Bunchland

What we’re reading today:

1. Did you see Friends With Kids? We were so into it and have enjoyed profiles on writer/director/producer/star/Jon Hamm girlfriend Jennifer Westfeldt, so we thought maybe you might enjoy this article about how the movie deals with marriage.

2. Speaking of movies, what is this Hunger Games thing everyone is talking about? Kidding! Bunch HQ is SO into the Hunger Games you don’t even want to know. We just couldn’t find a way to make it Bunchy the way we did with our Royal Wedding obsession last year. Anyway, should you take your kids to see it?

3. Hypnobirthing. Does anyone have any experience with it? Do they tell you lies? Jezebel mom Tracie Egan Morrissey says they tell you that you’re are a ball of white light.

4. How not to make your overweight child drop a few pounds: public shaming.  Read more...

What we’re reading today:

1. How to change kids from passive consumers to active creators: Let kids be the inventors of play.

2. There are benefits to being an older parent, but there’s also a lot for kids to consider, like where they’d go if their elderly parents die before they’re adults. Wonder what Robert DeNiro’s newborn thinks about all this.

3. Almost half of all births in China are C-sections. Why? Some expectant mothers want to pick their kids’ birthdays, and some expectant mothers just do it because it’s the thing to do.

4. One of our favourite themes! How to get kids to love healthy food. Mmm… broccoli and kale.

5. Curious about the Muppets Google+ hangout? Here you go:

Photo by woodlywonderworks via Flickr

Reagan’s birthing plan

Haven’t seen last night’s episode? You can watch it here.

We go back in time to sometime just before Amy’s birth. Reagan’s going over her birthing plan and tells Chris that since she can’t do anything she’d normally do, coming up with this plan is the only thing she has control over. If Reagan had only read Megan Pettit’s birth post, she’d know birth plans don’t necessarily go as scheduled.

In order to get ready, the Brinkleys sit down to watch a birthing video. I think we all remember watching a similar video in grade 7 or so? Yeah, terrifying.

Over at the Ava show, Ava’s talking to one of those “I didn’t know I was pregnant” ladies. Reagan, rightfully, calls bullshit. Then Missy tells Reagan she wouldn’t know that Reagan was pregnant… until you look at her swollen, swollen feet. That got an LOL.  Read more...

Megan Pettit shares stories from a new mom

Giving birth is wild, and while having a “birth plan” is comforting and sometimes helpful, it should probably be called a “birth wish.” Nothing in my birth plan mentioned a scheduled C-section, but that’s what I ended up with.

One of the perks of having a scheduled C-section is getting a good night’s sleep before baby arrives… not that I slept much. Hard to catch Zzz’s when you’re about to undergo major surgery while being totally awake. But this surgery was unlike others with the happy baby ending. Excitement surpassed fear.

All that excitement and fear churned in my belly at the hospital and while being prepped, I had to scurry to the bathroom several times, with one hand dragging my drip and the other clutching my gown closed in the back. As cool as my OBGYN was, I imagined that he prefer that my system was cleared out in the toilet and not in the sterile operating room.  Read more...

We came across these dolls thanks to a Twitter tip from reader Amanda. MamAmor dolls are handcrafted in Canada and meant to depict the natural activities that are part of motherhood, including breastfeeding and giving birth. That red fabric circle you see up there? That’s supposed to be a placenta. The metal snap where the baby’s mouth should be attaches to the mother doll’s metal snap nipple. And the baby doll can be stuffed inside the mother doll and be birthed via an opening in the crotch area. (You can also order custom dolls and accessories, like diaper bags and slings).

What do you guys think? We admit when we first laid eyes on the site, the office was filled with grossed-out squeals of horror. But on closer reflection, we’re starting to feel like MamAmor dolls really are the educational tools they’re intended to be. The questions is: would you buy one?  Read more...