I'm going to go out on a limb and give you some baby names that I don't think will make a comeback, at least not in my life time. Now, I'm not saying that no one will ever use them, just that if they are used there has to be a strong family connection or maybe another reason... What are your thoughts? Do you have a name to add to the list? Perhaps you have a baby with one of these names? Share your thoughts with us.

Related:

• How to Choose the Right Baby Name
• What's your baby naming style?
• Gender Swapping of Baby Names
• Local Baby Names
• Baby Name Hints
• Baby Name Books
• Sci-Fi Baby Names
• Baby Names Forum

_{Photo (c) K. Weiss}

Using the pregnancy calendar to follow your baby and body's growth in pregnancy week by week is fun. Some of the other ways you can use it, other than simply reading it online, is to use it to show your children how your baby is growing. The ultrasound pictures always captivate my kids and they have some one-on-one time to ask questions about the new baby. It was their favorite day of the week and quickly became a fun ritual as we awaited a new sibling.

Related:

• Follow Me on Twitter!
• Am I having twins?
• 25 Signs of Pregnancy
• Due Date Calculator
• Ovulation Calculator

_{Photo (c) Michelle}

Okay, stretch marks all along your abdomen are bad enough, but seriously, have you ever found them anywhere else?  If you have, you're not alone.  Here are some unexpected places that you may find stretch marks in pregnancy. Where were your biggest surprises?

Related:

• Unexpected Stretch Marks
• Stretch Marks
• Stretch Marks Photo Gallery
• Skin Changes in Pregnancy
• Linea Negra
• Make up in Pregnancy

_{Photo (c) REW}

I have to say that my mom was broken in to the grandparenting thing by my sister. I really thought that meant I would have an easy road of it. Unfortunately my mom still had a lot to say about everything. She had actually convinced my sister that she had to drink a gallon of whole milk a day while pregnant! Thankfully I wouldn't fall prey to that one but there were other things she said...

So, here are some things to think about:

• 10 Things Grandma Needs to Know about Birth
• 10 Things Grandma Needs to Know about Baby Showers
• 8 Things Grandma Needs to Know about Breastfeeding
• Advice from a Grandma

We've discussed fetal cookies and weird baby shower cakes before, but I got a really good laugh out of reading about the baby shower cake features on Cake Wrecks. (It's the second cake's story.)

I was feeling industrious a few weekends ago and tried to make some baby themed cookies. They'd be perfect for a baby shower, though I made them for a birth professional cookie exchange I'm going to this week. (I'll let you know if they're a hit or not.) On the baby shower forum, we'd had a discussion about some fetus shaped cookie cutters. Once I saw them, I knew I had to try them.

Related:

• Baby Shower Cookies
• Baby Shower Forum
• Baby Shower Planning
• Baby Shower Games

I often talk to moms and dads about talking to their baby, singing and even reading to their baby while pregnant.  We know that from about the midpoint of pregnancy your baby can hear you fairly well.  Research has shown us that baby's can recognize voices they've heard during pregnancy at birth.  And let me tell you, there is nothing that melts your heart like a newborn quieting and turning to look at you when you speak to them...

Now there is new research out that shows that baby's also acquire some early speak traits.  That means that they cry in similar patterns to what they've been hearing, what researchers are calling the "mother tongue."

This study specifically looked at German and French babies born to parents who spoke those languages. As with typical French speaking patterns, the French babies cried with a rising melody and increasing pitch.  The German babies had a falling pattern of cry.

French newborns tend to cry with rising melody patterns, slowly increasing in pitch from the beginning to the end, whereas German newborns seem to prefer falling melody patterns, findings that are both consistent with differences between the languages.

Just another reason to talk to your babies!  How do you connect verbally with your baby?

Related:

• Books to Be Read to Babies Before Birth

_Source:

_{Newborns' Cry Melody Is Shaped by Their Native Language. Birgit Mampe, Angela D. Friederici, Anne Christophe, Kathleen Wermke. Current Biology - 05 November 2009}

So you've read a lot of good pregnancy books and you think you've got it all under control. Maybe you've had a baby already and known your way around a birthing room. Here is a fun quiz to test your knowledge of pregnancy and birth. How well do you score?

• Am I Pregnant? Quiz
  

• Is it twins? Quiz
  

• Labor and Birth Quiz
  

• Boy or Girl Quiz

• Cesarean Section Quiz
  

• Epidural Anesthesia Quiz
  

• Pregnancy Quiz
  

• Postpartum Depression Quiz
  

• Celebrity Baby Quiz
  

• Conception Quiz
  

• Am I in Labor Quiz?

Related:

• Pregnancy Calendar
• Pregnancy Pictures
• Questions About Pregnancy Tests

_{Photo (c) iStockPhoto}

There are two antibiotics, commonly used to treat urinary tract infections (UTI) in pregnancy, sulfa drugs (brand names including Bactrim) and urinary germicides called nitrofurantoins (brand names including Furadantin and Macrobid). They have recently been linked to some forms of birth defects including anencephaly (a fatal brain defect), cleft palate and heart defects. Though it is currently unclear whether or not the birth defects are caused by the medications in question. There are others that are still considered to be safer.

It is important to treat urinary tract infections in pregnancy to ward off preterm labor. The drugs used are rated by the FDA but not the safest grading, an A. But they have been used for years without studies as is common with most medications in pregnancy.

Related:

• Medications in Pregnancy
• Signs of a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)
• Common Birth Defects

_Source

_{Krista S. Crider; Mario A. Cleves; Jennita Reefhuis; Robert J. Berry; Charlotte A. Hobbs; Dale J. Hu. Antibacterial Medication Use During Pregnancy and Risk of Birth Defects: National Birth Defects Prevention Study. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2009;163(11):978-985.}

If you haven't heard yet, November is National Prematurity Awareness Month. Recently it was shown that the US ranks 30th in infant mortality, mainly due to preterm births. So in honor of this month of remembrance, I've found some tools for you to use in your personal life, in classes or just around town!

For the doula, doctor, childbirth educator or midwife, you can shop the already low prices at the March of Dimes catalog. They have inexpensive but attractive and effective visual aids. This month, if you use code PAM09, you can save 15% on the prematurity related items from the catalog. My favorite is the Late Preterm Baby Brain cards that show just how much a baby's brain develops in the last weeks of pregnancy.

You can also follow and learn from various bloggers and tweeters for prematurity, like the March for Babies blog and the Preemies Blog. There is even a YouTube Channel on prematurity. Who is your favorite blogger on the topic of prematurity?

Related:

• Signs of Premature Labor
• Causes of Preterm Labor
• Does work put your baby at risk of preterm birth?

More Thrifty Thursday from About.com Parenting

• Start Early to Save on Holiday Gifts
• Hand-Me-Downs for Teens Are Trendy
• Save With Toy Store Price Matching
• Check for Senior Discount on Groceries
• Throw a House Party to Get Free Goodies
• Inexpensive Preterm Labor Teaching Tools

_{Photo (c) iStockPhoto}

Are you planning to share the big news of your pregnancy at Thanksgiving this coming month? Well here are some special ideas for sharing the good news on either of these holidays.

Or perhaps you're not yet pregnant and looking ahead for generic ideas on announcing your pregnancy. If so, we've got some ideas for that as well! You can also add your own pregnancy announcement!

• Pregnancy Announcements #1
• Pregnancy Announcements #2
• Pregnancy Announcements #3
• Pregnancy Announcements #4

Related:

• When to Announce Your Pregnancy
• How to Share Your Big News
• When Pregnancy Announcements are Met With a Bad Response

_{Photo (c) EyeWire}