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In The Womb: Identical Twins Preview
National Geographic is back with another episode in their fascinating series, In The Womb: Identical Twins. The show will premiere on Sunday, December 21 at 9pm on National Geographic, check local listings for details.
I was privileged to receive an advanced copy of the show to view and write about for my site. Being a huge fan of the previous installments of the series, I was very excited to see what this episode had to offer. I was not disappointed, the show was amazing and fascinating providing a look into one of natures great mysteries.
In The Womb: Identical Twins, again provides amazing imagery obtained through 4-D ultrasounds. The show follows the development of twins from conception through birth (and beyond), including detailed looks at the moment when the blastocyst splits into two, the impact of where the fertilized egg implants in the uterus, and how the genes each is born with impacts the similarities in their appearance, personality and sexual preferences.
A couple of the twins followed that I found particularly fascinating were a 40 year old female identical twins who were separated at birth and raised by different families, their similarities were astounding, also a set of identical twin boys who didn’t seem so identical, one seems to have been born with a growth disorder. It was neat to see where the differences come in with twins and where their similarities lie. It really makes you wonder a little about nature.
Visit the In The Womb website for more details, and be sure to tune in Sunday, December 21st at 9pm ET/PT to check out this amazing new installment in the series.
I frequently get comments on my posts, Early Signs of Pregnancy and What to Do if You Think You Are Pregnant, from teens who think they may be pregnant. The girls asking questions often sound lost, scared and they don’t know where to turn. Teen pregnancy is on the rise here in the United States, and in many western countries. It is a topic that often goes under discussed, particularly with the group of people most impacted, teens. Teens who find themselves pregnant need to know where to turn for help. As parents we need to have open communication with our teen daughters and encourage them to come to us no matter what.
Teens who find themselves pregnant can often feel alone and have no idea where to turn. It can be especially scary for those teens who don’t feel like they have an adult they can turn to. I thought I would compile a list of helpful websites and support groups where teens can turn for help, support, information, and guidance.
- The Alliance
- Gravity Teen
- KidsHealth (great site for parents of pregnant teens to find resources and help)
- MDJunction.com
- Pregnant Teen Help
- Planned Parenthood
- Teen With Child
- Girl Mom
- Daily Strength
If you are a teen and think you maybe pregnant remember you are not alone, there are many people out there to help you. The first thing you need to do is determine for sure if you are pregnant. Find an adult you can trust, go to your doctor or go to a clinic that provides pregnancy tests and advice. There is support out there for you.
Traveling over the holidays is a pretty frequent event for a lot of families. If you will be traveling over the holidays and won’t be at home on the “big day” you may need to get a little creative in order to keep the spirit of Santa alive for your little ones. The magic of Christmas through the eyes of a child is such a wonderful thing to witness, you don’t want to miss out on that or ruin it simply because you will be traveling. There are ways to keep the magic alive for your kids and for you.
The big choice we have to make as parents is whether Santa will find us where we are or if he will leave all our presents at home under the tree awaiting our arrival home. How and where you are traveling may play a big part in which option you go with. No matter which way you decide to handle it you will need to be a little creative in order to pull it off.
If Santa Will Follow You: Of course, the gifts will need to be where you are on Christmas morning. This may require a little creativity on your part. You may need to hide them very well in your luggage, or consider mailing them to your destination so the kids are less likely to accidentally find them.
If Santa Will Leave Everything at Home: The trick with this option is making sure everything is under the tree and the stockings are stuffed when you walk through the door after your trip. One option is to have a close friend or family member take care of it while you are gone; or one of you can be busy inside getting everything set up while the other is busy getting the kids in the car. This option may work best if your kids will be getting gifts from family members while on vacation, so they don’t miss out on Christmas morning.
Right now we travel to see our families every Christmas. At some point we may decide to start doing it every other year so we can enjoy all the fun of Christmas morning at home. But, for now we need to decide which option we will go with. This year we are going to have Santa leave everything at home for us and see how that option works for us.
What do you do when you have to travel over the holidays? What do your kids think of it all?
Babies and toddlers love things that sparkle, jingle, make noise; the description of pretty much every Christmas decoration. How you decorate your home will depend a lot on the type of child you have. You may not know how your baby or toddler will react to all the beautiful, enticing decorations until they are up. Some little ones may just admire the Christmas tree from afar, others will not really pay it much attention at all, but others will be all over it.
Safety is the word of the day when it comes to decorating for Christmas. Think of it as another part of your baby proofing. Make the necessary changes to ensure your child can enjoy all the lights and ornaments but stay safe at the same time.
Here are a few helpful tips to baby proofing your Christmas decorating.
- When putting the ornaments on the tree try to keep the child-friendly ornaments on the bottom of the tree (the area within their reach). Things that are unbreakable, soft, plastic, and don’t have small pieces they could swallow.
- Skip the tinsle this year. If you have to add some sparkle consider a garland or extra lights.
- If your little one shows an interest in pulling on the tree consider securing it to the wall so he or she cannot pull it over.
- Don’t let your child touch the lights if possible. They can contain lead.
- Keep cords hidden.
- Consider putting a few decorations that are fun and interactive (and safe) down at their level. We have a plush penguin and polar bear decoration that will sing, dance and light up if you push a button. Our daughter just loves it so we have it on a small table where she can play with it.
- If your child just will not leave the Christmas tree alone and you are worried they may hurt themselves consider putting a gate up around the tree.
The best thing to do may be to decorate with a little baby proofing and then see what happens. If your child goes after something you didn’t think they would you can make some changes. If you will be visiting grandparents or other family members over the holidays consider talking to them about baby proofing their Christmas decorations as well.
What changes have you made to your Christmas decorations to accommodate your little one? What did your child find the most intriguing about all the decorations?
The holidays can be a very expensive time of year if we’re not careful. With gifts, big holiday meals, cards, parties, the list is endless; you can find yourself spending a fortune and in credit card debt come the new year. Even in good financial times it makes sense to trim that holiday budget and plan not to overspend, it can become even more important in a bad economy.
Here are a few tips for keeping the holidays fun but a little less expensive this year.
- Make some homemade gifts that you can give as gifts to teachers, neighbors, the host of parties you will be attending, or anyone on your Christmas list. You can get the kids involved in this project as well!
- Set realistic expectations for what your children can expect as gifts for Christmas. Setting expectations early will ensure Christmas is still fun for all.
- Don’t overdo it on the Christmas clothing purchases. You probably don’t need a new outfit for every Christmas party you will be attending. Use hand-me-downs for your children where you can.
- Instead of buying gifts for everyone in your extended family consider drawing names. This will help save a ton of money.
- Reduce Christmas travel where you can. If you usually travel to several different places during Christmas consider cutting back a bit. Maybe have everyone to your place, or if that isn’t possible just explain that you can’t make it every where this year.
- Have your children make homemade gifts for each other and grandparents. A great Christmas ornament or a homemade Christmas book.
It can be so easy to overspend during the holidays. Buying great gifts for everyone you love is fun, but you can still enjoy the wonderful feeling of giving without going overboard.