I was reading my Daily Candy emails this morning and was reminded of tremendous need many impoverished mothers have: diapers for their babies.  Help a Mother Out is an organization in San Francisco who collects diapers and distributes them to those in need.

Early in my career I worked for a non-profit program in the inner city of Milwaukee.  There I worked with many teen mothers and saw firsthand how hard some people work to stretch a diaper or two…some for an entire day.  It was heartbreaking to see, and with two little ones myself, I can’t imagine not being able to put a clean diaper on them whenever the need arises.

Fortunately, there are great people and organizations (such as Help a Mother Out) throughout the US, as well as virtual diaper drives who are collecting diapers to distribute to these very needy families. Spread some diaper cheer!

Shortly after the birth of my first daughter, my husband and I hemmed and hawed about whether to introduce a pacifier.  We worried that our daughter would have nipple confusion or become addicted and we’d one day have to pull it and go through a torturous withdrawal process.  Well, no nipple confusion, but she did most definitely fall in love with the pacifier.  This love affair ended up being such a great thing for her and getting rid of the pacifier was so much less painful than we had imagined.

So, when our second daughter was born this summer, we quickly reached for the pacifier as our trusty soothing device.  Much to our dismay, she spat out each and every one and would only suck on our fingers.  We tried and tried and tried.  On one particularly bad night I ran to the internet looking for the pacifier that would allow my daughter the sucking for soothing she clearly needed that was neither our finger or my breast.  And I found it.  It’s called the Gumdrop Pacifier.

I am a firm believer that babies need to suck for soothing and that this is one way to trigger the soothing reflex.  If you are one of those parents who worries that there is something wrong with using a pacifier, I would argue that you could be doing your child a big favor and could find yourself having a more contented baby.

I know I seem like I’m on a bit of a kick here, but it seems that my confusion about sunscreen has a basis.  According to the Enviornmental Working Group’s most recent research on the industry, there has been a product explosion over the past two years.  Thanks to pressure from the EWG, the number of sunsreens containing any of the 4 recommended UVA/UVB blockers jumped to 70% from just 29% last year.  Most notably, the number of sunscreens protecting from harmful UVA rays has more than doubled.  Their 2009 sunscreen guide has a best of list with comprehensive pros and cons on each sunsreen.

Aden + Anais, the maker of all those adorable muslin wraps and blankets we see in and on strollers around town have extended their product line to include sleep sacks.  I, for one, am happy to see another lightweight sleep sack on the market.

These booties from Cherub Shoes are easily one of my favorite gifts to give (and was a favorite to get when my daughter was a wee one).  They are so perfect for those cold winter months and have the extra something that makes them special.  Oh, and they are all an extra 20% off right now!

The New York Times Well Blog posted about a new research finding, published today in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, has found having a fan in baby’s room reduces the risk for SIDS by as much as 72 %!  The proposed theory is that the fan prevents the baby from re-breathing in exhaled carbon dioxide.  And while the fan doesn’t make the baby’s room cooler, it is important to keep the sleeping environment cool as this also reduces the risk for SIDS.

An article in today’s Chicago Tribune reports that the Simplicity 4-in-1 and 3-in-1 co-sleepers have been implicated in two infant deaths, the most recent was last Thursday in Kansas. Though these bassinets have not yet been recalled, any parent with one should stop using it and discard it immediately.  There appears to be a design flaw that allows the baby to slip through and become trapped.

A team of psychologists and graduate students at the New School are running a study about mother-infant attachment. The aim of this study is to learn more about children’s early relationship to their parents and their later psychological adjustment. They are interested in understanding parental care, child temperament, early child-parent communication, emotional bonding, and other factors associated with later adjustment.They are inviting 200 parent-child dyads into the study and will follow the children from early infancy through to age 5.  You can find out more information about the New School University’s Mother-Child Attachment Research Project on their website. It appears that they are seeking expecting mothers and new mothers of 0-4 month olds.

If you have this product – throw it away. If you are using it, stop immediately. A friend and new mother shared the May 29, 2008 post from the FDA informing consumers to neither use nor purchase Mommy’s Bliss Nipple Cream.  Here is what the FDA said:

The product contains potentially harmful ingredients that may cause respiratory distress or vomiting and diarrhea in infants. The product is promoted to nursing mothers to help soothe and heal dry or cracked nipples. Potentially harmful ingredients in the product are chlorphenesin and phenoxyethanol. Chlorphenesin relaxes skeletal muscle and can depress the central nervous system and cause slow or shallow breathing in infants. Phenoxyenthanol, a preservative that is primarily used in cosmetics and medications, can also depress the central nervous system and may cause vomiting and diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration in infants. Mothers and caregivers should seek immediate medical attention if their child shows signs and symptoms of decreases in appetite, difficulty in awakening, limpness of extremities or a decrease in an infant’s strength of grip and a change in skin color.

I recently attended a talk given by Dr. Robert Sears, author of The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child. He is part of the Sears family and has made vaccines his area of pediatric specialty. What I liked about his presentation is that he spoke from a place of balance, neither overstating nor understanding the importance of vaccines. He gave parents all the latitude necessary to make informed decisions for their child and family. He was clear about what science has learned and where there are shortcomings. In his book, he offers information about each vaccination, children’s risks for each disease and a vaccine schedule that he follows in his practice. A good, comprehensive read if you are searching for information to help you make a vaccination choice.