The 411 on Hiring a Nanny

The minute you hire a nanny, you're running a small business. And with that business come costs and legal implications that go beyond the base salary, including some you may have already thought of (like health insurance) and others you may not have considered (like gas money). Keep in mind that the information in this article assumes that you're paying your nanny legally. Though this will cost you more day to day, it's a lot cheaper than the legal fees you'll face if the IRS finds out you've been paying someone under the table.

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Kissy Kissy Spring 2008 Children’s Clothing Line Now Available at ZaraBella.com

ZaraBella.com, an online baby boutique that carries high quality designer baby clothes and accessories, announced that the Spring 2008 clothing line from Kissy Kissy are now available.

Kissy Kissy’s Spring 2008 collection includes the following adorable lines: Elephant Babies; Hawaii Print, Little Captain, Sea Bubbles, Speed Racer and more. Made with high quality, 100% Soft Pima Cotton, Kissy Kissy’s pieces are comfortable, stylish and sure to please anyone who receives them.

Shoppers should shop early at http://www.zarabella.com/ to get the best selection of Kissy Kissy Spring 2008 Collection.

Yummy mummies: Are moms under too much pressure to be hot?

It wasn’t all that long ago that baby boomer mothers embraced the soccer mom icon, with her elastic waistband jeans and big, bulky sweaters. That stereotype was lampooned on “Saturday Night Live,” which did a spoof on “mom jeans.” (“Because I’m not a woman, I’m a mother.”)

But then came Victoria Beckham and Kelly Ripa and Sarah Jessica Parker and Gwyneth Paltrow, svelte stars who had babies and then poured themselves back into their size 00 knickers within a matter of weeks. Suddenly it wasn’t good enough to have clean hair and spit-up-free clothing. As a 21st-century mother, you have to be ripped and buff and hot.

However, the relentless media focus on celebrity moms such as Demi Moore and Kate Moss is fueling the YM trend, making ordinary moms feel inadequate when they can’t attain the six-pack abs and cut biceps of the Hollywood crowd.

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2008 Beautiful Baby Search - Check out the Latest Entries!

Here's a preview of the hundreds of adorable entries Parenting Magazine has received for the 2008 Beautiful Baby Search. Five finalists will appear on Live with Regis and Kelly on February 11 and the winner will be featured on the cover of Parenting magazine.

Check back for more updates — more beautiful babies to come!

Kids' Birthday Parties: Your Top 10 Party Questions Answered!

You want to have a birthday party for your child, and you want to make it a success! Party Expert Linda Kaye offers insight on the top 10 party questions frequently asked, including how many children is the right number for a preschooler's party; how long should the party be; my child's birthday falls on a holiday. Should we move the party date; should we send the invitations to school with our child or mail the invitations; should we ask parents to stay and much more!

Read this valuable article!

J.Lo has baby shower on hotel roof

According to the NY Daily News, Jennifer Lopez and hubby Marc Anthony celebrated her status as a mom-to-be with a rooftop baby shower at the trendy Gramercy Park Hotel. Dressed in a black coat and with her hair swept up, the Bronx-born singer arrived at the Manhattan celeb hangout on Lexington Ave. near 22nd St. flanked by bodyguards.

J. Lo, due to give birth in a few weeks, was given matching pink and blue Tuni & G onesies last month from her sister Lynda Lopez. The pop star and actress has not said if she is expecting twins, although celebrity magazines have reported she is.

View the designer baby shower gifts available at Zarabella.com

Suri Cruise Brings Little Giraffe Blanket To Birthday Party

Did you notice the blanket Katie Holmes was holding in the recent pictures of TomKat going to Grier Henchy’s (Brooke Shield’s daughter) birthday party? It’s a Chenille Little Giraffe Baby Blanket. Very cute!

Get more details about the blanket here.

8 Super - Smart Discipline Fixes

Does discipline for babies sound Draconian?

If so, you're probably confusing discipline with punishment. But effective discipline is not about punishing; it's about teaching children to manage their behaviors and emotions so they grow into self-reliant, resilient individuals. It begins in infancy, when you gently nudge your baby onto a regular feeding and sleeping schedule. It continues when you later allow her to soothe herself to sleep or to entertain herself for brief periods. It extends into the toddler years, as you encourage her to flex her autonomy within safe limits. And it becomes paramount in the preschool years, as you nurture your child's emerging character and conscience.

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Starting School: Deciding When Your Child is Ready for Preschool or Kindergarten

For many kids, preschool is the first foray into the wider "big kid" world.

But deciding when your child is ready for it — and later, for kindergarten — can be confusing. This article presents tips and helps you figure out what's best for your child, and ways to ease the transition.

It also discusses finding the right school, important milestones, helps you solve some common problems and provides tips for the first day.

Read the full article from Parenting Magazine.

The Best High Chairs

Kid-tested for comfort and parent-approved for style and function, these high chairs rise above the masses.

Click here to see Cookie Magazine’s selection of high chairs in the following categories: best bargain; best basic; smoothest operator; most stowable; best height range; most durable and most adjustable.

Something for everyone!

Beautiful Baby Search 2008

Parenting magazine is partnering with Live with Regis and Kelly and Walgreens on the 2008 Beautiful Baby Search! Five finalists will be featured on Live and the winner will be featured on the cover of Parenting magazine.

Parents can enter their child by visiting liveregisandkelly.com and submitting a photo from Dec. 19, 2007 to Jan. 11, 2008. The Live and Parenting staffs will narrow down the thousands of entries to 10 semi-finalists, who will be announced on the show on Feb. 11, 2008. Viewers will be given the opportunity to vote for their favorites, and the top five contestants will be announced the following day. The winner will be selected from the results of a Parenting photo shoot, and will be announced on Live on Feb. 15, 2008. The lucky boy or girl will receive $125,000 for a 4-year college education and a spot on the cover of an upcoming issue of Parenting magazine!

View more details here….

7 Ways To Teach Your Kids How To Be Green

Few things are more exhilarating to a child than nature (think mud pies and fireflies), and you can lead by example. Giving your children organic foods, toys and clothes is one way to go green. But there's a lot more to raising green kids.

This article provides interesting tips and ideas on how to teach your kids how to be green.

Celeb babies are in the spotlight from Day 1

It's one thing to share wedding bliss with the world. It's quite another, many stars learn, when a newborn is the object of media attention. The first shot of a celebrity infant can mean big bucks — for stars, if they choose to sell images of their children; for paparazzi, if they don't; and for media publications either way.

With stars such as Jennifer Lopez, Halle Berry, Nicole Richie and Jamie Lynn Spears all expecting, the want-to-see in 2008 is going to be major. "It's the fundamental attraction of celebrities," says Larry Hackett, People's managing editor. "You see them as surrogate friends and neighbors, so when they go through these big life moments, you can't help but be curious as to what their kid looks like."

Many stars try to get ahead of the paparazzi by arranging first photos to be published in magazines. Patrick Dempsey, Marcia Cross and Tori Spelling went that route last year.

Read the full article from USA Today.

Designer Baby and Children’s Clothing Boutique ZaraBella Opens Doors in Solvang, CA

ZaraBella, an upscale boutique specializing in high quality designer baby and children’s clothing and accessories, today announced that it is now open for business in downtown Solvang, CA. The store is located at 453 Atterdag Road and is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:30am to 5:00pm.

ZaraBella, formerly known as Laura’s Trading Company, was created to fill the need for a fashionable store that carries an extensive selection of high quality, trendy clothing for babies and children, all in one place. Some of the popular brands the store carries include Kissy Kissy, ME TOO, Cachcach, Mish Mish, Mimi and Maggie, Kumquat, Jade Jeans and much more.

ZaraBella offers personal shopper services, an online gift registry and personalized gift giving packages. The store also has a complete web site, located at http://www.zarabella.com/ where shoppers can view the extensive selection that is also available in the store.

First and Only Baby Memory Book For Preemies Now Available

Parents of preemies now have a place to keep their child's milestones and memories. The new Preemie Book of Memories, the first and only spiral bound baby book of its kind, is now available at www.KenziesHat.com (retail $16.99).

The book is designed especially for premature babies. It includes pages to record all of the typical things found in a baby book such as birth date, parent's names, grandparent's names, photos, and many firsts.

It also includes record keeping for memories unique to preemie parents, such as 'my home for awhile,' day-by-day and week-by-week recording, a weight conversion chart and a removable bereavement section. It also features pages for parents to journal and offers ideas on what to record such as the baby's first cry, tear, diaper change and date baby can wear real clothes.

Throughout the Preemie Book of Memories parents will find inspirational quotes and words of wisdom.

The Art of Regifting: Is It Okay To Regift Baby Items?

It is the holiday season, and let’s face it, your baby might get some gifts you don’t want to keep. There are a variety of reasons - the present was something you already had, it doesn’t fit your taste, it is for an older child, the wrong size, etc. However, there is an art to regifing, especially if you want to avoid offending the giver.

Read some guidelines from Parenting Magazine by clicking here.

Hollywood's Most Influential Infants

What comes to mind when you hear the name Shiloh? Chances are it's not the Civil War battleground or the hard-luck dog.

Most likely, it's the oft-photographed child of A-list couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, better known by their tabloid moniker "Brangelina." That wide-spread awareness has earned the A-list kiddie a spot at the top of Forbes' first-ever look at which Hollywood babies have the most effect on pop culture.

To determine which tykes were tops, Forbes looked at both Web presence and press clippings for more than 50 A-list offspring (5 years old and younger) over the course of a year. Then, with a whittled-down list, Forbes reached out to Encino, Calif.-based polling firm E-Poll Market Research for both awareness data for the kids and consumer-appeal rankings for their celebrity parents.

See the full list!

Sophia, Aiden top list of baby names for 2007

After three years of Emma, it's Sophia's turn at the top of the class roster, joining Aiden for his third stint.

A growing Hispanic population might be credited for some name climbers on BabyCenter.com's list of the most popular baby names for 2007, to be released today. Sophia has more of a Latin or continental appeal than its proper English successor, Emma. Xavier, Sebastian and Isabella are on the rise, while newcomers to the top 100, to be released next month, include Lila, Maria and Adrien.

But if anything sums up the Web site's latest hit names, it's a hunt for distinctiveness -- a trend that has rendered the annual list way more volatile in recent years than it used to be 10 or 20 years ago, back when Michael could sit securely on his throne for decades.

Experts have seen an influx of untraditional names and alternate spellings, to the point where "unique" has become conventional.

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Holiday Travels with Baby

There's nothing more exciting than making the holiday rounds with a new baby to show off — for you, anyway. Your little one may have a different idea. Help him maintain an even keel with these stay-cheery tips:

Be greedy. Well-meaning relatives will be happy to meet the new addition and, of course, will want to hold him. To avoid hurt feelings, say something like "I'm going to hang on to him for now. The truth is he gets overwhelmed by crowds, so we're going to take it slow," suggests Claire Lerner, the director of parenting information and resources at Zero to Three, a national child-development organization in Washington, D.C.

Take a time-out. You may be enjoying chatting up cousin Carla over a leisurely dinner, but if your baby starts working his way to a meltdown, retreat from the crowd for a short time. Take him into a dark, quiet room and softly reassure him. You'll be surprised how quickly he can relax and recharge for the party's second half.

Go with his flow. Sure, you may always put him down for his morning nap at 9:15 and nurse him every two hours on the dot. But when you're traveling, those home routines just may not work. He may sleep a little more (or, God forbid, a little less), or he may feel like nursing more than usual just for the comfort of it. Or he may stick to his schedule like glue... who knows? The point: "Do whatever works in the moment," says Lerner. You'll be less stressed — and your baby will be, too.

Source: Parenting Magazine

A Magical Christmas Baby Shower

Awaiting an extra special present this holiday season? Then invite others to share the warmth of a Christmas baby shower with you. Celebrating the gift of life takes on a magical warm touch as friends and family enjoy the lights and warmth of a Christmas holiday.

This article presents some creative ideas related to invitations, activities, games, food, centerpieces, favors, prizes and more!