Moms In Need Trade Items On List-A-Wish

Moms are the some of the most resourceful people on the planet.

And now they have a new way to lend a hand to each other across different time zones.

It's a website that's growing in popularity every day.

But as Dan Bewley explains... no dads allowed.

Gail Lambert is a mom on a mission. It's a mission that goes through cyberspace and called listawish.org... A website where moms can go to trade for anything they need.

"They can trade personal items for clothes for their child, furniture, food, coupons, gift cards, they trade a lot of stuff."

Lambert started list-a-wish in December 2010 when a friend who was expecting twins needed to find a two baby beds.

Since then it's gone from a Facebook page to a dedicated website with more than 9000 members from across the United States.

"Probably one in most every state, at least one."

Lambert says she only allows women to register and join the site, out of concern for privacy and safety. She says it's become more than just a place to trade needed items.

"It's really neat, it's really neat to see the friendships...they may never meet but they're there for one another."

"Lambert operates it all from right here in her Owasso neighborhood. She hopes to eventually become an official non-profit agency, that would allow her to collect items herself and ship it to moms in need."

Lambert never expected her original quest to find a baby bed evolve into an organization that helps women across the country.

She's proud of the accomplishment and hopes the connections made online help moms get whatever they need.

"I like to see people helping. There's enough bad news out there I like focusing on this and seeing good things happen."

If you want to help, List-A-Wish-dot-org does accept donations on its site.

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Moms Gain Health Benefits From Breast-Feeding, Too

Breast-feeding not only delivers health benefits to babies, it also improves mothers' health.

The American Academy of Pediatrics reaffirmed its policy on breast-feeding today (Feb. 27), and in its statement, along with explaining the well-known benefits for babies of being breast-fed, the pediatricians' group also detailed the evidence for health benefits of breast-feeding for women.

"Both short- and long-term health benefits accrue to mothers who breast-feed," the policy statement said.

The benefits begin shortly after birth — women have less postpartum blood loss if they breast-feed. The uterus also shrinks back to its normal size more quickly in women who breast-feed, according to the statement.

A mother's mental health gets a boost from breast-feeding, too — a 2003 study from Australia showed an increase in postpartum depression in mothers who did not breast-feed, and those who weaned their babies early.

Breast-feeding has longer-term effects as well.

Research on the effects of breast-feeding on moms' abilities to return to their pre-pregnancy weight has been inconclusive because such studies tend to have many confounding factors, such as diet and activity levels. However, one study of more than 14,000 postpartum women who breast-fed exclusively for at least six months found they weighed less on average than those who didn't breast-feed.

Among women who developed gestational diabetes, studies have found a 4 to 12 percent reduced risk of later developing Type 2 diabetes for each year a woman breast-feeds.

Women who breast-feed for at least 12 months over the course of their life reduce their risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis by 20 percent, and those who breast-feed for at least 24 months cut their risk of developing that condition in half, according to data from the large, long-term Nurses Health Study.

Heart disease and cancer

Another large, ongoing study, the Women's Health Study, showed how breast-feeding benefited women's hearts. That research, involving 139,000 women, found an 11 percent reduction in hypertension, a 19 percent reduction in having too-high levels of fat in the blood, and an overall 10 percent reduction in heart disease risk.

And women who cumulatively breast-feed for longer than a year have a 28 percent reduced risk of both breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

The AAP recommends that babies receive only breast milk until they are 6 months old, and then continue to receive breast milk, along with other foods, until they are at least 1 year old.  

The doctors' group noted that there are cases where moms shouldn't breast-feed, such as when an infant has the metabolic disorder galactosemia, or when a mother has a certain disease, such as an active herpes infection or HIV, or is taking certain medications.  

Pass it on: Breast-feeding may help women lose pregnancy weight, stave off postpartum depression, and lower long-term risks of heart disease and cancer.

This story was provided by MyHealthNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. Follow MyHealthNewsDaily on Twitter @MyHealth_MHND. Find us on Facebook.

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Sugar To Acquire Circle of Moms

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire -02/21/12)- Sugar Inc., a leading online media and commerce company, today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire San Francisco-based Circle of Moms, one of the largest social networks for moms and moms-to-be. The acquisition adds to Sugar's powerful portfolio of brands, and further extends the company's position as a leading global women's lifestyle brand.

"Acquiring Circle of Moms enables us to extend the reach of our existing mom audience, offer more valuable content, and strengthen our social community," said Brian Sugar, Co-founder and CEO of Sugar Inc. "Circle of Moms has successfully established itself as a leading brand within this highly-coveted demographic. We're thrilled to welcome the Circle of Moms team to Sugar and partner together in the next phase of our growth."

Circle of Moms is dedicated to making the lives of moms easier and more enjoyable. Originally launched on Facebook in 2008, it serves a community of 6 million moms connected together around quality content, trusted advice and topical conversations. Circle of Moms engages moms through:

Round Up: news and advice on parenting/mom topics; Child Page: a place to share special moment of a child's life, on-the-go; and Communities: trending conversations and topical discussions.

"Today's announcement begins a new chapter for Circle of Moms and its thriving community," said Ephraim Luft, Co-founder and CEO of Circle of Moms. "By combining forces with Sugar, we join another new media pioneer and a leadership team that closely shares our vision for delivering smart community-sourced content and a commitment to enriching the lives of moms."

Upon the close of the acquisition, Circle of Moms will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Sugar Inc. and will continue to operate independently. Luft will remain in his current role, reporting to Sugar Inc. Co-founder and CEO Brian Sugar. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About Sugar Inc.

With over 28 million monthly unique visitors worldwide, Sugar's mission is to entertain and delight its audience with insanely addictive content and unmatched shopping experiences. Through an online global network, Sugar brings to life what is personally relevant to modern women everywhere - whether it's a red carpet moment, an inspiring fitness tip, or an exclusive shopping event. The company was founded in 2006 by Lisa and Brian Sugar and began with PopSugar, a popular entertainment news blog. Sugar is a privately held company and is backed by leading investors Sequoia Capital and Institutional Venture Partners (IVP). Learn more at: www.sugarinc.com.

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The Dirty Book That's Changing the Lives of Upper East Side Moms

There's a new fiction series making waves among Upper East Side moms, and it happens to be the "triple-X" Fifty Shades trilogy featuring a 27-year-old billionaire, Christian Grey, who seduces a college graduate into becoming his submissive sex slave. Like all great books, or those less so, a code of behavior has sprung up among its fans, according to the New York Post. Avid readers have done the following:

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"devoured all 1,200-plus hot-and-heavy pages...in less than two weeks.""couldn’t put it down.”"shooed away momfriends at her son’s school pickup because she didn’t want to be distracted from her reading."sat "on my couch at 7 a.m. with my two kids while they’re watching cartoons and drinking milk, and I’d be reading it on the Kindle app on my phone."

The series, by E.L. James, has a nickname, actually several: "The Book," "Twilight for the grown-up set," "mommy porn," and the "mouthpiece for a generation." Dana Schuster writes, it "is rapidly becoming a cult hit among Manhattan women, who are exchanging well-worn paperback copies and excited whispers about the book’s 'red room of pain' (Grey’s in-house sex playroom) everywhere from Fred’s at Barneys to parent-teacher conference night at school."

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It is functioning as a tool for female bonding, an aphrodisiac to women who might not be otherwise all that interested in sex with their husbands, a marriage revitalizer, an glimpse into the joys of reading for children who've never seen their parents doing it so much, and an educational supplement about BDSM:

“I found myself explaining what BDSM [bondage, discipline, sadism, masochism] was to some of the moms at a Saturday morning basketball,” says power publicist Alison Brod, who hails “Fifty Shades” as “the new kabbalah for female bonding in this city.”

The book is also being used for its fashion advice, with a bunch of husbands getting silver ties (Grey's "favorite neckwear") for Christmas. All this despite the fact that, as the readers all seem to agree, it's a pretty horribly written book: "'The writing was a little lame,' admits Upper East Side mom Pam, who at the last minute asked not to use her last name because she 'didn’t want my doormen knowing I read this book.’”

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The Post provides an excerpt, but as they put it, they're a family newspaper. So we took it upon ourselves to take a peek via the "Look Inside" feature on Amazon. Some pages in, we got this scintillating bit: 

"Penny for your thoughts?" Grey is back, startling me.

I go crimson. I was just thinking about running my fingers through your hair and wondering if it would feel soft to touch. I shake my head. He's carrying a tray, which he sets down on the small, round, birch-veneer table. He hands me a cup and saucer, a small teapot, and a side plate bearing a lone teabag labeled "Twinings English Breakfast" -- my favorite. He has a coffee which bears a wonderful leaf-pattern imprinted in the milk. How do they do that? I wonder idly. He's also bought himself a blueberry muffin. 

Well, when the titles of a book series are Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker, and Fifty Shades Freed, you already know you're not getting Shakespeare. At least in this version of Twilight Edward eats. We're intrigued.

RELATED: Author Refutes Harper Lee's Repudiation of Her Book

Image via Shutterstock by IKO.

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Mark Ballas Continues To Bash Abby Miller Of ‘Dance Moms’

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February 28, 2012 12:00 PM by Lisa Princ

Mark Ballas and Derek Hough recently went on a Twitter rant over Lifetime‘s Dance Moms, but more so about the instructor, Abby Miller, calling her “crazy” and “abusive”. Now, Dancing With The Stars‘ pro, Mark Ballas is at it once again, and this time he called Abby Miller “a tyrant.” What else did Mark have to say? Read on to find out!

Dance Moms‘ star, Abby Miller was recently bashed by Mark Ballas of Dancing With The Stars when Mark took to Twitter and posted: “This teacher lady is crazy. Completely wrong attitude toward the kids. It’s embarrassing.” Now, Mark Ballas chatted with TMZ.com, where he told them that Abby Miller is abusive and knows nothing about dancing!

“She’s not dancing, she’s just yelling at them. I just don’t think it’s the correct way to teach somebody. Those kids are 6 years old. They’re learning. They’re babies. They need to be treated the correct way,” Mark told TMZ.com. Mark Ballas feels bad for the children, and he added: “Those kids should not be afraid to go to dance,” but unfortunately, those children probably will be afraid to dance.

If you have not seen Dance Moms, Abby Miller has become famous for belittling the children, in her abusive techniques. However, Abby Miller recently appeared on The View, where she defended her techniques, claiming her strict approach works well on the children, and she even defended using a foam bat on them.

Have you watched Dance Moms? What do you think of Abby Miller and her approach? Are the Dancing With The Stars pros right? Let us know what you think, comment below!

Want more? Follow our tweets on Twitter and like us on Facebook! For other great Dancing With the Stars news, please feel free to check out Sir Links A Lot: Dancing With The Stars.

Visit our sister site SheKnows for more breaking news about celebrities and entertainment!

Photo Courtesy of Judy Eddy/WENN.com!

Topics: ABC Reality TV Shows, Dance Moms, Dancing with the Stars, Lifetime Reality TV Shows |

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