Gestational diabetes ups obesity risk in offspring

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children born to mothers who developed diabetes during pregnancy are more likely to be overweight or obese than their peers, according to a new study.

However, treatment of so-called gestational diabetes reduces the risk.

Dr. Teresa A. Hillier and her colleagues studied nearly 10,000 mother-child pairs enrolled in Kaiser Permanente plans in Hawaii and in the Pacific Northwest during the period from 1995 to 2000. Women with preexisting diabetes were excluded.

Follow-up with the children 5 to 7 years later revealed a significant association between their weight and their mothers' blood glucose levels when tested during pregnancy, the researchers report in the medical journal Diabetes Care.

Specifically, a child was 28 percent more likely to be overweight or obese when the glucose level of the mother during pregnancy was in the top range rather than the lowest.

According to Hillier's team, the trend remained significant after factoring in maternal weight gain, maternal age, number of pregnancies, ethnicity, and birth weight.

However, further analysis showed that the risk of obesity was not significantly increased among children born to mothers with treated gestational diabetes.

"Our results suggest that 'metabolic imprinting' of the future child for obesity occurs with one or more abnormalities on an oral glucose tolerance test," Hillier and her associates conclude. "The risk is modifiable by treating gestational diabetes."

SOURCE: Diabetes Care, September 2007.

How to use a Prefold diaper?

Prefolds are easy to use, these cloth diapers are prefolded. It just needs to be pinned via normal dritz pins, snappis or folded into a waterproof diaper cover that will transform it as an all-in-one diaper. It can also be used as a soaker with a diaper cover, or a pocket-diaper for a waterproof experience.

Click on the images below to see detailed instructions for using prefolds
A. For use in the Aplix / Snap diaper or a Diaper Cover
B. Angel Wing Fold
C. Navel defence (for newborn)
D. Night Time Doubler
E. Daytime Doubler
F. Bikini Twist (for baby with heavy thigh)






Prefolds available at The Baby Loft

Celebrity moms talk about parenting...

A few awesome snippets of parenting from Kate Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, Helen Hunt, Thandie Newton, Salma Hayek...in many ways celebrities have the same joys and worries just like us...

"I'm very impatient. I like to get things done. I move fast. Patience has been something he's teaching me" - Kate Hudson

"You can't believe you have this without a license, without any training. You learn as you go" - Sigourney Weaver

"they'll do what you do and not what you say" - Helen Hunt

"I remember the first time Ripley saw her shadow. My god. It was like shadows had just been invented." - Thandie Newton

"I relearned how to love everything around me, too." - Salma Hayek

Read the full story at:
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/life/20080508/d_celebmoms08.art.htm

My Little Green Secrets

Thank you for all your wonderful entries, the contest is now closed, and Wai will be receiving a gift voucher from The Baby Loft. Thanks to your wonderful little green secrets, we have decided to keep this an ongoing segment, so we can all continue to find new ways to keep our planet healthy for our children and their children. You may continue to submit your entries to blog@thebabyloft.com
******
Winner of My Little Green Secret
We can wrap gifts with natural and reusable materials. For example, we can reuse wrappers given by others or we can make use of cloth as wrappers. When we give cooking utensils or ingredients(dried herbs or etc) to our friends who love cooking, we can wrap it with apron or table cloth. It's like a gift within gift. Marvelous! - Wai
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Over the last year, when my bulb blows out, we go and buy an energy saving bulb to replace it. Now we use less energy with that same lamp. It's a very gradual change but it reduces our monthly electric bill and it's good for the environment - Amy
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When we have to save leftover food in the fridge, we cover it with another plate or put it in a washable container. Never use Cling Wrap or Ziploc bags unless you have to! - Lee Min
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I put a fold-able cloth shopping bag in my handbag and in my car so that whenever I am out doing shopping or marketing I can make use of it instead of using plastic bag. - Molly
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I try to use more energy-saving tools or items in my daily usage. For example, in my house, we use only enerygy-saving lights bulbs. I also make use of multi-level steamer which can cook the rice, and steam dishes at the same time which save me money and time and it is healthier way than frying in oil. My husband also bought me a very good thermal pot which cut my cooking time to more than half. I use it to cook my baby's porridge which reduces the cooking time from 30mins to 10mins and it keeps it warm until she is ready for her meal. I use it a lot for making soups and hot desserts as well. Good investment and good for the earth. - Molly
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One simple thing that requires no effort...we print on both sides of the paper. The printer is never loaded with paper, the paper to reuse is right next to the printer. If someone in the family needs to print something for formal use, they actually have to reach in the drawer to get clean paper. - Steven
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I try to live a more earth-friendly way when I choose a new job nearer to my workplace so that I can carpool with my husband as well as use less petrol. Even though the job pay lesser than the other job offer, I find it worthwhile as it also lessens the stress of being caught in a traffic jam, not to mention higher car petrol bill. - Bang Ai
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Although the best thing is to not use any plastics, most of us cannot live without it. I learned that even though you can recycle a lot of plastic products, the lower the number printed at the bottom, the more likely it can be recycled. - Georgia
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I gather all recycled paper, envelopes, plastic bags, bottles, containers, clothes neatly so that it is easier to locate, use or give away. - Molly
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Technology has helped us to be more environmental-friendly. Whenever possible, I would use E-cards, E-mails, E-statements, and etc. I pay my bills online, I get my utilities companies sent my statement electronically, use E-filing for my income tax and in my company we try to go paperless as possible in our documentations, notices, forms etc. This help to reduce the amount of papers we used. - Lim
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My whole family practice vegetarianism. I think this is a good way to help the environment by being a vegetarian as the it helps to reduce animal agriculture which can contributes to global warming and environmental destruction. I think everyone can do the same, starting with perhaps one meal per day or one day in every week for a start. :) - Molly
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I bring my own thermos mug to get my daily coffee from Starbucks or Coffee Bean, so we throw away one less paper cup. - Emily
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It is nice to have a vase of fresh plant / flower in the bathroom. So, I use old glass Nescafe container for this purpose. The shape of the container is quite nice. And some more, it’s free. I have 3 bathrooms in the house, so I save more money there :) - Zarita
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I unplug all my chargers when I am not using them. Supposedly even if you have nothing turned on or actively charging, it is still leaking electricity. It reduces your bill and saves money too - D'Lynn

BabyLegs...from Hollywood to your home

We started off getting BabyLegs for my little ones to easily keep their arms/legs warm when we get into an air-conditioned room. Now we've found so many new ways to wear BabyLegs, even for Daddy and Mommy! It is versatile and fun, and we decided to share it with all our friends at TBL too.

Most popular for babies and toddlers, celebrity moms and dads have been fans of BabyLegs for their little ones since the company’s 2005 debut. Mira Sorvino, Keri Russell, Halle Berry, Dr. Drew, Angie Harmon, Sheryl Crow, Adam Corolla, Holly Robinson-Peete, Angela Bassett, Tia Carrere and Diane Farr are just a few of the celebrity moms and dads smitten with BabyLegs!

BabyLegs is now available at The Baby Loft:
Malaysia Store
US Store

Despite myth, old age is the happiest time, research says

This article makes me look forward to aging gracefully :)

By LINDSEY TANNER
AP Medical Writer

CHICAGO (AP) -- Newsflash for rock stars and teenagers: It turns out everything doesn't go downhill as we age -- the golden years really are golden.

That's according to eye-opening research in the U.S. that found the happiest people are the oldest, and older adults are more socially active than the stereotype of the lonely senior suggests.

The two go hand-in-hand -- being social can help keep away the blues.

"The good news is that with age comes happiness," said study author Yang Yang, a University of Chicago sociologist. "Life gets better in one's perception as one ages."

A certain amount of distress in old age is inevitable, including aches, pains and deaths of loved ones and friends. But older people generally have learned to be more content with what they have than younger adults, Yang said.

This is partly because older people have learned to lower their expectations and accept their achievements, said Duke University aging expert Linda George. An older person may realize "it's fine that I was a schoolteacher and not a Nobel prize winner."

George, who was not involved in the new study, believes the research is important because the general public continues to think that "late life is far from the best stage of life, and they don't look forward to it."

Yang's findings are based on periodic face-to-face interviews with a nationally representative sample of Americans from 1972 to 2004. About 28,000 people aged 18 to 88 took part.

There were ups and downs in overall happiness levels during the study, generally corresponding with good and bad economic times. But at every stage, older Americans were the happiest.

While younger blacks and poor people tended to be less happy than whites and wealthier people, those differences faded as people aged.

In general, the odds of being happy increased 5 percent with every 10 years of age.

Overall, about 33 percent of Americans reported being very happy at age 88, versus about 24 percent of those age 18 to their early 20s. And throughout the study years, most Americans reported being very happy or pretty happy; less than 20 percent said they were not too happy.

A separate University of Chicago study found that about 75 percent of people aged 57 to 85 engage in one or more social activities at least every week. Those include socializing with neighbors, attending religious services, volunteering or going to group meetings.

Those in their 80s were twice as likely as those in their 50s to do at least one of these activities.

Both studies appear in April's American Sociological Review.

"People's social circles do tend to shrink a little as they age -- that is mainly where that stereotype comes from, but that image of the isolated elderly really falls apart when we broaden our definition of what social connection is," said study co-author Benjamin Cornwell, also a University of Chicago researcher.

The research rings true for 81-year-old George O'Hare, a retired Sears manager in Willowbrook, Illinois. He's active with church, AARP and does motivational speaking, too. His wife is still living, and he's close to his three sons and four grandchildren.

"I'm very happy because I've made friends that are still living," O'Hare said. "I like to go out and speak in schools about motivation."

"Happiness is getting out and being with people, and that's why I recommend it," he said.

Ilse Siegler, an 84-year-old retired nurse manager in Chicago, has a slightly different perspective. Her husband died 35 years ago; she still misses him everyday.

She has vision problems and has slowed down with age. Yet, she still swims, runs a social group in her condo building, volunteers in a retirement home and is active with her temple. These all help "make life more enjoyable," she said.

While Siegler said these aren't the happiest years of her life, she's content.

"Contentment as far as I'm concerned comes with old age ... because you accept things the way they are," she said. "You know that nothing is perfect."

Cornwell's nationally representative study was based on in-home interviews with 3,005 people in 2005-06. While it didn't include nursing home residents, only about 4 percent of Americans aged 75 to 84 are in nursing homes, Cornwell said.

It's all good news for the aging population. However, Yang's study also found that baby boomers were the least happy. They could end up living the unfortunate old-age stereotype if they can't let go of their achievement-driven mind-set, said George, the Duke aging expert.

So far, baby boomers -- those born in the late 40s and 50s as soldiers returned from World War II -- aren't lowering their aspirations at the same rate earlier generations did. "They still seem to believe that they should have it all," George said. "They're still thinking about having a retirement that's going to let them do everything they haven't done yet."

Previous research also has shown that mid-life tends to be the most stressful time, said Cornell University sociologist Elaine Wethington. "Everyone's asking you to do things, and you have a lot to do. You're less happy because you feel hassled."

The new studies show "if you can make it through that," there's light at the end of the tunnel, Wethington said.

Jolie-Pitts ride in MacLaren stroller

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie take their daughters Zahara and Shiloh for a walk in a MacLaren Twin stroller.



Now you can get a MacLaren stroller at The Baby Loft too, buy on our online store, or come into our Desa Parkcity boutique to try the strollers first!