This post is dedicated to my sister, with whom I have had many conversations about how we love to sniff our dogs' stinky paws. I'm sure that all dog owners can agree: there is a certain (irresistible) aroma about our furry friends' paws. It's not a bad scent, per se. The closest description I've heard is "corn chips." Except you know how when you apply self-tanner and end up smelling like corn chips?...
Continue readingI read a fascinating article titled Science Question from a Toddler: Life Before Birth last week. I highly recommend the full article for any new/expectant mothers; heck, it's a good read in general even if you're not into this stuff! The reason I bring up this article is due to a particular passage: Newborns prefer their mother's voice over anyone else's (even dad's). They prefer hearing phrases from books they were read while in the womb, compared to new stories. They're even already favoring one language over another. "Babies prefer the sound of their mother's native language to others," Moon said. "Interestingly, they can distinguish between languages in the same rhythmic class, like Spanish versus English. But they can't tell the difference between...
Continue readingToday I found a fantastic website called The Endowment for Human Development (EHD). The EHD website's "Movie Theater" has some great videos of babies in development. I have no idea how they got these in-womb footages, but they're pretty amazing! Certainly a lot better than illustrations. P.S. — The last video in the "10 - 12 Weeks" section, Responds to Touch, is unbelievable. I can't believe my baby is doing this inside of me right now! ...
Continue readingBBC Focus magazine recently ran a featured article behind the science of sin: its definition; the biological triggers that cause us to sin; and how modern technology may be making us more sinful than ever before. The article also included a colorful chart titled "The Most Sinful Nation on Earth." Taking into account the Seven Deadly Sins in terms of their modern equivalents, it compiled statistical databases to find the most sinful countries: According to this chart, Australia is overall the most sinful nation on earth, followed by the United States. This was pretty surprising to me — I would think the U.S. would take the top spot without a fight! The #1 countries for each category are: Lust: South Korea Gluttony: USA Greed: Mexico Sloth: South...
Continue readingDid anyone else see this earlier this week? Women Lose 90 Per Cent of 'Eggs' by 30 I know that plenty of women have healthy babies in their 30s, 40s, and even 50s. However, I can't help but notice that within my social circle, the rate of conception and trouble-free pregnancies are highest among the 20-27 crowd. My friends who are having trouble conceiving, or have suffered miscarriages, are all over 28. I am not saying that everyone should get crackin' and start trying for a baby NOW because time is a-tickin'. However, we, as humans, have only recently started to have children at later ages. Are our bodies "optimized" to have kids in our teens and early 20s? If women have the choice...
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