Chicago has outlawed crib bumpers inspite a lot of objections from the industry which makes these. Bumper pads, in recent years, have the reason for many SID or suffucation among babies. Babies, who still do not have the motor skills to turn or move their head away from bumper pads that are wrapped around their sleeping area, are prone to such dangers. The banning of this item has been necessary because of it.

According to a report from the Chicago Tribune, the ban will take effect in seven months time.

The city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection will enforce the ordinance, responding to complaints and checking for products during inspections of stores. Retailers who violate the ordinance can face fines up to $500 for each violation.

Stores like Babies R Us have already expressed they will follow the local ordinance, even as the company sells bumper pads nationwide.

Meanwhile, baby bedding companies have already started redesigning bumper pads so that it becomes more compliant and save around babies. The addition of a mesh and zip features supposedly make this less dangerous. The local ruling in Chicago doesn’t say if these improved bumper pads are also included in the ban.

The trade group have been against the passing of the ordinance since the beginning claiming that there is no evidence linking SIDS to bumper pads. The Chicago Tribune, however, reports otherwise as there have been documented deaths were doctors have ruled that bumper pads is the cause.

One of my dearest girlfriends’ babies have learned to crawl and we’ve been helping her with baby proofing her house. This is a safety requirement that must be put in all houses with very curious babies and toddlers, to avoid accidents. You don’t want to find your baby with a bump in her head, or a cut in her arms, or worse, suffocating or falling down something hurting her seriously.

Here are the things you need to take note of when it comes to baby proofing:

1. Survey the house for lower cabinets and drawers that babies may reach and try to pry open. These need child locks so that they won’t be able to open this and get their hands or themselves caught on the door or drawer.

2. Toddlers can already reach oven or stove knobs. When they see Mommy doing this, they wanna try and do the same thing and sometimes do this when Mom isn’t looking. Buy stove cover knobs to prevent any untoward incident like fire burning down the property or your child.

3. A toilet lid lock was one of the first baby proofing product I got for our house. And this is also great with keeping dogs from drinking onto the bowl, which is unsanitary.

4. Of all the baby proofing products to get, a corner guard one is a real life saver. Corner guards are those things you place on the edge of coffe tables. They tend to be sharp and can really hurt the baby. Adults can benefit from this too. I noticed that I bruise less with corner guards around.

A group of friends, all of whom are also both actors and new moms, have joined together out in LA to raise funds for the March of Dimes.  The March of Dimes advocates for all aspects of babyhood, from conception to early infancy, and is perhaps best known for its work fighting to prevent birth defects. 

I think this is so great.  Not only are these moms supporting each other through pregnancies and the young babyhood of their kids, but they’re reaching beyond themselves to help make life better for other parents, other kids. 

And it’s not like these ladies are any less busy than the rest of us.  So, how about it, moms?  What can we be doing to help support other moms, and make life better for babies we might never meet?  Kudos to you, Elizabeth Rohm, Melissa Joan Hart, Nancy O’Dell, Julie Bowen, Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon, Jenny Garth, Diane Farr, Kellie Martin, and Nancy O’Dell.

Do any of you out there use these adorable things for your infants?  They’re precious; I mean, look at that picture!  That’s what we think of when we think of babies in baskets or carriers.  And of course, these things have been around since…well, Moses.  They’re so traditional and cozy and picturesque; exactly what we think of in our baby day dreams.

I just can’t imagine what how we would actually use them.  I mean, we have car seats.  Babies sit around the house in car seats–or maybe bouncy seats, if they can bounce yet.  Then we pick up the whole unit–baby, seat and all–and toss it in the car or hook it up to the stroller and off we go.  Who is going to bother to transfer the baby from car seat to Moses basket to shoping cart back Moses basket to car seat, etc?  We don’t even usually bother to transfer the baby from car seat to crib if she falls asleep (that would waker her up!)–so who adds an extra step? 

It’s so pretty, though.  It just occured to me that it looks exactly like the sort of thing a childless friend would give as a shower gift.  God bless those childless friends–don’t they always get us the coolest stuff?  Stuff we’d never get ourselves–because we know better!

What Happens to Abandoned Children?

Every state in the US now has laws that make it possible for someone to abandon their children in a public service location, such as a hospital or police station.  In most cases, these laws require that the baby be one week old or less (though most of us are aware of the now infamous case of the Nebraska law which temporarily allowed parents to abandon children up to age 18).  The intention is, of course, to save the lives of babies who might otherwise be left to die.  We’ve all heard the stories of tiny corpses being found in dumpsters; these laws are an attempt to provide parents with another choice.

Who are the parents?

The majority of infant abandonment comes in two forms. 

One is a young teenage girl, who has perhaps hidden her pregnancy from all around her.  Perhaps she has refused to acknowledge it even to herself and is taken by surprise when she gives birth, alone and with no medical or emotional support.  Perhaps she has a boyfriend, and if so, he is equally as terrified as she is.  If they are very savvy and knowledgeable teens, they know enough to take the child to a hospital or police station.  But how many savvy or knowledgeable teens would end up in this predicament?

The other common form of infant abandonment is done by men who are old enough to know better.  Some of these men are pimps who have found that the child impinges on profits.  Some are the mother’s boyfriend or the baby-daddy, who don’t want the responsibility of the child, but are determined to remain in the mother’s life.  In many cases, these babies are older than a few days; they can be older infants, toddlers, or even preschoolers. 

Where do the babies go?

Assuming that the babies live, they immediately go into foster care.  There are foster parents who are especially equipped to receive infants at any hour of the day or night, even if it’s just on a temporary or emergency basis until a more permanent foster home can be found.  While the baby is in foster care, the authorities, which include the police and DFS social workers, attempt to find the birth parents of the child.  If they can’t be found, the state takes permanent custody and the child is declared available for adoption.