Like cravings, nursery decorating and name choosing, a blossoming belly for the momma-to-be sometimes goes into its own rite of passage: stretch marks. Interestingly, when most women go to great lengths to look and feel younger in her faces and skin, most women are indifferent to stretch marks. “Either you get them or you don’t, <... >

June ushers in summer’s slower pace, and it’s the little things or thoughtful attention to detail that diminish our daily stress. Here is a roundup of products that will help parents relax or make their lives easier so they can savor the whirling dervishes that are their children. Sunbeam offers a wide range of time-saving, <... >

It had to happen. Teddy bears finally got online. Well, not just teddies. There’s stuffed Chico Chihuahuas, Ellie Elephants, Hippy-Hoppy Hippos and Roary Lions. Webkinz World is an online playground for the young and the young at heart. Like the Cabbage Patch craze of the 1980s – man, I dated myself! – these Webkinz and <... >

When that processional music starts, let’s face it, all heads turn and all eyes are immediately searching for the bride in her picturesque white gown. But before the crowd is fixated on the main event, the flower girls and ring bearers steal the show for a brief moment. Finding ensembles for the little tikes can <... >

The Veda BABY product collection, created by New York City-based pediatrician Natalie Geary, combines ancient ayurvedic principles of health with quality ingredients and soothing, calming herbs. No topical preservatives are used in this baby skin care line, and all products are free of dyes, fragrance, petroleum and animal ingredients. The vedaBABY line includes butt balm, <... >

New York City’s the place to get almost anything, from the most famous gemstone at Harry Winston’s to the most obscure Indian spice. If it’s impossible to host a birthday party in your closet apartment – or spacious loft where little hands will surely break a treasured original (and when mobbed Chuck E. Cheese is <... >

Although New York City is one of the greatest places on Earth to have home-delivered cuisine, the plethora of green markets, Whole Foods stores, Fresh Direct delivery, and now even a Trader Joe’s renders it a veritable chef’s paradise. Metro moms, especially those with newborns, are more apt to whip something up in the kitchen, <... >

Metro Mamas soon-to-be bundle can sling into spring with the Rockin’ Baby Sling, which was treasured by Courteney Cox Arquette for her little CoCo and Brangelina for gorgeous Zahara Marley. The A-list users of these artful baby carriers read like a Vanity Fair post-Oscars party, and there are solid reasons why these slings truly rock: <... >

You’re past the pee-stick test, the morning sickness and (depending on the outfit you’ve selected) jokingly compare yourself to the fruit du jour. (Having been pregnant with my now teen daughter, Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory’s Violet Beauregarde wasn’t the only one resembling a human blueberry). Right about now, you can’t see your feet, <... >

Want to look bellissima while pregnant – and then after your bundle has arrived? Check out the Bella Mama line. Bella Mama, a company founded and run by two women in the natural products industry, is proud to offer pregnant women a skincare line that tackles the special challenges of pregnancy. Scents are derived solely <... >

If you and your man are trying to bring a new life into your lives and the world, just search the Internet. Before visiting sites like http://www.amazingpregnancy.com, http://www.baby-parenting.com and even adding http://www.adaoption.com, there’s one website to visit to share your AM I PREGNANT symptoms. This is http://www.twoweekwait.com and this certainly isn’t like the “Congratulations, you’re <... >

How neat is this? Your daughter’s or niece’s first beauty salon now introduces her first makeup collection. Introducing So Cozy Makeup by Cozy’s Cuts for Kids are in shopper friendly locales in Manhattan. But, it gets better: If you and she – and her doll, Samantha in tow – just came from Walt Disney’s “The <... >

Mother Necessity is the mother of all invention, it’s been said. And, the mothers – and grown cousins, nieces, nephews, grandparents, and the like–of this book know all about need. Megan F. Salch, local Houstonian and a mom of one, knows how frustrating it is to find a one-stop resource for things to do with <... >

Okay, now I’m jealous. Where were these Preggie Pop Drops when I was carrying my now 15 and 9 year old children? Sure, the lollies worked great, but when it’s not possible to pop a pop at work, visit www.mimimaternity.com to order the mini pops by the case ($72.90 for 16 containers) or by the <... >

“O young thing, your mother’s lovely armful! How sweet the fragrance of your body.” – Euripides. J and J’s Baby Lotion™ – In the ever familiar pink bottle which hasn’t much changed since its 1929 appearance, this rich, smooth – and yes, as pink as the bottle it comes in – lotion does hold the <... >

The blessed event’s here and sleeping routinely through the night, the nursery’s tricked out with grow-with-baby furniture, themed magazine layout in Snoopy and Woodstock décor and your days are flowing in a standard itinerary. You, however, feel like a beached cape cod orca. Equinox Fitness (at www.equinoxfitness.com) offers a Smart Bells Strength class at its <... >

First, the world’s largest toy store came to Times Square, Toys ‘R’ Us. Then, the world’s biggest music store couldn’t be overshadowed and it, too, is in the crossroads of the world, Virgin Megastore, in Times Square. The city that hosted two World’s Fairs – both in Flushing Meadows/Corona Park in 1939 and 1964 – <... >

When birthday celebrations fall in the winter months, city parents can head to Baby Moves & Perry Street Kids for a wealth of fantastic party options. There’s a party style for every age group at this charming venue tucked away in Greenwich Village on cobblestone-lined Perry Street. Younger children can romp on slide and climbing <... >

“J, I, P, X, M, K, G …. I told a story and my Mommy helped me!” Okay, quit gigglin’ – who am I kidding, that’s pretty funny, actually! – but here’s two ways of reading that jingle: either your child’s in dire need of revamping her alphabet recitations or he’s a little Stephen King <... >

Random House has an impressive web site for children’s books, offering an incredibly diverse array of book choices for readers of all ages. Budding readers will love Dr. Seuss Pops Up, and kids of all ages will savor American Tall Tales – a collection of America’s most enduring and colorful characters. Also for young readers <... >