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Yesterday was Lorne’s birthday. Happy Birthday Babe!! Unfortunately it was pretty anti-climatic since he was in bed most of the day sick. Being sick on your birthday is the worst. Maya and I did try to make the day at least a little bit special. We spent the morning baking birthday cupcakes. Maya’s favorite part was helping put the sprinkles on the cupcakes, especially when she was able to sneak a finger full of icing while I wasn’t look 
We had breakfast for dinner, per the birthday boy’s request. Followed by delicious chocolate cupcakes. I think all in all he had a pretty good day, for a sick birthday anyway.
Maya thinks that every day should be someone’s birthday (or at least cupcake day)!!
"Happy Birdday Dada"
I came across this article yesterday regarding an ethical dilemma that researchers are finding themselves in surrounding the use of left over blood from newborn screening tests. At question is whether or not researchers should be allowed to use the blood samples left over from newborn screenings as a research tool without written consent from the parents. Currently, most states allow these blood samples to be banked and used in research. All the identifying information is stripped from the sample and there is no real way for the information gleaned from the research to be traced back to the original person. However, parents are up in arms about this and have taken the issue before the courts in several states, arguing that it violates their child’s privacy and puts their child’s genetic information out there for anyone to find. Courts in several states, including Texas and Michigan, have agreed with the parents and forced millions of leftover samples to be thrown out and have developed a consent form so that parents have the option to opt-out if they do not wish to have their child’s sample stored and used for future research.
Although I see the point the parents are making about the privacy concerns, I think the benefits of this program far outweigh the risks, especially since the there is no identifying information attached to the samples once it is banked. Newborn screening tests are vital for identifying potentially life threatening illnesses and conditions. Through these screening tests doctors are able to identify illnesses and treat them right away in order to save a life, when before these screening tests were routinely done the child would likely have died. My fear, and the fear of many, is that this current uproar will result in parents opting out of getting the screenings done all together and will result in too many babies leaving the hospital with potentially life threatening illnesses and conditions. Also, the additional research done on the left over samples is essential to developing new screening tests, learn more about the illnesses and conditions we currently screen for and identify new conditions and illnesses that need to be added to the screening. Our babies lives depend on this research.
I think what states, doctors and researchers need to do is to educate the public on the importance of these screening tests and the importance of the additional research being done on the left over samples. Probably every state will need to develop a consent form and give parents the option to opt-out of the program as some parents just won’t be comfortable knowing their child’s left over blood sample is being used. However, I think most parents, if comfortable in the knowledge that their child’s information is stripped from the sample before it leaves the hospital, will opt-in to the banking program and researchers will be able to continue the research that allows for groundbreaking, life saving discoveries.
What are your thoughts on this topic? Do you think it okay to use the left over samples for research? Do you think there should be a consent form developed? Would you opt in or out if given the choice?
As I mentioned in my first post about our adventures in potty training, we are taking things nice and slow at this point. Right now we are in the “getting to know the potty” phase. No real pressure on Maya to use the potty instead of the diaper to do her “business”. Every time I have the diaper off I ask her if she needs to use the potty, or if she has that “I’m about to poop” look on her face I ask her as well. If she wants to give it a try we give it a try, if not that’s okay too.
It has been working out pretty well. She had a cold and a bout of toddler diarrhea a couple of weeks ago which pretty much halted out potty training adventures for a while. We started getting back into the swing of things last week. It has been a challenge to get her to return to trying to pee on the potty since our little break. She has gone a couple of times, but now when I ask I usually get the “No, already pee, no potty.” response. We have made a little headway in the poop department though, yeah! Before our break she had only peed on the potty. She was still getting used to the whole process and I think the idea of going poop on the potty scared her. Well, last week she happened to mention that she needed to poop as I was changing her diaper before nap time. I asked her if she wanted to try going on the potty and she said “oh ya, good.”, so off we headed to the bathroom to give it a try. Success!! I made a big deal about it, cheering and clapping for her. You could just see how proud she was of herself. Her favorite part was flushing and saying “bye-bye poopoo”. It was darling.
Since then we have had two more poops on the potty. One the same day as the first when she had to show daddy how she could go poop on the potty now. And, another yesterday. Lorne noticed that she had that “look” and asked her if she needed to poop. She came running to me and said she needed to “poopoo on the potty” and she did. I think this is a big step in the right direction, being able to recognize that she needs to go and taking the initiative to ask to use the potty. I’ve read that kids recognize the signs that they have to poo before they recognize the signs that they have to pee. I think we are probably a couple of months away from the “let’s try it with out a diaper” phase, but we are making progress and I’m very proud of her.
One day she’ll hate me for posting this picture of her, but it’s so cute I couldn’t resist. She’s apparently taking tips from daddy on how to use the potty!!
The US government announced a new national campaign today called Text4Baby that will use cellphones and text messaging as a means to get healthy mother, healthy baby tips out to millions of expectant mothers all over the country. The campaign is being sponsored by several organizations and companies including the National Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition, Voxiva, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Wellpoint and Blue Cross Blue Shield; and wireless carriers have agreed to waive all charges associated with receiving these text messages.
The goal of the campaign is to reach as many expectant mothers as possible and to use these periodic “healthy pregnancy” text messages to keep women informed about the things they should and shouldn’t be doing during pregnancy in order to help keep themselves and their babies healthy. The hope is that through these text messages women will be encouraged to eat healthier, exercises more and seek proper prenatal care, as well as provide encouragement and support to quit bad habits like smoking and drinking during pregnancy. A woman who has a healthy pregnancy and partakes in a healthy lifestyle during her pregnancy is much less likely to give birth prematurely and is more likely to have a healthy baby.
In the United States over half a million babies are born prematurely every year and every year almost 30, 000 babies die before their first birthday. Sadly, the United States ranks 30th worldwide in infant mortality, falling behind many other developed nations. The hope is that programs like Text4Baby will help women, especially low income women and those without health insurance, get the information they need to keep themselves and their babies healthy during pregnancy which will hopefully translate into fewer premature births and a fewer infant deaths.
The program is completely free to sign up for, and as stated above most cell phone carriers are waiving the fees associated with receiving these text messages. Visit Text4Baby.org to learn more about the program and sign up.
So, is it proper etiquette to have a baby shower for a second or subsequent baby? Do second babies deserve a baby shower or is this a right reserved only for the first born?
There seems to be two schools of thought on this subject. There are those who are old school and think that a baby shower’s sole purpose is to provide the expectant mother with the necessities of baby raising and argue that it is poor etiquette to have a shower for a second or subsequent baby. And, then there are those who believe a baby shower is less about gifts and more about celebrating the pregnancy and the baby about to be born. Depending on which camp you find yourself in will depend on how you feel when you receive an invite in the mail for a “second baby” baby shower.
I am a proud member of the second group. A baby shower, to me, is a chance to get together with friends and family to celebrate the impending arrival of a new baby. I actually think that shopping for gifts to bring to baby showers for second and subsequent babies are even more fun to buy because you can pretty much buy anything, you don’t have to focus on those “necessity” items. And, it seems a lot of people agree with me. A recent poll on babycenter.com asked mothers if they thought it was appropriate to have a shower for a second or subsequent baby, and three quarters of moms agreed that it was fine. Etiquette experts agree as well. Having a shower for a second or subsequent baby is perfectly acceptable.
So, what are you thoughts? Which side do you fall on in this debate?