10-Year-Old Girl Gives Birth to Daughter

April 9,2012 | Written By: Alyssa | Categories:Alyssa's Camp,Articles | Leave a comment

Wow,this is incredible,check out this article written by Katie Moisse from ABC News Blogs…

A 10-year-old Colombian girl gave birth to a healthy baby girl,making her one of the youngest mothers ever.

The unnamed girl from Manaure,a town in the Colombian Department of La Guajira,arrived at the hospital in tears and “enormous pain”from the contractions,according to Univision’s Primer Impacto. She reportedly delivered her daughter,who weighed 5 pounds,by cesarean section.

Experts say a C-section delivery for such a young mother is not unusual.

“The baby’s head needs to come through a bony outlet. But in a young girl,the pelvis may not be ready or big enough to deliver a baby,”said Dr. Kimberly Gecsi,an OB/GYN at UH Case Medical Center in Cleveland.

Extremely young mothers also have a higher risk of pregnancy-induced high blood pressure known as preeclampsia,and their babies are at risk for fetal growth restriction,according to Dr. Frederick Gonzalez,a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at NYU Langone Medical Center.

“These girls are not ready to be pregnant. Their bodies are not mature,”said Gonzalez. “They may be able to get pregnant,but being able to have a baby is a whole other situation.”

The new mom is a member of the Wayuu people,an indigenous tribe in northern Colombia. The age of the father is unknown,but police can’t press charges because the tribe has its own jurisdiction,according to local reports.

“We’ve already seen several cases [of pregnancy] in girls of the Wayuu ethnicity,”Efraín Pacheco Casadiego,director of the hospital where the girl gave birth,told RCN La Radio noticias. “When in fact [the girls] should be playing with dolls,they are having to care for a baby. This is shocking.”

Pregnancy can occur as soon as a girl starts ovulating,which is happening at ever younger ages.

“The average age girls in the country start menstruating is about 12 and a half,but that age keeps dropping,”said Gecsi,adding that the age is even lower among Hispanic girls. ”But only about 13 percent of Hispanic girls menstruate younger than 11. And for them to have a sexual experience would be very unusual.”

Because ovulation precedes menstruation,girls can get pregnant before ever having a period.

“Typically,menstruation is the last thing that happens in puberty,”said Gesci,adding that girls typically go through a growth spurt and develop breasts and pubic hair before menstruating. “If you notice those things,you could be about to menstruate and you could get pregnant.”

www.mommywarriors.com

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Knee Injuries in Young Athletes on the Rise

April 14,2012 | Written By: Alyssa | Categories:Alyssa's Camp,Entertainment,Family Platoon,Sports |

Having 4 kids that are active in sports,we’ve had a few sprains and broken bones in our household over the years.  One of the offices my kids have been patients at is the Southern California Orthopedic Institute or SCOI for short,as it’s called by the locals.  (Not to get off on a tangent but,the first time my husband had the opportunity to take one of the kids to SCOI he walked into the office and asked for Dr. Scoi and they looked at him as if he had three heads!  Chalk that one up to a stupid dad moment!)

Anyway,I received an email from SCOI the other day and it contained the the following article and I thought it was worth passing on…

Youth sports provide young people with several benefits including,but not limited to,physical conditioning,the chance to socialize with friends and teammates,and a decrease in obesity. Unfortunately,there are also several risks involved with sports. A new study presented at The American Academy of Pediatrics’ annual meeting showed that knee injuries from sports among young athletes are increasing at an alarming rate.

Scientists are not certain as to the cause of the increase in ACL tears in young athletes,but many physicians suggest several potential factors. Today,children often watch professional athletes on TV and aspire to be more like them. In hopes of achieving their dreams,children may push themselves or feel pressured to play sports at competitive levels,typically choosing multiple sports to participate in. As one sports’ season ends,another one begins,or for some children,their season never ends as they continually play a sport year-round. Therefore not allowing time for a child’s growing body to rest and recuperate.

“Twenty years ago,children were not playing sports at such intense levels,”explains Dr. Joseph P. Burns,sports medicine specialist at Southern California Orthopedic Institute. “As a result,their knees rarely had to endure the kinds of repeated twists and hard hits that young players regularly experience today.”

Rest is always best between sports,but if your child suffers an injury,it’s important to treat it appropriately from the beginning to help them return to play safely. If a knee injury is keeping your son or daughter off the playing field or court,please call (877) 952-8484 today to schedule an appointment with one of our sports medicine specialists.

www.mommywarriors.com

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To Sleepaway Camp or Not

March 28,2012 | Written By: Alyssa | Categories:Family Platoon,Guest Blogger |

By Guest Blogger Leslie Mitchell

My daughter will be 9 by summer. She’s been in day camp since she was four years old because I was a full time working mom and I didn’t want her sitting around watching TV and DVDs all summer while her nanny talked on the phone. She loved it and I have to admit that I dreamed a time would come and she would go to sleepaway camp and I,selfishly would have some time to myself. I thought that would come around 10 or 11 years old because I was sure she wasn’t ready and I wasn’t ready to let her go. Of course the best part of all this internal mom debate with myself was that I NEVER went to sleepaway camp,I was glued to my mom and day camp was as far as I would go until I left for college at 18!

So imagine my shock when I mentioned to her last month that her best friend was leaving Florida this summer to go to sleepaway camp with her older siblings for three weeks. I said it very casually,“Did you know Kate’s going to sleepaway camp for three weeks?”I expected to hear,“No way,I’m not going,”so you can imagine my surprise when she said ever so nonchalantly,“Okay,I’ll go.”I was almost speechless (and I’m never speechless.) I told her mommy won’t be there,I can’t cook for you if you don’t like the meals (she’s a very fussy eater) and she said,“Mom,I’m taking Fun Chefs at school so I’m ready to go.”Again,almost speechless. Who was this 8 year old? Why wasn’t she saying I’ll never leave you mom?

When I was her age I would have never had the guts to go from Florida to Pennsylvania without out my mom for three weeks. She is so excited to go and looks at the camp video and website and tells me all she is going to do. I’m excited for her and tell her she is going to have a blast.

Then how come when I read their bunks would be made for them the day they arrived I started to cry,someone else making my baby’s bed? This from the mom who wanted some “free”time? I’m so proud of her strength,I hope that I can be strong when I deliver her to the camp bus because if I cried reading about bunks,what will I be like knowing I won’t see her for three weeks. Hopefully HER strength will make me let her stretch her wings. I just wasn’t ready for it to happen so fast.

www.mommywarriors.com

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Ann Romney vs. Hilary Rosen on Motherhood

April 13,2012 | Written By: Alyssa | Categories:Alyssa's Camp,Family Platoon,For Moms |

Ahhh,the Mommy Battle is back in the headlines once again.

A big thanks to Hilary Rosen,a Democratic activist,for dissing Anne Romney as a stay-at-home mom and stirring up the debate once again between the working mom and the SAHMs.  To say that Ann Romney “never worked a day in her life”after raising 5 kids is an insult to all mothers.

I worked in corporate America for 15 years and for a few of those,I was a working mom and let me tell you,going to work for a few hours a day was like therapy for me.  Being a mother,while very rewarding,is the most difficult 24/7 job a woman can have.   The typical mom day doesn’t end at 5 pm and we are off the clock.  To make matters worse,for Hilary Rosen to say that  I’m out of touch with the economy because I’m a stay-at-home mom,honey,you got it all wrong.  I’m certainly well aware that the economy is in the toilet.  After all,I’m the one that buys everything from toilet paper to underwear,cognizant of the prices at the pumps and in tune with what’s going on around the country.

At the end of the day,all mothers,whether they receive an actual paycheck or not,need to be respected.  We need to just put this thing to bed,move on and deal with the presidential campaign issues at hand in order to get our country back on track.

www.mommywarriors.com

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My Little Buddy

March 29,2012 | Written By: Alyssa | Categories:Alyssa's Camp,Family Platoon |

Everyday when I walk the dogs I end up carrying our little dachshund at some point. He usually just stops walking at any little incline and gives me that look. And that look is all that I need,being the good mom that I am,I stop and throw him over my shoulder so he can take a little rest.

Today on our walk we found a shopping cart in the neighborhood. Rather than just walk by it,we decided to be good little citizens and push it back to the grocery store. This meant that our walk would be a little longer than normal,not good for the dog with the short legs!

In an effort to save his energy,I thought giving him a little ride would be fun. He wasn’t too thrilled but he tolerated it.

Now,had the kids seen me pushing him down the street in a shopping cart,they would be absolutely MORTIFIED and I would have heard about the embarrassment for days…good thing they were in school!

http://www.mommywarriors.com/

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Rattlesnake Bite – Update

April 13,2012 | Written By: Alyssa | Categories:Alyssa's Camp,Family Platoon |

First of all,thank you for everyone that was so concerned about little Morgan after he was bitten by a rattlesnake:)

The latest update –my little shadow is back to normal and the whole family is relieved.  The 10 lb tyrant is once again barking at all the dogs in the neighborhood on our walks,eating like crazy and following me all around the house.  Right now he’s lounging in the bean bag chair with me in the office and as usual,farting up a storm!

http://www.mommywarriors.com/

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One Expensive Bite

April 11,2012 | Written By: Alyssa | Categories:Alyssa's Camp,Family Platoon,Sick Bay |

Our little dachshund was bitten by a rattlesnake 2 days ago.  My husband and kids were in the backyard when it all went down.  The kids were freaking out,as was I.  My husband and two of the kids grabbed him and ran him to the emergency vet.  After a quick exam,the vet found the puncture wound on the side of his snout as it had started to swell.  They shaved the area and part of his leg to get an IV in him stat. Being that the little guy is only 11 pounds,time was of the essence.  The vet couldn’t guarantee that he would make it if they gave him the anti-venom and told my husband the minimum cost would be $1800.  He looked at the vet,then at the kids and wondered what I would say.  Jokingly he said,“well,it’s cheaper than a divorce if I say no so,go for it!”

They stayed with him for a little while as he whimpered in pain and started to get very lethargic.  The vet told them to go home and come back in a few hours to check on him because if the anti-venom did started working,he would be there all night.  This is him with the side of his snout starting to swell as the kids walked out the door.

How could you ever say no to saving that face?  A few hours later we went back to see him.  His face was even more swollen,he had the IV in his leg and just cried as we sat there with him.  The kids were so upset but put on a brave face.  They knew there was a chance in the morning he may be gone.

The next morning,after dropping the kids off at school,my husband and I went to see him.  I had my fingers crossed that he was ok.  As soon as we walked in the door and he heard my voice he started barking,ahhh,what a relief.  He didn’t look the greatest,but he was going to make it,thank goodness.  The fluid from the side of his face had made it’s way to his neck and it looked like a goiter!

Even my husband,whom he always pees on,had a smile on his face that he was ok.   The two of them have this little love/hate relationship!  He was released to go home only after we were instructed on all his medications and paid the bill. With an itemized list that went on for 2 pages,the final tally was over $2200.  I gasped!  My husband shook his head and just said,“happy wife,happy life!”

The whole situation was a bit crazy,stressful and expensive but,at the end of the day,it could have been a heck of a lot worse if that dang snake had gotten one of my kids instead.

A big thank you to the All Creatures Emergency Center in Newhall,CA for saving our pup!

www.mommywarriors.com

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Springbreak Boredom

April 2,2012 | Written By: Alyssa | Categories:Alyssa's Camp,Family Platoon |

It just amazes me how kids can be bored within hours of the start of Spring Break. My two younger boys were off this past week while my older two still had to go to school. This makes planning anything to do rather difficult for mom since I still had to make the morning school drop off and afternoon pick up.

On Monday morning the boys slept in a little,ate breakfast and came into the office to inform me that they were bored. I told them to make some calls to their friends and invite them over. Before long,they had a friend over and they were all outside with their airsoft guns. A few hours later,boredom set in again. I suggested a sleepover,wow mom had a good idea,that made them happy,for a while at least.

After a camp out on the couch the boys were of course,starving so they decided to ride bikes to the donut shop.  Well,laziness set in and they wanted a ride.  Before they ate they egg sandwiches,they needed a little snack,check out the size of these donuts!

After breakfast and some running around,it was time to relax a bit.  Within a few minutes,they were bored again!

These kids have no idea how good they have it,wait until they enter the “real”world and have to actually work for a living!

www.mommywarriors.com

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School Morning Stress

Take some sluggish, slow-moving kids, mix with one part traffic congestion and one part pressure to get to work and what do you have? A recipe for stressed out parents!

The harried dash to drop children off at school on time and make it into the office makes British moms and dads a little edgy, The Daily Mail reported.

“According to a recent study, 77 percent of parents who drive their kids to school find both the morning and afternoon school run more stressful than work or grocery shopping,” the paper said. “It found a staggering 54 percent of people are more likely to use their horn or swear at other drivers during the school run than at any other time on the road as stress levels are so heightened.”

Then there’s this: “Eighty percent of parents admit to losing their temper with their young ones on the drive to school on a daily basis - and 42 percent even admit to feeling sick when thinking about the prospect of the dreaded drive.”

What do you think? On a scale of 1 to 10, what's your average school morning stress level?

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Pregnancy, Obesity and Autism

Are very overweight pregnant moms more likely to have a baby with autism? The answer might surprise you.

According to a new study in the journal Pediatrics suggests that children born to very overweight women are 67 percent more likely to have autism. They also faced double the risk of having other developmental delays.

“The odds of autism and other developmental delays were significantly higher in the children of moms who were obese versus those who weren’t,” said study author Paula Krakowiak, who noted that one-third of American women “of child-bearing age” are obese.

Just last month, the CDC released new data that shows a rise in children with autism - about one in 88 children in the United States fall somewhere on the spectrum of autism related disorders, which is a whopping 78% increase from a decade ago. However, some of that change reflects a growing awareness of the disorder and better diagnoses. 

More research is needed to confirm the results of this new study, but if a woman's obesity during pregnancy is truly related to autism, it could be one of the factors contributing to what Mark Roithmayr, president of the research and advocacy group Autism Speaks, called "a national epidemic."

View the original article here

Kids and Death Benefits

If you’re widowed and used frozen sperm to conceive children, are those children entitled to their deceased father’s Social Security benefits?

The Supreme Court is now deciding what to do with just such a case after a woman’s request for Social Security benefits for her twins, born 18 months after their father died of cancer, was denied, the Associated Press reported. 

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said: “What is at issue here is not whether children that have been born through artificial insemination get benefits. It’s whether children are born after the father’s death gets benefits,” the AP quoted him as saying. A ruling is expected this summer. 

What do you think? Should children conceived after the death of a parent be entitled to death benefits?

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Toddlers with Tooth Decay

Cavities appear to be on the rise among the preschool set, as an alarming number of young children are showing up for dentist appointments with a mouthful of tooth decay. 

Dentists nationwide say they are seeing more preschoolers at all income levels with six to 10 cavities or more, according to the New York Times.

“The level of decay is so severe that they often recommend using general anesthesia because young children are unlikely to sit through such extensive procedures while they are awake.”

In fact, one toddler profiled in the article had cavities in 11 of his 20 baby teeth and had to have two teeth extractions and a root canal as well as fillings and crowns.

So why is this happening?

Dentists blamed an array of culprits including endless snacking and juice or other sweet drinks at bedtime, parents who choose bottled water rather than fluoridated tap water for their children and parents not making their toddlers to brush their teeth. 

Besides the standard recommendation to brush twice a day, Dr. Nancy Snyderman, NBC's chief medical editor, appeared on the Today show with the following advice for parents worried about little teeth:

"If you want to limit your child's problems, limit the number of cavities, well, guess what? Sit down, cut down on the snacks, all the sweet stuff -- raisins, which parents pack have a lot of sugar in them. And tap water is a great natural source of fluoride. We have turned to bottled water increasingly, good old-fashioned tap water is great."

Do you make sure that your little one is practicing good oral hygiene?

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Twenty-Something Moms are More Likely to be Single

Are younger moms more likely to be single?

A recent issue of The New York Times featured the results of a study which found that, among women under age 30, a majority (53 percent) were unwed when they gave birth. The article went on to cite studies which say that offspring of single mothers “face elevated risks of falling into poverty, failing in school or suffering emotional and behavioral problems.”

But there's one group that doesn't fall in line with the trend - college graduates. “[C]ollege graduates, who overwhelmingly marry before having children . . . That is turning family structure into a new class divide, with the economic and social rewards of marriage increasingly reserved for people with the most education.”

When the birth numbers were crunched according to ethnicity, the number of children born outside of marriage varied. Seventy-three percent of African-American babies, 53 percent of Latino children and 29 percent of white offspring are born out of wedlock.

When it comes to educational achievement, it was found that eight percent of college educated women, 38 percent of women with some college and 57 percent of women with a high school diploma “or less” have children before getting married.

But writer Katie Roiphe doesn’t think the news is bad. Writing in Slate, Roiphe, a single mother, said the Times’ piece was “subtly condescending.” “. . . [O]ne has to recognize that marriage is very rapidly becoming only one way to raise children,” she wrote.

“. . . [O]ne of the reasons children born outside of marriage suffer is the culturally ubiquitous idea that there is something wrong or abnormal about their situation,” Roiphe said. “Once it becomes clear that there is, at least, nothing abnormal about their situation . . . the psychological landscape, at least, will be vastly transformed. Even people who are certain that the children of single mothers are always and forever doomed to a compromised existence, are going to have to await more information about a world in which these kids are not considered illegitimate or unconventional or outsiders, where the sheer number of them redefines and refreshes our ideas of family.”

What do you think? Will the perception change as single parent homes become more the norm?

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Good Housekeeping Guilt

Do you feel guilty about your "messy house?"

Working Mother Magazine touched on a sore spot when it asked working mothers about the cleanliness of their households and whether they ever feel guilty about their housekeeping.

While 73 percent of the mothers said the onus of tidying up falls to them, 68 percent said they “feel guilty that their homes aren’t clean enough.” Sixty percent of those respondents also said that not only do they feel “judged” by others about the condition of their home, they also blame themselves if the house isn’t clean because they equate being a “good mother” with keeping one’s home clean.

“In an era when women run house subcommittees on energy, homeland security and financial services, we still care a lot about the state of our own houses,” the magazine reported. “Despite all our progress, dust, dirty dishes and kid clutter still shame us. Why? And what can smart moms do to give ourselves a break?”

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Are You a Nightmare Sports Parent?

What's one thing most college athletes say they wished they could have told their parents? Chill out with the post-game critiques!

It might seem obvious, but don't lecture your children on their mistakes on the way home from a game. As Yahoo Sports' Steve Henson wisely points out, “. . . [T]he young athlete doesn’t want to hear it immediately after the game."

A longtime coach and college administrator told Henson that after interviewing hundreds of college athletes, their “worst memory from playing youth and high school sports” was “overwhelmingly” the car ride home with parents who gave them criticism and advice on their performance.

“Those same college athletes were asked what their parents said that made them feel great, that amplified their joy during and after a ballgame,” Henson writes. “Their overwhelming response: ‘I love to watch you play.’”

“In the moments after a game, win or lose, kids desire distance,” he said. “They make a rapid transition from athlete back to child. And they’d prefer if parents transitioned from spectator - or in many instances from coach - back to mom and dad. ASAP.”

Saying that nearly 75 percent of youth athletes stop playing sports by the start of their teenage years, Henson observed, “Mom or dad, so loving and rational at home, can transform into an ogre at a game. A lot of kids internally reach the conclusion that if they quit the sport, maybe they’ll get their dad or mom back.”

Just remember - your kids already have a coach. Your only job is to be their biggest fan and cheerleader!

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Study Blames Parents for Lack of Kids’ Outdoor Play

After studying data on nearly 9,000 preschoolers, researchers concluded that 49 percent of those children don’t go outside with their parents to play on a daily basis, the Washington Post reported.

In the study, which was published in the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, researchers found “only 44 percent of mothers and 24 percent of fathers reported taking their child out to play or for a walk daily,” the Post said. “Girls were less likely to be taken outside to play than boys; children of non-white parents were less likely than children of white parents to be taken outside to play.”

Researchers noted that most of the mothers were working parents and that “80 percent of the preschoolers were in day care of some kind,” while saying that preschoolers “need at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity daily.”

How often do you take your kids outside to play?

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TSA Apologizes to Mom

The latest in a series of incidents involving the Transportation Security Authority (TSA) agents searching and questioning people at the nation’s airports comes a new shocking story from Hawaii.

A school vice principal and mother of four who was asked to prove that her breast pump was really a breast pump after an agent’s suspicions were aroused by the empty bottles she was carrying along with an ice pack.

The mother told the Today Show that if she wanted to board the airplane with her breast pump she had to prove to the TSA agent that pump worked by going someplace to express her breast milk with it and then show him a bottle filled with her milk.

She was directed to the women’s room where her only option was to plug the machine into an electrical outlet next to the sinks. “I had to stand at the sink in my heels and dress pumping as travelers came and went,” the woman said.

In a statement, the TSA later said, “The passenger has contacted us with her concerns and we accept responsibility for the apparent misunderstanding and any inconvenience or embarrassment this incident may have caused her.”

The TSA website makes no mention of breast pumps but notes that empty bottles are allowed on planes.

What would you have done in her shoes? Do you get embarrassed when agents search through your personal effects?

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Are You a Control Freak Parent?

Want to feel less stressed out? If you're a "control" freak, the solution could be as simple as learning to let go.

Real Simple and the Families and Work Institute asked more than 3,000 women between the ages of 25 to 54 about their time and found out that, even when they despise doing certain tasks, they largely refuse to let anyone else lend a hand.

“. . . [T]he list of things women don’t want to delegate to a spouse or partner is longer than I imagined,” wrote Real Simple editor Kristin van Ogtrop, a self-described “control freak." “There were some predictable tasks that women do not want to hand over, such as decorating, which will not surprise anyone who has watched a husband follow his wife forlornly through the furniture department at Bloomingdale’s.”

But it doesn't stop there. Cleaning, the chore which was designated as women’s “most hated task,” was delegated to others less than half the time. Two-thirds said they “would not hire child care, even if they could afford it.”

However the numbers also say that when women actually do delegate, they are happier than those who don’t.

“Am I suggesting that we all relax our standards?” van Ogtrop asked. “Embrace the chaos that ensues when the control freak relaxes his grip and hands off some responsibility, even if the outcome is the wrong head of lettuce or a kid who doesn’t take his muddy shoes off at the door? If it means that we will all be happier, then yes.”

How often do you ask for help or delegate responsibilities?

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More to Come Soon

More to Come Soon!