Photo by starburst1680

Meet first-time mom starburst1680. She's sharing the roller coaster ride of her first year of motherhood. Check back every week for all the emotion and exhaustion — right up until Kathryn Grace's first birthday.

Week 11:

We took Kathryn on her first road trip this week. We went to visit my husband's cousin and his family. He has a wife and 3 kids: 3 ½ year old boy-girl twins and a 6-month-old little boy. It was about a two hour drive each way and Kathryn did great. She slept the whole time in the car both ways. The 6-month-old was just fascinated with Kathryn and wanted to just watch her and touch her. It was cute to see them interact a little.

Photo by 3gifts.from.god

Michelle Obama breastfed both her daughters. Wow, I never knew that. The First Lady rarely talks about her personal experience with, much less publicly endorses, nursing. Breastfeeding advocates hope that will change, if not with today's announcement of Michelle Obama's big childhood obesity initiative, then in the near future.

"Lactivists" such as Best for Babes and MamaTotoMatema are trying to make inroads to Obama to get her include breastfeeding as a vital part of her plan. They'd love her to become the new "public symbol" for breastfeeding.

Every First Lady has their "cause." Hillary's was health care. Laura Bush promoted literacy. For Obama it's childhood obesity, affecting 1 out of every 3 children.

Boba Baby Carrier; $99

When you talk about baby items moms can't live without, here's one of my tops: baby carrier. With an active toddler and an infant who didn't like to be in a stroller, it would have been tough going without one.

Now there's a carrier with foot holds! It's called the Boba Baby Carrier and we're giving you the chance to win one today.

Some details about Boba:

Photo by Amber727

I could watch the Beyonce Baby Sling Video over and over. I wish slings were as popular when I had my babies as they are now, or that someone had suggested one to me. I so would have been out on the dance floor with these amazing model moms, or at least secretly practicing the moves in my living room.

But I had other ways of holding and comforting my baby that were just as effective and memorable. My husband and I invented our own names for some of them.

My son's favorite position was "the leg stretch."

Photo by cajunjenn

Recently a study helped to pinpoint why smoking during pregnancy -- either first- or secondhand smoke -- raises the risk of SIDS: It suggested that babies exposed to smoke in the womb have improperly functioning hearts that actually get worse over the first year of life.

Now a landmark study out of Harvard and Children's Hospital Boston has put a different twist on the SIDS mystery: That crib death is due to a chemical imbalance of serotonin, a hormone that regulates vital functions during sleep as well as breathing and heart rate.

Toys "R" Us Baby Wipes; $13

If you shop a lot at Toys "R" Us or Babies "R" Us, you might already know that the toy store has introduced its own line of branded baby essentials: formula, diapers, wipes, laundry detergent, and even purified water for mixing the formula.

The baby items that we typically spend the most money on each month are up to 50 percent cheaper than the big brand names.

$13-$16 for a tin of powdered formula

$11-$25 for a box of diapers

$1 for a gallon of purified water

$1 (travel pack) to $13 (value box) for baby wipes

Try this creepy news from CNN: When our children were born, the hospital carried out newborn screening tests that included the collection of their DNA.

I think I knew that at the time. The nurses probably mentioned it, but I was too in awe/in love/drugged up/exhausted/in pain (likely all of those things) to really think about what it could mean.

Photo by sstepph

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

Who: Garrett Joseph, son of sstepph, 7 months old. He weighed 8 pounds, 2 ounces and was 19 inches long when born, two weeks early. I had been in preterm labor from 32 weeks on.

How long does he sleep at night?

Great. He slept through the night since he was four weeks old, then we went through a period where he wouldn't sleep at all. He still wakes up at least once a night. We bathe him right after dinner, he has a snack and plays with Daddy. Then we watch a movie or something and I rub his back and he falls asleep.