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The first thing I noticed when reading the classic book “Goodnight Moon” to my son were those dark green walls in the baby rabbit’s room; yuck! Today’s “green” room is filled with earth-friendly products made from recycled and reusable materials to keep excess waste from landfills. Organic fabrics play their part too, since they aren’t treated with chemicals which affect the air and water supplies.

A growing demand for stylish yet responsible infant products has encouraged designers and manufacturers to think outside the plain, recycled cardboard box. The newest eco-friendly clothing, toys and related gear can be found in a wide range of price ranges. Here’s a round-up of our top picks...

Well, well, well.  We have a woman who would be president, who calls out Barack Obama for using teleprompters, and she's using a cheat sheet during a Q&A session?  A softball Q&A session?  And she wrote it on her hand?  What is Sarah Palin, a slightly stupid seventh grader...?

Does someone have a case of the Mondays?  Here's the cure: Momversation's daily links!

• Your Baby's DNA: the X-Files Was Right! - CafeMom
• Jersey Shore-ify Yourself - Lemondrop
• Enter the New Parent Baby Photo Contest - New Parent
• Edie Falco & Kids Head Home - Celebrity Baby Scoop
• Do You Know the Facts on RSV? - lilsugar

More...

Representative John Murtha died today at age 77.  He was the 8th most senior of the House, a former Marine officer, and outspoken critic of the Iraq War.  Our condolences to his family.

From birth, your child is a sensory sponge, taking in the world with the five senses of vision, hearing smell, touch and taste. And the quality of these experiences has a deep effect on the development of a baby’s brain. But while you may feel obligated to constantly entertain your child, or buy complicated toys that seemingly guarantee rich sensory experiences, experts say that simple, thoughtful, consistent interaction is all a child needs to develop his senses and mind.

If you've purchased OTC containing pseudoephedrine in the last few years, you've probably had to fork over your ID and sign a release.  That's because the government is on a crusade to rid the country of methamphetamine (synthesized with the decongestant ingredient), which has devastated rural America.  You're used to seeing the usual images of a methamphetamine user: she's poor, lives in the country, and her looks have been ravaged due to her drug use.  But another, not less disturbing image is slowly taking over.  These new users are called meth moms, and they're abusing the powerful stimulant in order to "do it all."  But at what cost...?

Last night, my maniacal pumping regime finally paid off. I think it was somewhere around the tenth incoherent sentence and inexplicable crying fit that Jason told me to go upstairs and sleep. I had enough milk stored (plus the supplements we're using) for him to handle the feeding for the night, and since he didn't have to work the next morning and I hadn't gotten more than a two hour stretch in the past two weeks, I finally decided it was time to let go a little...

Ooey, gooey, and yummy.  You loved grilled cheese sandwiches; now try the ultimate in cheesey deliciousness.  From our friends at Good Bite:

The experts at our sister site Parents Ask weigh in on pregnancy drinking:

Cool Mom Daphne Brogdon wants to know if your child should be your BFF:

Here are your Friday links:

• Brook Hogan Fights Photoshop - Lemondrop
• Charlie Sheen to Be Charged with a Felony - Celebrity Baby Scoop
• The Top 10 Things Children Really Want Their Parents to Do with Them - CafeMom
• Alternative Uses for Items in a Post-Partum Hospital Bag - lilsugar
• Snakes on a Face: Snake Serum for Anti-Aging? - The Frisky

More...

The chocolate holiday of the year is just around the corner, however it just so happens that your sig-o is a major foodie, so this year Hershey's is simply not going to cut it. What to do?! While chocolate is always a fail-safe option, why not mix it up a bit with some less expected foodie-friendly gifts? Glance down below for Good Bite's top picks, and feel free to share additional ideas in the comments.

Neither pregnancy nor motherhood addle a woman's brain, say the researchers based on their study of 1,241 women both before and after having babies. The Australian researchers say we have been misled by a fallacy.

I didn't expect to love breastfeeding as much as I do (there is absolutely nothing more endearing than feeding your child and watching their impossibly small fingers wrap around your hair), nor did I expect it to be so complicated...

Here are your links for a wonderful Thursday afternoon:

• Do We Say "No!" Too Much? - CafeMom
• School Principal Mocks Nut Allergies in Letter - MomLogic
• They're All Tight Ends to Us: The 10 Best Butts in the NFL - Lemondrop
• Healthy Candy Bar: BonBonBar's Micro-Batch Candy Bars - Good Bite
• Duggars Aren't Ruling Out Baby No. 20 - Celebrity Baby Scoop

More...

In the coming days, you'll notice Momversation is a bit different!  We're working on some changes designed to enhance your community experience.  In the meantime, we're removing our community and forums.  But don't worry; you can still continue the Momversation via the comments links on our blog.  Thanks so much for your continued support!

We've all been angry enough at a person to want to, well, slap them.  Maybe we've even been angry enough at our children to want to give them a smack on the behind.  But a teacher is a paid professional, one who is supposed to be trained to deal with unruly kids.  But abusive teachers do exist; you've probably seen one on the news or heard about one through the school grapevine.  But a teacher who incites kids to fight each other?  Paging Tyler Durden!

Q. I’m a new mom who just went back to work…and I can’t get back in the groove of things! I feel so bad when I have to leave in the morning…a part of me feels like I’m abandoning my baby. It’s a tough economy now so I HAVE to work…I just don’t know how to deal with it. -Regretfully Working Mom...

She's been here, what, a month? A decade? Forever? It's hard to believe it's only been a week and two days. I can't remember a life without her. Already. Without her coos and gas disguised as smiles and demands...

There's a sleek new racing bicycle in my basement that cost a small fortune which I've come to think of as "my belly..."

Botox, speed-dating, and the big "O:" Wednesday's daily links.

• What I Learned at the World's Largest Speed-Dating Event - Lemondrop
• Are You Surprised by the Delinking of Vaccines and Autism? - lilsugar
• Orgasm While Pregnant: Ohhhhh Yeah! - CafeMom
• How to Prevent Divorce - Modern Mom
• My Botox Baby - ParentDish

More...

I’ve taken my son’s temperature dozens of times since he was born, but one thing that never gets easier is seeing the number on the thermometer soar. The higher it climbs, the more concerned I become—and I’m hardly alone. Fever is one of the most common reasons why parents visit emergency rooms with an infant or child, according to the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), and it’s the top reason why they call their child’s doctor, says Ari Brown, M.D., a pediatrician in Austin, Texas, and coauthor of Toddler 411: Clear Answers & Smart Advice for Your Toddler (Windsor Peak Press, 2006)...

I’d like the home address of the sadist over at Crayola Corp. who decided to market non-washable markers. Only so I can stop by for a visit, nothing more than a quick hello and then defile his front door like a subway wall...

Bazillions of advertising dollars are spent every year to persuade American women to buy countless moisturizers, wrinkle creams, foundations, lipsticks, bronzers, etc.  We slather our bodies in cosmetics, usually without much thought as to their ingredients.  After all, if they are on sale in the United States, they must be safe, right? 

Wrong.

It's Tuesday, time for some daily links:

• Another Milestone - Cool Mom
• What's the Best Online Dating Photo? - Lemondrop
• Easy Beauty Changes to Get You Out of a Rut - The Frisky
• Long Labor, Short Delivery - lilsugar
• Prom Turns into Booze Cruise for Chaperones - ParentDish

More...

The good ol' honest Sarah Palin didn't sell quite as many copies of her book Going Rogue as it appeared.  Turns out, Palin's PAC spent $63,000 on copies of the former governor's tome.  That's a lot of down home wisdom.  Just how much?  According to the Huffington Post:

It depends. Without knowing how much sales tax was paid on the books or if the former governor bought them at a bulk rate, Palin's group could have bought anywhere from 2,173 (at suggested full retail price of $28.99) to 4,666 copies (at a steeply discounted Amazon rate of $13.50).

Last week, retailer H&M settled a lawsuit over the lead content of accessories such as purses and wallets.  No wonder our purses are so heavy (rimshot!).

The muffled giggles and “Morning Elmo” floating softly to my ears. Slowly waking me from a soft slumber.

“Momma, uppy. Pa-lease!” finally pulls me from the warmth of my bed. Into the waiting arms and love-filled smile of my child...

Within five minutes of the nurse telling me I was in active labor, I was being wheeled into the delivery room. Before I even had a chance to catch my breath the epidural was ordered and countless family members were on the way...

We're all for free speech here at Momversation, and certainly, we understand that some women are pro-life.  But there's free speech and then there's fudging the truth to make a point.  And celeb lawyer Gloria Allred thinks that might be the case with Tim Tebow and his mother's Super Bowl pro-life ad, in which Pam Tebow claims she was urged by her doctors to abort when she was pregnant with Tim...

You'd think that writing articles on parenting would make me a better, smarter mom. Think again. While researching a story about potty training a few years ago, I got all kinds of wisdom from the experts: Let your child set the pace! Don’t worry about accidents! Keep up the praise! I spoke to moms who’d been training their kids since birth – no painful rashes, no used diapers polluting the planet.

Reality TV "star" and professional wackadoo Tila Tequila has claimed she is going to adopt 2 children from Haiti.

The reality TV star, who also says she’s pregnant, Twittered: “Ok I will adop (sic) 2 children from HAITI....I'm going to try to do that ASAP! Those poor babies! Mommy is coming to rescue u (sic) my Angels! xoxox.”

We say they'd probably be better off in Haiti.  Yikes.

A new baby can be overwhelming for the whole family. The last thing on your mind is cooking for yourself or eating a healthy diet. However this is the time you really need to eat right. Whether you’re breastfeeding and need the extra calories, want to increase your stamina against the sleep deprivation or are starting to think about losing the “baby weight” – a healthy diet can really help with your energy level and overall outlook. Here are a few tips for how to eat healthfully during this exciting time...

Happy Monday afternoon!  Here are your links for today:

• Tim Allen and Family Take a Stroll - Celebrity Baby Scoop
• 6 Gifts for the Geek in Your Child - lilsugar
• Making Memories with My Little Boy: Disneyland - Betty Confidential
• Jimmy Choo Turns into a Sneaker Head - The Frisky
• Would You Name Your Kid Axel? - CafeMom

More...

I bounced up and down, grinned like a fiend on speed, and whooped it up and hollered when Michelle Obama waved to me today outside the YMCA. 

My three-year-old son cried...

Heidi and I snuck in a quick shower after my Dad left this morning. I say snuck because we’re not supposed to be running the water until the well-tank is replaced. I won’t go into the salacious, riveting details surrounding the well-tank issue, except that there’s a well-tank and a float-thingy, and they have a problem. Trust me, discussing this subject in any further detail would be as pleasant as receiving a noogie administered by a girl, like me, who’s observed the no-running-the-water-or-shower-rule for the past four days. It’s RIPE here people!

I haven't been sure where to start in telling this story. It went fast, that's for sure, but it's filled with so much emotion that it's hard to tell wholly and concretely. So I'll start with this.

Thank God for the epidural...

Friday's here!  Have a great weekend, and enjoy some links!

• Parenting: I Could Learn a Thing or Two - Perfectly Disheveled
• Introducing Vida Alves McConaughey! - Celebrity Baby Scoop
• When Mommies Are Bullies - Parents Ask
• The Cool Mom Show! - Cool Mom
• 14 Eccentric Baby Names - CafeMom
  

More...

I so badly want to write about what happened, about the most intense, wonderful, terrifying, beautiful, exhausting experience of my life--but I literally do not yet have the wherewithal or energy to give it justice. As it turns out, having a newborn at home makes it really tricky to get enough rest. Who would have thought...??

Apparently, I offended some people with my question: can you be a "hipster" and a "mom?"  The Hipster Mom herself wrote a response blog in which she told me to, erm, "suck it."  I'm assuming she means a delicious banana popsicle... 

Friday's almost here!  Here are some Thursday links.

• When Strangers Touch Your Belly - CafeMom
• Mel Gibson Is "More Mellow" With Baby #8 - Celebrity Baby Scoop
• MADtv Invented the iPad First - Lemondrop
• Golden Globes - Cool Mom
• Study Finds Newborns Cry in Their Native Tongues - New Parent

More...

It was tragic enough that thousands of children were orphaned during the Haiti earthquake.  But now, predators are taking the children from the streets with offers of food.  Where are these children going...?

Here I am, well into my stay-at-home mom adventure. It’s been…let me see…if I did my math right…just about 4.5 months. Damn. That seems like forever and like I just stared at the same time. Funny how that happens...

Wednesday's here!  Time for your daily links:

• New Study Says Women Can Eat and Drink During Labor - ParentDish
• 50 Ideas for a Healthy Lifestyle - CafeMom
• Dear Google: Stop Trying to Help. You're Making It Worse - The Bloggess
• 1/3 of Women in the Military Say They've Been Raped - MomLogic
• Hugh Jackman and His Silly Sweetheart - Celebrity Baby Scoop

More...

Four years ago today, over my OB’s lunch hour, I delivered Whitney. I’m not going to tell you it was a hard labor, or that I threw beverages or small pieces of furniture at Ben. And I didn’t scream like a boiling lobster as I had, eight years earlier, during my natural childbirth with our first daughter, Lexi.

We've been nominated for Best Group Blog.  Would you vote for us here?

If you can believe it, Nadya Suleman's octuplets have just celebrated their first birthdays!  RadarOnline has just posted a video of the final four deliveries... including the 8th baby, who (it turns out) doctors were not expecting...

Ooh, we love the dirty little secrets of moms, don't we?  Well, lilsugar has taken a sneak peek into the life of a mother of three (including a new little bundle of joy!).  Read on!

Here are your links for Tuesday afternoon.

• The Lady Gaga Cookie - Good Bite
• 6 Years Old and Not Potty Trained - CafeMom
• What Angelina Jolie and the World's Sluttiest Bird Have in Common - Lemondrop
• Julie Bowen: "It's Nothing but Tiny Penises and Poop All Day Long" - Celebrity Baby Scoop
• Battle of the Baby Weight: Eating Better - lilsugar
  

More...

There's a fair amount of moms out there who call themselves "hipster moms."  They dress in skinny jeans, not sweat pants, and they listen to Phoenix instead of the sounds of Barney.  But is it really important to still be "hip" and a mom?  And are "hipsters" and "moms" oxymorons?