Stay at Home Mom

Research shows male hormones may enhance IVF therapy The use of testosterone to improve outcomes in women undergoing in vitro fertilization is taking hold across the country, but data on its use is slim and mixed. A new study suggests that the male hormone might actually be doing something good by helping drive the development of follicles -- structures that contain and ultimately release an egg that can be fertilized by a man's sperm. The authors believe the study provides potential biological targets to enhance fertility in women with diminished ovarian reserve, who produce few or no follicles in response to IVF drugs designed to boost follicle development. Read More COMMENT: For families struggling to get pregnant this process can be long, expensive, and uncomfortable.  While more research is needed it is good to read what scientists are looking at to make this process easier for families going through the process of IVF.

Type 1 diabetes: Vitamin D deficiency occurs in early stage Low levels of vitamin D are commonly found in people with type 1 diabetes. But even children who have multiple positive islet autoantibodies without manifest type 1 diabetes have lower levels of vitamin D in their blood. This does not appear, however, to influence the progression of the disease from pre-diabetes to diabetes, according to scientists. "Vitamin D deficiency precedes the onset of type 1 diabetes. This may be a consequence of an immune response," one author says. "In the case of pre-diabetic children, we must therefore be mindful of the risk of vitamin D deficiency and consider recommending vitamin D supplementation at an early stage of type 1 diabetes." Read More COMMENT: What does this mean for the typical Stay at Home Mom? While each child is unique and our children may not have diabetes this study is important because it stresses having the right balance of Vitamin D in our ch

Guest Post by: Stacy Harris Having a baby obviously brings many changes into the lives of new parents, but one thing many don’t think about are the transformations that might need to be made in order to baby proof the home. According to SafeKids.org, household injuries such as suffocation and furniture tipping over are some of the main reasons young children and infants go to the E.R. or suffer from a fatal injury. In a 2013 survey by the National Association of Realtors , the living room was noted as the most important room of the house by 55 percent of respondents. As it’s the room that typically gets the most activity and is most used to entertain guests, the living room is likely to be the one new parents are most concerned about being stylish while also keeping it safe for that precious bundle of joy. While having a stylishly decorated home is important to many couples, baby proofing is obviously a more important priority. Fortunately, there is no need to sacrifice your ho

Stay At Home Mom Guest post by Carol Roberts Yesterday when I was in class with the 8th graders, one of them made a comment about how being a stay at home mom is not a career.  Mostly I think he was saying this to bother the girl next to him, but it got me thinking about my days as a stay at home mom. I was a stay at home mom for about 10 years when the girls were growing up.  When we moved to Meridian in the spring of 1991, I made the choice to stay at home with Molly.  We made it work.  We lived mostly on Paul's income.  I did do a little daycare in my home that brought in a little extra money.  But we figured it out. These years were the most rewarding and the most frustrating years of my life. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

This morning we read about a 10 year old girl in Missouri who was abducted and murdered.  This has got to be a parent's worst nightmare and our hearts are just breaking for this family. READ THE FULL ARTICLE FROM USA Today  According to the FBI this type of abduction is extremely rare . But who really cares about how rare it is if you are the one affected by this.  As a child I would run all over the neighborhood and as I approached the age of 10, 11, 12 my radius outside of my own backyard grew larger and larger.  The young girl abducted in Missouri was in her own neighborhood not far from her home.  The tragedy and pain are unfathomable. According to the FBI page most child abductions happen from people who the children know.  We often tell our children not to talk to strangers but then we also teach them to be polite and respect their elders.  That message can be very confusing. Sometimes these messages get mixed up by little kids. When we are pregnant we read all kinds

In my elementary school days we would spend the week before Valentines day making mail boxes for our desks to provide a space for all of our classmates to put the Valentine cards that we would all bring to school on Valentine's Day.  I remember how cool it was when Scooby Doo came out with Valentine cards but those were pretty expensive.  So, for the most part there were red hearts made out of construction paper pasted onto a small white doily with a glue stick. When my kids were in elementary school there were some Valentine celebrations and exchanges of cards which typically involved candy.   But today I was in a megastore with my 15 year old and he was a little bothered by something.  We were checking out the movie section and there was a section for Valentine's movies.  There was a section marked Valentine movies for him - Valentine movies for her - and Valentine movies for kids.  He thought the selections in the For Him and For Her were weird enough but even weirder