Really, both are correct. When I travel with my toddler, an entire adult backpack is stuffed with entertainment—books, stickers, crayons, toys, snacks, etc. And sometimes my kid wants nothing to do with any of it. Or she's overtired and the problem is not entertainment but the fact that she can't fall asleep.

I know people who are unable to commit in advance, and they just don't know what they'll feel like doing that day and maybe a better offer will come along, etc., etc. It's all about their own convenience and they just don't care about other people—which is really what this comes down to. You really can't be bothered…

We have a tooth fairy box. We tell her that the tooth fairy only takes teeth from the holder. And we have the holder—this way, she has to ask for it, and we always know.

Hate to tell you, but I had pertussis over 17 years ago, and I still get nasty barking coughs every time I get a cold. I also developed exercise-induced asthma. Good times.

The point about the increased accuracy is important. In my OB's practice, the test is done in conjunction with the more traditional quad screen, and the results are all presented together to get a sense of the risk and whether it makes sense to proceed with CVS/Amnio or not. It's really just a way to get more…

I agree—the Lost Cause gets plenty of airtime, but the actual heroine looks like a Southern Belle but turns out to be a smart, scrappy, resourceful, mercenary, hard woman. She refuses to wallow in the nostalgia. She kills a guy. She may be a bitch, but she feeds her family. I said earlier that the reason I like…

Yeah, Mitchell came out of a very interesting background—her mother was a suffragist, she was a major tomboy, and she was six during the 1906 Atlanta race riots, during which her father stood guard at their door with a shotgun. Her ideas about the antebellum South and race were a really bizarre stew of romanticism…

I had a MaterniT21 blood test done, along with the older quad screen, and my OB was quite clear that if the screens came back "positive," the next step was CVS or amnio to confirm. It was never suggested that the MaterniT21 was anything other than a screen. The value of it is that if it comes back negative for…

If you haven't read it, I highly recommend Mountains Beyond Mountains.

Actually, Time did mention Kaci Hickox. http://time.com/time-person-of…

I can tell you. I once said something to a classmate who was anti-choice about women dying during illegal abortions. His response? "Sounds like poetic justice."

"she was obviously sick on Friday, before the fever kicked in, so all the passengers on that flight need to be checked out as well."

I believe that you have to be alive to receive a Nobel prize.

This is from the National Zoo, discussing the most recent pregnancy of Mei Xiang:

Because, it turns out, pandas are hilariously bad at reproduction. Even in the wild, mating poses some serious challenges.

I actually had a bunch of Target stuff when I was pregnant, but I got most of it online—much better selection.

Or, you know, your kid learns that if they don't want to be at the restaurant or mall or grocery store, a good way to get to leave is to pitch a fit. Look, I'm not a coddler, and I wasn't raised by a coddler, and I never threaten a consequence I'm not prepared to follow through on, but sometimes kids cry, not because…

I was once eating at a very nice old-school Midwestern steakhouse, and a guy at a table near us ordered a steak well-done. The waiter politely informed the guy that the chef refused to cook steak that way and sugggested that he try the chicken or lobster instead. I cheered a little inside, for I knew I was in good…

Or they didn't want to hire her back because they knew she had a young baby and they decided that meant she might miss work more often or something. It doesn't have to be because she want's a good worker. Not to mention, the position was almost certainly filled within the three weeks.

Better than Plan 9 from Outer Space. IIRC, Bela Lugosi died during filming and Ed Wood just replaced him with his chiropractor, who looked absolutely nothing like Lugosi, and just held his cap in front of his face in every scene.