Baby Buzz

Photo by StarrMom2Xander

Carrying my babies up and down our slippery wooden stairway was always one of my biggest new mom fears. There were a couple of near misses, but we made it to toddlerhood unscathed. I'm making up for it now. Just the other day, I sledded down the last few treads on my butt. I'm just so klutzy.

natalies_mama's husband did fall down the stairs the other day with their 2 1/2 month old daughter. Their stairs are carpeted but narrow, and her husband is tall. Every time he ventures down with the baby, she holds her breath and listens.

The other night, that ended with tumbling and her husband crying out.

Photo by ventichaitea

One CafeMom had a surprise home birth. (Not unusual unless you're not planning on it.)

Cafe MicheleZ, who's expecting twins in another month, is worried that her babies might come so fast (she should be so lucky!) that her midwife or doctor of choice may not make it to the delivery room in time. She's thinking of creating a Birth Plan B and C just in case.

This is probably a good idea considering the strange and unexpected places babies decide to pop out. Just this week, a woman in Eau Claire, Wisconsin gave birth on the sidewalk outside the hospital.

Photo by fern624

The American Dietetic Association, the nation's largest professional organization of nutritionists and dietitians, has come out even more strongly in favor of breastfeeding, calling it the "optimal feeding method for infants."

But its report was also quick follow that statement up, in its very diplomatic and roundabout way, with a call for a lot more support and encouragement than moms are getting right now. CafeMoms in the Breastfeeding Moms group couldn't agree more:

Arisce: "I think America is slowly moving in the right direction. I'm a little concerned though that we're going to push breastfeeding and not give women any actual support, which will create even more bad feelings toward breastfeeding."

Photo by nily

A weekly post to help us get to know some of our CafeMom cuties ...

Who: Joseph Anthony, 1 year, son of nily. When I was 35 weeks pregnant I had an accident and fell on the sidewalk, landing on my very preggo belly. Because of that he was born premature through emergency c-section and spent seven days in the NICU. He weighed 5 lbs, 10 oz and measured 19 inches. Joseph defeated all odds of a rough start, so I'm very proud of him. To me he is a warrior. Right now he has no sign of any delay. He does everything a full-term baby does.

Stella McCartney Cashmere Cardigan; $58

Cafe MicheleZ was just swooning a few feet away from me over something online, and then I heard her mention "a leopard print shirt and skinny jeans." At first I was thinking, Wow, how dramatic will that twin prego belly of hers look dressed in all those spots!

But since most of Michele's thoughts are on her forthcoming babies these days, I wasn't surprised when she told me she was talking about the new clothing line designed by Stella McCartney for Baby Gap and Gap Kids.

I clicked straight to the site and this is what I found:

It's hard being a new mom (or even an experienced mom to a new baby) and sometimes we do things we know we shouldn't, despite what all the experts say. But this is a safe place to share your secrets—we won't tell.

This Week's Secret:

When my baby was first born, I thought she was ugly, but she's so beautiful to me now. — anonymous

Photo by bellamumma

My son did his first crawl while in day care. So his teacher was the first one to see it, not me. That always makes me a little sad. I wish I could have changed circumstances and been around more, but it was just the way it was.

It's hard to miss that first smile, laugh, step or word. Sometimes they happen so fast, out of the blue. Even stay-at-home moms can't always be in the right place at the right time.

Slightly different issue, but momtoezzie's 8 month old has been Army crawling or "scooting" a few feet in front of herself for a couple of weeks now. momtoezzie thinks her daughter is full-fledged crawling when she's not looking. She'll put her down in one spot of the room, and then seconds later, she'll appear miraculously in another spot.

Photo by livewiresav06

I felt guilty taking my two-week old firstborn to a friend's party where there were lots of snuffly little kids around. Our pediatrician had specifically said to wait at least a month to six weeks before exposing him to germs, and as a new mom, I took his words as gospel.

When my daughter was born, I was strolling the aisles of Target and visiting friends within days with no guilt whatsoever. If she was going to catch anything, it would be something from her germy big brother.

I recently visited my friend and her 1 week old, and even though she's been through it all with an older son, she doesn't plan to take her new baby out anytime soon, especially with the Swine Flu going around. So it seems like it just depends on the mom.

Some of the responses from moms who were asked when they took their newborn out in public in Answers made me giggle:

Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty

Mel Gibson, 53, already has seven kids ages 28 to 10 with ex-wife Robyn Moore -- and now he's the father of a baby girl. Gibson and Grigorieva named her Lucia.

RadarOnline.com reports that the actor's partner, Oksana Grigorieva, 39, gave birth to a baby girl last Friday.

The online tabloid reports that everything went well, and mom and daughter are already home.

Photo by mamichan

If apple, pear, and squash baby food are in your horizon, there are tons of opinions on what, when, and how to feed baby. Here are some of those opinions: