Charlie

I play this video once in a while and I don't think I'll ever grow tired of watching these siblings. Charlie is adorable, but his brother is even more endearing. What older brother--a kid himself--would be so patient as to easily forget what his little bro did and just smile it off after a few seconds? A loving brother, that's what. One taught early about being generous and kind.

A new read

How do you soothe an infant who's crying his lungs out?

Does the choice of story books affect a baby's learning his ABCs?

What's the real deal about little boys and playing "bang! bang!" with those toy guns?

What items go into a layette? What is a layette?

Why do some babies develop UTI?

Does the adage "boys don't cry" help your little boy in any way?

How does natural family planning enhance the husband and wife's relationship?

What's the difference between probable, presumptive and positive signs of pregnancy?

How can you assuage feelings of regret when you got a boy but wanted a girl (and vice versa)?

What's a parent to do to keep the kids from being TV junkies?

So many questions, so few pages!

Those and more will be answered when you read the latest issue of Baby magazine from cover to cover. There's even an illustrated step-by-step guide for daddies who are still learning the ropes when it comes to changing their baby's diaper. The guide, written by John-D Borra and illustrated by Leo Alvarado, will turn the most clueless newbie-Dad into a diaper jock in no time (as long as he practices, of course)!

On the cover is Boston Ryan Phillips, who was all of 7 months when he was photographed by lensman George Cabig at Edsa Shangri-La Hotel. He looks like a charming little pirate with that bandanna wrapped around his head...

Published by Marathon Publishing Co., Baby comes out 12 times a year and is available nationwide at National Bookstore, SM Dept. Store baby section, Baby & Co. (branches are at Powerplant Mall and The Podium), Babyland, Bufini, Big & Small Co. (Shangri-la Plaza mall branch), and selected Powerbooks and mag:net plus outlets.

Want to subscribe? There's a subscription form in every issue; otherwise, you may give us a call at 728-3655/56.

Oh by the way, there's a question to answer again in between the pages! And the lucky winners get to have a pretty cool prize for their baby. We're accepting emailed answers till June 30 -- the same deadline as the one for the Mother's Day Giveaway contests.

Expo Mom

Photos from the May 17 event at the Rockwell Tent...



...but let me begin with this one, featuring May cover baby Sofia! Here she is with her equally pretty mom. Sofia and her parents dropped by and looked around the pretty crowded place, as the event was well-attended. The only thing I didn't like was the noise the band made at one point. To me it is noise; a mommy-baby event is no place for alternative rock, or even pop, music -- except if it's piped-in music. But this was live -- with guitars, drums and all! It was really difficult to hold a decent conversation for quite a long time...



Here I am carrying the little angel. Does she look like she's scared of me??




There were talks by experts all day, like this highly informative one that delved on breastfeeding, given by La Leche League leader Abbie Yabot.




And here's Nicole with the cute Baby mascot, hehe.

Was supposed to post more pictures, but need to do something else for now.

More next time...

More behind-the-scenes shots

Our writer, Nicole, gets to shoot more behind-the-scene pictures than I do whenever we have pictorials. I've been asking her to give me temporary access to her Multiply site so I can take a peek and download some of the shots she has taken. That one up there was during the playtime fashion shoot in February (the kids were a bit stiff in the beginning, so Teacher Jamie got them together for some fun activities on the blanket first). Here are some of the other pictures from months back:




They've warmed up and are simply having fun with the rocking animals, courtesy of Rina Garcia. With Dharmma (or Vanna) and Raffy is Tesa Alejandrino, Raffy's mom and wife of photographer Ralph Alejandrino.




For one of the summer issues we featured smoothies that kids can easily make with the help of their elders. Kamias smoothie was my most memorable discovery that day -- how delectable (and that's not said with any sarcasm; it really is good)!



Managing editor Ditas Bermudez, herself a whiz with the camera, took the photos for this one. Where? In a Japanese-inspired home in the middle of Cubao.

When colors can kill

Roaming the aisles of a toy store can be multi-sensory overload, but it can be eye candy at the same time. All those bright shades of red and yellow and the yummy pinks and lilacs draw the eyes, and one shouldn't be surprised that kiddies find them just as attractive.

But then, when we featured toy recall updates last year, with some information on the lead paint issue, that's when I realized that the shinier and more colorful surfaces usually end up containing the highest amount of lead.

Now here's a news report stating that the toy recalls in 2008 so far are record-breaking in terms of numbers -- and we're not even halfway through the year yet! Parents, do take notice. And do consider the possibility of getting your kids simple, wooden and unvarnished playthings. Just because something sparkles, rings, beeps and lights up, that doesn't necessarily mean it's good for your kid.

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Record number of toys being recalled in '08

By Jennifer Toomer-Cook
Deseret News

Published: Saturday, May 24, 2008 12:36 a.m. MDT

Nearly 10 million toys and other products have been recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission between January and April — a rate that, by year's end, could exceed 2007's record number of recalls by 70 percent.

That's according to an analysis issued this month by Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports.

The group is calling on Congress to modernize the Consumer Product Safety Commission "to help protect our children from hazardous products," policy counsel Ami Gadhia said. Bill provisions they want adopted include improved safety standards for children's products and an accessible incidents database to keep families informed.

Moms, including one whose baby died in an unsafe crib, accompanied consumer advocates in Washington last week to drive home the point.

"Consumers' illusion that our product safety system is working has been shattered by the many recalls of children's toys," Rachel Wintraub, director of product safety and senior counsel for Consumer Federation of America, said in a prepared statement.

The commission has initiated 121 product recalls through April, for a total of nearly 10 million products, Consumers Union reports. Almost 6 million were for children's products, including toys, clothes, bikes, games, pacifiers, rattles and cribs.

Read the whole thing at Deseret News