Duchess Kate: Is this proof that she's having a girl?

by

Carolyn Robertson

posted in Celebrities

Royal baby fever is back!

With less than a month to go until Kate's due date - rumor has it that April 25 is the big day - everyone's talking about the royal baby on the way. Who will be in the delivery room? What names are at the top of Kate and William's list? And, of course, are they expecting a boy or a girl?

While the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have insisted they don't know the gender of baby #2, some say that the couple are definitely thinking pink. Let's take a look at the "evidence..."

I think we can quite easily dismiss the last few items on the list. I don't know many women who color-coordinate their outfits to the gender of their unborn children. Maybe it's a British thing? I doubt it. As for the supposed baby shower, there seems to be virtually no evidence to support that particular rumor. And while Prince Charles holds a powerful post, his influence likely falls short of gender determination.

The other two claims could give us a hint, though. According to a couple of very common old wives' tales, how a mom-to-be carries her bump and the foods she craves can signal whether she's expecting a boy or a girl.

If you carry high, you're having a boy. Similarly, salty cravings are a clue to think blue while a sweet tooth like Kate's means a girl is on the way.

Kate and William attend an event at the London Palladium late last year

The jury is out as to whether these are actually reliable. Some moms swear by them, but others... not so much. One BabyCenter mom recently offered up this anecdotal evidence dismissing any cravings link: "Sadly I have craved sweets with all 3 [pregnancies]... and I will have my 3rd boy in February."

Take this for what it's worth, but I carried high during both of my pregnancies and always had a bag of cream-centered chocolates hidden in my purse... and I am now the very proud mama of two little girls.

One thing's for sure: We won't have to wait too much longer to find out whether Prince George will have a baby brother or sister!

Other popular gender prediction tests... which worked work for you?

Photo: REX USA, PR Photos

Zooey Deschanel is so sick of her pregnancy diet

by

Carolyn Robertson

posted in Celebrities

Coffee cravings!

Pregnancy may be a beautiful thing, but actress Zooey Deschanel is learning that it can be pretty tough, too.

The 35-year-old New Girl star, who is expecting her first child with her fiance Jacob Pechenik, says she's steadfastly following the dos and don'ts of her pregnancy diet - but she's not too happy about it!

"You can't eat so many things when you're pregnant!" Zoeey said during a visit to Jimmy Kimmel Live this week. "You can't have sushi. You can't have cheese that tastes good. You can have a little bit [of coffee], but I would have, like, four cups a day. And now I can have a half cup, which is a joke! It's a total joke!"

Another thing that the mom-to-be is missing? Her wine!

"You can't have alcohol," she laments. "I miss that, I like wine."

Zooey and Jacob, pre-pregnancy

Zooey may think she has it tough, but her big sister Emily Deschanel, who is also pregnant, is sticking to a vegan diet. The Bones star had to stand up against critics of her strict diet during her first pregnancy in 2011.

“Saying no to meat makes me feel stronger inside; I feel aligned with my morals and ethics," she , explained. "I still have to defend myself because people don’t understand it. As a pregnant woman especially, people will say to me, ‘You must eat meat and dairy.’ You really have to tap into your self-esteem whenever people try to convince you you’re making the wrong choice.”

As for Zooey, she'll have to hold out for those four cups of coffee for a while yet. She's revealed that she's due in the summer.

Comment

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Photos: PR Photos

Angelina Jolie: Why I decided to have my ovaries removed

by

Carolyn Robertson

posted in Celebrities

Two years after undergoing a preventative double mastectomy to lower her risk of cancer, actress Angelina Jolie recently went a step further, having her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed.

The mom-of-six, who lost her own mother and grandmother to cancer, opens up about the latest surgery in an op-ed piece in today's New York Times , writing, "I had been planning this for some time. It is a less complex surgery than the mastectomy, but its effects are more severe. It puts a woman into forced menopause. So I was readying myself physically and emotionally..."

While Angelina thought she had plenty of time to mull over the surgery, fate forced her hand. She reveals that two weeks ago she received a call from her doctor informing her that a recent blood-test showed concerning results, "a number of inflammatory markers that are elevated, and taken together they could be a sign of early cancer.”

She talks in stark and honest terms about how it felt to hear those words.

"I went through what I imagine thousands of other women have felt. I told myself to stay calm, to be strong, and that I had no reason to think I wouldn’t live to see my children grow up and to meet my grandchildren.

I called my husband [Brad Pitt] in France, who was on a plane within hours. The beautiful thing about such moments in life is that there is so much clarity. You know what you live for and what matters. It is polarizing, and it is peaceful.

That same day I went to see the surgeon, who had treated my mother. I last saw her the day my mother passed away, and she teared up when she saw me: 'You look just like her.' I broke down."

Other stars whose lives have been touched by cancer...

Angelina underwent ultrasounds and exams, then spent five long days awaiting the results. When they came in, they were thankfully negative. Still, considering her family history - her mother Marcheline Bertrand was just 56 years old when she died of ovarian cancer - she decided to proceed with the surgery to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes the next week.

"I will not be able to have any more children, and I expect some physical changes," Angelina, 39, writes, but adds that she has no regrets about the decision she made.

"I feel feminine, and grounded in the choices I am making for myself and my family," she reveals. "I know my children will never have to say, "'Mom died of ovarian cancer.'"

I admire Angelina Jolie for once again speaking so openly, so honestly about such an intensely personal decision. In doing so she helps break down any taboos, and helps other women access the information they need to make choices about their own health.

As mothers, the relationship we have with our bodies - the way they look and what they are capable of doing - feels so vital to who we are. That's why I think it's quite profound for Angelina, who walks that strange line between devoted mother and sex symbol with such ease, to say that she's still feminine, she's still strong, she's still confident, she's still loved.

Kudos to her for sharing her own experience and knowledge with others.

Comment

What do you think of Angelina's surgery revelation?

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Photo: PR Photos

Jennifer Garner's parenting tips are pretty perfect

by

Carolyn Robertson

posted in Celebrities

Jennifer Garner is dishing out parenting advice to Hollywood's A-listers.

The funny mom-of-three recently stopped by The Tonight Show, where she and host Jimmy Fallon swapped stories about their kids. Dad to daughters Winnie, 19 months and Frances, 3 months, Jimmy asked Jennifer if she had any tips to pass along.

The 42-year-old Danny Collins star asked how Winnie is adjusting to her new role as a big sister: "She's good, she loves the little one, and like, kisses her every day," Jimmy gushed.

"She does? Enjoy that. Take pictures," Jennifer, who has kids Violet, 9, Seraphina, 6 and Sam, 3, with her husband Ben Affleck joked. "No, I mean, they just have their, you know, they have their moments... You're driving to school and you kind of hear a yelp. You look in the rearview mirror and there's just like a pinch happening — a pinch for the ages."

"The hand is taken back so quickly, you're like, 'Why are you yelling?' she explains. "Yeah, so the pinches."

Has Jennifer Garner ridden shotgun on our weekly shuttles to and from swim classes without me knowing it? Because she just perfectly described the dynamic between my two girls.

Jennifer Garner chats parenting with Jimmy Fallon.

I once publicly declared, right here on the blog I believe, that my kids don't fight. They love each other! They play together all day long! Well, all of that is still very true, but I now need to eat my words. They're almost 9 and 5 years old and yes, they fight.

Their fights are often the kind that Jennifer describes, though. They're not kicking, screaming blow-outs. They're silently seething, under-the-radar, don't-scream-or-we'll-get-in-trouble battles. Honestly, I'm not sure which kind is worse.

Jennifer's last words of warning to her friend Jimmy Fallon? "The other thing is that they can get clever. They're all gonna go nuts when there's a new baby, right? One way or another, if it isn't now, it's going to be later. It's coming.... They're smarter than you are so just be ready for that."

Love her. Keep on keeping it real, Jennifer.

Comment

So... do your kids fight?

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Photo: PR Photos

"Synthetic" babies? Elton John fights back against IVF criticism

by

Carolyn Robertson

posted in Celebrities

Elton John is leading the charge for a boycott of fashion label Dolce & Gabbana in response to the designing duo's recent "archaic" comments regarding children born via in vitro fertlization.

In an interview with Italy's Panorama magazine, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, both openly gay, make the controversial claim that "The only family is the traditional one." The pair add that they oppose both gay adoptions and IVF.

Asserting that procreation should be "an act of love," they go on, "You are born to a mother and a father. Or at least that's how it should be. I call children of chemistry 'synthetic children.' Rented wombs, semen chosen from a catalogue."

Not surprisingly, the statements drew the ire of many readers, including Sir Elton John himself. The singer, who has sons Zachary and Elijah with his husband David Furnish, quickly took to social media to issue a response.

"How dare you refer to my beautiful children as 'synthetic," Elton wrote. "And shame on you for wagging your judgemental [sic] little fingers at IVF - a miracle that has allowed legions of loving people, both straight and gay, to fulfil [sic] their dream of having children. Your archaic thinking is out of step with the times, just like your fashions. I shall never wear Dolce and Gabbana ever again. #BoycottDolceGabbana."

His call for a boycott got some A-list backing from Ricky Martin, Courtney Love, Ryan Murphy and others. Even Victoria Beckham offered her support, Tweeting, "Sending love to Elton David Zachary Elijah & all the beautiful IVF babies x vb."

Elton John and David Furnish and their sons in December 2014.

Dolce and Gabbana issued a statement in response to the growing backlash, though it's far from conciliatory: "We firmly believe in democracy and the fundamental principle of freedom of expression that upholds it," it reads. "We talked about our way of seeing reality, but it was never our intention to judge other people's choices. We do believe in freedom and love."

Perhaps something was lost in translation, but the pair's comments don't strike me as reflecting a belief in love. They seem closed-minded and judgmental and, really, quite sad.

Taking a look at Twitter today, I think the best thing to come from this controversy are the messages of love and gratitude coming from IVF children and parents and other "non-traditional" families.

I exist because of #IVF I am not synthetic and neither is the love my mother and father have for me. #BoycottDolceGabbana #ivfbaby

— Marina Buonopane (@LilReen) March 15, 2015

However it happens and whatever it looks like, a child who grows up feeling loved and secure seems to me to be cause for celebration, not condemnation.

Here are some more famous families who welcomed their babies through IVF...

Photo: INFphoto.com, Matthew Impey/Rex/REX USA

Chris Brown changes his ways thanks to new daughter Royalty?

by

Carolyn Robertson

posted in Celebrities

Did you hear the news? Chris Brown is reportedly a dad.

According to several sources, the 25-year-old singer welcomed a baby girl named Royalty 9 months ago. The mother isn't Chris' longtime girlfriend Karrueche Tran, but a former model named Nia who he's known for years.

Though he's yet to address the reports, they were enough to make Karrueche publicly call off their on-again-off-again relationship: "Listen. One can only take so much," she Tweeted when the baby news broke. "The best of luck to Chris and his family. No baby drama for me."

Think Royalty is an odd choice for a baby name? Take a look at these Hollywood picks...

Karrueche isn't the only one who's had a change of heart. Sources close to the controversial singer insist that becoming a father has "humbled" him and forced him to think twice about the way he refers to women in his music.

"He would hate for someone to one day call his daughter a bitch or a hoe. That would make him very upset and he would have a big problem with someone disrespecting his daughter. Everyday he realises he's a father, to a girl no less, and he wants to start making changes to raise his girl right and to be a good example of a man," a source tells HollywoodLife.com. "He really doesn't want to continue making music where he's calling women bitches and hoes and other derogatory words."

You may recall Jay-Z, whose lyrics famously declare he has "99 problems but a bitch ain't one," came to a similar realization after he and Beyonce welcomed daughter Blue Ivy in 2012.

A week after her birth he rapped, “Before I got in the game, made a change, and got rich/I didn’t think hard about using the word bitch/I rapped, I flipped it, I sold it, I lived it/Now with my daughter in this world I curse those that give it.”

I find it a bit curious that it takes having a daughter to make some men think twice about the way they refer to women. What about their mothers? Sisters? Female teachers and colleagues? Wives? Surely they're all deserving of that same respect, too.

Whatever the reason, though, here's hoping it's a change that sticks. Young girls don't need to grow up hearing that they're bitches and hoes, that their worth is determined by what they can do for a man or how good they look in a g-string. We hear all of this so often that even I'm guilty of not paying it too much attention. If there's a good beat behind it, who cares how derogatory the lyrics are?

We should care, though. Whether we're writing them or speaking them or singing them or consuming them, words have power.

Comments

What do you think of Chris Brown's apparent change of heart?

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Photo: PR Photos