Fathers in Britain Get Paid Paternity Leave

Looks like it's time to expatriate.

According to a British newspaper, fathers in Great Britain will be entitled to up to six months of paternity leave, three months of which will be paid leave.

The new law is to enable women to go back to work sooner, while the dads stay home with the babies. After three months of paid leave, they can choose to spend another three months at home, unpaid.

A New American Born Every 14 Seconds

Apparently a new American is born every 14 seconds.

And the population of the United States is high right now: 308 million people. Some of the population growth is due to immigration but mostly it's because of all the new babies.

The reporter who wrote about this in Philadelphia's Family Newspaper, The Bulletin, used a photo of Jennifer Margulis and James di Properzio (the co-authors of the Baby Bonding Book For Dads and the co-authors of this blog) to illustrate the story.

Here's the photograph:



The caption underneath it reads:

Jennifer Margulis and husband James di Properzio gaze at their newest daughter, Leone Francesca, at their home in Ashland, Ore. on Nov. 11. An increase in births pushed the U.S. population up about 1 percent this year to a projected 308,400,408 as of Jan. 1, 2010, a jump of 2,606,181, the U.S. Census Bureau said this week. (Jeff Barnard/Associated Press)

Holding Your Baby

A lot of books -- and well-meaning family members and friends -- give you tips on how to put the baby down without waking him up, and there are dozens of contraptions (the bouncy chair, the crib, the cradle, the bassinet, the bucket car seat, the baby gym, the playpen, the stroller ... and more) you can buy to put a baby in.

But what if dads just hold their babies instead of putting them down?

Holding a baby close to you is good for the baby and good for you.

The time goes by so fast. Soon the baby will be wriggling off your lap. Then one day she'll be too big to carry. Hold her while you have the chance.

Don't Pay Someone Else to Raise Your Kids

Cartoon copyright and courtesy of Andy Singer

Fathers and babies in the news

There are two new posts over at Motherlode about fatherhood.

One that suggests that more fathers are wining custody battles in divorce settlements.

And another about the NYT Magazine cover story questioning how we define paternity.

ABC News published a story yesterday featuring James di Properzio and Jennifer Margulis and their homebirth without a midwife or doctor present two weeks ago. Here's an excerpt:

Margulis' husband James Di Properzio was not convinced at first. He was worried about the few births that do not go smoothly.

"I wanted to know what the contingency was, and how we were going to know when to go to the contingency," he said. Being a short drive from the hospital and having a midwife standing by to call helped, he said.

Jennifer went into labor the night before, and in the morning told di Properzio to take the kids, Hesperus, Athena and Etani, to school. When he came back, she got into the shower, where she stayed under a stream of warm water until she felt the urge to push. Di Properzio helped her into the bedroom, where she gave birth to a healthy girl — Leone Francesca — who di Properzio caught.

"Once the baby was out she was asking if it was OK," James said. "I felt completely calm and confident. I was chuckling and laughing with joy as the baby's head was coming out and not concerned at all."

Jennifer said it was one of the hardest things she had ever done in her life.

"And I am still in awe of the fact I am here to tell you about it," she said. "Once she was born, we were both laughing. We were laughing and crying at the same time. I said, `We actually did it. we did it ourselves.'"

New Blog at Mothering.com

BBBD's co-author Jennifer Margulis has a brand new gig blogging for Mothering.com.

The blog is called MOTHERING OUTSIDE THE LINES. Here's a list of the posts so far:


The Waiting Game









Liberated From Prenatal "Care"

Beware of the Pregnant Jail Breaker

Don't Eat My Broccoli













The American Prejudice Against Large Families


People's Reactions When I Tell Them That I'm Pregnant











And You Thought YOUR Belly Was Big














On Being Pregnant For (Probably) The Last Time

Another Reason Not To Feed Your Baby Out of a Jar or a Plastic Bag

Plum Organics, a company based in California, has recalled "portable pouches" of its baby food because of a fear of contamination with botulism.

If you have apple or carrot portable pouches with a best by date of May 21, 2010, they may be spoiled.

This "food" was sold through megastores like Toys-R-Us.

Get more information about the recall by calling 888-974-3555 or by e-mailing info[at]plumorganics.com.

A letter to parents (in PDF form) from the company can be found here.

While it's good to see organic food going mainstream, babies (like grown-ups) need to eat their food freshly prepared. Buying products that have been highly processed and heated and have been sitting in plastic for months on a shelf is not a good choice for your baby.