Probably varies a lot by region or even just social circle. :) I think you're right.

For the first few months (that true newborn phase), I would guess the majority of babies do not use their cribs on a regular basis. After that, sure.

I'm not sure I would have made it sanely through the colicky period without my that blessed thing. Not to mention that it's nearly an extra set of arms, anyway - all cozy and warm and closed in on the sides.

I want Fisher-Price to get a goddamn Nobel Peace Prize for the Rock and Play. I'm buying that for every baby shower from now on.

Pfft. She looks absolutely darling. Those eyes! That little heart-shaped face! Pretty sure I need a little girl-child ASAP.

Wow, Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe kinda phoned it in, outfit-wise. Eddie Redmayne, on the other hand...wowza. VELVET SUITS. This needs to be a thing. I've always loved a good velvet blazer. Having a whole suit is even better. Delicious.

Seriously. I hate that a lot of my fat sistren use the "real woman have curves" line. Number one, it's just not okay, and exchanging body shame for body shame is bullshit (and it alienates our non-fat allies, too), and number two, not everyone who's fat has curves. There's barely a difference between my hips and…

Even if you love someone, if one of you wants children and the other doesn't, that is one of those non-negotiable relationship-ending situations. That is, unless one of you gives in or lies to yourself (which rarely ends well).

"Everyone should just default to the name they like better / sounds better, whether it's the man's or the woman's."

That's my plan with my kids, when they get old enough. Starting around 16 or so, my mom would let me have a very small glass of wine on occasion or let me have a hot buttered rum during the holidays. I've really only been drunk 2 or 3 times in my life (and none of those were even close to alcohol poisoning), and these…

Sadly I do not have any career/baby stories (graduated into this shitty economy just before giving birth, so).

Oh yeah, pissing your pants from the sheer force of your heaving gut is my favorite part. Hands down.

Can someone explain the purpose of WorldStarHipHop to me? Really. I don't understand it. It...hosts videos? I guess? So why the name?

I think that this is probably how villains sap people of their powers.

That's not even fair.

Congratulations! Those are all good things. I went through a lot of the same things (took me 7 years to get my BA for various reasons - getting over a rape, my dad dying, financial troubles, etc). At first I felt sad/embarrassed that it took so long, but I then realized that many people in situations like ours would…

I'm glad it worked out for you. I have not had any miscarriages but did have fertility struggles, so I understand a little bit of what you are feeling. I didn't want to do an amnio either and ultimately opted not to, for the same reasons. I am so, so glad the MaterniT21/Harmony tests are a thing now! Congratulations…

Even if this place is closed, there are thousands like it. My sister has bounced from group home to group home (she's DD and bipolar, much like the woman in this story), and the staff is very shittily paid and no one seems to give a shit. My mom keeps having her moved in the hopes it will get better, but honestly,…

Eh, I wouldn't agree with that, actually. It's pretty standard for the OB to suggest them to everyone at this point. That doesn't mean everyone gets one, but a lot of young women who were in my pregnancy group got them - I would say the majority. However, that was the nuchal translucency scan and a blood test, neither…

An amniocentesis carries about a 1 in 300 miscarriage risk. But before that there's preliminary bloodwork than can give you a probability of DS as well as a diagnostic ultrasound to assess the thickness of the nuchal fold (which can be one of the more prominent DS markers).