Which star just named his baby Megaa?

by

Carolyn Robertson

posted in Celebrities

By now we're used to unique baby names coming out of Hollywood: Tu Morrow, Jermasty, Moxie Crimefighter... you get my point. Every once in a while, though, we hear a name that seems unusual even by celebrity standards.

Singer Omarion took to Instagram this weekend to reveal that he and his girlfriend Apryl Jones are new parents. The 29-year-old posted an absolutely gorgeous shot of him with his baby boy - see it here! - along with this announcement:

"World. Allow me to introduce. MEGAA OMARI GRANDBERRY. He is 7 pounds. 4oz & 20 inches long. My son I've been waiting on you God is the realist!! I witnessed a miracle. My soul mate @aprylsjones is so strong!"

Omarion also revealed that little Megaa was born at home, writing, "Not only did she have a un medicated birth (no drugs) she did it at home. Naturally. Just like my mom had me. I love you. thank you for having my legacy. I'll forever belong to you & you will forever be tied to me. Creating a child takes no love or skill but being a parent requires lots of both. Thanks for watching me grow. #MEGAAhome #OmarionsonMEGAA #donthateonmysonsnameillkillya #Nolol #royalObloodline #blasain #mysongotgoodhair #freshpitthewombhandsom alright. I love y'all."

It's hard to resist the infectious joy of a proud new parent, isn't it? I admit, I'm not wild about their baby name pick, but Omarion won me over with that sweet message.

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What do you think of the name Megaa: Over the top or kind of cute?

Which other celebs had home births? Find out!

Photo: Flickr/VinothChandar

Katherine Heigl confesses working mom anger

by

Sara McGinnis

posted in Celebrities

Katherine Heigl hasn't had much luck getting her career and motherhood to mix. Speaking to Good Housekeeping magazine, the former Grey's Anatomy actress admitted being away from her daughters while on set just didn't sit well with her.

"I would come home angry and frustrated that I'd missed everything with my kid that day," the 35-year-old star, who is mom to adopted daughters Naleigh and Adelaide, explained. "I didn't get to wake her up from her nap, or do bath time or bedtime. I'd have to sneak into her room and kiss her when she was sleeping, hoping not to wake her up."

"I felt like my priorities were messed up," she added. "I was putting so much time and energy into just my work, but I was raised [to believe] that family comes first."

Speaking of the quiet years she took off from television and movie-making, Katherine Heigl added, "Naleigh would go off to her ballet classes and other stuff, and I would sit with the baby at home. I would read, and she would lie on my chest, and we'd lie on the couch with, like, four dogs, and watch Friday Night Lights. I found it so peaceful."

Despite enjoying that time period, the actress is returning to television as a CIA analyst in NBC's State of Affairs, due to premiere in November.

Although I don't know anything about what it's like to be an actress, I can commiserate on the idea being a working mom makes for some complicated emotions. When I waitressed evenings at a diner I fought back tears at my boys' bedtime for months, feeling deep down in my body that I wasn't where I was supposed to be.

Now, as a work-at-home-mom, I rather enjoy my job -- at least, most months of the year. When my boys are in school and I have time to hold a thought in my head during the day I like using my brain (not to mention earning some income), but it'd be a lie to say the summer months aren't hard. Constantly trying to multitask being a mom and being productive with my writing makes me -- exactly as she said -- angry and frustrated. I hate not being able to focus on either role, and thus end up feeling I'm not doing well at everything.

This summer we have the boys enrolled in some summer camp activities, so it's not been terribly bad, but I still totally get where Katherine Heigl is coming from.

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Have you been a working parent? What words best describe how you feel about it?

Photo: BEImages/Jim Smeal

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Alanis Morissette posts throwback breastfeeding pic

by

Carolyn Robertson

posted in Celebrities

Singer Alanis Morissette joined the long list of moms celebrating World Breastfeeding Week by posting a sweet throwback photo to her blog of her nursing her son Ever.

"family on tour europe 2012 #worldbreastfeedingweek #isupportyou @msjamielynne #everlovedhischakraglasses @jaygordonmdfaap," the 40-year-old mom-of-one captioned the pic.

Alanis, who is married to rapper Mario "MC Souleye" Treadway, has been very outspoken about her support for breastfeeding since she became a mom in 2010.

“I breastfeed and I’ll be breastfeeding until my son is finished and he weans,” she once said, going on to explain her attachment parenting style. “I think it affords the child, when he grows up, to have a lot less therapy to go to. For me, I protect his safety and well-being and his attachment. That stage of development is a very important stage.”

Alanis' photo isn't the first high-profile breastfeeding snapshot to make headlines this week. Actress Olivia Wilde's ultra posh nursing portrait in Glamour magazine had everyone talking, too.

And while they may not have made the glossy pages of a magazine, moms outside of Hollywood have also been busy sharing photos of themselves feeding their babies. As World Breastfeeding Week comes to a close, here is a look at some of the sweet nursing shots shared by BabyCenter mamas.

Photo: Alanis.com

See Olivia Wilde's glamorous breastfeeding photo

by

Carolyn Robertson

posted in Celebrities

Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis' 3-month-old baby Otis makes his magazine debut alongside his gorgeous mama in the September 2014 issue of Glamour magazine.

The diner-themed photo shoot featuring the former House star may not be what you're used to seeing in the glossy pages of a fashion magazine. One shot shows Olivia, decked out in a Roberto Cavalli dress and Prada pumps, sitting in a booth and gazing down at her son at her breast. Who knew nursing could be so glamorous?

Take a look...

It's not your typical fashion spread, but the 30-year-old actress explains why it felt entirely natural to nurse little Otis during the shoot.

“Being shot with Otis is so perfect because any portrait of me right now isn’t complete without my identity as a mother being a part of that," Olivia says. "Breast-feeding is the most natural thing. I don’t know, now it feels like Otis should always be on my breast. It felt like we were capturing that multifaceted woman we’ve been discussing—that we know we can be. You can be someone who is at once maternal and professional and sexy and self-possessed."

That being said, Olivia wants to make one thing clear: This portrait is not exactly representative of her regular breastfeeding routine.

"I mean, I certainly don’t really look like that when I’m [typically] breast-feeding. And there’s usually a diaper involved," she laughs.

Olivia is one of several celebrities who seem to be making efforts to "normalize" breastfeeding. Actress Jaime King and model moms Gisele Bundchen, Miranda Kerr, Yaya DaCosta and Ashley Nicole have all recently jumped aboard the breastfeeding selfie movement.

I think Olivia's photo is absolutely beautiful - and could that baby be any cuter? - but it's also worth noting that for some moms nursing may not be "the most natural thing." And that's just fine, too.

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What do you think of Olivia's photo shoot?

Does breastfeeding really help shed the pregnancy pounds? These famous moms weigh in...

Photos: Patrick Demarchelier/Glamour magazine

Love it or leave it: Fergie's short shorts

by

Carolyn Robertson

posted in Celebrities

If you've been out and about at all this summer, you've likely noticed one particular fashion trend: Short shorts are definitely in.

Of course, this particular style might not suit everyone. And, in my personal opinion, sometimes it doesn't suit anyone. If your pocket linings are hanging out the front or your bum cheeks are hanging out the back, those short shorts might be just a little too short.

Fortunately, Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie committed neither of those fashion faux pas when she stepped out in LA with her 11-month-old son Axl Jack on Saturday wearing a pair of tiny jean shorts, which she paired with a grey tank top and a bright red bandana belt. Finishing off her weekend look with bold red lips and big hair, Fergie, 39, looked every inch the rock star mama.

While Fergie looks amazing and right on trend, at least one A-list mom has vowed to stay away from short shorts from now on. Veronica Mars star Kristen Bell, currently expecting baby #2, admitted earlier this week that while she still wants to feel sexy now that she's a mom, her style has changed somewhat: "I definitely threw out all of my short shorts. I'm 34 and no one needs it. Do you know what I mean? Just no one needs it."

I tend to side with Kristen when it comes to my personal style. I don't mind showing a little leg, but I don't feel comfortable in anything too short. Now that I have kids, whatever outfit I wear has to pass certain tests: Can I bend down, climb up, tie a shoe or pick up a child without flashing my panties to the world? If so, I'm good to go.

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Check out these famous moms' off-the-red carpet, ultra casual style...

Photo: REX USA/Beverly News LLC./Rex

Pregnant Christina Aguilera poses nude - again!

by

Carolyn Robertson

posted in Celebrities

Singer Christina Aguilera has never shied away from showing off her pregnancy curves. With baby #2 on the way, the 33-year-old 'Beautiful' songstress strips down for an intimate photo shoot for VMagazine.com.

Even before she was pregnant, Xtina was very vocal in encouraging women to embrace their bodies, whatever their size or shape. So it's not surprising that she's doing the same during this second pregnancy: "As a woman, I'm proud to embrace my body through all stages of life," she tells VMagazine.com. "Staying fearless and confident in surrendering to the unknowns the future has in store."

That confidence shines through in these new photos, which are, simply put, quite stunning.

This isn't the first time that Christina has bared her bump - and more! You may remember the Grammy-winner graced the cover of Marie Claire wearing only a leather jacket back when she was pregnant with her son Max in 2008. Since then, she says that motherhood has made her feel "sexier than ever."

"Going through that whole growing cycle of being a mom where with age, I now know exactly what I want and a better understanding of exactly how to get it. And I feel sexier than I ever have also," Christina, who is expecting a baby girl this time around with her new fiance Matt Rutler, said in 2010. "It makes you, I think, just appreciate your body in ways you never knew existed prior. And it’s a comfort level that you have with your body.”

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What do you think of Christina's pregnant photo shoot?

These famous moms have boldly bared their bumps, too...

Photos: Brian Bowen Smith/VMagazine.com

Chris Pratt gets honest about emotional eating

by

Sara McGinnis

posted in Celebrities

It isn't often we're treated to a man's perspective on the pressure to be thin and fit in Hollywood, but Chris Pratt has recently opened up about both, as well as his nearly 2-year-old son Jack.

"They would send someone over to my house to measure me every week," the 35-year-old Guardians of the Galaxy actor recently explained of how movie studios would hound him to shape up by sending people to check in on him regularly.

"It was like I was on The Biggest Loser but there was no camera crew. They would send me prop guns… I would take a picture with it, pose with the gun so they could see how it looked in my hand. Meanwhile, what they’re secretly doing is, ‘How fat is Chris, still?’ And that’s what the photo was. They’re like, ‘Oh, we also need you to try on these gloves. Make sure it’s a full body shot with the glove on.’ Oh, yeah, thanks."

The man who gained a large amount of weight for his role in Delivery Man went on to share, "I'm sure I can’t relate to what females go through in Hollywood, but I do know what it feels like to eat emotionally. To be sad and make yourself happy with food, and then be almost immediately sad again, and then ashamed. Then, you to try to hide those feelings with more food. I know what that’s like. It’s a vicious cycle, and it’s a very real thing. So, I know what it’s like to have body image issues.

"I also know that, if you just work hard and you enlist the help of good coaches, and you are coach-able and willing to work hard, you can actually change that. I offer a course. It's $4,500. Anyone who has these issues, just get a hold of my people, and we’ll set it up. I’ll walk you through it. I don't really offer a course."

Opening up to People about his and wife Anna Faris' son being born nine weeks early, Chris Pratt explained, "We were scared for a long time. We prayed a lot."

"It restored my faith in God, not that it needed to be restored, but it really redefined it," the actor added. "The baby was so beautiful to us, and I look back at the photos of him and it must have been jarring for other people to come in and see him, but to us he was so beautiful and perfect."

The timing of Jack's birth and Chris' weight gain for a role seem to coincide, but I can't help but wonder if the stress of having a child in the NICU was the cause of the emotional eating he mentioned. Becoming parents was overwhelming to both my husband and I with there being so much newness and responsibility all at once, and our child was perfectly healthy. I can't imagine having health fears added on top.

All the same, I find it refreshing to hear a male star open up about the pressure he's been under. Famous females talk all the time about diets, exercise, and losing the baby weight, but it would be great to hear more from dads too.

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Has your partner's weight fluctuated along with your pregnancies or remained steady?

Photos: PR Photos

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