up in Hawaii.
“I lived in Hawaii, so it would have to be the beach,” she said. “We had a fun tradition where we would try to watch the sun rise over the water and then drive to the other side of the island and watch the sun set. My hair was constantly a mess of salt, seaweed, and sand. Gosh, I loved summers and lived for them as a kid. My parents were professors at a university, so they had summers off too. We were constantly outside; I think we went inside just to sleep and to raid the fridge for food to take outside. We would do a lot of kayaking and other fun summer activities. I have a lot of memories of kayaking with my dad and seeing sea turtles all around. Just incredible.”
Nicole Sullivan:
Actress and Jenny Brand Ambassador Nicole Sullivan is mom to sons Dash, 5, and Beckett, 2 1/2 with husband, fellow actor Jason Packham. The ”MADtv” alum opened up about her childhood memories of camping in the summertime.
“Some of my favorite memories growing up are camping with my family and our dog,” Nicole said. “And I still love it!”
Former boxer Laila Ali and her husband, football star Curtis Conway, are parents to son C.J., nearly 4, and daughter Sydney, 13 months. The ”Dancing with the Stars” alum said that growing up in a divorced and blended family with boxing legend father, Muhammed Ali, provided endless hours of fun in the sun with her stepsisters.
“As a child, we didn’t go on summer vacations,” Laila shared. “I just remember that my stepsisters would come over and everyone would be there. It was great to have everyone come to the house to go swimming together and pile up in the car together. It was a lot of fun…summers were always family time.”
Grab your flip flops and sunscreen, it’s time for some fun in the sun!
With summer upon us, we asked a few of our favorite celebrity moms about their fun family plans. Laila Ali and her kids will hit the beach, Shannon Miller is gearing up for the Summer Olympic Games in London and Kimora Lee Simmons and her three kids have poolside plans. Read on…
Former boxer Laila Ali and husband, NFL star Curtis Conway, are parents to two kids: son C.J.who turns 4 in August, and 1-year-old daughter Sydney. The Dancing with the Stars alum opened up to Celebrity Baby Scoop about their upcoming summer plans.
“I plan to do a lot of swimming and I want to enroll my son in official swimming lessons and get Sydney in the water,” Laila said. “I want to do a lot of outdoor activities, like take them to the beach. We haven’t really done that, because I wanted to wait until my son was old enough. You have to be careful with the kids and sand; I don’t want that situation where my daughter gets sand in her eyes. I want to take my son to the beach and do a lot of swimming, and maybe get him on the back of a bike. A lot of outdoor activities.”
Kimora Lee Simmons is accustomed to life in the fab lane! The model-entrepreneur is mom to daughters Ming Lee, 12, and Aoki Lee, nearly 10, with ex-husband Russell Simmons. The reality TV star is also mom to son Kenzo, 3, with husband, actor and model Djimon Hounsou. The mom-of-three opened up to Celebrity Baby Scoop about their upcoming summer plans.
“This summer, everyone is working,” Kimora said. “I’m launching Shinto Clinical all over the world, Djimon is on-set filming, the girls have summer activities, Kenzo has a little camp he’s going to – but i know we’ll have fun. I honestly wouldn’t mind spending more time around the pool. Maybe grill out…that sounds fab to me!”
$#*! My Dad Says star and Jenny Brand Ambassador Nicole Sullivan and her husband, actor Jason Packham, are proud parents to sons Dash, 5, and Beckett, 2 1/2. The actress opened up to Celebrity Baby Scoop about their summer plans.
We went camping with my older son’s preschool class this past weekend,” Nicole said. “Imagine 50 kids under 6. Oooof! We are also going to Connecticut to visit my cousins and their kids. We do it every year and it’s always so fun. We get to say things like, ‘Kids go outside and play.’ “
Want to know the instant your baby pees? There’s an app for that. No, really. There is an app for that — in Brazil. 
If you’re an expectant or a new mom looking to save money in the New Year, look no further than your insurer to save a few hundred dollars. A 
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