Parenting & Pregnancy

Story from the Daily Mail
 

A teenage mother reunited with her newborn baby by a judge yesterday will today face a social services application to take the boy away again.
 

The newborn baby was illegally snatched from its mother by social workers in the early hours of yesterday morning.
 

Officials claimed the 18-year-old mother was unfit to care for the child because of mental health problems.
 

But hours later a High Court judge ordered the infant to be returned immediately, saying the social workers had acted beyond their powers.
 

Mr Justice Munby told the officials that they “should have known better”.
 

The troubling case follows complaints from parents that social workers have taken their children for adoption without good reason, and suggestions that families are being broken up to meet bureaucratic targets.
 

Last night campaigners welcomed the ruling and praised the mother’s lawyers for their prompt action to reunite the baby with its mother.
 

The child, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was born healthy at 2am yesterday.
 

The mother now faces a legal battle to remain with her child. Mr Wise said she intends to fight to keep her baby. The judge described the situation as “most unfortunate”. He said no baby can be removed simply “as the result of a decision taken by officials in some room”.
 

Removal can be lawful only if a police officer is taking action to protect the child, or there is a court order in place.

 
I agree that the social services had no right to be judge and jury and should have not taken the law into their own hands, but im sure the social services was doing this for the safety of the baby, but just went about it the wrong way.
 

The lawyers could sue the social services on behalf of the family for unlawfully taking the baby away, but i think this would be wrong as the funds that the family could be rewarded will come from public money and money raised by charities, so ultimately somewhere down the line this will effect other people/families/children in need that the funds would be used for.
 

Full Story Here: Baby Snatchers
 

Tags: baby snatchers, social workers, social services, unfit to care

Are you Britain’s biggest family?

Do you have lots of children still living at home?

Are you proud of your brood?

We are on the hunt for large families to take part in Channel 4’s award winning programme Wife Swap.

The series aims to reflect the diversity of family life in Britain today and gives

Mums and Dads the chance to share their parenting skills.

If you’re curious to find out more about what’s involved, call Kerry Plant on 0207 0134497 or email kerry.plant@rdfmedia.com

All calls are confidential and there’s no obligation to take part.

Water and Your Health
 

It is important for you to fully understand that there really is not substitute for water in your daily diet. Through this blog, you are provided with an overview of how important water is in your diet.
 

Soda Pop, Coffee, Juice, Milk — Does Not Add Up
 

Many people assume that because they drink a good deal of liquids throughout the course of the day that they are meeting their water requirement. In point of fact, drinking other liquids simply does not take the place of water.
 

Certainly, if a person drinks a reasonable amount of low fat milk and fruit juice on a daily basis that man or woman (or child) is doing something healthy for his or her body. However, simply because the consumption of a reasonable amount of low fat milk or fruit juice is healthy does not mean that a person is satisfying his or her daily recommended allotment of water.
 

When experts maintain that a person needs to drink a certain amount of water each day to remain health they mean that a certain amount of water must be consumed.
 

The only type of beverage that can be considered a water substitute are certain types of decaffeinated green teas. Some of these specific kinds of teas have the same effect on the body as does pure, unadulterated water.
 

Of course, there are some beverages that actually cause harm to the body over the long term if they are not consumed on a limited basis and in moderation. This includes such drinks as coffee, soda pop and similar types of beverages. Indeed, because of the diuretic effects of caffeine and the high sodium content in many soda pop products, by drinking these items a person will actually need to consume more water to make up for the losses sustained by the body through the drinking of such beverages.
 

Additionally, it is acceptable to garnish a glass a water ever so slightly in order to add a bit of dash to its taste. By this it is meant that a person can spruce up the taste of a glass of water with a wedge of lemon or lime. However, overdoing or adding other flavoring to water can end up defeating the purpose of drinking water in the first instance. Again, in order for water to be effective and to do its intended job function in the body, it must be pure and unadulterated.
 

Shedding Pounds with Water
 

In the vast majority of cases, a person who is carrying around extra weight can and will lose some of that burden by drinking an appropriate amount of pure water each and every day.
 

There actually is documented science behind the claim that drinking an appropriate amount of water can aid in weight loss and in keeping weight off. The kidneys depend on water to operate efficiently. Because most people do not drink enough water, most peoples kidneys are not performing in a peak manner. As a result, the liver kicks in and spends part of its functioning aiding the kidneys in their job.
 

The net result of this transference is that the liver ends up breaking down less fat than it would under optimal circumstances. As fat accumulates within the body, weight increases.
 

By ensuring that the body is properly supplied with an appropriate amount of water, all of the bodies organs will be in a position to function far more effectively. In other words, and as has been said, not only does a person enjoy the benefits of losing weight through the healthy ingestion of water, but a person will be well on his or her way to living a truly healthy life.
 

Tags: water, health, healthy life, pure water, unadulterated water, weight loss

Five Tips on Preparing Your Laundry for Washing and Drying
 

Introduction:
 

Without a doubt, the prospect of doing the laundry is dreaded by the typical person. In point of fact, there are a number of tips associated with the chore of laundry that can make the whole process far easier and much less of a drudge. By paying attention to the do’s and don’ts referenced in this article, you will be well on your way to mastering the care and cleaning of your everyday clothing.
 

These tips are designed not only to make certain that your clothing is spotless once cleaned but these suggestions are provided to extend the life of your garments and to save you sacred time in the process.
 

Soak, Soak, Soak
 
 

One of the biggest problems that most people face when dealing with laundry is the task of making certain that stained clothing comes clean. The typical person in this day and age lacks the time to spend pre-treating and scrubbing away at pieces of clothing in hopes that a stain will disappear.
 

The best technique that you can employ in dealing with removing stains and making certain that your clothing comes out sparkling clean is to presoak your wash every time. The practice of presoaking is simple and requires very little time and almost no effort on your part.
 

When it comes to presoaking, simply add the proper amount of laundry detergent to water drawn into your washer. Make certain that the detergent is thoroughly blended throughout the water. When this is completed, add your clothing. Allow your washables a chance to soak for between twenty to thirty minutes before you begin the regular wash cycle.
 

Always Sort Your Colors
 

The 21st century truly is a point in history where people are overscheduled and overbooked. They simply find themselves cutting corners whenever and wherever possible. However, when it comes to time saving techniques, failing to sort out your colors when you do your laundry is not a wise course. Sure, you will save a spot of time while loading your washing machine. But, in the long run, you will find yourself spending more time replacing damaged clothing. In addition, in short speed you will discover that many of your garments do not look flattering any longer — colors fade and become dull when colors are not properly separated before cleaning.
 

Don’t Overload
 

You may think that you can save yourself a great deal of time — and maybe even some money — by overloading your washing machine. You may be like some people who try actually to cram upwards to two load of laundry into one machine cycle.
 

In the final analysis, overloading your washing machine can have a number of negative consequences:
 

– First, your clothing will not become fully clean in an overloaded machine.
 

– Second, your clothing will be more apt to be burdened with detergent residue if you overload your machine.
 

– Third, overloading a washing machine can end up damaging your equipment in a very short amount of time.
 

Manage Your Cycle
 

One of the best ways that you can ensure that your clothing enjoys a long life is to make certain that you pay attention to the type of cycle that best serves your garments. In haste, many a person pays no attention to monitoring or managing the correct wash cycle for clothing items.
 

While most people understand the necessity of separating out clothing items of different colors, the same people do not pay attention to the wash cycles that are called for different garments. By failing to pay attention to what type of wash cycle is best for a particular type of clothing, you will be aging your garments before their time.
 

Avoiding Wrinkles
 

There are three steps that you need to keep in mind when it comes to avoiding wrinkles in your wash. Wrinkled clothing and dealing with wrinkled clothing can be the most frustrating and time consuming element of tending to laundry.
 

– First, pay attention to when your washing machine completes its work. By promptly removing your clean clothing from the washer directly after the spin cycle ends and putting the garments into a dryer will work to reduce a significant amount of wrinkling that normally is associated with laundry.
 

– Second, pay attention to the temperature setting on your dryer. Do not ratchet the dryer temperature up too high. High temperatures tend to increase the presence of wrinkles in some clothing.
 

– Finally, as with the washing machine, pay close attention to when your dryer completes its cycle. Remove the clothing promptly in order to avoid undue wrinkling of your garments.
 

Conclusion
 

By making the effort to follow the five tips outlined in this article you will find that your clothing is cleaner and freer from wrinkles after each and every laundering. In addition, your garments will enjoy a longer lifetime if you do follow these pointers and suggestions. Finally, by applying the tips outlined in this article, you will end up saving yourself time and money over time.
 
 

Six Reasons Why Are Doctors, Nutritionists and other Dietary Experts are Turning to the Mediterranean Diet
 

Introduction:
 

In recent years, doctors, researchers, scientists and nutritionists have taken a close look at the Mediterranean diet. Nearly universally, these experts and professionals have come away from their examination of the Mediterranean diet with positive perceptions of the dieting scheme.
 

There are a number of reasons why experts of all sorts — from doctors to researchers to nutritionists — look favorable upon the Mediterranean diet regimen. By considering the benefits of the Mediterranean diet that have been identified by experts, you will be able to better determine if the Mediterranean diet is right for you.
 

Low in Saturated Fat
 

On the surface, a person giving only a cursory review of the Mediterranean diet might conclude that it is not a healthy diet plan because it is high in fat. Concluding that the Mediterranean diet is high if fat and harmful is an erroneous conclusion.
 

While it is true that the Mediterranean diet does derive a significant percentage of its calories from fat (around thirty percent daily in most instances), the calories come primarily from olive oil and consist of unsaturated fats. In other words, being low in saturated fat, doctors are recommending the Mediterranean diet for their patients.
 

A Plentiful Array of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
 

Doctors are recommending that their patients eat at least six servings of fruits and vegetables throughout the course of the day. Many of these same doctors are turning to the Mediterranean diet because as a matter of routine people who follow this diet program are eating more than the minimum recommended daily allowance of fruits and vegetables. Additionally, rather than using processed fruits and vegetables, the Mediterranean diet features an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables.
 

Low in Red Meat
 

Many doctors can be found encouraging their patients to limit the amount of red meat that they include in their diets. Limiting red meat in a diet can assist in lowering the levels of bad cholesterol, helping to reduce the indigence of heart disease and some cancers.
 

Low in Fatty Dairy Products
 

Another reason that doctors favor the Mediterranean diet is found in the fact that the diet plan is low in the consumption of fatty dairy products. More and more doctors are encouraging their patients to use only low fat or non fat dairy products. People who follow the Mediterranean diet actually use very little dairy on a day to day basis. For example, a heavy egg eater on the Mediterranean diet eats for eggs a week. Many do not eat eggs at all.
 

In addition, milk is used within the diet in limited fashion. Heavy creams and sauces are not on the Mediterranean menu at all.
 

Helpful in Preventing Diseases
 

One of the primary reasons that doctors recommend the Mediterranean diet for their patients rests in the fact that the diet program has been demonstrated as being helpful in reducing the risks of certain diseases, including:
 

– cancer
 

– heart disease
 

– cardiovascular disease
 

– hypertension
 

– diabetes
 

– obesity
 

A Ready Source of Fiber and Whole Grain
 

Finally, doctors recommend the Mediterranean diet for their patients because it is high in dietary fiber and whole grains. Both fiber and whole grains have proven important in preventing disease and in maintaining an overall sense of wellness and good health.
 

Tags: mediterranean diet, nutritionists, dietary experts, hypertension, heart disease, obesity

‘I thought my baby was a monster’
 

Leading parent-child psychotherapist Dr Sue Lamb meets a group of mothers who are experiencing peri-natal attachment issues - they can’t bond with their baby.
 

Using play therapy, video techniques and psychotherapy she’ll unlock the problem over time, turning the relationships around, and in doing so she’ll give us a guide to the secret nuances of baby behaviour.
  

Baby blues, antenatal depression or baby behaviour, if left untreated, can damage the mother’s relationship with her children – and one in six women are known to be affected by mental distress during pregnancy or following childbirth.
 

Help Me Love My Baby follows two brave women who confront their fears, admitting they feel anger and resentment towards their babies, not a loving bond. Their journey is an emotional, but ultimately uplifting, one. Working closely with parent-infant therapist Dr. Amanda Jones, they unlock psychological clues, buried deep in their past, allowing them to repair the bond with their own babies. Along the way they learn to unlock the hidden code of baby behaviour that will help them forger a deeper bond with their child.
 

The fact that post-natal depression can create a ‘wall’ between mother and child is a difficult topic to confront. As Amanda says: ‘For a mother to express negative feelings towards her baby… it’s just a taboo. And it makes it very hard to ask for help. But in my experience mothers that I meet are grappling with very difficult and hostile feeling towards their babies, which they feel awful about.
 

To View the most popular clips Click Here >>> Help Me Love My Baby
 

Tags: help me love my baby, channel 4 documentary, psychotherapy, baby behaviour, baby behaviour, baby blues

If you are anything like me you will always find it hard to source out that perfect baby gift, you don’t what it to be something that everyone else has given nor something that the baby would not use, so we are going to offer you some baby gift ideas that the baby should use and the new parents will love.
 

Depending on what you are prepared to spend you can find a selection of baby gifts that have already be made up, most people would prefer to go for this option, but this is not the only option to go for, if you have the time you can easily put together a baby gift box yourself, this way you can nearly always bet no one else would have given that gift.
 

If you are going to make you own baby gift box up i would start with the most basics, a pair of soft leather baby shoes and a baby top is always a good choice and would not break the bank, on top of that you could add baby skin care products or baby socks or why not go the whole hog and add a teddy bear or toy, one other product that most new parents would find useful is a baby blanket and that always looks nice in a gift box.
 

Another thing to remember before you select your baby gift is that most family members will buy the new baby gifts even before he/she is here and again in my experience they mostly buy for the new baby in sizes 0-3mts and 3-6mts, as you will not always know how big the new baby is or how much clothing and shoes the parents have already been given or have got them selves, its wise to buy the baby larger size shoes and clothes, that way you know the gift will fit and the parents will find it more useful to have larger sizes at a later date.
 

Click here to see our full range of >>> Baby Gift Sets.
 

Tags: baby gift, baby gifts, perfect baby gift, baby gift sets, baby gift box

Developing a Healthy Life Weight Management Program:
 

The Importance of Water
 
If you are contemplating a diet — if you are considering a health eating plan for your life — you need to make certain that you include drinking the proper amount each and every day in the calculation. Without ingesting an appropriate amount of water on a daily basis you will never be able to obtain the full benefits of any sort of diet. Indeed, in the absence of the right quantity of water each day, you really will not have established a solid healthy eating program for your life.
 
In the final analysis if you truly are interested in not only losing weight and keeping weight off but also in living a long, enjoyable and healthy life, you need to pay attention to what and how you eat — and drink.
 
The Essentials of Water
 

In considering the makeup of the typical human body, most scientists agree that it is comprised of upwards to ninety percent water. Indeed, water is the most significant component making up the body of every human being living and breathing on planet Earth.
 

Every organ and other structure within the human body from bones to muscles depend upon a plentiful supply of water to function appropriately. Sadly, in this day and age, most people in most countries around the world simply do not drink enough water each day to properly hydrate the body. The lack of proper hydration — the failure to ingest enough water — actually can have dire and lasting consequences for a typical human being.
 

How Much is Just Enough Water
 

Many people bandy around the suggestion that a person should drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water each and every day. On some level this truly is a useful suggestion. Indeed, if a person actually did drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water each and every day, he or she likely would see an improvement in his or her health. (Most people simply do not consume this much water on a daily basis.)
 

In reality, when it comes to the proper amount of water to drink on a daily basis, a person would be wise to think of the eight 8-ounce glass goal to be the baseline for healthy consumption. In other words, every adult (and teenage children) should ingest eight glasses of water daily.
 

However, for many people the eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily goal simply is not enough. For example, if a person weighs more than 160 pounds, he or she will need to consume more water on a daily basis to satisfy the operational needs of his or her body. Logically and scientifically, a larger body needs more water to operate and run in an efficient and healthy manner.
 

Many experts suggest that beyond the base amount of eight 8-ounce glasses a day, a person who weighs in at over 160 pounds should divide his or her gross weight in half and drink that many ounces of water each and every day. For example, if a person weighs in at 200 pounds, he or she should drink 100 ounces of water a day. That would equate to about twelve and half standard glasses of water in day rather than the eight glasses which should be considered a consumption threshold for all healthy people.
 

In addition, if a person is physically active, he or she will need to consume an extra amount of water to make up for what is lost through rigorous exercise.
 

Tags: Importance of Water, hydration, healthy life, keeping weight off, losing weight

The wet UK weather is here, so we are showing off some fabulous baby raincoats, so if you are looking for a baby raincoat, infants raincoat or baby rain jacket look no further.
 

The baby raincoat image here shows the blooming flowers design by hatley, the baby raincoats are cute and comfortable and soft to the touch.
 

The shell is 100% polyurethane with a cotton-poly terry lining.
 

The raincoat comes with a hood, front snap closure and pockets. It is sure to brighten any infant’s day. 
 

We have five designs from 12-18mts and 18-24mts for boys and girls.
 

Click here to see the full range >>> Baby Raincoats
 

Tags: Baby Raincoats, Baby Raincoat, Infants Raincoat, Baby Rain Jacket , Baby Raincoat

Olive Oil and the Holistic Approach to Smoother, Unblemished Skin
 

If you are a woman who has given birth, or even a woman who has dieted and lost a noticeable amount of weight, you may have ended up with some stretch marks. Naturally, if you are like most women (and not a few men who have ended up with stretch marks due to weight loss or related factors), you likely are interested in finding a safe, natural or holistic method or reducing the look and appearance of these stretch marks.
 

Problem with stretch marks? Apply olive oil with a few minutes of massage to reduce stretch marks. Many people have found that by following this regimen, a noticeable reduction in the appearance of stretch marks can and will appear in a short period of time.
 

When it comes to utilizing this holistic approach to lessening the appearance of stretch marks, it is important that you follow this regimen on a regular basis. By only occasionally applying olive oil and using therapeutic massage, you will not be able to receive the desired results and benefits that you intend and desire. In order for this course of stretch mark treatment to be effective, you should engage in this holistic olive oil and massage regimen at least three times per week. Again, by sticking to this regimen, you will be able to see noticeable results, a significant lessening in the appearance of your stretch marks, within a short amount of time in the vast majority of cases.
 

There are some commercial products on the market that now include olive oil within their ingredients. However, when all is said and done, you do not need to expend the extra money it takes to purchase such products. Rather, you can use and rely on olive oil that is available at you local grocery market to obtain the results you desire.
 

By following the tips and suggestions that have been set forth in this article you will be able to really take significant steps in eliminating stretch marks. This natural remedy is being used by an ever growing number of women from all walks of life. You will find that olive oil will be a welcome addition to your beauty regimen on a day to day basis.
 

Tags: Stretch Marks, Unblemished Skin, natural remedy, massage regimen, olive oil, Remove Stretch Marks